Summary
Many good manhwa have been leading their respective genres in terms of popularity for quite a while now. But, like manga, manhwa can go on for a long time without showing any signs of reaching the finish line. That is why a lot of people prefer to drop, or not even start, certain mainstream manhwa while they’re being published. Instead, some prefer to wait until they’re complete, to get the entire experience without any cliffhangers or unwanted filler chapters.
With so many good titles competing for the top spot, it’s tough to choose one from the never-ending spectrum of choices. Now that many famous titles have picked up the pace, in partthanks toSolo Leveling’s popularity, there’s a good chance some of them will soon end. It’s the perfect time to revisit some of the stand-outs in the scene.
2021
Genres
Drama, Supernatural
Dark romances have always been a staplein manhwa. Readers have consumed and obsessed with them for a long time, and their popularity shows no signs of stopping. However, despite its widespread appeal, a regularly published dark romance isn’t the most fun experience for its readers. They tend to haverandom cliffhangers and huge plot twiststhat end in the infamous ‘To Be Continued.’
Thankfully,Dreaming Freedomis on the brink of wrapping up and is hinting towards an innocuous ending. Catching up on it right now would be the perfect time. As one of themost prominent dark romancesin the manhwa industry, it’s not without itsweighty and controversial themes. The aspects of stalking and uncontrolled obsession should, needless to say, be approached with caution. In spite of that, the manhwa also depicts relatable human themes concerning love, responsibility, and growth.
2013
Action, Drama, Sports
While sports manhwa and mangahave created a certain buzz for themselves in the comic book world, they’re not for everybody. This factor doubles when the sport in question is very specific — something like professional cycling, for example.
Wind Breaker(not to be confused with the Japanese martial arts manga of the same name) is a particularlyniche sports manhwa. It is so well-written and drawn that it captivates readers despite its ‘predicament.’ It’s about professional cycling, and the main character’s road to becoming one of the best cyclists in the country. Again, despite having such a specific scenario, the protagonist’scomplex psychological and interpersonal relationshipshit close to home. It makes the entire series more appealing to a general audience.
Fantasy
I Shall Master This Familyis not an ordinary Isekai romance — if it could even be called a romance in the first place. It’sone of thefew good Isekai ‘shojo’ manhwaout there that centers the story on the female lead’s personal and professional growth, rather than forcing an unnecessary romance plotline.
The main character is a resilient young woman who has seen and lived through enough trauma to know what she’s doing in life. Her first life ends on an insignificant and tragic note: dying alone, overworked and sick. It’s enough to make her realize that hard work alone is not the key to success. This realization bleeds into her second life. This time around, she’s determined to be a little selfish and ultimately rises to become the head ofher influential noble family.
2020
Drama, Fantasy, Romance
Villains Are Destined to Dieis among the first modern examples of the’female lead transmigrates into an evil character’s body’trope. Naturally, it’s a hit not only among fans of this specific concept but also with manhwa lovers in general. The plotblends scaling, romance, and action themesto come out with a unique yet perfectly concocted work that caters to almost all tastes.
Penelope Eckhart is the adopted, beautiful, and yet the most despised daughter of one of the most powerful dukes of an ancient kingdom. She embodies the classic ‘villain’ archetype: hauntingly beautiful, spoiled, and unbearable to the people around her. And she is not afraid to embrace it.Her ‘villainous’ tendencies eventuallyreach a pinnacle, and she’s executed for making everyone in her vicinity miserable. That’s all that the nameless protagonist of this manhwa can recall from the otome game she played before finding herself in the body of that very character.
sing N song (Story), Sleepy-C (Art)
Action, Adventure, Fantasy
A good power-scaling trope has to tick several boxes to beconsidered one of the elite ones. It has to have an arrogant, smug, and confident protagonist. It also needs to be set up in an absurd fantasy scenario, and it needs to have good, sensible action.Omniscient Readerticks all three boxes.
Thestory ofOmniscient Readeris as straightforward as action-themed content goes. A mediocre office worker, whose only remarkable trait is his love for a washed-up fantasy web novel, suddenly receives unfathomable powers from an unknown source. His favorite ‘washed-up’ web novel ends up becoming a momentous piece of work that accurately foreshadows the end of the world. This leaves Dokja as the only person who knows how to avert the impending disaster since he’s the only one who’s read the novel.
2018
Action
Action-comedy books are known to not always be what they initially offer. They’re either too focused on the forced fighting and power-scaling or are compilations ofexaggerated slapstick sequenceswith no development regarding the action.Eleceed, fortunately, is one of the rare action-comedy manhwa that creates a perfect balance between the two genres.
Eleceed, in all its supernatural glory, has one of themost hilarious premises on this list. It follows Jinwoo, a high-school student with a penchant for saving and befriending every feral cat he finds on the streets. The story delves into his adventures with a strange orange cat he encounters on one of his daily excursions. Thinking the cat is injured, he takes him back home to tend to it, only to realize that it can talk like a normal human. The cat introduces himself as an agent who, for some undisclosed reason, had to transform into an animal and is now unable to turn back.
