10 Manhwa To Read If You Like Shonen Manga

Since its inception, manga has captivated audiences worldwide, with shōnen standing out as a beloved genre among both children and adults. It keeps narratives simple, introducing characters and plot settings in a straightforward, yet captivating manner. This genre masterfully evokes emotions, be it raising one’s arms to gather energy for Goku’s spirit bomb or cheering up for Izuku Midoriya as he strives to rescue Eri. With legendary titles like Dragon Ball and One Piece, Japan has long been recognized as the cradle of shōnen. However, this dominance is now being challenged.

With the rapid proliferation of stories, manhwas have started to catch up. Titles like Solo Leveling and Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint are changing the genre, offering nuanced character development and refined plotlines. Such changes are opening the chapter to a new age of storytelling experiences. However, when it boils down to shōnen, several manhwas have arguably already achieved that form.

10 Mythic Item Obtained

• Author: Seonyul Jeong
• Illustrator: Hess
• Genre/Themes: Action, Fantasy

Monsters and mythical creatures have infested a world filled with technology and magic. To combat them, mankind has started to produce raiders (awakened humans with supernatural abilities). The main hero, Min Jaehyeon, is one of the struggling raiders, failing at life, until he finds a mysterious eye, taking him back in time, and giving him a second chance at life along with some perks. While this is a straight ticket to success, Min soon realizes the imminent danger lurking above.

Now, it’s a race against time, with Min hailed as the fated enemy destined to fall to Zeus, a tyrannical god that hasn’t thought twice before destroying legacies and civilizations. Mythic Item Overload takes the most mundane tropes and elevates them to large-scale lore that is both compelling and goosebump-inducing. Now, together with Helia, and the rest of his party, Min must do everything in his power to grow stronger, making use of the dissipating power of the prophecy to hide away from Zeus.

9 Cleric Of Decay

• Author: Sadadm
• Illustrator: Jetae Yoo
• Genre/Themes: Action, Fantasy

In a world of fantasy and magic, a cleric is known to be a holy entity, healing the injured, and doing lots of community service. But in the lands far away, there exists a goddess of decay laying waste to thousands, if not millions of lives as she rots their living souls from existence. After the forces of humanity finally managed to seal away, Marnac, an everyday gamer was called from his world to become her messenger, a cleric of decay.

Now, armed with the abilities of the undying, Marnac travels the world finding the ancient relics to restore his mother back to her glory. However, a few holy knights have caught onto this, beginning a game of cats and mice, but this cleric is not someone to be trifled with. Cleric of Decay plays to its strengths, showing us a world where even the bad have a purpose, and that the dark side is not always the bad one.

8 The Reaper

• Author: Woogack
• Illustrator: Inkyo
• Genre/Themes: Action, Fantasy, Martial Arts

One day, in the ancient lands of Murim, around 100 children were abducted to attack a certain clan. They experienced ruthless trials and tribulations. A lot died, and a handful survived; creating a deadly assassin trope. However, their mission was way out of their league, pitting them against the strongest in Jianghu, the trope was wiped out, with one unfortunate survivor. Stumbling upon an ancient secret, this assassin, Pyo Wol, now maddened by the deaths of his comrades, seeks to destroy the orchestrators of this tragedy.

However, Jianghu is not forgiving, and ambitions don’t always reach realization. The Reaper visualizes this sentiment perfectly, plunging Pyo Wol into a series of perilous situations, making him re-imagine himself, with every instance deadlier than the previous one.

7 Return Of The Blossoming Blade

• Author: Biga
• Illustrator: Lico
• Genre/Themes: Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Martial Arts, Reincarnation

The Mount Hua sect, hailed as the strongest in Jianghu, stopped the Demon King by sacrificing themselves. The hero, Chung Myung, was the one to deliver the final blow, in what otherwise was the destruction of the world. Hundreds of years have passed since, with Chung Myung being reincarnated as a child, only to find out the current Mount Hua sect is but a shadow of its glorious days. As a devout member and a proud alcoholic, he takes it upon himself to re-enter, rebuild, and re-glorify the sect.

The manhwa uses a blend of light-heartedness and humor to deliver those hard-hitting moments. Sure, Chung Myung’s methods might be tough, but it is his ideology that made him one of the three great swordsmen in the past, and it will be that same ideology that will define his future!

6 Tower Of God

• Author: SIU
• Illustrator: SIU
• Genre/Themes: Action, Adventure, Drama, Fantasy, Mystery

Desires, ambitions, hope, everything exists at the top of the tower. Climb it and one shall find their answers. Meet the twenty-fifth Baam, a simpleton who follows a girl named Rachel to this mysterious tower. Getting separated in her pursuit, Baam must climb the floors, reach the truth, and ultimately find a purpose.

As he climbs, Baam finds a greater meaning to his existence, to resolve the conflict between seven great families, and to meet Zahard, the man residing on the highest floors of the tower. But, will his simple and trusting nature let him reach those heights? All shall be answered in the tower.

5 Revenge Of The Iron-Blooded Sword Hound

• Author: Lego Babasseo
• Illustrator: Arang Seol
• Genre/Themes: Action, Fantasy

Welcome to the Baskerville family, where soldiers are trained to be obedient, and lethal, baring their fangs as ordered. The story revolves around a man named Vikir, who gets framed by his elder brother and is therefore executed by the family head. With a desire for vengeance, and to make things right, Vikir strangely finds himself back when he was a child.

This time it’s going to be different! Revenge of the Iron-Blooded Sword Hound gives the spotlight to Vikir, as he rises to the top of the clan, forgiving those who wronged him, and executing revenge against the ones who mistreated him, because once the fangs are bared, it must end up with a kill.

4 Nano Machine

• Author: Hanjung Wolya
• Illustrator: Geumgang Bulgoe
• Genre/Themes: Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Martial Arts

Cheon Yeo-Woon is one of the many children of the great heavenly demon. But, unlike his brothers from the seven great families, Cheon has lived a life filled with challenges ranging from his mother’s passing to several assassination attempts. Just when Cheon Yeo-Woon thought he lost it all, a mysterious man claiming to be his descendant appears from a time machine and injects Cheon’s body with a mysterious sci-fi-like liquid called Nano machine.

Now, holding the knowledge of the future paired with other superhuman abilities, Cheon Yeo-Woon is ready to partake in a long bloody battle to sit on the throne of the Heavenly Demon. This manhwa is anything but child-friendly, showcasing the most extreme sides of the Murim in the most casual ways possible.

3 SSS-Class Revival Hunter

• Author: Seonyul Jeong
• Illustrator: Hess
• Genre/Themes: Action, Fantasy

What if one could copy the ability of whoever killed them? The thought sounds utterly useless, and Kim Gong Ja, the person holding this ability agreed with the sentiment until he was killed by a regressor, who went a day back in time whenever he died. Now, having a use for his initially dysfunctional ability, Gong Ja decides to climb the tower, experiencing various mysteries, alongside a fateful romantic encounter in the stories to come.

Despite having a redundant theme, SSS-Class Revival Hunter appeals to its audience because of the short stories occurring within each stage. Is Gong Ja strong because of his abilities, or are his convictions making him strong?

2 Omniscient Reader

• Author: sing N song
• Illustrator: Sleepy-C
• Genre/Themes: Action, Adventure, Fantasy

Omniscient Reader is about the life of Kim Dokja, a regular office worker, who enjoys reading his favorite novel “Three Ways to Survive The Apocalypse”. Unfortunately, this novel’s long run time, and complex story mean Kim is the only person who has read it this far, and that’s not really an issue. However, after completing the novel, Kim’s surroundings change, and the novel becomes a reality.

Kim Dokja’s unique position as the only person aware of the novel’s plot twists and outcomes gives him an omniscient-like power, hence the title Omniscient Reader. However, with every change to the main storyline, the future is getting farther away from Dokja’s known world, giving meaning to the dangers lurking within this new fantasy.

1 Solo Leveling

• Author: Chugong
• Illustrator: Sungrak Jang, Chugong
• Genre/Themes: Action, Adventure, Fantasy

The story follows Sung Jin-Woo, an E-rank hunter, who is the weakest of the low-tier hunters in South Korea, struggling to make ends meet and support his family in a world where gates to dungeons with monsters open in the human world, and hunters, humans with magical abilities, fight these monsters to protect humanity.

The narrative shifts when Jin-Woo, on the brink of death in a highly dangerous dungeon, gains access to a unique system that allows him to level up in strength. Now, unlike other hunters who are stuck with their initial power levels, Jin-Woo’s ability to grow stronger is unique, and will become the tipping factor in the increasingly difficult battles to come!