Summary
- Overpowered manhwa heroes demand confidence as their victory is assured, opening up surprising narrative possibilities.
- Protagonists will never be dispatched, so worrying about them is pointless. Embracing the reality of plot armor lets these series explore new ideas.
- The most popular manhwa heroes possess overwhelming strength that breaks the boundaries of their respective worlds.
The most overpowered manhwa heroes of all time will demand unwavering confidence from their audience; the main point of conflict will not be if the main character will win, it’s when and how. Although this may seem like narrative focus and creativity will be diminished, the opposite is true, as the restriction of knowing the main character will always have things handled will open up all sorts of surprising doors. Unsurprisingly, many of these heroes will appear in isekai manhwa, as the genre is well suited for the trope.
When thinking critically, protagonists will never be dispatched anyway, and if they are, it’s nearly impossible to do well. Such a challenge is evident in Akira Toriyama’s attempts in the Dragon Ball franchise, as his idea to have Gohan take over the story fell flat due to fans' rejection. As a result, there’s no point in pretending to worry. Stories that incorporate the overpowered protagonist trope are merely understanding and accepting the reality of plot armor, then quickly moving on to finding new and more intriguing ideas.
10 Park Jinsung (Ian) Breaks Through Virtual Restrictions
Taming Master by Park Taeseok and Bingbinggo
Taming Master is a VR video-game-based manhwa that delves into one of the most versatile jobs available in an RPG (role-playing game) setting. The story follows Park Jinsung, a college student who is obsessed with playing the game Kaillan, so much so that his character, Ian, is level 93, one of the highest on the Korean server. However, one day, he gets the rare chance to receive a hidden class, but he will need to start over from level 1.
Being the daredevil he is, Jinsung takes this chance, beginning a mad game of catch-up and monster collecting. Furthermore, as hidden classes are so demanding, Jinsung is essentially the only experienced player who has a hidden class, much less the high-level Master Tamer class, making his advantage even more apparent following his bout of level grinding. With newly discovered abilities that nearly break the game, Jinsung progresses to a point where he may even start to get calls from game s.
9 Kim Hyeonu Produces Strength as Effortless as His Outfit
The Advanced Player of the Tutorial Tower by Bangguseok Kim-ssi and Omagam
The Advanced Player of the Tutorial Tower is a manhwa that takes place in the typical post-monster dystopian fantasy world. However, this series adds the twist of the tutorial tower, a mysterious spire that forcefully drags humans into it to train towards becoming a hunter with supernatural powers following their survival.
However, the main character, Kim Hyeonu, is not able to leave the tower for 12 years, even after he clears all 100 floors. As a result, he spends all his time coming up with creative ways to destroy the training monster, even using his slippers at one point. As a result, when Hyeonu is finally released from the grasp of the tower back into society, his strength is already way beyond that of the strongest hunters.
8 Cadis Etrama Di Raizel Is the One and Only Noblesse
Noblesse by Son Jae-ho and Lee Gwang-su
Noblesse is an expertly crafted manhwa that explores a unique world of vampires that run tangent with a modern-day setting. Its success has even gone so far as to warrant an anime adaptation picked up by Production I.G, one of the industry's leading studios. Although the vampire-based premise may sound overused, this series stands out from the cliché with its deep character development and relationship construction.
For example, having slumbered for over 800 years, the story’s main character, Cadis Etrama Di Raizel, who eventually goes by “Rai” for short, is one of the strongest beings from ancient times, holding the special title of Noblesse that identifies him as one of the strongest vampires in all of anime. Furthermore, he wanders the generally defenseless and realistic modern world, minus the enemies that crop up from Rai’s unresolved past.
7 Ryu Han-bin Is Forgotten By the Omnipotent Game
Survival Story of a Sword King in a Fantasy World by Yim Kyun-bae and Kwon Soonkyu
Survival Story of a Sword King in a Fantasy World, also known as Latna Saga, is a manhwa that pushes the limits of game tutorial premises. One day, Ryu Han-bin is enveloped by a mysterious smoke and transported into a game-like world where the goal is to reach level 5 before progressing to a larger, fantasy world stage.
However, the game s who kidnapped Han-bin accidentally left an error in his system, which is called the “guideline,” causing him to be stuck in the tutorial world for over 20 years, during which he continued to fight the enemy wolves that scaled in strength. Because of this, Han-bin gains stats and combat experience that isn’t documented on his interface, causing him to become a completely overpowered anomaly once he is allowed to enter the fantasy world of adventures and goddesses.
6 Han Ji-Han Has the Power of Creation
The Gamer by Seong Sangyoung and Sangah
The Gamer is a series that follows Han Ji-Han through his discovery of a world of supernatural powers that runs tangentially hidden from the eyes of normal society. Ji-Han is first introduced into this world because of the awakening of a special ability that allows him to view the world as a game, thus giving him the title of “The Gamer.”
Through these abilities, Ji-Han quickly gains strength, even overshadowing his friend who has been secretly training his own special abilities for years. Eventually, Ji-Han’s powers reach a point where he can concoct creations that range from unstoppable golems to self-sufficient bases that incorporate systems that resemble electrical networks and even nuclear reactors.
5 Jin Mo-Ri Takes Taekwondo to the Next Level
The God of High School by Park Yong-Je
The premise of The God of High School is truly a fresh take on martial arts manhwa, especially those that revolve around characters of the adolescent age. The series is so popular that The God of High School's anime adaptation has been picked up by MAPPA, one of the industry's biggest names. The manhwa follows Jin Mo-Ri, a high schooler who enters a mysterious martial arts competition to decide the strongest high schooler. Although the prize is the chance to have any wish granted, Mo-Ri is more in it for the thrill of the battle.
As Mo-Ri progresses further and further into his fights, more of his strength is revealed. Eventually, his power becomes so inflated that there are backstories, flashbacks, and sidestories to explain the origin of his strength, which is innately linked to the legendary Sun Wukong, or the Monkey King, from the classic 16th-century novel called Journey to the West. Although Sun Wukong is often an inspiration for martial arts fiction (including Dragon Ball and Naruto), Jin Mo-Ri is an exceptionally original vessel for developing the modern perception of Sun Wukong and his overwhelming strength.
4 Kim Dokja Is as Omniscient as the Title Describes
Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint by sing N song and Sleepy-C
Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint is a manhwa with a main character who is as close to not being the main character as possible. Although that may not seem to make much sense, the premise of the story is that the present-day world has been transformed into the setting of the web novel titled Three Ways to Survive the Apocalypse.
The protagonist, Kim Dokja, is this novel’s most dedicated reader, being the only one who has read it to its end. As a result, when Kim Dokja reads the final chapter and the world takes a turn for the worst, he is presented with a ruined world where he has nearly omniscient knowledge. He knows of the game systems involved, the constellations, and the world’s narrative plot and direction. Kim Dokja even knows as far as the details of the “real” characters and protagonists of the book.
3 Cha Yeon-woo Picks Up Where His Brother Left Off
Second Life Ranker by Sadoyeon and Nongnong
Second Life Ranker is a manhwa that follows a tower-climbing structure similar to that of the popular series Tower of God, but injects its own elements of revenge and hidden cheats. As a result, the main character, Cha Yeon-woo is set up for a plethora of opportunities for strength and success when consulting the pocket watch left behind by his brother. As Yeon-woo continues to climb the tower called the Obelisk, or the Tower of the Sun God, where his brother was said to have died, Yeon-woo uncovers one secret after another, and develops towards the ultimate goal of transcendence.
10 Best Reincarnation Manhwa
The best manhwa that utilize reincarnation will have regret-cleansing and escapism themes.
2 Cheon Yeo Woon Has the Power of Technology
Nano Machine by Hanjung Wolya and Geumgang Bulgoe
Nano Machine is a manhwa that gives a snippet of the aftereffects of introducing futuristic innovations into an antiquated world of cultivation. The main character of the series, Cheon Yeo Woon, is an estranged member of the demonic cult who is chased down and almost killed by the lackeys of his enemies. Fortunately, a time-traveling descendant of Yeo Woon's swoops in and saves him, implanting in him the latest version of the Nano Machine, at the risk of violating interdimensional time travel laws.
As a result, Yeo Woon is granted a system that is nearly omniscient in modern times, but even more helpful in the world of martial arts and cultivation. The Nano Machine has incredible analytical abilities bordering those of the Sharingan from Naruto, but it also provides options for physical optimization and seemingly conscious nurturing of Yeo Woon’s strength. Through the Nano Machine, Yeo Woon embarks on a unique path of technology that supersedes its time by exponential degrees.
1 Sung Jin-woo Is a God-Level Necromancer
Solo Leveling by Chugong, Jang-Sung-rak, and Disciples
The manhwa Solo Leveling, which recently had an industry-shaking anime release, is a story of urban fantasy, perseverance, and game elements. The series follows Sung Jin-woo, the lowest-ranked hunter in a world plagued by portals called “gates” and their monsters. By some stroke of fortune or perhaps fate, Jin-woo is granted a game interface that helps him improve his supernatural powers, something that is impossible for all other hunters. Since all hunters are bestowed a fixed level of magical energy at their awakening, they stay stagnant while Sung Jin-woo is the only one able to level up.
However, as the story continues, there are stronger enemies that appear outside these restrictions, forcing Jin-woo to keep improving. Furthermore, combined with his system's normal functions, Jin-woo also earns the necromancer job, allowing him to summon the shadows of the entities that fall at his hands. All of these advantages culminate into the ultimate strength of Sung Jin-woo, who not only grows stronger through every battle, but adds new to his army with every enemy he defeats.
