Manhwa anime adaptations have been increasing fast over the last few years. What started as a few experimental projects has turned into a steady pipeline of Korean webtoon stories getting the animated treatment.

Some of them turned out great. Some were a letdown. And a few were somewhere in the middle.

This post covers every major manhwa that has been adapted into anime, along with an honest take on whether the anime was actually worth watching. No hype. Just the facts.

Tower of God (2020, 2024)

Tower of God was one of the first manhwa to get a proper anime adaptation. Season 1 came out in 2020 through Crunchyroll, produced by Telecom Animation Film. Season 2 followed in 2024.

The story follows Twenty-Fifth Bam, a boy who enters a mysterious tower to find his friend Rachel. The tower has floors, tests, and factions. It is a dense world with a lot of moving parts.

Was it worth it?

Season 1 was a decent introduction. It stayed close to the manhwa and handled the major plot points well. The pacing got messy in places, and some character relationships got compressed. Bam and Endorsi’s training arc, which matters for his development, was skipped entirely in the anime.

Season 2 was a step down from Season 1. Animation quality dipped and the pacing got worse. Manhwa readers noticed the gaps more in this one.

The manhwa goes much deeper on world-building and character backstory. If you want the full Tower of God experience, read the source. The anime is a decent starting point but not the complete picture.

The god of High School (2020)

This one aired the same year as Tower of God, also on Crunchyroll, animated by MAPPA. The story follows Jin Mori, a high school student who enters a tournament where fighters compete using martial arts and borrowed divine powers.

Was it worth it?

The fights in this anime are genuinely well done. MAPPA put real effort into the animation, and some action sequences are among the best in any manhwa adaptation.

The problem is the pacing. Thirteen episodes is not enough to tell this story properly. The anime rushes character backstories to get to the action, and the mythology gets confusing fast if you have not read the manhwa. Daewi and Mira’s motivations are not given enough room to breathe.

It is worth watching for the fights. But read the manhwa if you actually want to follow the story.

Noblesse (2020)

Noblesse aired in late 2020, produced by Production I.G. The story follows Cadis Etrama Di Raizel, a powerful vampire noble who wakes up after 820 years and has to navigate modern life, high school, and a hidden organisation targeting him.

Was it worth it?

This one is a mixed bag. The comedy works. Watching Rai struggle with basic modern things is genuinely funny, and the dynamic between him and Frankenstein carries the show. The character relationships feel natural.

The animation quality is not on the level of Tower of God or God of High School. The pacing moves fast, and a lot of the manhwa’s slower, character-focused moments got cut to fit the episode count. Viewers who had not read the manhwa also noted that some plot points felt confusing without extra context.

Worth watching if you like the vampire noble concept. But it works better as a companion to the manhwa than a standalone watch.

Lookism (2022)

Lookism is a Netflix original net animation produced by Studio Mir. It is based on the manhwa by Park Tae-jun, which covers Park Hyung Seok, an overweight student who is constantly bullied. He transfers schools and wakes up in a second, more attractive body. Both bodies exist, but only one is conscious at a time.

Was it worth it?

Lookism is one of the more thoughtful manhwa anime adaptations in terms of story. It uses the body-swap premise to talk about appearance discrimination, social hierarchy, and self-worth. The show does not treat these topics lightly.

The adaptation itself got a mixed response. Some fans felt the animation style did not fully capture the energy of the manhwa’s art. Others felt the first season was too short to make a real dent in the source material, which has hundreds of chapters. The story barely scratches the surface of the manhwa’s later arcs.

Still worth watching. The themes are handled well and it stands out from the typical action-focused manhwa adaptations.

Solo Leveling (2024, 2025)

This is the biggest manhwa anime adaptation to date. Produced by A-1 Pictures and streaming on Crunchyroll, Solo Leveling follows Sung Jin-Woo, the weakest hunter alive, who gets access to a hidden system after surviving a deadly dungeon. Season 1 aired in early 2024. Season 2 followed in 2025.

Was it worth it?

Yes. This is the adaptation that changed the perception of manhwa anime for a lot of people.

A-1 Pictures handled the pacing well. The animation on the action sequences is some of the best produced in recent years. The underdog arc is faithful to the manhwa and lands the same emotional beats. Some scenes were tweaked, and a few details were rearranged or added for better visual storytelling, but nothing that hurts the experience.

Solo Leveling went on to win the Crunchyroll Anime of the Year award in 2025. That is not nothing. It set a new standard for what a manhwa anime adaptation can look like when proper resources are put behind it.

Why Raeliana Ended Up at the Duke’s Mansion (2023)

This is a romance isekai manhwa adaptation. Rinko EP, who dies suddenly, wakes up as Raeliana, a side character in a novel who is supposed to be murdered. To survive, she convinces the novel’s male lead to fake an engagement with her.

Was it worth it?

For what it is, yes. The adaptation stays close to the source material. The dialogue is sharp and the chemistry between the main characters works. The art direction got some criticism for relying too much on static panels over fluid animation, but the story itself is well told.

It is a lighter watch than the action titles on this list. If you enjoy isekai romance manhwa, this is one of the better adaptations in that space.

True Beauty (2024)

True Beauty is a Webtoon series by Yaongyi that ran from 2018 to 2023 and accumulated a massive following. It follows Jugyeong, a girl who feels insecure about her natural appearance and hides it with makeup. An anime adaptation was released in 2024.

Was it worth it?

It is a decent adaptation. The core message about appearance and self-confidence is handled reasonably well. True Beauty already had a successful Korean live-action drama before the anime, so this version is competing with a well-received adaptation that many fans already loved.

The anime does not do anything wrong, but it also does not add much. If you loved the manhwa, it is a fun watch. If you are new to the story, the drama might be the better entry point.

Doctor Elise: The Royal Lady with the Lamp (2024)

Doctor Elise aired in early 2024, the same season as Solo Leveling. The story follows Elise, a disgraced noblewoman who dies and is reincarnated as a modern doctor. She then dies again and returns to her original life, this time with her medical knowledge intact.

Was it worth it?

It is a solid adaptation. The dual-isekai setup is more creative than most regression stories and the anime does justice to the medical elements without making them feel out of place. It got overshadowed by Solo Leveling in the same season, which was unavoidable.

Worth watching if you enjoy the isekai romance genre with a slightly different angle.

A Returner’s Magic Should Be Special (2023, Season 2 in 2026)

This manhwa follows Desir Herrman, a survivor of a deadly dungeon called the Shadow World. He is sent back in time three years before the world ends and has to train the next generation of fighters to prevent the same outcome.

Season 1 aired in late 2023. Season 2 was confirmed for 2026.

Was it worth it?

Season 1 was a decent watch. The regression premise is handled well and the world-building comes through clearly. The animation is not standout, but it serves the story. The pacing is controlled better than most single-season manhwa adaptations.

The manhwa readers noted some cuts to character development, which is a recurring problem with short-season adaptations. Season 2 is coming, so the story has more room to expand.

Dark Moon: The Blood Altar (2026)

Dark Moon premiered on Crunchyroll in early 2026. It is based on a HYBE-produced manhwa connected to the K-pop group ENHYPEN. The story follows a transfer student named Sooha who discovers that some of the students at her new school are vampires and werewolves.

Was it worth it?

It depends on what you are looking for. If you are a fan of early 2000s vampire romance anime, this feels familiar in the best way. The animation by Studio TROYCA is well done and the reverse harem setup is established quickly.

It is not trying to be a complex story. It is a dark romance with a strong aesthetic and a niche audience. That audience will enjoy it. If you are not into vampire romance, this is not the place to start.

My Thoughts on Manhwa Anime Adaptations

Most manhwa anime adaptations have one problem in common: not enough episodes.

Tower of God, God of High School, and Noblesse all suffered from this. Stories that took years to build in manhwa format got compressed into 12 or 13 episodes, and important character moments got cut to fit the runtime.

Solo Leveling is the clearest example of what happens when a studio actually commits to the material. A-1 Pictures gave it real resources and proper pacing. The result speaks for itself.

The good news is that the pipeline keeps growing. Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint, widely regarded as one of the best manhwa ever written, is getting an adaptation. A Returner’s Magic is getting a second season. More studios are taking manhwa seriously as source material.

The manhwa anime space is still maturing. Adaptations are getting better. The bar that Solo Leveling set is not going to be easy to ignore.

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