Highlights
- Unyielding trope: Apocalyptic scenarios and mysterious creatures continue to dominate entertainment narratives without fading.
- In-depth storytelling: Post-apocalyptic manhwas like Dead Days explore human trauma and despair in chilling ways.
- Varied perspectives: Manhwas like TACIT and The World After the Fall offer unique takes on survival in catastrophic worlds.
Apocalyptic worlds and the evergreen concept of human beings not remaining the dominant species on earth, after being overthrown by otherworldly fantasy creatures or some astronomical natural disaster, is one that refuses to die down—especially in the world of entertainment. It’s the one trope that’s been rehashed countless times, in countless narratives, and it still shows no sign of waning. However, because the trope is so expansive and ‘roomy’, it keeps attracting new versions all around.
That being said, while manga and anime have ventured into the dark realms of dystopia—cue Attack on Titan, folks, the anime that has traumatized an entire generation of anime fans—manhwa just hasn’t leaped this far into the catastrophe, no pun intended. Nevertheless, there are some truly good manhwas set in the post-apocalyptic landscapes that fully capture the looming sense of dread and doom of living in a world that’s on the brink of destruction (or after it).
8 Dead Days
MAL Score: 6.82/10
|
Author(s) |
DEY |
|---|---|
|
Status |
Finished |
|
Year |
2014 |
Dead Days is a post-apocalyptic psychological manhwa that is largely unsettling, yet surprisingly not in a bad way. In fact, it’s one of those series that is occasionally so profound that it leaves its readers/ viewers with some sort of existential dread. Since it focuses more on human trauma and the mental vulnerability of a person in a possible major extinction event, it hits uncomfortably close to home despite being purely hypothetical.
It features multiple stories of multiple people, each grappling with their own inner demons, battling self-destructive tendencies, yet possessing a will to survive that’s stronger than anything—in other words, humans. The manhwa starts off 4 days into a zombie apocalypse and is, for the most part, a typical one. But, the intricacy of its characters, their background stories, and their highly human actions make up for the conventionality of its premise.
7 TACIT
MAL Score: 7.07/10
|
Author(s) |
Kim Dazzi |
|---|---|
|
Status |
Finished |
|
Year |
2021 |
TACIT, unlike Dead Days, starts off deep into the apocalypse and shows human survivors divided into factions, struggling to survive after everything hit the fan. Its art, backdrop, and occasionally its story give it vibes that are sort of similar to The Last of Us. It also dives into the “humans retaining their humanity post-infection” trope and surprisingly pulls it off really well.
It’s a gorgeous manhwa that follows the story of a young, spirited, and highly curious girl, Ruby, who tends to get herself in a lot of trouble because of her unending need to explore. During one of her exploration trips, she comes across a pale, sickly-looking boy, whose appearance is oddly similar to that of a zombie in the TACIT world. Despite that, the boy is seemingly completely normal and converses with her like an ordinary person. Positively convinced by his demeanor, she brings him back with her to the human survival camp.
6 The World After the Fall
MAL Score: 7.49/10
|
Author(s) |
sing N song (Story), Undead Gamja (Art) |
|---|---|
|
Status |
Ongoing |
|
Year |
2022 |
The World After the Fall is a post-apocalyptic action, power-scaling manhwa similar to Solo Leveling that’s set in a world, well—after the fall. At first glance, this series comes off as nothing special. It’s the same old story of the world being overrun by monsters after a supernatural phenomenon, and in turn, some select humans acquire supernatural abilities to fight them off. However, what makes it stand apart from other manhwa of the same trope is NOT the unexpected incorporation of science fiction and regression, but the hardcore MC of the series outright rejecting getting isekai-ed.
The World After the Fall is set in a world doomed to destruction, where survival for an average human seems utterly impossible. It’s infested with strange otherworldly monsters appearing from a supernatural phenomenon called “towers” and “tower walkers” are the only thing standing between them and complete annihilation. Unfortunately for the powerless, these tower walkers are forced to make a choice: either stay and fight for a world that has no chance of surviving or regress into another timeline that starts before the appearance of the towers. While most walkers decide to regress, the protagonist, Jaehwan, refuses to abandon the original timeline.
5 Distant Sky
MAL Score: 7.71/10
|
Author(s) |
Yoon In-Wan (Story), Kim Sun-hee (Art) |
|---|---|
|
Status |
Finished |
|
Year |
2014 |
Distant Sky is a horror rendition of a post-apocalyptic world that borders on crossing the uncanny valley because of its strange and impressive art. It may even remind some people of Junji Ito’s work. The story makes use of the mystery element very cleverly and does a great job of portraying the protagonist’s very palpable fear and will to survive. It’s also pretty smart with its plot twists and flashbacks, although some might say that they become redundant after a point.
Kang Haneul wakes up to find himself surrounded by complete, total darkness. He doesn’t know where he is, nor does he remember how he lost consciousness. With his phone barely holding onto life, he lights up the scene only to find bodies over bodies of dead people around him. And to top it off, he keeps hearing strange, grotesque sounds coming from the darkness.
4 Duty after School
MAL Score: 7.83/10
|
Author(s) |
Ha Il-Kwon |
|---|---|
|
Status |
Finished |
|
Year |
2012 |
At first glance, Duty After School appears to be a comedic piece, given its quirky, simplistic art style and dry humor. But the more one starts to get immersed in it, the more they realize that it’s actually more of a psychological series with a myriad of very complex characters and situations. Adding to its uniqueness, the story kicks off with the characters narrating their stories and ‘experiences’ through personal interviews.
It follows a class of high schoolers who are essentially compelled to enlist in the military due to being undermanned after an alien invasion of sorts. They document their lengthy, almost sad journey from being ordinary students to becoming war machines.
3 Leviathan
MAL Score: 8.08/10
|
Author(s) |
Noh Miyoung (Art), Lee Gyuntak (Story) |
|---|---|
|
Status |
Finished |
|
Year |
2018 |
For those who want a truly all-rounded post-apocalyptic experience set in a world overtaken by giant sea monsters, they should start reading the manhwa equivalent of Subnautica aka Leviathan. It stands out as a rare dystopian read that diverges from the typical storyline of a zombie virus outbreak or a supernatural monster invasion.
In the Leviathan world, everything was laid to waste and civilization crumbled when the water bodies of the planet rose to unprecedented levels and left it completely submerged and destroyed. Humans, the once-dominant race, are now in shambles and have to survive by living off of scraps. Bota and Lita, a new-gen sibling duo, have never experienced the prosperity of the old world; for them, this new reality is all they’ve ever known.
2
1 The Horizon
MAL Score: 8.67/10
|
Author(s) |
Jeong Ji-Hoon |
|---|---|
|
Status |
Finished |
|
Year |
2016 |
Throughout this list, there have been discussions about the psychological effects of an apocalypse—how some manhwa capture that essence really well, while others fall short. The Horizon is that one manhwa that, at its core, breaks all the conventional boundaries and truly encompasses the grim realities of human existence through an eerily accurate portrayal of despair, defeat, and desperation. And the worst part is, it does it through the lens of a small boy.
The Horizon follows the unfortunate journey of a young boy who finds himself alone and unaccounted for after an undisclosed apocalyptic event has decimated the world. The boy learns how to act beyond his years simply to survive, and has to do unimaginable things to endure and stay alive. Along the way, he encounters a young girl close to his age, and he seems to enjoy her company. The two, now, have to live in a world that’s been made uninhabitable for reasons beyond their control.
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