The Rise of Webtoon-Inspired Anime Series

In a very short time, Webtoons have become so popular that they have changed the way that anime fans are involved with comics and narratives. Webtoons are different from the regular comics or manga and give a completely new concept altogether, as these stories are meant to be read on digital platforms only. Designed for the internet, they are normally presented on a single page in a vertical manner with large fonts appropriate for utilization in smartphones and other gadgets. Initially created in South Korea, webtoons have now gone global; most of them are easily accessible, and reading them is relatively easy.

Today, webtoons have been adapted into anime, which gives these kinds of stories popularity among more viewers. Webtoon-inspired anime shows a huge trend in how studios are much more willing to adapt webtoons into anime these days. Thus, works initially created for webtoons are migrating to television screens, thus beginning a new generation of anime based on digital graphic narratives.

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What Makes Webtoon Special?

A Totally Digital and Cool Platform

To be distinguished from other comics like manga, Webtoons are a type of digital-first comic. Deep, scrolling content articles that are more appropriate to the online medium are formatted for easy reading on mobile devices. This accessibility makes them convenient for global readers, since they can get to the webtoons at any time and in any place through the uniquely provided apps or websites. Webtoons can be found on websites like ‘Webtoon.com,’ which provide free and paid webtoons, so anyone can read them easily. These factors and their convenience and format are the principal reasons why the medium has grown so rapidly.

Webtoons are known to be versatile, and many webtoons can be in any genre and theme of the writer’s choice: love, fantasy, action, and reality, among others. Unlike traditional comics, webtoons are the most diverse, both in characters and the stories that they tell. It is a common observation that most webtoons depict narratives and characters of different ethnicities and sometimes address social concerns. One of the reasons that webtoons have received so much attention and love from the audience is their inclusiveness. From the standpoint of a creator and fan, webtoons are a genuine way to put an author’s vision of their story across; webtoons are, in turn, a valuable and dear medium.

Webtoons vs. Manga: The Key Differences

The Format and Reading Experience

Webtoons are essentially the same as manga, or graphic narratives, but the delivery formats are different. Manga is generally published in black and white, although this has been slowly changing in recent years, and is read from right to left, just like its Japanese counterparts. Unlike comic books, webtoons can be colored and built for continuous vertical reading on digital devices, which makes the corresponding story fluent. The altered presentation offers a different way through which webtoon fans can experience the reading of this content on the device that is commonly used for reading digital content, such as smartphones and tablets. The top and bottom parts specialize in different kinds of aesthetics, so that there are a variety of ways viewers can consume the material.

Another primary contrast is the distribution of both formats. Manga, as a rule, are published in magazines and then compiled into volumes, and fans follow each new issue to come out. Webtoons, in contrast, are almost always present on the web and complete, sorted into chapters that can be released at set intervals. Webtoon readers enjoy immediate accessibility to releases, as webtoon series do not require numerous printed editions: they are available online at once. This easily accessible feature is one of the factors making webtoons a favorite among young audiences who only consume them via the internet.

Webtoons’ Impact on Artists and Fans

More Opportunities for Authors and Bigger Communities

Webtoons are incredibly generous and can provide artists with a lot of freedom. Webtoon creators have total control of their work and the ability to publish their work on the internet with no help from print comic companies. It is also in the webtoons, which are also mostly digital, that artists are likely to have more immediate responses from the readers, feedback that assists in the development of webtoons in real time with considerably more fan interaction.

In the case of fans, webtoons are special because you can interact with the creators in real life. On most sites, people tag episodes and talk about twists and even communicate directly with authors. Firstly, there is a community aspect because of the need to interact with other readers and the creators of the content. Further, the availability of new chapters as they are produced fosters an interactive fan-show creator interaction. This interaction has been instrumental in making webtoons popular—readers feel like they are part of another bigger undertaking.

Some Famous and Worthwhile Webtoons

Solo Leveling

The most popular anime based on the webtoon these days has to be Solo Leveling, the story of Sung Jinwoo, a weak hunter rising to a powerful figure in a world full of magic beasts. The anime adaptation of the webtoon, which quickly became very popular after its release in 2024. The anime adaptation has already far exceeded expectations because the audiences are constantly given top-tier animation for this series from A-1 Pictures. The audience is excited to know the direction of what they will explore in the anime in terms of action-based fight scenes and complex environments presented in the webtoon.

Tower of God

Tower of God is yet another famous webtoon that has also been adapted into anime. It is based on the story of a boy named Bam, who finds himself inside an enormous tower looking for his childhood friend, Rachel. Every floor of the Tower is different; there are many characters whose stories are connected with the main plot. Well, the anime series was launched in 2020, and many viewers pointed to the show’s ability to present the spirit of the webtoon, especially the art style and the setting of the show. Tower of God played a significant role in revealing the world of webtoons to a broader audience and is notable for its positive impact on the increase in the number of anime based on webtoons.

Noblesse

Noblesse is one of the earliest examples of a webtoon being adapted to anime format, and that demonstrates that webtoons have the potential to thrive in anime format. Developed by Son Jeho and Lee Kwangsu, the story revolves around Cadis Etrama Di Raizel (Rai), an immortal vampire noble who was asleep for over 820 years and now finds himself in the modern world trying to protect humans while at the same time dealing with the same. Largely adapted in 2020 by Production I.G., who preserved the webtoon’s impressive and dynamic art and maintained the show’s nice action scenes. Despite some fans seeing the anime as too fast-paced in some aspects of the show’s storyline it was a good anime from start to finish.

ReLife

The anime series takes a sweet and thoughtful look at second chances at life and revolves around a 27-year-old man named Arata Kaizaki who receives the opportunity to redo his high school life due to an experimental pill called ReLIFE. Originally a webtoon by Sō Yayoi, this storyline became incredibly popular thanks to the believable scenarios and semi-serious approach to emotion. The adaptation to the anime aired in 2016 and was produced by TMS Entertainment, and they did an excellent job illustrating and translating the feeling of the webtoon. Appreciated for its well-written cast and character development, ReLIFE became popular and revealed the joy that webtoons can bring to anime, as it served to bring the main idea of the webtoon to a wider audience and confirmed the webtoons’ role as one of the initiators of the webtoon into an anime trend.

Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint

Eagerly waiting to be adapted for an anime series, Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint is among the most awaited webtoons at the moment. This is the story of an unremarkable office employee, Kim Dokja, who gets transferred to the world of the web novel he used to read. With knowledge of the kind of plot he is warped into, yet the man finds himself in a world full of events and challenges that are threatening. It seems, by giving fans an anime adaptation, webtoons are taking on a new wave of popularity as fans wait for anime to do justice to this engrossing storyline and heavy narrative.

Future of Webtoon-Inspired Anime

Expanding the Medium and The Path Forward

Webtoon-inspired products have become successful in the anime market and have also brought more potential for the creators and studios, with more adaptations expected to be produced. Such series like Solo Leveling and Tower of God can testify that there are many fans of webtoon content in the anime version. This success is helping other ideas establish the comic adaptation of the webtoons to provide more anime-related stories for the viewers.

Fortunately, webtoon-inspired anime has a very bright future, especially with more audiences demanding more diverse and fresh stories. All these adaptations present a different and new dimension that readers across the globe can enjoy from the many stories that can be adapted. As a medium and as a source for anime, the popularity of webtoons is only growing, which means studios are going to continue bringing webtoons into the mainstream, thereby solidifying webtoons as an important part of entertainment in the international anime market.

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A-1 Pictures’ Solo Leveling is an anime based on Chugong’s popular web novel. Set in an unforgiving fantasy world where hunters explore dungeons filled with monsters, the vulnerable Sung Jinwoo gains a significant power boost after he is picked to be a solo player by the System. 

Release Date

January 7, 2024

Cast

Aleks Le
, Justin Briner
, Rebecca Wang
, Dani Chambers
, Michelle Rojas
, Kent Williams

Seasons

2

Studio

A-1 Pictures

Based On

Manhwa

Creator

Chugong

Writers

Noboru Kimura

Directors

Shunsuke Nakashige

Creator(s)

Chugong

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