I finished it a few months ago and that was my read as well.
The guy's own trauma led to him wanting to cure everyone else's trauma. The people caught up in it were genuinely happy and it was only ever shown to be completely real. IIRC, it was never shown to be "evil" like the characters real bodies were trapped somewhere or their loved ones were shadows in disguise. He created an actual utopia, but Joker and Co decided that people need to suffer because it isn't reality as they know it.
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I mean, I guess. Theres a debate to be had about the details but the overall message seemed to be "a good world is bad. Suffering makes you strong"
At least that's what I got from it. Maybe I was reading it wrong though.
I finished it a few months ago and that was my read as well.
The guy's own trauma led to him wanting to cure everyone else's trauma. The people caught up in it were genuinely happy and it was only ever shown to be completely real. IIRC, it was never shown to be "evil" like the characters real bodies were trapped somewhere or their loved ones were shadows in disguise. He created an actual utopia, but Joker and Co decided that people need to suffer because it isn't reality as they know it.