The Best Manhwa To Anime Adaptations

Manhwa, manga, and webtoons from Korea have been going through a boom period in recent years, with many Korean-made series like Noblesse, Doctor Elise: The Royal Lady With The Lamp, and Lookism quickly becoming massive international franchises with millions of devoted fans all over the world.

Because of this popularity, many studios are acquiring the rights to manhwa and adapting them into anime. Many of these anime series have been the highlight of the season they were released in, often beating out big-name Japanese franchises, further cementing manhwa as a cultural force. But of these many series, which ones are the best?

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10 When I Woke Up I Became A Bagel Girl is a Fun Comedy

Based on the manhwa written and illustrated by Tank Guy, Studio Animal’s 2019 anime follows Jeong Bong Gi, a young man going through a massive life crisis. Jeong feels like he has let his dreams pass him by and hates the fact he has become overweight and ugly — doubly so because this stops him from getting a girlfriend. However, one morning, he wakes up to discover that he has somehow transformed into a beautiful woman. While searching online to work out what happened, he befriends a girl named Han Sae Mi. But this friendship soon causes issues when Jeong realizes he can’t explain the reality of the situation to her, leading to plenty of hijinks.

When I Woke Up I Became A Bagel Girl is a fun, light-hearted comedy romp that captures the manhwa’s many charms while still playing to the strengths of the anime medium. Alas, many of its gender swap jokes have been seen many times before, so fans of the genre may find it a bit stale no matter the medium.

9 Blade of the Phantom Master Features Feudal Korea Inspirations as a Backdrop

Written by Youn In-wan and illustrated by Yang Kyung-il, Blade of the Phantom Master was an early example of a South Korean manga gaining international popularity. Testament to Blade of the Phantom Master’s enduring popularity is that, in 2017, it would be rebooted as a webtoon, adapting the beloved story to the now-popular format.

In 2004, Oriental Light and Magic turned the series into an animated film. Set in a fractured world of warring kingdoms that resembles feudal Korea, the series follows Munsu, a bitter and broken warrior. After spending days in the desert, Munsu is saved by Mon-ryon, a young man who dreams of becoming a spy for Jushin, a formally great country. Mon-ryon hopes that doing this will let him save his girlfriend, Chunhyan, from the evil Lord Byonand. However, when Mon-ryon suddenly dies, Munsu dedicates his life to completing Mon-ryon’s quest. But this decision soon gets Munsu entangled in something bigger than he could have ever imagined.

Blade of the Phantom Master

A nameless hero in command of a secret human weapon arises from the ashes of the fallen Jushin empire to defend the people from zombies, cannibals and beasts.

Director

Jôji Shimura , Ha Yoo

Release Date

December 4, 2004

Cast

Lee Jung-jae , Park So-dam , Kim Eui-sung , Kim Ok-bin

Writers

Scott Gensch , Mitsuru Hongô , Sung-bo Shim

Runtime

87 Minutes

Producer

Jin Ho Chung, Jerry Kyoungboum Ko, John Ledford, Miky Lee, Syd Lim, Jeong Tae-sung

Production Company

Barunson E&A, CJ E&M Film Financing & Investment Entertainment & Comics, CJ E&M, Frontier Works Comic, Oriental Light and Magic (OLM)

8 A Returner’s Magic Should Be Special Has a Time Travel Plot

A Returner’s Magic Should Be Special started life as a web novel written by Sun-wook Jeon. Then, in 2018, it moved to the webtoon world, being serialized on KakaoPage with added illustrations drawn by Wookjakga. With this success, it was only a matter of time before it jumped to anime, and in 2023, Arvo Animation’s version made its debut.

The series follows Desir Herrman, a powerful mage who has spent decades fighting in the Shadow Labyrinth. Eventually, Desir and his companions reach the dragon of destruction, Boromir Napolitan. The group defeats the beast, but when they do, the mana in its body combusts, releasing a wave that destroys the entire world. When Desir wakes up, he realizes he has traveled ten years back in time, meaning Desir has a chance to change his fate. But to do so, he’ll need to overcome many obstacles.

A Returner’s Magic Should Be Special

Just when he thinks it’s the end, Desir wakes up 13 years in the past. Can he make the changes needed to save the world from destruction?

Release Date

October 7, 2023

Studio

Arvo Animation

Main Cast

Sayumi Suzushiro, Takuma Terashima, Asami Seto, Sarah Roach, Austin Tindle and Anastasia Munoz

7 Noblesse Follows a Noble Who’s Over 820 Years Old

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Noblesse started life as a webtoon written by Son Je-ho and illustrated by Lee Kwangsu before jumping to anime in 2020 when Production I.G’s adaptation was broadcast. Noblesse follows Cadis Etrama Di Raizel, a noble who wakes from 820 years of sleep. When he wakes up, he struggles to make sense of the modern world, so he seeks out Frankenstein, his loyal servant.

Frankenstein informs Raizel that, while Raizel was sleeping, he founded Ye Ran High School and is the current principal. He offers to enroll Raizel in the school so that he can learn about the modern world and get used to interacting with people, an offer Raizel happily accepts. But unbeknownst to Raizel, several mysterious figures and groups are lurking in the shadows, wanting to capture Raizel for their ends, meaning that Ye Ran High School soon becomes a battleground.

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  Noblesse

  Rai awakens from an 820-year sleep and begins his new life as a student at an institute founded by his loyal servant, Frankenstein. But his peaceful days are interrupted by attackers known as the “Unions”.

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  Noblesse

  Rai wakes up from an 820-year-long sleep and starts his new life as a student in a high school founded by his loyal servant, Frankenstein. But his peaceful days with other human students are soon interrupted by mysterious attackers known as the “Unions.”

6 Why Raeliana Ended Up at the Duke’s Mansion is Another Isekai

One of 2023’s breakout isekai hits, Why Raeliana Ended Up at the Duke’s Mansion, follows Rinko Hanasaki, a regular girl who dies suddenly. When she comes too, Rinko realizes she has been somehow reincarnated in a romance novel she read. Rinko realizes she has ended up in the body of Raeliana McMillan, a minor character who lives a carefree life until she is murdered by Lord Francis Brooks, her fiancé.

Keen to avoid dying again, Rinko comes up with a plan to change the story. She makes a deal with Duke Noah Volstaire Wynknight, the male lead, where he’ll pretend to be her fiancé. In exchange, Rinko won’t tell anyone where the Royal Seal is, something Rinko learned by reading the novel. But Rinko soon finds that changing the story might not be as easy as it first seems, leading to an adventure that will keep viewers on the edge of their seats.

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  Why Raeliana Ended Up at the Duke’s Mansion

  Eunha Park is sent into a fictional world to become Raeliana, a character destined to be murdered, but she gets a second chance to avoid her fate in Why Raeliana Ended Up at the Duke’s Mansion.

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  Why Raeliana Ended up at the Duke’s Mansion

  Living in a fairy tale may seem like a dream, but for this young heroine it is more like a nightmare.

5 The God of High School Creatively Delves Into a Wide World of Combat Disciplines

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Based on the manhwa written and illustrated by Yongje Park, The God of High School was produced by MAPPA and arrived on screens in 2020. The story follows Jin Mo-Ri, a young boy who is a talented and dedicated martial artist. One day, Jin is invited to compete in The God of High School, a fighting tournament that pits high schoolers from all over the country against each other. The three winners of this tournament get sent to a global contest, and the overall global winner gets a wish of their choice fulfilled by the corporation hosting the event.

When he arrives at the tournament, Jin Mo-Ri quickly befriends the karate fighter Han Dae-Wi and swordfighter Yu Mi-Ra, and all three vow to win the contest. However, the other fighters will do anything to win, no matter how underhanded, forcing Jin to push himself further than ever before. The God of High School is a fantastic battle show featuring many memorable characters. But long-time fans of the genre may feel like The God of High School doesn’t do anything dramatically unique with the concept.

The God of High School

A tournament takes place to determine the best fighter among all high school students in Korea.

Release Date

July 6, 2020

Creator(s)

Yongje Park

Cast

Robbie Daymond , Sean Chiplock , Veronica Taylor , Griffin Puatu , Kyle McCarley , Kaiji Tang , Michael Sorich

Main Genre

Action

Seasons

1

Creator

Yongje Park

Producer

Joseph Chou

Production Company

Mappa

Writers

Kiyoko Yoshimura

Franchise(s)

The God of High School

Directors

Sunghoo Park

4 Doctor Elise: The Royal Lady With The Lamp Will Please Any Isekai Fan

Maho Film’s 2024 anime is based on Yuin’s webnovel and later webtoon of the same name. Elise de Clorance was a very unpopular empress, famed for her impulsive and hot-headed nature. Eventually, the people stage an uprising against the monarchy, and Elise is executed. However, after this horrible event, Elise wakes up in the modern world with her memories intact.

Keen to make amends for what she did in her last life, she dedicates herself to the study of medicine, quickly becoming an expert doctor. But even this life is short-lived, as Elise dies in a plane crash. But, after this crash, she wakes up in her original body and world several years before her execution. Keen to avoid her original fate and make amends for her actions, Elise uses her new medical knowledge to aid her kingdom’s weak, sick, and ailing people. Featuring a unique story with a great female lead, Doctor Elise: The Royal Lady With The Lamp is a great series for isekai manhwa fans.

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  Doctor Elise: The Royal Lady with the Lamp

  A mean princess who lost everything to her foolish behaviour and to an epidemic gets thrown back in time to before it happened. Now she wishes to become a better person and a doctor to protect her family and kingdom.

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  Doctor Elise: The Royal Lady With The Lamp

  Elise was an unpopular, spoiled, and hot-headed empress. After the people rebel and she is executed, she reincarnates in the modern world with her memories intact. 

3 Solo Leveling is One of the Hottest New Anime on the Scene

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One of the most well-known manhwa series, Solo Leveling, started life as a web novel in 2016. Written by Chugong, the series quickly developed a massive fanbase, leading to it getting a webtoon adaptation in 2018 and an A-1 Pictures-produced anime series in 2024, with a second season already in the works. Solo Leveling is set in a world where, many years ago, portals to other worlds started to appear. Inside these portals were horrible monsters that were immune to human weapons. Thankfully, at the same time, some humans are transformed into hunters, blessing them with supernatural abilities that can harm the monsters.

Sung Jin-Woo is the weakest and lowest-ranked hunter in the world, struggling to defeat even the weakest monster. After narrowly surviving a dungeon, Sung Jin-Woo sees an interface before him, telling him that he has been chosen, and provided he does what the interface says, he can level up and grow in strength, sending Sung Jin-Woo on an unexpected adventure, leading to a gripping and memorable series.

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  Solo Leveling

  In a world of gifted hunters and monsters, a weak hunter Sung Jin-Woo gains extraordinary powers through a mysterious program, leading him to become one of the strongest hunters and conquering even the strongest dungeons.

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  Solo Leveling

  Solo Leveling follows the story of Sung Jin-Woo, the weakest hunter on his quest to become the strongest S-Rank hunter.

2 Lookism Challenges Stereotypes and Supports the Underdog

Based on the manhwa created by Taejun Pak, Studio Mir’s anime version of Lookism launched in 2022. Lookism focuses on Park Hyung Suk, a young man who gets bullied relentlessly due to his looks. To escape and start anew, Park asks for a school transfer and moves to Jae Won High School in Seoul. However, a few days before he starts at this new school, he wakes up in a new, conventionally handsome body. Park soon realizes that he swaps bodies whenever he sleeps and thus decides to use his handsome body during the day and his old one at night.

By doing so, Park learns how appearance can change your life, as his good-looking body gets treated better and receives more opportunities. Plus, as he lives his double life, Park ends up befriending other people who are also struggling due to society’s often horrific beauty standards. Lookism is a gripping and depressingly realistic tale that looks at an often under-discussed element of society, making its quick rise to the top unsurprising.

Lookism

In a society that favors good looks, a high school outcast leads a double life switching between his two bodies that are polar opposites in appearance.

Created by

Park Tae-joon

First TV Show

Lookism

First Episode Air Date

December 8, 2022

Latest Episode

Episode 8- Wall

TV Show(s)

Lookism

1 Tower Of God is Infamous for Its Shocking Plot Developments

Tower Of God began life as a webtoon in 2010 and quickly became a massive global franchise. In 2020, the series jumped to anime when the anime’s first season arrived on screens. Tower Of God follows a boy named Twenty-Fifth Bam. Bam is a strange boy as he has spent his whole life living alone in a cave, meaning he knows little about the world. One day, a girl called Rachel enters the cave, transforming Bam’s life.

Rachel teaches Bam about the outside world, leading to Bam becoming deeply attached to her. Alas, Bam’s heart is shattered when Rachel leaves suddenly one day, saying she has to climb the Tower. Not wanting to lose his only friend, Bam follows Rachel and makes his way into the Tower, not realizing that, by doing so, he has entered himself into a series of dangerous tests that will push him to his limits. Tower Of God is a fantastic series that adventure fans will adore, as it is packed with excellent world-building, intriguing characters, and a twisting plot that will keep readers on the edge of their seats until the very end. Because of this, it’s no surprise that the series has quickly developed a reputation as one of the best manhwa series to be adapted to anime.

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  Tower of God

  Reach the top, and everything will be yours. At the top of the tower exists everything in this world, and all of it can be yours.

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  Tower Of God

  Fame. Glory. Power. Anything in your wildest dreams is possible when you reach the top of the Tower of God. Those lucky enough to be chosen by the tower ascend each floor in hopes of fulfilling their dreams, but to succeed, they must complete dangerous and deadly tests along the way.