10 Best Webtoon Originals, According To Reddit

From K-pop to K-drama, Korean pop culture has garnered many fans amongst Western audiences in the past decade. Similarly, Webtoons, a digital comic format originating from South Korea, have surged in popularity in English-speaking countries. This has given rise to many webtoon publisher platforms from which individual creators publish their original content.

The most popular of these online platforms, Webtoon, directly partner with content creators to produce original webtoons known as Webtoon Originals. A number of these Originals have become quite popular within the webtoon community. For example, Reddit user No-Painting-2244, posted under the r/webtoons subreddit their favorite Originals, which has led many to approve and share their favorites as well.

In The Bleak Midwinter

A sci-fi webtoon from UK creators Kat and Ali, set in a post-apocalyptic future, In The Bleak Midwinter, follows Anya who recently wakes up from cryogenic sleep to find a world turned upside down in the aftermath of the human-android war. This series has been particularly noted for its use of originally composed music to heighten the atmosphere and tension in certain scenes.

Reddit user No-Painting-2244 writes that while this webtoon’s “art is beautiful and the world-building is well done” they feel that it will probably rise on their favorites list once In The Bleak Midwinter makes their long-awaited return from their hiatus.

The Boxer

This intense boxing-themed webtoon follows the exploits of Yu, a superhuman monster who turns to boxing to find meaning in their life. Reddit user No-Painting-2244 comments that one does not even need to be a boxing fan to appreciate this story.

They go on to explain that the story “doesn’t revolve around the protagonist, it revolves around the people he beats and their lives afterward.” The dark and foreboding character design and background art alone makes this unique webtoon worth a read.

Parallel City

The story of parkour phenom, Min, whose missing friend, Jung, suddenly reappears. Min then attempts to uncover the mystery of people who reported seeing their doppelgangers.

Reddit user No-Painting-2244 remarks that they were caught off guard by all the unpredictable twists and turns. This webtoon does a great job of blending the well-worn tropes of mystery, sci-fi, fantasy, action, and horror into a refreshingly unconventional story.

Unholy Blood

A supernatural vampire-themed webtoon series created by Lina Im, Unholy Blood is set in near-future South Korea where vampires have infiltrated society and begun attacking people. The main character, Hayan, is a seemingly average college student with a dark secret, she’s a pureblood vampire. She teams up with non-nonsense Detective Hwang, of the police’s anti-vampire task force, to rein in the vampire menace and take back their city.

Reddit user No-Painting-2244 describes how the artwork of this webtoon is especially epic and that the protagonist, Hayan, is an admirable and total badass.

Brass & Sass

A high school “band class-themed” romance webtoon, Brass & Sass follows a wholesome group of band geeks who can’t help but fall in love with each other. The main love story is between Camilla, who lacks musical talent but makes up for in passion, and Victor, a handsome yet dour musician.

Reddit user No-Painting-2244 goes on to explain that the “character development is amazing and it portrays people, problems and high school in such a realistic way.” and that “out of all the Romance Webtoons I read, I think this is the one that does the romance part the best.”

Not Even Bones

A unique blend between thriller, horror, and dark fantasy genres, Not Even Bones is based on a young adult novel of the same name, which follows Nita and her scheming mother, who run a family business that sells the body parts of supernatural beings on the internet. Nita does the dissecting and her mother does the killing. However, Nita’s morals get tested when her Mother brings back a living subject to be dissected.

Reddit user No-Painting-2244 loves how original the setup for this webtoon is and the unique monsters featured in the story. The protagonist, Nita, is just as unique as the plot and throughout the series “you understand her and the motives behind her actions”.

Annarasumanara

For those looking for a short and sweet series that has already concluded, Annarasumanara is your webtoon. The story follows Yoon Ah Yi, a struggling high school student, who has dreamed of becoming a magician since she was a little girl. One day Yoon Ah Yi meets the enigmatic Lee Eul, who is himself a magician, and she decides to follow her dreams and her old life is turned upside down. The original webtoon was so popular that Netflix is now developing a live-action K-drama adaptation called The Sound of Magic.

Reddit user No-Painting-2244 raves that Annarasumanara is “beautiful in a way that I cannot understand. The visuals are outstanding, the composition of every panel and the use of color is *chefs kiss* worth the daily pass.”

Taste Of Illness

From the same creator as Annarasumanara, Taste Of Illness has a darker tone to it and explores hard-hitting topics like anxiety, depression, and mental illness. The story follows the budding friendship of two loners whose delicate bond is constantly being attacked by a mysterious black sludge that infects one of them.

Reddit user N0-Painting-2244 adores the “ways the characters have been written and how they bond.” And that the story “has a hidden message that was never ONCE mentioned it was about and that caught my attention considerably.”.

Dr. Frost

A unique blend between Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Gregory House, this webtoon follows the titular Dr. Frost, an anti-social psychologist, as he solves the mysteries of the human mind through no-nonsense reasoning and cold logic. Contrasting that with Seonga Yoon, a “Dr. Watson” type character that serves as Frost’s assistant. Seonga uses her human warmth and kindness to try to melt Frost’s cold exterior, with varying degrees of success.

Reddit user N0-Painting-2244 notes that they love how “contrasting Frost and Seonga are. One is full of emotions and one isn’t. He just cannot understand her.” The success of this webtoon led to a 2014 live-action K-drama series of the same name.

Purple Hyacinth

Reddit user No-Painting-2244’s absolute favorite webtoon, Purple Hyacinth, follows police officer Lauren Sinclair, who possesses the special ability to detect lies. She teams up with the Purple Hyacinth, a notorious assassin, to take down the criminal organization that wronged them both.

What makes this webtoon so uniquely awesome, according to Reddit user No-Painting-2244, is the “art, the story, the music, the symbolism, the motifs, the foreshowing, the parallels, the character development, the humor, and comedy are all done amazingly. So many symbols are carried throughout the whole series.”