10 Best First Chapters in Manhwa History That Had Us Hooked

May 3, 2024, 9:01 p.m.

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10 Best First Chapters in Manhwa History That Had Us Hooked

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Summary Manhwa encompasses diverse genres and styles beyond power fantasies and isekai, catering to varied reader preferences.

The international manhwa community is growing, with creators worldwide contributing to the thriving webtoon platform.

Compelling first chapters in manhwa, such as "Not-Sew Wicked Stepmom" and "Killer Peter," set the stage for engaging storytelling.

Manhwa is hot right now, thanks to hit anime adaptations of beloved stories like Tower of God or The God of High School. Stories in manhwa or webtoon form are not all power fantasies and Solo Leveling analogues. The best manhwa vary in content or subject, bearing distinctive traits of their creator or creative team, and often capture readers' attention from the first chapter.

Thanks to Korean comics' increasingly appealing stylistic traits, Manhwa is an increasingly global phenomenon. While the term may refer to its print editions, it has a thriving online community.

The online variant is referred to as webtoons, and although its creators are predominantly Korean, the international community has been embraced as contributors as well. For fans, though, the best is yet to come as awareness of manhwa's eye-catching detail and gorgeous full-color art is on an upward trajectory.

Related 10 Best Anime Adaptations of Manhwa Manhwa adaptations are taking over the anime world with unexpected and innovative stories and characters.

10 Not-Sew Wicked Stepmom

A Snow White Isekai Manhwa Where the Hero Reincarnates as a Villainess

For isekai fans seeking another world to jump into, this blend of elegant fantasy and wholesome villainess redemption is saccharine but a worthwhile treat. The wicked stepmother trope is significantly played out in fairy tales and Disney adaptations and mocked in How I Met Your Mother. In Not-Sew Wicked Stepmom, children's fashion designer Baekhap Lee reincarnates after a tragic fate to be reborn as Abigail Freidkin, glowering stepmother to Princess Blanche.

Not-So Wicked Stepmom is one of the best isekai manhwa to captivate readers with a concept that is quite specifically in demand: a Snow White homage. After all, villainess stories are all the rage in anime form, and the evil stepmother trope is one of the most fundamental and expected trends in all popular fiction. But seeing the reborn Abigail buck her hateful husband Sabrian's distrust while doing everything she can to dote on Blanche leaves a perfect first impression for readers.

9 My In-Laws Are Obsessed With Me

A Twisted Fantasy Romance

Stories where victims of nefarious schemes aren't new to any medium, but the first chapters of My In-Laws Are Obsessed With Me make for a fascinating manhwa premise. Chapter #0 lures readers with a surprisingly upbeat, elegant portrayal of a family all too eager to embrace their newest addition. Chapter #1, however, feels like the sugar-sweet moments start to be shown at a canted angle, with a more sinister plot motivating it.

My In-Laws Are Obsessed With Me starts its first chapters as a manhwa introducing readers to Pereshati Jahardt, daughter to a count who passed away, leaving her his fortune. This results in Pereshati's stepfamily and boyfriend conspiring to murder her and reap the benefits. However, the murder doesn't stick, with Pereshati being sent back in time before the events of her murder transpire. In one of the best first chapters of manhwa, she hastily asks to marry into the Lapileon family to plot her revenge, without realizing they too had dark secrets.

Related 10 Best Enemies To Lovers Manhwa From Purple Hyacinth's to Iseop's Romance, these are the best enemies to lovers manhwa that every romance fan needs to try reading at least once.

8 Please Don't Come to the Villainess' Stationery Store!

This Vessel Was Hopeless in Business Anyway

Manhwa readers unsatisfied with a Snow White-themed isekai might find Please Don't Come to the Villainess' Stationery Store! a worthy substitute. The main character possesses a villainess and quickly discards many of her original ambitions and techniques. It tonally feels more subtle than other villainess stories. Still, it's also relatable, features an underrated romance in its manhwa, and scratches the readers' itch for a cozy story that conceals tension.

Please Don't Come to the Villainess' Stationery Store! centers upon the spiritual inhabitant of Maldenique Vaveloa, the spiteful half-sister of a harlequin romance novel's female lead. The first chapter lays out the main character's predicament, having to create a successful business venture to stay afloat while staying out of trouble; thus, the sweets and stationery store is born. After all, if the events of the book play out as usual, Maldenique tries to murder the romance novel's female lead, Sheria, and is beheaded for her crimes. As a result, this is an entertaining yet thrilling first manhwa chapter.

7 The Greatest Real Estate Developer

A Mixture of Isekai and Game UI Manhwa Tropes With a Twist

For those who want a sampling of the game user interface isekai storylines that make series like Solo Leveling so popular, many manhwa don't always have the best first chapters. Many take several installments to get off the ground as a proof of concept, with their central gimmicks making or breaking their success, like in Overgeared or Tomb Raider King. The Greatest Real Estate Developer, though, is self-aware from the first chapter, with its main character given a unique RPG skill, 'Human Scum.'

The first chapters of The Greatest Real Estate Developer are delightful, showing the hijinks of civil engineering student Suho Kim as he is thrust into an isekai adventure for this manhwa. The story even acknowledges its tropes, down to Suho, freshly incarnated as local scumbag heir Lloyd Frontera, who realizes he's a supporting character in "Knight of Blood and Iron," a novel he recently read. He quickly realizes he can reverse his character's misfortune by using his engineering skills, with the story's world pushing him to build relationships with the characters of the world.

6 The Boxer

JH's Brilliant and Moody Atmosphere Comes to Life in the Ring

The Boxer (2020) Writers JH Penciler(s) JH Inker(s) JH Publisher(s) Line Webtoon

Ji-hun Jeong, commonly credited as JH, is among the most renowned and beloved manhwa creators. The first chapters of The Boxer illustrate this using a potent yet minimalist approach. Colors are used sparingly in many JH works, and their absence helps convey the vacuous apathy projected by its sullen protagonist. Generally, The Boxer is a standard recommendation as one of the best manhwa.

The story opens with a colorless rendition of a young, beaten child resting on the streets, approached by a man bathed in light, conveying a message of hope against a brilliant, glittering starlit sky. There's a promise that the two meet again when the boy is more robust, and then the story cuts away from the child, focusing instead on a local gym that recruits a cocky boxing prodigy. The coaches talk about this latest stellar find for their gym, but in the process, spot that same boy, Yu, who has grown older, being beaten up by local punks.

The appeal of JH's chapter structure is often in the fascinating characters, their dark atmosphere, and a straightforward, concise story that expertly compels readers not to put the proverbial book down. The Boxer is also not the strongest and, most importantly, not the only example of JH's excellent manhwa, yet it stands head and shoulders over many others, even its first chapters.

5 Jungle Juice

An Action-Packed Page-Turner of a Manhwa

Sometimes, a manhwa can offer what Western superhero comics have taken for granted, and Jungle Juice does precisely that in its first chapters. For fans of X-Men or Jeff Lemire's Animal Man run, Jungle Juice is a phenomenal, approachable read with gorgeous art, distinctive characters, and an incredible bug-themed gimmick. For Suchan Jang, the road to his destiny begins when he is forced from his social privilege by what he believes to be a grotesque physical change: he has grown dragonfly wings. Spending years concealing his gift, he becomes accepted by a school of bug-human hybrids.

In several respects, Jungle Juice's first chapters as a manhwa feel like Suchan being inducted to a bug-themed Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. The chapter details his brief origin story involving the fateful incident where he uses a recalled bug repellant on a dragonfly, dissolving it and accidentally inhaling its fumes. This gives him his dragonfly wings, which he conceals while juggling a thriving social life and even a love interest, Mihui. Still, it's all turned upside down when a terrifying mantis-human assailant attacks Suchan and his date.

In a world of fight-or-flight, Suchan can do both. He saves Mihui using the gift he'd hidden for so long, but in the process, he can never return to his old life. The series is loaded with action, features some of the best art in the business, and is an excellent recommendation for newcomers to manhwa.

Related 10 Best Manhwa Every Fan of Video Games Needs to Read Fans of video games will find all the elements of gameplay they crave in manhwa, from simple role play to more immersive, complex quests.

4 Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint

A Webnovel Fan Thinks He Found a Hidden Gem, but Instead, It's the Key to His Survival

Omniscient Reader (2020) Writers Shing Shong Penciler(s) Sleepy-C Inker(s) Sleepy-C Colorist(s) Sleepy-C Publisher(s) Line Webtoon

With a recent emerging rush of added manhwa enthusiasm after the successful Solo Leveling anime, curious fans typically turn up Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint as stories similar to Chugong's classic. However, this claim is a disservice to the excellent storytelling in Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint, which has an arguably better premise. The series focuses on Dokja Kim, seemingly the only reader of a mysterious web novel that shows him how the world will end.

Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint will receive five feature films to adapt its story, the first of which will be released in 2025.

The series plays like many other fantasies and RPG-inspired, game UI-laden adventures with an overpowered protagonist. It's a power fantasy, but one where the character is keenly aware of his power from the start, empowered by the words of "Three Ways to Survive the Apocalypse," namely that as its sole reader, he will survive the events it predicts.

The first chapters of the Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint suggest a bleak fate if Dokja doesn't adapt accordingly, but he correctly treats the story's events like a game, where he knows the rules as written and grows vastly more potent for it.

3 Purple Hyacinth

For Maximum Effect, Read the Webtoon With the Sound On

Manhwa is used interchangeably with its webtoon variant, and Naver Webtoon is an excellent resource for checking out the hottest new series. One of Webtoon's most fascinating features that enhances reading experiences is bespoke background music embedded in specific chapters, like with Purple Hyacinth. This manhwa's first chapters convey the sad feelings of the protagonist as it quickly introduces readers to a world recovering from a recent, unsolved tragedy.

Purple Hyacinth smacks of neo-noir influence, namely in its tortured protagonist, Lauren, who operates as a masked enforcer of order haunted by a critical loss from the past, a mysterious bombing known as the Allendale Train Station Tragedy. Yet, despite such an ominous and dark premise, the series retains its light as Lauren attempts to cope and even dates with her close friend nearby to bail her out when outings go poorly.

One especially noteworthy trait about this series is that it's done by Ephemerys and Sophism, two Canadian creators, while still firmly inhabiting the manhwa style.

2 Killer Peter

A Wonderfully Detailed Manhwa With Deceptively Varying Tones

The retired elite hitman is by no means a new concept. Still, Killer Peter is also one of the most perfect executions of the idea, brilliantly showcased by one of the most vital first chapters in manhwa history. The premise reads like an extreme interpretation of John Wick, where Peter Bae is verging on old age instead of being simply middle-aged. Yet, his instincts remain sharp as he fends off assailants from his old organization, Glory Club, with an immensely high 7.6bn Won price on his head.

Former assassins rejoining the scene beyond their years are common in movies and TV shows, most recently in memorable cases like John Wick and Nobody.

Killer Peter's first chapter is not only enough to get readers hooked, but it's also practically immaculate with its details. It retains a distinctive manhwa feel to its style but is thoroughly convincing, its world and characters portrayed with unflinching clarity. In the first chapters, Peter lays out everything readers need to know about its eponymous protagonist as he tries to live out his days peacefully at a bookstore, slowly dying of cancer. However, an attempt on his life to try and extract the massive bounty on his head, Peter appears to die, only to be reborn as his younger self in his prime.

The result is one of the finest introductions to any action comic, and even though its premise is derivative, it's perfectly executed. Peter regains his former self, impressive strength, and agility and sets out on a quest for revenge against his former employers, which leaves readers craving more.

1 The Horizon

JH's Masterpiece Hooks Readers in Chapter #1, and Never Lets Go

The Horizon (2021) Writers Ji-hun Jeong Penciler(s) Ji-hun Jeong Inker(s) Ji-hun Jeong Colorist(s) Ji-hun Jeong Publisher(s) Line Webtoon

JH's work and manhwa style on The Boxer is elite, but The Horizon is transcendent as a work of fiction across any medium. It's harrowing, bleak, and at times even hopeful, as a masterful labor of storytelling, minimalist use of color, and decisive, grim atmosphere. The reader will have nothing but questions and feel entranced in wanting to know where this manhwa goes after its first chapters.

JH's work on The Boxer is elite, but The Horizon is transcendent as a work of fiction across any medium.

The Horizon's first chapter introduces a young boy trying to survive a catastrophic event that's killed seemingly everyone else. His mother hastily hides him away until unseen chaos ensues, which is revealed to be a massacre, leaving everyone, including his mother, dead. Beware; the uncensored version of this comic is incredibly graphic.

There's a tragic beauty in The Horizon's first chapter, though, as the boy finds a fellow survivor, a young girl, and the two bond over mutual trauma. Their odyssey carries them through literal warzones, and it shows grim prospects for their survival, but presented with the road ahead, the two decide to see where it leads instead of giving into despair. It's uplifting, yet horrendously bleak as far as manhwa goes, but it's the most impactful series in recent memory, from the first chapters to its last.