Shounen manga’sloyalty to their craft and tropes is the one trait that keeps drawing more and more fans to them. There’s something truly special about witnessing a character’s incredible growth from a seemingly insignificant figure to an unbeatable powerhouse. But lately, action manhwa have been stepping up their game big time. Consequently, the market now has some seriously impressive manhwa series featuring protagonists who are overpowered beyond belief and are actually smug about it — which manga hasn’t explored much at all.
Omniscient Reader, also known asOmniscient Reader’s Viewpoint, is a prime example. It starts off its story with a completely ordinary protagonist. He is so ordinary, that he feels more like a background character than a main one. There isn’t any particularly tragic backstory, nor does he initially have any hidden powers that make him stand out from the world apart from his obsessive novel reading habits. Eventually, though, some circumstances put him in a situation where he is able to grow exponentially stronger and is understandably proud of that. Naturally, this manhwa has an intriguing storyline, so it’s only normal for readers to look for other stories with similar vibes.
Updated June 10, 2025, by Fatima Naeem:Because of the hype surrounding manhwa likeSolo LevelingandOmniscient Reader’s Viewpoint,power-scaling action-fantasy manhwa have gained immense popularity. This surge has led to saturation in the industry, with numerous similar-themed titles emerging almost every day. In a crowded landscape like this one, choosing the stories that truly stand out can be challenging. A good rule of thumb to gauge the quality of such manhwa is to consider how the point of conflict is created and carried out. Whether it’s through time travel or a sudden blessing from a higher being, what truly matters is the character’s growth. And in general, these manhwa do it well.
JRobin (Story), Doryeonbyeoni (Story & Art)
Other Names
3cm Hunter
microHUNTERis a fantasy manhwa that features one of the most unique storylines in recent times. It was released in 2019 and had a run of 110 chapters before it ended in 2021. While this particular series may not appeal to everyone in terms of its story, art, and gore, once fans overcome that initial barrier, it’s smooth sailing from then on.
microHUNTERdelves into post-apocalyptic themesof sorts and caters to everyone’s morbid curiosity about parallel worlds and hypothetical situations where humans shrink in size. In this world, humans are far from being the biggest, meanest, and most intimidating species; they’re smaller than ants and are constantly fighting to stay alive against creatures much larger than them — which is almost everything else. The good news is, in exchange for their size shrinkage, each and every person receives a unique superpower.
Trapped in a Webnovel as a Good for Nothing
I Woke Up as the Villainis an action isekai manhwa that was first released in 2020, and recently ended its run with 175 chapters published. Despite being an isekai/reincarnation story,I Woke Up as the Villaindoes have elements in it that make it stand out from other similar titles. A particularly unique aspect is the part where the main character transmigrates into the body of a side character from a web novel that’s set in the modern world.
The manhwa’s premise is somewhat similar toTrash of the Count’s Familybut features a contemporary setting instead of an old ‘victorian’ one. The main character starts off as the average dull, unassuming office worker. He has a practically non-existent social life, and an unhealthy fascination with a certain web novel. He gets reincarnated into the very web novel he’s infatuated with, but as the arrogant, rich, and unpleasant side character rather than the main one. He now has to do better in the novel in order to not be discarded by the main character in the near future.
The Only Necromancer, Solo Necromancy
The Lone Necromanceris an action-fantasy series that focuses on scaling and getting stronger, just like inOmniscient Reader. It kicks off with a similar premise but eventually divergesinto a more fantastical plotlinewith more supernatural elements and powers.
The story centers on Yu Seongwu, an ordinary college student who has recently completed his military service and is now returning to his regular life to pursue his education. Like any other typical power-scaling series, he receives a holographic prompt from the ‘system’ that spurs him to select a ‘role.’ He obliviously goes for the role of necromancer and suddenly has powers to raise the dead from the afterlife. As hardcore as that sounds, these strange prompts come with their set of problems and calamities.
Soseol Sok Extra
The Novel’s Extrais a 2022 reincarnation manhwa that puts a fun spin on the usual isekai formula, making it stand out from the rest. Sure, the world-building hits some familiar tropes — monsters, dungeons, and random mysterious towers— but the way the story kicks off is what really makes it different and keeps things interesting.
The main character ofThe Novel’s Extra, Hajin, is reincarnated into a web novel that feels all too familiar to him. He quickly realizes that this new strange world he’s been isekai-ed into is no God’s work, it’s a book he’s been writing himself. But things are not as peachy as one would expect from a situation like Hajin’s. Instead of being a key character or even someone remotely important to the plot, Hajin is reborn as an extra — completely insignificant. To top it off, his character’s face is marked with a literal question mark, leaving his identity a total mystery.
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Return to Playeris an ongoing manhwa that was released in 2020 and has time travel and isekai elements. Although the basis of the story is quite similar to the previous entries (after factoring in the going-back-in-time bit), the art of the manhwa is its defining feature. It leanstowards somewhat darker aestheticsand gives off major goth vibes, which is particularly more noticeable from the protagonist’s character design.
Return to Playeris set in a fictional world that certain Gods use as the tournament front for a deathmatch between humans and monsters. For these Gods, it’s merely a fun, cruel game of tag and only one of the players knows how the whole thing ends — spoilers alert! It doesn’t end all that well. Kim Sehan, having lived through the whole thing once, is granted a second chance at life. This time, he’s determined to change the outcome and get back at these Gods for doing what they are.
My S-Class Hunters
The S-Classes That I Raisedunfolds exactly how it’s title suggests, making it another unique entry on this list. It’s an action-fantasy that develops its core plot with a touch of time travel, eventually evolving into a power-scaling story.
The main character, Han Yujin, is the sole caretaker of his younger brother Yoohyun. Despite all odds, the two grow up to be inseparable, with Yujin working tirelessly to ensure his brother lives a good, comfortable life. Unfortunately, when strange dungeons and monsters start appearing in their reality, Yoohyun awakens supernatural powers, leaving Yujin to be the ‘normal’ brother. With Yoohyun’s ever-growing strength, and Yujin’s uselessness, the two end up going their own ways, until fate forces them to reconnect in the oddest ways.
Sin-gwa Hamkke Level Up
Level Up With The Godsis a 2021 manhwa thatfocuses on time travelrather than reincarnation and features an already godlike character being forced by circumstances to turn back in time and retrace his journey to his current state. What makes Kin Yuwon different from other Leveling Up MCs is the fact that in both his lives, he’s worked towards getting stronger and wasn’t just handed his abilities due to a ‘glitch in the system’ or some ‘chosen one’ prophecy.
The manhwa starts off with various deities of different beliefs, huddled together, injured, and very grim. They’ve apparently lost a war against stronger Gods known as the ‘Outer Gods,’ and are now awaiting their final moments. Kim Yuwon, the MC, is the only non-god being there and is just as defeated and disappointed in the outcome as the others. That is until the God of Time, Kronos, sends him back into his past to relearn everything he’s mastered so far and come back stronger.
Second Life Rankeris a 2019 manhwa that’s known for having one of the most cold, ruthless, hardcore MCs in the industry. It has a storyline that’s pretty similar to the previous entries, but in addition to the striking protagonist, the source of conflict for this specific series is considerably different.
It revolves around Cha Yeon Woo, a military man whoselife has been far from peachy. He went through a series of unfortunate events that caused him to lose both his parents and, eventually, his brother. His last straw was the revelation that Yeon Woo’s brother had actually died of very suspicious causes and was possibly betrayed. He’s now vindictive, and ready to take on everyone who has given his brother any pain.
Na Honja Man-Level Newbie
I’m The Max-Level Newbieis a 2021 series that delivers exactly what it promises. The story follows Kang Jinhyeok, a hardcore gamer who’s spent the last 11 years streaming and creating content for a game that barely has any players or fans. The game, Tower of Trials, is notoriously difficult, unbalanced, and nearly unplayable. Yet, Jinhyeok has mastered it to the point where he’s practically unbeatable.
Just when he’s about to announce his retirement to his small but dedicated fanbase, Tower of Trials suddenly becomes real and takes over the world. Jinhyeok, now with a completely new purpose to live, is ecstatic about this little plot twist and is now living life with a newfound zeal.
Lout of Count’s Family
The ‘leveling up’ and skill-improvement trope — while iconic and prevalent in the industry right now — has become a bit recycled when it comes to action manhwa. The good news is thatTrash of the Count’s Family, a 2020 fantasy manhwa, has a premise that’s so unique and rare, it borders more on what one would see in a female-targeted ‘shoujo’ manhwa rather than an action one — and its art is a testament to that. Yet, it’s an action series through and through, and proves that on multiple occasions.
Kim Roksu was just anordinary guy leading a mundane lifeuntil he found himself isekai’ed into one of the novels he had been reading — as a minor villain character who got his life handed to him by the main hero. He’s taken on the identity of Cale Henituse, the lousy, rude, obnoxious, and spoiled elder son of a wealthy count. Cale’s mean-spirited personality got him in trouble with all sorts of people and made him the object of everyone’s scorn. Roksu, now Cale, is determined to clean up the mess the original guy made, hoping to avoid any confrontations and live out the rest of his life in peace.
