Summary
- Manhwa and manga share similarities, such as popularity in genres and powerful storytelling through visuals and character writing.
- The Makeup Remover critiques beauty standards and emphasizes the idea that beauty is not universal, while showcasing individualized looks.
- Twilight Poem stands out with its stunning artwork, balanced tragic elements, and emotional character writing, making it deserving of an anime adaptation.
This article contains mentions of sensitive subjects, including low self-esteem, bullying, suicide, and mental health.
As manhwa influences readers around the world, major studios have produced anime adaptations of popular titles like Tower of God and Lookism. Much of this influence comes from the rise of digital platforms like WEBTOON, which makes titles more accessible.
Despite their differences, however, manhwa and manga share similarities. This includes the popularity of genres like isekai and romance, and common motifs like the overpowered protagonist. Both mediums are capable of using powerful visuals and strong character writing to tell stories, so it's no wonder that several manhwa could make great anime adaptations.
10 The Makeup Remover - A Subversion Of the "Makeover" Trope
By Lee Yone
Fans of True Beauty will appreciate The Makeup Remover's themes of inner beauty and self-acceptance. The manhwa focuses on Yuseul, a university student with low self-esteem. When she accidentally runs into celebrity makeup artist Yoosung Cheon, he convinces her to become his model for a makeup competition. As Yuseul goes deeper into the world of beauty, she starts to understand the power of makeup, and how it can be used in different ways.
The Makeup Remover states early on that everyone should be able to look however they want without worrying about what others think. It serves as a critique of beauty standards, subverting many harmful tropes associated with transformation stories. While showing both the positive and negative sides of makeup, there is a strong emphasis on the idea that beauty is not universal. The manhwa uses makeovers to create individualized looks, leading to memorable character designs. Overall, The Makeup Remover's unique visuals and lighthearted approach to deeper issues make it worthy of receiving an anime adaptation.
9 The Strongest Florist - A Comedic Approach to VR Gaming
By Hyun hoo Joo & Kumtata
As virtual reality (VR) becomes more accessible, it's interesting to see fictional interpretations. Unlike many of its predecessors, The Strongest Florist takes a more comedic approach with its protagonist, Jaeho, who enters an adventure game so he can be a florist. In the real world, he has an overbearing father who wants him to be an MMA fighter, and he's allergic to flowers. When Jaeho enters "New World," he plans to spend his time growing flowers, but he accidentally ends up being a savior to the elves.
While the story employs common tropes, it's clear from the beginning that it takes none of them seriously. There's a recurring gag in the story that Jaeho's appearance scares people away, even making NPCs think he is a monster. These are some of the things that make The Strongest Florist a breath of fresh air among VR stories, which mostly feature darker settings and imagery. This bright take on gaming features action and adventure that viewers will enjoy in an anime adaptation.
8 Twilight Poem - A Tragic Tale With Stunning Visuals
By Kim Suji & MIDNIGHT STUDIO
Fans of Yona of the Dawn and Raven of the Inner Palace will appreciate Twilight Poem's historically-inspired setting. The manhwa relays the tragic tale of its protagonist, Princess Soru, who is shunned for her ability to see demons even though she is blind. During her arranged marriage to a general named Ja Hyun, she notices how his aura drives demons away, and she begs him to let her stay with him despite his hostility. When a demon known as Yato shows up in the capital, his connection to Soru, and her origins, are revealed.
Twilight Poem's beautiful artwork is truly what makes it stand out. The characters' detailed expressions make the story more emotional, while the striking use of color invokes feelings of a dark, fairy-tale atmosphere. The manhwa does an excellent job of balancing its tragic elements with nuanced character writing and succeeds in telling a story where the reader can't help but sympathize with the protagonist. An anime adaptation of Twilight Poem will dazzle readers with its stunning visuals and emotional themes.
7 Your Throne - A Brilliant Game of Politics
By SAM
While many stories about royalty and nobility are centered around romance, Your Throne is more focused on its kingdom's political scene. It tells the intriguing story of how two women, Medea and Psyche, switch bodies under mysterious circumstances. After this phenomenon brings them closer, they work together to take down Psyche's fiancée, Prince Eros. As they work towards their respective goals, they are ed by Medea's childhood friend, Helio, and a young cardinal of the church, Perion.
This manhwa is well known for its well-written, flawed characters who develop throughout the story. While Medea schemes through a battle of wits against Eros, Psyche learns to stand up for herself, acting as a foil to her companion. As all the main characters are high-ranking of the nobility, Your Throne addresses how they use their privileges in different ways, creating a spectrum of morality. Its use of morally gray characters in a glamorous setting will make for an interesting anime adaptation.
6 The Breaker - A Real-World Story with An Underground Power System
By Jeon Geuk-jin & Kamaro
Often considered a classic in the martial arts genre, The Breaker was first published in 2007 as a print manhwa. The story follows Shiwoon Yi, a teenager who enlists the help of his new teacher, Chunwoo Han, to learn martial arts and stand up to his bullies. It turns out that Chunwoo is a brilliant fighter known as the "Nine Arts Dragon" in the Murim, a secret martial arts society with its own internal government. He transfers to a Seoul high school in order to carry out his mission of taking down the government, but ends up meeting Shiwoon and becoming his teacher.
The Breaker starts out as a typical fighting story, but its multi-layered world-building shows how it's deeper than initial appearances suggest. It establishes a clear power system using the concept of inner energy, or Ki, and shows the master-student bond between Shiwoon and Chunwoo. However, the manhwa's strongest aspect is its detailed fight scenes, which are used to show individualized fighting styles for the characters. The black-and-white art style adds a sense of grittiness, especially as the story takes a darker turn later on. The manhwa's world-building and action sequences will translate well into an anime.
The series' sequel, The Breaker: The Eternal is available on WEBTOON.
5 SSS-Class Revival Hunter - A Different Take On the "Weak Protagonist" Trope
By Shin Noah & Bill K
SSS-Class Revival Hunter focuses on the protagonist's journey as he clears The Tower, which is a mysterious structure separating hunters from the outside world. When Gong-Ja, a bottom-ranked hunter, grows envious of the world's top-ranked hunter, Soo-Ha, he is bestowed a skill that allows him to copy another hunter's skill upon his death. After dying for the first time, he gains a skill that lets him travel 24 hours into the past every time he dies. Gong-Ja then uses this skill to travel to the past to kill Soo-Ha and become the world's top-ranked hunter.
One interesting aspect of the series is that it doesn't dismiss The Tower's appearance as an inexplicable phenomenon, instead implying there is a high power behind its creation. Readers get glimpses of this in the form of divine beings. The story demonstrates duality within Gong-Ja's character and shows that while he is willing to kill for survival, he is also willing to sacrifice himself to save others. The ing characters are also well-written, with each having their own quirks. But despite all this, SSS-Class Revival Hunter's most compelling feature is its ability to create different scenarios for the tower and to use each of them as a puzzle piece in the overall story.
4 Omniscient Reader - When Fiction Becomes Reality
By UMI, Sleepy-C, & singNsong
In recent years, isekai has established itself as a popular genre, partly because of how it allows the reader to escape to a new world. In Omniscient Reader, this is reversed when the new world comes to the protagonist instead. In the story, Dokja is an ordinary office worker and the only one who follows a web novel, "Three Ways to Survive An Apocalypse," until its end. When the novel's events turn into reality, Dokja is made omniscient, a power he uses to survive the apocalypse.
Omniscient Reader has a compelling story and an appealing art style, which are important for successful anime adaptations. It initially subverts the "overpowered hero" cliché by giving Dokja a powerful ability, but making him weaker than the other characters and forcing him to rely on his wits. As the manhwa progresses, it unveils new layers in both the plot and characters, eventually establishing Dokja as an unreliable narrator. Through the protagonist, Omniscient Reader highlights a reader's relationship with a story's author and characters and shows how stories have the power to transport people to different worlds.
Omniscient Reader is set to receive a live-action film adaptation which will be released in 2025.
3 The Greatest Estate Developer - A Hilarious Take on Isekai
By Lee hyunmin, Kim Hyunsoo, & Based on Work By BK_Moon
Upon first glance, The Greatest Estate Developer comes across as a typical isekai story. However, its comical nature suggests otherwise. The story focuses on Suho Kim, a civil engineering student who transmigrates into the body of Lloyd Frontera, the son of a baron in a novel. The original character has a reputation for being lazy and troublesome, but his new version uses his knowledge of modern engineering to design buildings for the townspeople.
Despite its familiar concept, The Greatest Estate Developer has many redeeming qualities that make it worthy of an anime adaptation. The story features appearances by recognizable fantasy creatures like orcs and dragons, painting them in a humorous manner. It also keeps the reader on the edge of their seat with Lloyd's adventures. However, the series' biggest highlight is the hilarious sight of Lloyd's "evil" facial expressions. These faces are highly exaggerated to the point where they make the surrounding characters wonder if he is a demon.
2 The Beginning After the End - A Sword and Sorcery Isekai
By TurtleMe & Fuyuki23
By introducing a detailed power system for its world, The Beginning After the End nails one of the hardest parts of fantasy writing. Many isekai manhwa gloss over world-building by providing minimal details. Taking the time to set up a fictional world is crucial for establishing a connection with readers, and The Beginning After the End does just that. The story begins with Arthur Leywin, who is reincarnated into a new world. Having been a king in his previous life, he applies his battle experience and sword-fighting talent to the new world's magic system. As Arthur grows up, he works hard to develop his powers, leading him to a series of adventures.
Compared to other isekai protagonists who are overpowered from the beginning, Arthur uses hard work and previous experience to get stronger. It's one of the rare stories that gives an explanation for the protagonist's reincarnation and shows how it's relevant to the plot. The Beginning After the End uses familiar fantasy motifs to build a comprehensive fantasy world with intriguing characters. The manhwa takes advantage of its setting and features detailed artwork worthy of being animated. It has all the elements for a successful anime adaptation, including the potential to revive the sword and sorcery genre in anime.
1 Annarasumanara: The Sound of Magic - A Magical Coming-Of-Age Story
By lkwon Ha
Annasumanara is a story that brings a unique perspective to the coming-of-age genre. Unlike most anime, it doesn't treat adolescence as a time of wonder before reaching adulthood, where one settles into a mundane existence. Instead, it challenges these ideas by encouraging people to bring wonder into their lives by living on their . The manhwa's title refers to the Korean word for "abracadabra" and tells the story of Yun Ai, an orphaned teenager who struggles to herself and her sister. After her chance encounter with The Magician at an amusement park, Ai's bleak outlook on life changes, and she starts to dream again.
Annasumanara is a magical journey about regaining one's sense of childish wonder. The protagonist is forced to let go of her dreams and grow up quickly, with the monochrome art style representing her bleak outlook on life. The Magician's catchphrase, "Do you believe in magic?" serves as a metaphor for following one's dreams, highlighting how society expects people to behave a certain way once they reach adulthood. The story invokes a surreal atmosphere through its artwork, only using color when magic is "present," and relies on symbolism to illustrate its themes.
Despite its black-and-white art style, an anime adaptation can capture the Annarasumanara's more whimsical elements, many of which don't translate well outside animation. The manhwa's captivating artwork, combined with its use of fantastical elements to tell a powerful story, makes it the manhwa most deserving of an anime adaptation.
Annasumanara was adapted into a 6-episode drama series titled The Sound of Magic in 2022 and is available on Netflix.
