Top 10 Shounen Manhwa [Best Recommendations]

INTRODUCTION

If you’re a fan of the shounen genre then you’re probably already well versed in the manga and anime world. You know the giants like One Piece or Naruto, and you’ve probably already ventured into the genre with open arms. However, we here at Honey’s Anime wish to tell you that manhwa also has shounen works and we can honestly say some of them are incredible. Maybe you don’t wish to scour the net for days looking up different manhwa to read; well, that’s where we come in folks. Welcome to our Top 10 Shounen Manhwa list!

Now, as always, we here at Honey’s Anime take pride in our top 10s. We make sure that all the titles listed are varied and will truly capture the greatness of whatever list we’re focusing on. Our Top 10 Shounen Manhwa list is no exception to that rule; we gathered our team of brilliant minds to create a list of truly breathtaking shounen works from the manhwa side of things. Maybe you want an action shounen or a drama filled one, we have you covered reader. All we ask of you is to continue reading this list so this way you get to enjoy our hard work and benefit by finding some new shounen manhwa to read.


10. Meteo Emblem

  • Manhwaga: Park, Sung-Woo
  • Genre: Action, Fantasy, Shounen, Supernatural
  • Volumes: 2
  • Published Date: 2008- Present

One day, everything was peaceful and then the next, humanity seemed to be wiped out in but a mere moment. This happened when what seemed to be stars fell from the sky and began raining down on Earth. However, people weren’t actually obliterated by this event; instead, something amazing happened. Humans gained a mysterious power and became something entirely more advanced than ever before. Humanity entered a new age of existence and became known as the Meteo Civilization.

Supernatural powers and a fantasy theme that seems like a good way to start our Top 10 Shounen Manhwa List. Meteo Emblem from manhwaga Park Sung-Woo is a nice mix of several genres to create a story that follows several young people as they learn about their potential on an epic quest for power. Park Sung-Woo’s work truly hits some high notes thanks to impressive art and some wickedly cool fights that occur in this manhwa. While the work, unfortunately, hasn’t been seen for a while—most likely a hiatus—you’ll still enjoy Meteo Emblem for what we have gotten so far. We here at Honey’s Anime hope Meteo Emblem continues eventually cause it has some serious potential to be one of the best shounen manhwa.


9. PhD: Phantasy Degree

  • Manhwaga: Son, Hee-Joon
  • Genre: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy, Shounen
  • Volumes: 10
  • Published Date: Jun, 2001- Dec, 2004

Young Sang is on a mission most wouldn’t even touch. Sang wishes to enter the Demon School Hades to become a student there. However, when Sang bumps into a bunch of students of the school, she learns that she’s unqualified since Sang’s a normal human. Thus Sang makes a drastic move that gives her a chance at entering the school. Sang has one of the students—a vampire—bite her, giving her the okay to join the school. What awaits Sang in her new monster life?

Sang’s journey in PhD: Phantasy Degree seems the perfect candidate for our shounen manhwa list. This odd amalgam of comedy and action blend well in the shounen theme thanks to manhwaga Son Hee-Joon. At times, we honestly didn’t expect the series to take such shifts with its genres. One minute it seems Sang’s story is carefree and comedic then several pages later can be filled with some old school action only a shounen manhwa can accomplish. We also love some twists with Sang’s character but we won’t spoil those as they make this adventure even better when they start to occur. Overall, we really loved PhD: Phantasy Degree and we know you should definitely check it out so you can share our great experience.


8. Legend of Tyr

  • Manhwaga: Ra, In-Soo- Son, Chang-ho
  • Genre: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy, Shounen
  • Volumes: 11
  • Published Date: 2008- 2010

Try’s brother, the legendary Loki, has just passed away as Tyr reached his 17th birthday. Then Tyr receives a package that seems destined to arrive just as he turned 17. Inside is a journal that apparently belong to Loki, and Tyr begins to follow what has been written within. Though as Tyr continues following the book he notices something very odd. All the recordings in the book seem to follow exactly what Tyr has been doing. Now Tyr has to find out why does everything seem so destined and what does that mean for his future?

The Legend of Tyr does some incredible things within this 11 volume series. Not only does it have an epic premise that uses Norse mythos but it utilizes the shounen genre very well thanks to Manhwaga Ra, In-Soo guidance. Add some great art and illustration thanks to illustrator Chang-ho and the Legend of Tyr was destined to be a surefire hit. The Legend of Tyr really impressed us and we know you folks will enjoy it if you give it a shot. We here at Honey’s Anime give it our seal of approval for our Top 10 Shounen Manhwa list.


7. Aflame Inferno

  • Manhwaga: Im, Dal Young- Kim, Kwang Hyun
  • Genre: Action, Adventure, Demons, Ecchi, Shounen
  • Volumes: 6
  • Published Date: Apr, 2006- Sept, 2010

High Schooler Kang Shichan distances himself from the world and anything that can be seen as annoying. Ironically Kang is going to have to free himself from that mentality if he is going to live through what fate has in store for him. When Kang somehow gets attacked by a demonic force, he is nearly killed. Fortunately—and unfortunately in equal measure—a great demon named Inferno seals herself inside of Kang, saving his life. However, the downside is now Kang must gain 1000 Invento Hells—items gained from other demons—if he wishes to be separated from Inferno.

Aflame Inferno isn’t the only title we will have on here from legendary manhwaga Im Dal Young, but it is one of the coolest he’s done. Honestly, what’s not to like about Aflame Inferno? It’s a great shounen work with crazy demon battles and plenty of ecchi that only Im Dal Young knows how to throw into his works. Our biggest issue with Aflame Inferno is that it’s on a long hiatus that hasn’t seemed to stop which is a shame. Regardless though, Aflame Inferno is a shounen manhwa you will want to check out if you love cool action and plenty of lovely ladies.


6. Knight Run

  • Manhwaga: Kim Sung Min
  • Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama, Mature, Sci-Fi, Shounen
  • Volumes: 374 Chapters
  • Published Date: 2009- Present

The world is facing an unknown threat from an unknown origin. What is known though is that humanity is losing and facing dark times. With no other options left to avoid total annihilation the human race plays its last trump card. Humans summon the legendary Master Knights—humans with strength that surpasses most—in order to hopefully win this war. If the Master Knights fall, humanity will go down with them.

Knight Run has to be one of the coolest sci-fi and shounen manhwa we’ve read in some time. Kim Sung Min has done an incredible job thanks to the concepts and themes used in Knight Run. The Master Knights fight in some of the coolest battles we’ve read and that is helped also by Kim’s amazing artistic prowess. While this series is still releasing currently we can honestly say it’s already a masterpiece in our eyes. We knew from the moment we began reading Knight Run that is had to be on our Top 10 Shounen Manhwa list.



5. Ability

  • Manhwaga: Son Jae Ho- Lee Gwang Su
  • Genre: Fantasy, Action, Supernatural, Shounen
  • Volumes: 1
  • Published Date: 2012

Han Yu-Hwa seems like a simple guy at first glance. There really isn’t anything exceptional about him despite his looks. However, underneath his plain appearance lies a selfless soul who helps anyone at any cost. This comes into play when Han Yu-Hwa ends up saving a young woman named Su-Jin Ji after she gets hit by a truck and is attacked by power users referred to as “Another”. Now Han Yu-Hwa is about to learn about a hidden world and his own unique powers.

Ability is pretty interesting. At first glance, this seems like your typical story of people with powers, but there’s a deeper idea that seems itching to be explored. Son Jae Ho and Lee Gwang Su are known already in the manhwa world for their series known as Noblesse but Ability is easily a great shounen manhwa. Unfortunately, the creators have seemed to end the series with no possible conclusion insight, but we still recommend checking out Ability seeing as how it really shows what we’re looking for in a solid shounen manhwa. Fingers crossed Son and Lee decide to do another season of Ability…


4. The Legend of Maian

  • Manhwaga: Im, Dal Young- Jeong, Soo Cheol
  • Genre: Action, Adventure, Ecchi, Fantasy, Shounen
  • Volumes: 14
  • Published Date: 2007- 2012

All it took was for Fenix Maian to get a little curious to unleash and an evil that should have stayed sealed. Felicia Rand Philistin was once a powerful sorceress who seemed all too keen to take over the world using her power. Luckily, the world was spared thanks to a powerful young hero rising up and taking down Felicia. The once powerful sorceress would be sealed for one thousand years until Fenix freed her from her eternal prison. What will Fenix do now to keep Felicia from going back to her old ways?

A true shounen manhwa masterpiece has to contain elements of adventure that much is essential. Thanks to Im Dal Young and Jeong Soo Cheol you can expect this adventure shounen to contain action, adventure and plenty of voluptuous girls. However, don’t expect The Legend of Maian to not be an amazing shounen manhwa. From the start, this journey doesn’t let go with amazing art, fun banter and plenty of epic fights making it a thrilling read. We highly recommend checking out The Legend of Maian if you want to experience one of the better shounen manhwa out there.


3. Kubera

  • Manhwaga: Currygom
  • Genre: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy, Romance, Mystery, Shounen
  • Volumes: 292 chapters
  • Published Date: 2010

Kubera didn’t want the life she has to lead now but it was destined to happen given the circumstances. Kubera was born into a world stuck between two supernatural powers. On one side are God-like beings who possess endless life and on the other side is the Sura who have powers that exceed anything else. Kubera, one day, finds her home village destroyed but is saved by Asha who claims to be a magician. Now on a journey together, Kubera will realize that her life has a larger destiny than one of just tragedy and in her hands she can change the world…

Kubera was really a breath of fresh air in the shounen manhwa genre. This feat was only accomplished thanks to Currygom creating a tale of growth and adventure unseen in most of the titles on this list. Besides having a brilliant narrative, the art is equally impressive and left us constantly glued to the screen as we read every chapter that is available. While there is no conclusion yet for Kubera’s tale, we could only assume it’s going to be memorable as so far this whole series as harkened to what we love about shounen manhwa. Start reading Kubera now so you can catch up, 292 chapters isn’t a small number after all.


2. Skill of Lure

  • Manhwaga: Woo, Sang Ho
  • Genre: Comedy, Ecchi, Romance, Shounen, Slice of Life
  • Volumes: 7
  • Published Date: Mar, 2013- Jan, 2016

Sung-Gi Jang isn’t seen in the best of lights from his female peers. Thanks to his awkward personality, Sung-Gi Jang is seen as a pervert and genuine weirdo. Thankfully, there is some hope for him in the form of Jae Hwang who is the complete opposite of Sung-Gi Jang. Jae Hwang is an expert with the female sex and he plans on showing the downtrodden Sung-Gi Jang just how to make the right moves. Sung-Gi Jang is about to become a whole new person.

Not all shounen manhwa have to have epic action or supernatural fights as seen in Skill of Lure from manhwaga Woo Sang Hoo. Skill of Lure explores a new type of adventure in the form of learning how to become a ladies man. Watching Sung-Gi Jang change from odd ball to master pick up artist is both a fun treat and cool story. Woo Sang Ho really did a great job with not only the story and comedy but the art as well which looks incredible indeed. Skill of Lure was almost close to being our number one shounen manhwa on this list but it was just beat out slightly by another title. Regardless though, don’t let that fact stop you from checking out one of the funniest and original ideas for a shounen manhwa that we here at Honey’s Anime have seen in some time.


1. The Breaker

  • Manhwaga: Park, Jin- Hwan- Jeon, Geuk, jin
  • Genre: Action, Comedy, Drama, Martial Arts, School, Shounen
  • Volumes: 10
  • Published Date: Jun, 2007- Jul, 2010

Thanks to constant bullying, Shioon is reaching his breaking point. Shioon is thinking of ending it all to stop the constant torment but is stopped when a new teacher in his school arrives by the name of Chun-Woo. It isn’t before long that Shioon notices that Chun-Woo isn’t a normal teacher but is able to fight on a level Shioon has never seen before. Rushing to Chun-Woo, Shioon begs his teacher to teach him how to fight as well as him so he can finally put an end to his past torment. Chun-Woo agrees to teach Shioon on one condition, that he jumps off the nearest bridge…

Our Top 10 Shounen Manhwa list ends with the great shounen manhwa known as The Breaker. From the very first installment to the sequel—titled The Breaker: New Waves—get ready for a nonstop action and martial arts thrill ride. Readers get to experience the puny Shioon rise to become a quite capable fighter. This shounen journey you’ll love to witness every page thanks to amazing art and impressive narrative from Park Jin-Hwan and Jeon Geuk jin who make The Breaker easily worth the final spot on our list. If you need a great shounen read we here at Honey’s Anime are quite serious that you won’t find much better than The Breaker.


Final Thoughts

Shounen manhwa are indeed real treats. Every one of the titles above shows the manhwaga’s love they have for the genre and you can feel it as you read their works. Honestly we could have went on for several more pages exploring all the manhwa with the shounen theme behind it but we wanted to find the best and we at Honey’s Anime think we captured that pretty well. With our list wrapping up we ask you to leave a comment down below telling us if you agreed with this list or felt we missed out on an epic shounen manhwa title somewhere. Make sure you don’t leave the site for too long either folks, the writers for Honey’s Anime aren’t done concocting even better articles and recommendation lists for your reading pleasure and you won’t want to miss a single one.

Aflame-Inferno-manga-1 Top 10 Shounen Manhwa [Best Recommendations]

Writer

Author: Aaron

Hey everyone I’m Aaron Curbelo or Blade as I’m called by my YouTube Subscribers. I’ve been an anime/manga fan since I was a young kid. In terms of anime I have watched nearly a thousand shows and have read hundreds of manga series. I love writing and honestly was so happy to join Honey’s Anime to get a shot to write articles for such a wonderful site. I’m a firm believer in respect in the anime community being the most important embodiment we should all have. We all love anime and we have varying opinions of series but we should respect one another for those differences! Life is too precious to spend it making needless arguments in a community that should be the shining example of loving an amazing medium. I hope as a writer for Honey’s Anime I can bring you folks some amazing articles to read and enjoy!

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