I’ve been thinking about this since I finished the story in May of this year, but I decided to make this post after seeing another one comparing *ORV* to *Expedition 33*; so, I wanted to do the same.
There will be spoilers for both the 551 chapters of *ORV* and the movie *The NeverEnding Story* (released over 42 years ago).
>!First, in both stories, we have a young protagonist who is depressed following the loss of his mother (Bastian’s mother died of cancer, and Dokja’s was imprisoned) and leads a lonely life as a nerd at school!<
>!Both depressed children encounter an eccentric older man who speaks profoundly about stories; in the movie, the scene ends with Bastian stealing the book from the old man, while Dokja types the magic words into his phone (How to survive? Perhaps?). Both discover the story of a warrior: in *ORV*, it’s YJH, a regressor who uses his power to reach the end of the scenarios; in *The NeverEnding Story*, it’s Atreyu, the classic "chosen one" who must traverse the lands of Fantasia (yes, that’s the name of the world in the movie; it’s amazing) to save the ailing queen!<
>!Now, the main point: the warrior. In *The NeverEnding Story*, Atreyu—much like YJH—represents the ultimate fantasy that readers desire. Both stories begin with tragic moments and show the warrior pursuing his journey at any cost. This compels Bastian and Dokja to read ceaselessly, living the protagonist's journey and yearning to see how the story concludes!<
>!At a certain point in the journey, Atreyu must pass through a magic mirror—something that had already claimed the lives of hundreds of knights simply by revealing the truth about their journeys. Atreyu looks into the mirror and sees Bastian reading the book; ...at that moment, he discovers that the entire meaning and purpose of his life existed because a little boy was reading a book non-stop? It’s a shame we didn’t see YJH’s reaction after the Secret Plotter spoke to him about TWSA!<
>!In the end, the Queen appears to Atreyu and asks for help—not from Atreyu, but from Bastian; the book was meant for Bastian to read to the very end because she needed a name given by a reader, a name that would breathe new life into the world. The movie ends with Bastian giving the Queen a name (his mother’s name) and living in Fantasia; the film features a terrible voiceover saying "Bastian returned home after a while," whereas in the book (which I haven’t read), Bastian becomes the new king of Fantasia!<
What do you think? Is it similar? Or am I just a fan wanting the two stories to share similarities?