The manhwa medium is undoubtedly very popular for its typically overpowered tropes, where superhuman strength and epic battles often steal the spotlight. However, it is not a stretch to say there’s something undeniably captivating about protagonists who rely on strategy and wit rather than brute force to achieve their goals.
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These characters rely more on their intellectual skills, wit, and careful planning to outmatch their opponents, proving that brains really do outmatch brawn. In this piece, we will highlight the best manhwa titles that fall into this category, examining how the central character emphasizes their intellect and skills and their detailed plot twists. Therefore, the best manhwa with protagonists who prefer brain over brawn are below.
10 The Kings Avatar
Alternative Titles: Full-Time Expert
- Creator(s): Butterfly Blue, Chang Pan Yongzhe, D. Ian Cang Lan
- Genre: Action, Comedy, Fantasy, Sports
- No. of Chapters: 169 (Ongoing)
E-Sports takes center stage in the Kings Avatar series, following the protagonist, Ye Xiu, the unbeatable expert of the multiplayer online game Glory. The series through Ye Xiu explores professional gaming from a rather overpowered perspective, detailing what pro gaming actually looks like.
Following a forceful expulsion from his professional team, Ye Xiu finds himself a job as a manager at an internet cafe. However, as a veteran gamer with ten years of experience in Glory, it is impossible to resist the urge to jump back into the game after it releases its tenth server. With memories of the past and the goal to get back to the top, Ye Xiu begins his journey back into professional gaming.
9 The Academy’s Undercover Professor
Alternative Titles: N/A
- Creator(s): Tana, Sayren, Wag
- Genre: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy, Drama, Mystery, Supernatural
- No. of Chapters: 93 (Ongoing)
The Academy’s Undercover Professor presents the central character’s many lives. This young man reincarnates into a magical world after dying suddenly due to his unbelief in his mother’s teachings on religion. He is now Professor Ludger Chelysie in this new life, or is he really? Or is he the feared Machiavelli or the infamous Gerrard?
Assuming many identities to continue his search, Professor Ludger Chelysie is just another one of the many identities needed for his goal. Taking on the professor’s identity after the real Ludger dies aboard a train, little does he know that the owner of his new identity is involved with a deep and dark secret. Now, as Professor Ludger, he must take care to have his cover exposed.
8 Overgeared
Alternative Titles: N/A
- Creator(s): Saenal, Monohumbug
- Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy
- No. of Chapters: 255 (Ongoing)
The Overgeared series takes VR gaming up a notch, following the life of Shin Youngwoo, the protagonist. There is no in-between for people like Youngwoo in the online game ‘Satisfy.’ You are either among the best or the lowest of lows.
Youngwoo finds himself part of the unlucky lows until he accidentally discovers a legendary class item called Pagma’s Successor, transforming him into the game’s most skilled blacksmith. Now able to craft the best in-game gear and equipment, Youngwoo is on his way to legendary fame and fortune, all by crafting and selling equipment.
7 Kingdom of the Queen
Alternative Titles: N/A
- Creator(s): Bitoru, Chira
- Genre: Drama, Fantasy, Historical
- No. of Chapters: 124
The Kingdom of the Queen is precisely as its title sounds: a kingdom ruled and dominated by a queen. The series lays its foundations in the Kingdom of Blenheim, where even though the national ruler is a woman, the nation is made for men.
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However, with the nation’s highest authority belonging to a woman and the nation being one where women are also restricted in what they can do or be even, it is only a matter of time before a female ambition seizes the hearts of the people. The series follows four girls of the Blenheim Kingdom, who have set the crown as their ultimate goal and are hell-bent on revolutionizing the kingdom.
6 The Legendary Moonlight Sculptor
Alternative Titles: N/A
- Creator(s): Lee Do-Gyeong, Nam Heesung. Kim Tae-Hyung
- Genre: Romance, Sci-Fi, Action, Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
- No. of Chapters: 169 (Ongoing)
The Legendary Moonlight Sculptor details an expansive tale of the essence of being able to work within a means, albeit obsessively, through the lens of a virtual reality game. The story’s central character, Hyun Lee, lives in poverty with his grandmother and works part-time.
To earn money, Hyun Lee is no stranger to odd tasks until he enters the virtual reality game Royal Road. By accepting a side quest to become a sculptor, Hyun Lee realizes he can make money through the game. However, with sculpting fees very little, Hyun makes up his mind to build a character skilled enough to save his family from poverty.
5 How To Use A Returner
Alternative Titles: Regressor Instruction Manual
- Creator(s): Domi, Wooden Spoon, Midnight Studio
- Genre: Fantasy, Adventure, Romance
- No. of Chapters: 116 (Ongoing)
Getting suddenly summoned to a separate world crawling with monsters, with nothing but the ability to see the skills of others, sounds like a truly horrifying experience, and Giyoung Lee couldn’t agree more in the How To Use A Returner series. Giyoung finds his life altered forever on a random night after being suddenly summoned to another world, where survival is a game of life and death.
Summoned alongside other players, with nothing but a single skill that allows him to see the skills of others, Giyoung quickly finds that the monsters are the least of his worries. An opportunity finds Giyoung when he encounters another character, Hyunsung, who he discovers is a regressor of this new world. With his cunning wit, Giyoung finds Hyunsung the perfect shield to ensure his survival and eventual return to his old life.
Alternative Titles: N/A
- Creator(s): Jee Gab Song, Carrotoon
- Genre: Drama, Fantasy, Action, Adventure
- No. of Chapters: 105 (Ongoing)
The Novel’s Extra brings to life the reality of the protagonist’s creation, following the central character, Kim Hajin, as he suddenly wakes up in the world of his self-authored web novel. As if it can’t get any worse, Kim has only been reincarnated as an extra in the book, and this was nothing short of a nightmare for him.
With no choice but to see the story through, Kim Hajin is lucky as he knows everything within this world, including all that is to happen. However, Kim Hajin starts to feel unsure of what he knows when the story begins to veer from his original designs.
3 The Greatest Estate Developer
Alternative Titles: N/A
- Creator(s): BK_Moon, Lee Hyun-Min
- Genre: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy
- No. of Chapters: 167 (Ongoing)
The Greatest Estate Developer disproves the overpowered MC trope that typically follows a reincarnation series through its protagonist, Suho Kim. The story begins with the central character, Suho Kim after he falls asleep while reading a web novel. Mysteriously, he awakens to find that he has been reincarnated into the novel he was reading as the character Lloyd Frontera of the declining noble house of Frontera.
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Even worse, his family is on the verge of drowning in debt. With a new life and no way of returning to his old one, Suho, Lloyd decides to prevent his family’s impending bankruptcy. Relying on his engineering knowledge from his previous life, Lloyd starts to design inventions with the hopes of raising enough to change his family’s fate.
2 Trash of The Count’s Family
Alternative Titles: Lout of The Count’s Family
- Creator(s): Elegant Yoo Ryeo Han
- Genre: Action, Fantasy, Comedy, Adventure
- No. of Chapters: 134 (Ongoing)
Trash of the Count’s Family presents a peculiar story alongside a peculiar central character in this exciting reincarnation series. The story begins with the central character, Kim Roksu, an ordinary young man who finds himself reincarnated into his favorite novel. Not only has he been reincarnated, but he has been reincarnated as Cale Henituse, the eldest son of Count Henituse and a minor villain in the novel’s original story.
Even worse, Cale is the first villain to die at the hands of Choi Han, the story’s original protagonist. Knowing his fate, Kim Roksu, now Cale Henituse, is bent on averting this very future and is willing to do whatever it takes. However, Cale’s actions unintentionally affect the story’s original timeline.
1 A Returner’s Magic Should Be Special
Alternative Titles: Returner’s Special Magic
- Creator(s): Sun-Wook Jeon, So-Nan Yoo
- Genre: Action, Comedy, Adventure, Drama, Romance, Supernatural, Slice of Life
- No. of Chapters: 269 (Ongoing)
A Returner’s Magic Should Be Special is a spectacular mix of regression and fantasy premised on the destruction of all humanity or supposed destruction. The series revolves around the central character, Desir Hermann, humanity’s last hope, alongside five other heroes against the Shadow World.
In a final stand to defeat their enemies, the six heroes are on the verge of perishing until Desir mysteriously awakens thirteen years in the past, just before the entrance exams for the Hebrion Magic Academy. With a golden second chance to prevent the world’s destruction, Desir is determined to put his life on the line once again.
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