About a decade ago, if you typed the word “Webtoon” into any search engine, it probably wouldn’t have provided you with any results which could raise an eye. In other words, until the year 2018, webtoons were not very popular. Today, the story has changed completely. The comic format has moved on to be a global phenomenon, entertaining fans in different parts of the globe. It is now very common for comics fans to hear that they are reading a webtoon even in the most remote areas of the world, thanks to its accessibility.
With this increasing popularity in recent years, therefore, there has been growing interest from other segments of the entertainment industry. Film, animation and even video games have been created which are based on popular webtoons. Most prominent, though, are the webtoon to animation adaptations whose numbers have been growing incessantly. Some of these animations based on webtoons have even been published on the greatest video streaming platforms like Netflix. Some of these adaptations have even been met with critical acclaim, making them a staple in today’s entertainment world.
Before we look at the best webtoon to animation adaptations, let’s define what makes a good webtoon to animation adaptation.
Firstly, the adaptation should be faithful to the source material. This means that the characters, the story, and the tone of the webtoon should be preserved in the adaptation. Secondly, the animation should be high quality. The animation should be fluid and dynamic, and it should bring the webtoon to life. Thirdly, the story should be engaging. The adaptation should be interesting to watch, and it should keep viewers hooked from beginning to end.
So, which are some of these webtoon animated adaptations that are garnering so much attention? Here are some of them below:
1. TOWER OF GOD
Tower of God is a South Korean manhwa released as a webtoon written and illustrated by S.I.U. It has been serialized in Naver Corporation’s webtoon platform Naver Webtoon since June 2010, with the individual chapters collected and published by Young Com into thirteen volumes as of July 2023. Tower of God received official English translations by Line Webtoon beginning in July 2014.
In this webtoon, there is a tower that summons chosen people called “Regulars” with the promise of granting their deepest desires. Whether it be wealth, fame, authority, or something that surpasses them all—everything awaits those who reach the top. Twenty-Fifth Bam is a boy who has only known a dark cave, a dirty cloth, and an unreachable light his entire life. So when a girl named Rachel comes to him through the light, his entire world changes. Becoming close friends with Rachel, he learns various things about the outside world from her. But when Rachel says she must leave him to climb the Tower, his world shatters around him. Vowing to follow after her no matter what it takes, he sets his sight on the tower, and a miracle occurs. Thus begins the journey of Bam, a young boy who was not chosen by the Tower but opened its gates by himself. They call his kind “Irregulars”—beings that have shaken the very foundation of the Tower each time they set foot inside it.
It has received several mobile game adaptations and merchandise. In Japan, the web manhwa received an anime television series adaptation by Telecom Animation Film that first premiered on Naver Series On in South Korea, and aired in Japan immediately afterward. It originally aired from April to June 2020. Crunchyroll licensed and simulcasted the Japanese broadcast version of the anime for its streaming service. In August 2022, a second season was announced.
2. THE GOD OF HIGH SCHOOL
The God of High School is a South Korean manhwa released as a webtoon written and illustrated by Yongje Park. It has been serialized in Naver Corporation’s webtoon platform Naver Webtoon from April 2011 to December 2022, with the individual chapters collected and published by Imageframe under their Root label into four volumes as of January 2023. The God of High School received official English translations by Line Webtoon beginning in July 2014.
This action webtoon follows a high school student, Jin Mori, and his friends as they compete in an epic tournament in which they borrow the power directly from the gods. But not only that, along the way they uncover a mysterious organization who will grant any wish to the tournament’s winner.
It has received a mobile game and an original net animation short attached to the aforementioned game’s original soundtrack. An anime television series adaptation produced by MAPPA aired from July to September 2020.
3. NOBLESSE
Noblesse is a South Korean manhwa released as a webtoon written by Son Je-ho and illustrated by Lee Kwangsu. Noblesse was first posted on Naver Corporation’s webtoon platform Naver Webtoon in December 2007, and was concluded in January 2019; it was among the first webtoons to receive an official English translation at the launch of Line Webtoon in July 2014.
In this webtoon, a powerful noble, Cadis Etrama Di Raizel (referred to as Rai), has been asleep for 820 years with no knowledge of mankind’s advancement and scientific successes. At the start of the webtoon, Rai wakes up in an abandoned building in South Korea, and starts to get used to the modern world. He goes to a school, where he reunites with his loyal servant Frankenstein. With Frankenstein’s help, Rai enrolls into high school and inadvertently befriends athletic teenager Shinwoo, computer geek Ikhan, and Shinwoo’s crush Yuna, and a few others. Noblesse follows the group’s often dangerous adventures against a secret organization while uncovering Rai’s past.
It has been adapted into an aeni in 2015 and an original net animation (ONA) in 2016, and an anime television series by Production I.G aired from October to December 2020 on Crunchyroll.
4. LOOKISM
Lookism Is a Manhwa created in 2014 by former Ulzaang and author Taejoon Park. It was officially released in 2017 in English and other languages on the Line Webtoon App. Set in the outskirts of Seoul, Lookism is about a boy named Daniel Park (Park Hyungseok) who is bullied because of his looks. He decides to transfer schools, only to wake up in a new body. Throughout the story he witnesses multiple cases of ‘Lookism’, a form of discrimination based on a person’s attractiveness. As Daniel navigates this new life, he tries to uncover the mystery behind his second body. An animated adaptation by Studio Mir was released globally on Netflix in December 2022.
5. SOLO LEVELING
Solo Leveling is a South Korean web novel written by Chugong. It presents a world where hunters, human warriors who possess magical abilities, must battle deadly monsters to protect mankind from certain annihilation. In this context, a notoriously weak hunter named Sung Jinwoo finds himself in a seemingly endless struggle for survival.
It was serialized in Kakao’s digital comic and fiction platform KakaoPage beginning on July 25, 2016, and was later published in full by D&C Media under their Papyrus label on November 4, 2016. The novel has been licensed in English by Yen Press. A webtoon adaptation of Solo Leveling was first serialized in KakaoPage on March 4, 2018; it was illustrated by Jang Sung-rak (aka Dubu), the CEO of Redice Studio, who died on July 23, 2022, after suffering from a cerebral hemorrhage. The webtoon’s first season concluded on March 19, 2020, and its second season began on August 1, 2020, concluding in December 2021 with its 179th chapter. Its individual chapters have been collected and published by D&C Media into seven volumes as of February 2023. The webtoon has been licensed in English by Yen Press. A role-playing video game is in development at Netmarble. An anime television series adaptation by A-1 Pictures is set to premiere in Q1 2024.
6. KILLING STALKING
Killing Stalking is a South Korean manhwa written and illustrated by Koogi. It was published online in Korean and English by Lezhin Comics and won the ₩100,000,000 Grand Prize Award at the Second Lezhin World Comics Contest.
The story follows Bum, a young mentally ill man with a difficult past. After becoming infatuated with Oh Sangwoo, a peer from his time in the military who saved him from a rape attempt, he decides to enter Sangwoo’s home while he is out of his house. Bum finds a tied up, bruised woman in Sangwoo’s basement and before he is able to free her, he is discovered by Sangwoo, who is revealed to be a serial killer. Sangwoo then breaks Bum’s ankles and despite Bum’s previous love for him, Sangwoo puts Bum into a highly abusive and manipulative relationship until the very end.
The series has been licensed in English in print format by Seven Seas Entertainment.
Webtoons are a popular form of media, and they have a large and dedicated audience. Adapting a webtoon to animation can help to introduce the webtoon to a wider audience, and it can also help to generate new fans for the source material. Additionally, animation can bring a webtoon to life in a way that static images cannot. The animation can help to capture the action and excitement of the webtoon, and it can also help to bring the characters to life.
Overall, webtoon to animation adaptations are a great way to introduce webtoons to a wider audience. They can be faithful to the source material, they can have stunning animation, and they can tell engaging stories. Animation, therefore, is of capital importance to webtoon creators everywhere, especially African creators like Zebra Comics PLC, as it can help to grow the industry in ways that other methods cannot.
