Scan barcode
A review by tsamarah
The Colliding Worlds of Mina Lee by Ellen Oh
adventurous
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The Colliding Worlds of Mina Lee introduces the titular heroine, a senior high school with big dreams of going to an art school and becoming a successful webcomic artist to prove her skeptical father wrong, finds herself trapped inside the superhero webcomic she has created. As Mina discovers that she is no longer in control of the narrative she builds, she must find a way to correct her mistake and get out of the comic before she becomes fully integrated with all the panels and destroys herself before it's too late.
While the author claims that the inspiration comes from the infamous A-ha's "Take on Me" music video, the plot seemingly leans more toward the typical tropes of isekai genre animes, such as Log Horizon or the recent release The Rising of the Shield Hero, where the protagonist must go on a quest or solve an improbable mystery as the term and condition to return to the real world. And such isekai anime has the tendency to use quests as a metaphor for the coming-of-age journey of the protagonist, as what Ellen Oh does with Mina Lee in her adventure; a rediscovery of self-worth, the things she has lost and can get back, and the things she has to let go—paralleling most key events that Mina experiences in her comic to the reality that she lives in, which makes Ellen succeeding in pushing the narrative to be the metafiction that it aims to be.
The clever use of metafiction points out the complex relationship between artists and the world they create; as written in the novel, artists like Mina become something akin to omniscient deities that can move chess pieces as they see fit, yet, seeing her losing her authority over the universe she's built could also be seen as an interpretation of artists losing their touch or meaning as the burden of expectations reaches their self. It is evident in the way Mina keeps trying to reset the story as how she envisions versus the invisible hands that rework the story as divergent as it is. At the same time, it can also serve as a metaphor for how life can be unpredictable, and there are other paths to follow to get to the goal we have in mind, which fits the theme of coming-of-age and self-discovery that Ellen pushes in this novel.
Mina is vibrant and explosive as a protagonist, shaping herself as the perfect example of a Generation Z teenager who copes with dry humor and creative means to go through their lives. Ellen writes her as someone who never stops thinking, not even when she rests—she always has something fast coming out of her mind, finding ways to deal with the issue at hand, and being a persistently imaginative young adult as she tries to navigate her way out of the isekai world.
On the other hand, I don't find Jin to be as stellar as Mina in this novel. I will not deny that Jin is a charismatic and charming character, a perfectly handsome and friendly person typical of popular kids at school. But it seems that Jin's standing as the other protagonist as well as the main love interest looks clueless and useless most of the time as if Jin is a non-playable character (or NPC) suddenly comes out to life instead of an active, living character of Mina's created world. Therefore, his more engaged role towards the end of the novel feels quite abrupt, and yet, it also ends up with the feeling of him not doing enough to help Mina in saving the world.
The last thing that I feel to be a wasted potential is the appearance of the true villain in the novel that serves as the real obstacle for Mina's mission; she might be the one creating the antagonist, yet as she enters the isekai world, his existence is merely whispers and stories without corporeal form, which makes the mission is slightly too easy to finish. I would have loved an actual showdown between Mina and her constructed villain character, watching how they try to outwit one another as the only people who completely understand the depth of the botched webcomic and how it will severely affect everyone, including Mina as the artist. And accounting for the reveal of Mina's in-story superhero power, I bet it will be a total knock-out. Ellen Oh might be saving all of this for the sequel, per the news she had mentioned, but it is actually unnecessary to wait for every explosive scene to appear in a sequel when the first book still has more than enough potential to squeeze them in.
Nonetheless, The Colliding Worlds of Mina Lee is not a disappointing book by any means. It's a delightful reading, packing an energetic punch that keeps the readers entertained in following Mina's journey. Most of all, the twist ending at the end of the novel is enough to form the 'what-if' open ending that leaves to the readers' imagination, and if it's true that there will be a second book, it is adequately exciting to set up more unexpected adventure based on the ending alone.
So, yes, please grab a copy of The Colliding Worlds of Mina Lee from your nearest bookstore or borrow it from your library, and savor this thrilling isekai adventure of Mina during your leisure time.
While the author claims that the inspiration comes from the infamous A-ha's "Take on Me" music video, the plot seemingly leans more toward the typical tropes of isekai genre animes, such as Log Horizon or the recent release The Rising of the Shield Hero, where the protagonist must go on a quest or solve an improbable mystery as the term and condition to return to the real world. And such isekai anime has the tendency to use quests as a metaphor for the coming-of-age journey of the protagonist, as what Ellen Oh does with Mina Lee in her adventure; a rediscovery of self-worth, the things she has lost and can get back, and the things she has to let go—paralleling most key events that Mina experiences in her comic to the reality that she lives in, which makes Ellen succeeding in pushing the narrative to be the metafiction that it aims to be.
The clever use of metafiction points out the complex relationship between artists and the world they create; as written in the novel, artists like Mina become something akin to omniscient deities that can move chess pieces as they see fit, yet, seeing her losing her authority over the universe she's built could also be seen as an interpretation of artists losing their touch or meaning as the burden of expectations reaches their self. It is evident in the way Mina keeps trying to reset the story as how she envisions versus the invisible hands that rework the story as divergent as it is. At the same time, it can also serve as a metaphor for how life can be unpredictable, and there are other paths to follow to get to the goal we have in mind, which fits the theme of coming-of-age and self-discovery that Ellen pushes in this novel.
Mina is vibrant and explosive as a protagonist, shaping herself as the perfect example of a Generation Z teenager who copes with dry humor and creative means to go through their lives. Ellen writes her as someone who never stops thinking, not even when she rests—she always has something fast coming out of her mind, finding ways to deal with the issue at hand, and being a persistently imaginative young adult as she tries to navigate her way out of the isekai world.
On the other hand, I don't find Jin to be as stellar as Mina in this novel. I will not deny that Jin is a charismatic and charming character, a perfectly handsome and friendly person typical of popular kids at school. But it seems that Jin's standing as the other protagonist as well as the main love interest looks clueless and useless most of the time as if Jin is a non-playable character (or NPC) suddenly comes out to life instead of an active, living character of Mina's created world. Therefore, his more engaged role towards the end of the novel feels quite abrupt, and yet, it also ends up with the feeling of him not doing enough to help Mina in saving the world.
The last thing that I feel to be a wasted potential is the appearance of the true villain in the novel that serves as the real obstacle for Mina's mission; she might be the one creating the antagonist, yet as she enters the isekai world, his existence is merely whispers and stories without corporeal form, which makes the mission is slightly too easy to finish. I would have loved an actual showdown between Mina and her constructed villain character, watching how they try to outwit one another as the only people who completely understand the depth of the botched webcomic and how it will severely affect everyone, including Mina as the artist. And accounting for the reveal of Mina's in-story superhero power, I bet it will be a total knock-out. Ellen Oh might be saving all of this for the sequel, per the news she had mentioned, but it is actually unnecessary to wait for every explosive scene to appear in a sequel when the first book still has more than enough potential to squeeze them in.
Nonetheless, The Colliding Worlds of Mina Lee is not a disappointing book by any means. It's a delightful reading, packing an energetic punch that keeps the readers entertained in following Mina's journey. Most of all, the twist ending at the end of the novel is enough to form the 'what-if' open ending that leaves to the readers' imagination, and if it's true that there will be a second book, it is adequately exciting to set up more unexpected adventure based on the ending alone.
So, yes, please grab a copy of The Colliding Worlds of Mina Lee from your nearest bookstore or borrow it from your library, and savor this thrilling isekai adventure of Mina during your leisure time.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Violence, and Death of parent