Highlights
- Manhwa worlds offer readers a glimpse of inhumane imagination, from post-apocalyptic wastelands to sinister societies ruled by dark forces.
- Top picks like “The First Hunter” follow characters facing deadly monsters, magical prophecies, and a fight for humanity’s survival.
- From the horror of a global zombie outbreak in “Dead Days” to the survival of a high schooler in “Sweet Home,” manhwa stories bring fear and chaos to life.
The world of fiction holds endless possibilities and realities, and the same holds for the manhwa medium. Capable of infinite realities of beauty, splendor, and allure, it is also capable of realities of darkness far beyond the boundaries of imagination. These realities are so vile and distorted that readers are forced to question the thoughts behind these manhwa due to their world concepts.
These worlds offer readers insight into the boundless potential of imagination at its most inhumane and unsightly, leaving its readers in fear-coated awe and trepidation. Ranging from post-apocalyptic wastelands to oppressive societies ruled by sinister forces, these realities are marred with chaos and a constant struggle for survival. In the context of these worlds, here are the top picks of the bunch.
10 The First Hunter
Anime-planet rating: 3.9/5
- Author: Dedart, Chanwook Jeon
- Release Years: 2019-2021
- Genre: Action, Fantasy, Supernatural, Adventure
The First Hunter is set in a post-apocalyptic earth where monsters have ravaged humanity. The story follows the central character, Taehoon Kim, an ex-special forces soldier who is also one of the few humans who developed special abilities after the appearance of the strange monsters.
Applying the experience of his previous occupation, Kim Taehoon distinguishes himself as a deadly monster hunter. However, things go sideways when a magical item predicts Taehoon’s death several years into the future. Taehoon must find a way to change his already-decided fate and the fate of what remains of humanity.
9 Dead Days
Anime-Planet Rating: 3.8/5
- Author: DEY
- Release Years: 2014-2015
- Genre: Horror, Suspense, Action
Dead Days presents a surreal portrayal of the horrors that would ensue at the possibility of a global zombie virus breakout and the aftermath of it. The story tells a tale of the survival of a virus that only begins to run rampant after the fourth day of its outbreak.
Ravaging and bringing the world to its knees, the story lays bare human instincts of survival, the will to live, and the extent to which human will go to preserve their lives. The story follows the sixteen-year-old Jingook Yeo, one of the remaining humans left to survive through the apocalypse. What follows afterward is a series of events that will alter the course of his life forever.
8 Sweet Home
Anime-Planet Rating: 4.4/5
- Author: Kim Carnby, Hwang Young-Chan
- Release Years: 2017-2020
- Genre: Action, Drama, Suspense, Horror
Having to deal with the loss of an entire family while being the sole survivor is definitely traumatizing, but add to that, having to survive an apocalypse that is based on one’s darkest fears and trauma doesn’t even begin to describe it. This is the story of Sweet Home. The series revolves around Cha Hyun, a reclusive high school student who has to move into an apartment alone after losing his entire family in an accident.
Still reeling from the effects of what he had just experienced, Cha Hyun soon realized that his neighbors and fellow tenants were beginning to turn into monsters, and the world had turned on itself. In a race against time to retain his humanity, Cha Hyun must work with his co-tenants to find the cause of the apocalypse and a way to survive the chaos.
7 Return To Player
Anime-Planet Rating: 4.0/5
- Author: UMKY, SEHON
- Release Years: Ongoing
- Genre: Action, Fantasy
Return To Player is a regression manhwa set in a post-apocalyptic world ravaged by all things supernatural and where humanity’s survival is a constantly bleak prospect. The series centers on Sehan Kim, the last human player from a hellish game started by a group of gods ten years ago.
With humanity ultimately meeting its end, Sehan is the last man standing. While waiting to die, Sehan is given another chance to rewrite the sealed fate. By starting another playthrough with all the knowledge and experience of his previous life, Sehan is more than determined to beat the Gods at their own game this time.
6 God Game
Anime-Planet Rating: N/A
- Author: Brandon Chen, Thirdphp
- Release Years: Ongoing
- Genre: Action, Fantasy, Mystery, Romance, Thriller
God Game presents a world where only the ability and will to survive are all that is needed to survive a grueling game of the supernatural. The series focuses on the protagonist, Reiyan Asura, who suddenly awakens in an unknown area bound by chains.
With no recollection of who he is or what purpose he is where he is, the only thing he can do is survive. Stuck alongside millions of others in a sadistic game of the gods, where only the strong survive, and death comes as quickly as one can draw a breath, Reiyan must find out why he was brought into the game, but to do that, he must first win the God Game.
5 Legend of the Northern Blade
Anime-Planet Rating: 4.4/5
- Author: Woogack, Hae Min
- Release Years: Ongoing
- Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Shounen
The only things constant in the Jianghu, also known as the murim, are strength, death, and war. In this reality, the Legend of The Northern Blade curates its story. The series follows the central character, Jin Mu-Won, the successor and only survivor of the Northern Heavenly Sect, the martial sect tasked with protecting the rest of the murim from the evils of the Silent Night. Mu-Won watches his father get betrayed and commit suicide after he is forced to disband the Northern Heavenly Sect.
After living a dreary childhood under close surveillance, Mu-Won swears revenge for his father at the first chance he gets to escape his captors. Disappearing for years to train in secret, Jin Mu-Won will return for his revenge, and with his return will come the revival of the Northern Heavenly Sect.
4 Tower Of God
Anime-Planet Rating: 4.3/5
- Author: SIU
- Release Years: Ongoing
- Genre: Action, Fantasy, Drama, Mystery, Adventure
The Tower of God manhwa paints a reality of survival and power all within a Tower that inhabits different realms. The series focuses on Twenty-fifth Baam, a boy who has spent almost all his life trapped beneath the Tower and has only ever had one companion: his friend, Rachel.
The wheels of the narrative begin to move when Rachel decides to climb the Tower, leaving Baam behind. Baam, determined to find and reunite with his friend, also climbs the Tower in search of Rachel. However, Baam soon realizes that the contents of the Tower are far beyond anything he might have anticipated.
3 Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint
Anime-Planet Rating: 4.5/5
- Author: sing N song, Sleepy-C
- Release Years: Ongoing
- Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy
Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint meshes reality and fiction to bring to life the horrors of a post-apocalyptic world where survival is the pervasive desire of all. The series follows the central character, Kim Dokja, a solitary regular worker whose only life solace was reading web novels, particularly the Three Ways To Survive An Apocalypse novel.
Living through the protagonist’s life in his favorite novel, things take a gloomy turn when, immediately after the novel’s conclusion, Kim Dokja realizes that his fictional novel has become his reality. Being the only person who read the novel to its conclusion, Kim Dokja finds himself the protagonist of a new reality, one which only he knows how it ends.
2 The World After The Fall
Anime-Planet Rating: 4.2/5
- Author: sing N song, Undead Gamja
- Release Years: Ongoing
- Genre: Action, Fantasy
Mysterious Towers suddenly appeared worldwide, monsters of all kinds swarmed society, and humanity was facing imminent destruction. The choice given to those who chose to climb these Towers was to either keep fighting a world whose destruction was already set in stone or give up and return to the past for a second chance.
All but one choose to give up. The story follows the central character, Jaehwan, the only Tower walker who decides to keep on fighting and pushing forward. Adamant in his decision, Jaehwan presses on through the horrors of the Tower and discovers even more horrifying secrets within the Tower.
1 Leviathan
Anime-Planet Rating: 4.3/5
- Author: Lee Gyuntak, Noh Miyoung
- Release Years: 2018-2022
- Genre: Action, Supernatural, Fantasy
The unknown horrors of the seas come to life in this apocalyptic, monster-filled manhwa. Leviathan takes place on an Earth still reeling from the effects of a comet that struck a century ago. With sea levels rising and engulfing every continent on Earth, humanity has been taken to life atop the seas.
This is the situation for the Ma family. Living adrift in the ocean, a father and his two kids, Bota and Kana, struggle to survive as their supplies keep dwindling daily. Things get even worse when the father is killed by a sea monster, leaving the children to fend for themselves. Found by Kana, the legendary harpoonist indebted to their father, Bota and Kana begin their lives again, but nothing will prepare them for the horrors that lie in wait at sea.
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