Throughout America, high school students are picking up their smartphones and opening webtoons with increasing frequency. Hero Killer is a popular webtoon that catches many readers’ eyes. The first episode opens with colorful and violent images depicting a fight scene, dialogue is placed in bubbles, and instead of reading left-to-right like a traditional book format, readers scroll up and down to direct the story. Readers reach the end of one and continue to the next episode, eventually reaching the most recent one. New episodes appear frequently.
Having caught up with Hero Killer, readers tap on other webtoons and begin directing their attention to other new stories.
In a time when social media dominates cell phone use among high school students, webtoons are gaining ground.
Webtoons are scrollable digital comics, made for smartphones, that stem from South Korea. Most webtoons are episodic, formatted in a long vertical strip, drawn in color, and may feature music or animations during certain episodes. They are published digitally on websites or apps.
There are many platforms that host webtoons. Tapas, Tappytoon, Manta, and Lezhin, are popular, just to name a few.
The biggest one by far is the platform named: Webtoon, owned and launched by Naver Corporation in 2004. The website hosts webtoons and digital comics, produces original comics and allows many creators from all over the world to create their own comics on their CANVAS page. The platform is free on the web and is also available on mobile devices for Android and iOS.
Webtoons are growing in global popularity. According to Statista as of June 2022, Naver Webtoon, a South Korean online service providing online comics, also called webtoons, reported a global user count of around 85.6 million users.
Webtoons have gained a lot of attraction internationally thanks to the help of manhwas, as a majority of manhwa are released as webtoons. Manhwa is the mainstream word for Korean comics and print cartoons. The word manhwa is modified from the Japanese word for Japanese comics, manga. Through webtoons, many movie, drama and television show adaptations have been produced.
If you’d like to discover and explore webtoons, here are recommendations.
Webtoon Recommendations
Omniscient Reader was released on May 26, 2020, illustrated by Sleepy-C, adapted from Sing Shong’s original work, Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint. Omniscient Reader is by far the most recommended story out of all the stories in this article. Omniscient Reader is an apocalyptic fantasy survival story. The main character, Kim Dokja, is an office worker. He is reading his favorite web novel on a subway that eventually comes to life when he reaches the epilogue for the novel. And Kim Dokja, being the sole reader to finish this novel, is the only person who knows how the story goes and ends. Kim Dokja now has to navigate through this ruined world, using his knowledge about the novel he has to read to survive and perhaps befriend strong allies. The webtoon is currently ongoing with 231 episodes.
This is such a good story. Kim Dokja’s story along with his companions has made readers feel so many different emotions. The journey to the end of the world was amazingly chaotic, hearty, sad, angry, fun, and mind blowing. If you want a rollercoaster read, this is the story. There is a warning for readers who will end up picking up this story: the format of this story may be a little weird. If you’re not used to reading the LitRPG (Literary Role-Playing Game) kind of stories that have been prevalent through many manhwa, it will be a little hard to understand what’s going on. The story has a leveling-up/game mechanic that is seen in video games. It has a system that gives the main character quests, punishments for failure of quests, currency to buy items, and sponsors to help ‘players’ grow. The LitRPG genre can be dated back to 1978’s Quag Keep by Andre Norton and the term would later be invented in 2013. For manhwa, Solo Leveling is one of the prominent works that has popularized this genre.
Omniscient Reader is adapted from a web novel called Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint. The webtoon follows the same plot of the novel so far. The novel will soon receive a live-action adaptation that is scheduled for release in 2025. An anime (Japanese animations) adaptation has been announced, too, and is currently in production. The web novel is completed at 551 chapters, compiled into 6 volumes with the last volume containing only the epilogues.
The Ember Knight was released on April 25, 2021, created by Hwandaeng. Nagyunn vows for revenge as his twin brother was killed before his very eyes. Through assuming his dead brother, Najin’s, identity, he plans to put his act of vengeance in motion. Though the two look identical, in terms of fighting ability, Nagyunn lacks the talent and skill his brother has. To successfully accomplish his revenge, Nagyunn becomes a knight-in-training, the path his brother once took. The story is currently ongoing at 167 episodes with 2 seasons.
It’s a compelling story. It’s hard for readers to come across hidden gems like this. The revenge concept is very common throughout the world of media and books. Yet the way they execute the revenge in the story is quite satisfying due to Nagyunn’s ability to read people like a book. Nagyunn is very psychological when it comes to his plans and tactics. It’s very interesting to see what goes on his mind when he performs these high-stress tasks. There are some cliche characters in this story, while others are more logical compared to others, like Nagyunn.
An interesting fact to know about The Ember Knight is that this story is a sequel to Epic of Gilgamesh. Epic of Gilgamesh also takes place in the same universe, but takes place earlier in the story. Epic of Gilgamesh is the story about the journey of a girl with a cursed disease and a man who is immortal. While one tries to find a way to live, the other wants to be at peace with the world. The story has reoccurring characters that will appear in The Ember Knight. It is completed at 172 episodes with 2 seasons.
3. Code Adam
Code Adam was released on June 23, 2019, and was created by Atterozen. Atlas was a child who was trained to become a superhuman-soldier through lab experiments. He and his siblings fought on the front lines of a war. Yet once the war is over the question becomes what will happen to the human-weapons? Some human-weapons will choose to break free, while others wish to search for a cure for their powers. Though there is one thing that everyone must know, all will inevitably crumble before their own powers if nothing is done. The story is currently on hiatus with 251 episodes and 3 seasons.
Code Adam has a slower start compared to others. Yet the more you delve into the story, the more the plot reveals itself. Eventually, the story turns into a story where readers meet all the human-weapon siblings. Conflicts arise between what they believe they should do and their morals. Some characters who people thought were good aren’t exactly ‘good’.
Like Harvey Dent said, “You either die as a hero or live long enough to see yourself become a villain.” (The Dark Knight)
4. Hero Killer
Hero Killer was released on Feb. 25, 2021, created by author Kkulbeol and artist Beolkkul. For people who enjoy reading revenge stories, this is one of them. Ihwa lives in a world with constant wars between heroes and villains. Ihwa is gifted with supernatural abilities and sets out on a path of revenge after the death of her sister. In this world, she has to decide what it exactly means to be a hero or a villain. The webtoon is ongoing with 193 episodes.
Hero Killer is a great webtoon for beginners who are okay with blood, revenge, action and violence. This webtoon is unique because readers don’t really get to see powerful female main characters in action manhwas. This story does Ihwa justice though. Revenge really fuels the burning fire. In a world where strength dominates the weak, are the heroes in the spotlight truly heroes? And are the villains truly villains? Ihwa will navigate through these dark and vicious themes and will come to learn what it truly means to be a hero or a villain.
On a path of blood, with nothing left to lose and no regrets; resentment only bears greater resentment.
5. Tower of God
Tower of God was released on June 30, 2010, created by SIU. The title explains the premise of the webtoon quite well. Twenty-Fifth Bam desperately tries to stop his savior, Rachel, from leaving. He asks her why she’s leaving to the tower and Rachel can only reply that up there, she’ll be able to see about what she most dreamed, the stars. In the tower, you can obtain anything. Money, honor, pride, power. You can locate anything you wish there. Yet, Bam doesn’t need anything else besides Rachel. Rachel still nonetheless leaves Bam. Bam ends up using his courage and loyalty to Rachel to venture forth into the tower, hoping to reunite with her again. The webtoon is ongoing with 640 episodes and 3 seasons.
Despite the brief description, the story does not end up as a romance story. It’s primarily a fantasy, action and adventure story. Bam moves through the floors of the towers befriending people, getting betrayed and experiencing violence and bloodshed. He’s quite the unique child and gets to experience lots of different things ranging from fight-to-the-death tournaments to hard-effort tests and training with future companions and enemies.
Tower of God launched its first season for the anime adaptation in 2020. Its first season completes with 12 episodes. The anime’s second season was released on July 7, 2024. The first part of the season completes with 13 episodes. The season’s second part returned in October with 3 new episodes. The anime’s first season follows the original story’s plot quite well and has a positive overall rating. In regards to its second season, there have been mixed reactions. The second season has received changes to its artstyle due to a change in the production studio. They have also been apparently cutting parts out of the original story, infuriating readers who have read the webtoon. Yet on the positive side of things, readers have still received the anime’s second season.
Other Honorable Mentions:
Parallel City – A story where multiple disappearances cause an increase in doppelgangers to rise, with people entering a parallel world of horrors.
Sweet Home – A 2017 classic thriller that has a young boy fighting to survive in a world ruined by monsters.
Deor – A fast-paced fantasy story where a young outcast prince fights for the throne in a fight-to-the-death tournament.
Purple Hyacinth – A mystery webtoon that has a female officer who can detect lies teaming up with a professional assassin to unveil the evils in the world.
The Boxer – Three different perspectives, three different lives, fighting in a ring where only punches send.
Trump – An underrated fantasy that blends an innocent child’s wish into a curse on a special day.
Webtoons have been a surge throughout the years and will only continue to populate with future years. There are many other genres to explore besides action and fantasy.
While LitRPG has been explained briefly in this article, the Villainess genre is also predominant across many romance manhwas.
Should you ever feel bored from literature texts or just need a visual break, reading webtoons can be a hobby to pick up and enjoy.
