10 Best Isekai Manhwa That Need an Anime Adaptation ASAP

Isekai isn’t exactly a new genre, but it feels like it’s exploded in popularity in recent years. The genre has also evolved a lot, and there are so many ways it can be used in a series to keep the dynamics of exploring a new world feeling new and exciting. You have the rather classic version of isekai in The Reason Raeliana Ended Up at the Duke’s Mansion, which has the main character transmigrate into the novel Beatrice as Raeliana, a character who dies before the novel’s start. Then, you have Doctor Elise, which has Elise relive her first life after experiencing a modern life as a doctor, where she vows to avoid her past mistakes this time. While both of those series already have an anime adaptation, these manhwa need to be brought to the screen next.

A lot of isekai manhwa are written in a way that’s perfect for an anime adaptation, and the rise in popularity of anime based on manhwa is helped by recent hits like Solo Leveling and other action-packed manhwa. However, action is far from the only genre that has great manhwa options, and isekai is filled with hidden gems that are worth checking out even if they don’t get an anime adaptation.

1. The Greatest Estate Developer

From a civil engineering student to a lazy noble with a lot of family debt, Suho Kim knows what awaits him in the future if he keeps following Lloyd Frontera’s path, whose body he woke up in because Lloyd is a character from a fantasy novel. The Greatest Estate Developer follows Suho Kim as Lloyd Frontera, working to avoid his terrible future by putting his civil engineering skills to the test in this new world. This series is filled with humor and an amazing cast of characters, and it’s honestly shocking that it hasn’t already been picked up for an anime adaptation with how good it is overall.

2. Villains Are Destined to Die

Siyeon Cha was obsessed with a game to the point that it started taking over her life. She managed to clear the game on normal, where you play as Ivonne. But in hard mode, she’s faced death repeatedly as Penelope Eckhart, only to have the stakes raised when she wakes up in Penelope’s body.

The game gives her a minimal amount of help by letting her view the affection score of the male leads, but Penelope knows that she has a limited amount of time to reach a score of 100 with a male lead if she wants to save herself from death. It might be a stressful ride, but this story is worth checking out and perfect for an anime adaptation.

3. Pick Me Up!

Gacha games are already frustrating enough on their own, but Loki—one of the top five world masters of the game—finds himself in what seems like an impossible situation when he wakes up as Islat Han inside the game “Pick Me Up!” Not only is he a 1-star level 1 hero, he has to lead other players and complete the 100th floor of the dungeon, which nobody has been able to do yet, if he wants to be able to return to his normal life on Earth. It’s the perfect blend of game elements and action for an anime adaptation.

4. Secret Lady

Ostracized for her ability to see ghosts, Yoon Seolwoo is reborn as Rosentine Arzen, but she chooses to hide her ability—which came to her new life with her—this time to protect herself and her loving family, since the ability to see ghosts isn’t exactly praised in this empire. It goes well enough until Rosentine’s ability clues her in on a plot to poison Prince Charteris Kartazen. Determined to save the prince, Rosentine decides to pretend she’s a sorcerer to figure out who’s behind the plot while keeping her true ability hidden to avoid being killed. You get a little bit of romance, a side of mystery, and a whole lot of drama.

5. Beware The Villainess!

A college student wakes up in the body of Melissa Foddebrat, a minor villainess in the novel she was reading. Melissa doesn’t die in the story, but she’s certainly not happy by the end either. Well, this new Melissa is determined to forge her own path toward a happy ending, and that means she’ll need to use her knowledge of future events to her advantage.

This manhwa is hilarious. Melissa steals the glory of the crown prince by finding a magic sword before him and discovering she has a talent for swordsmanship, she keeps the male leads in line while winning the heart of the female lead, and she saves a character who was destined to die. Naturally, this angers the “god” of her world, who’s the author trying to fix Melissa’s meddling.

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6. Who Made Me a Princess?

Being reborn as a princess would be amazing, but not when you become a princess from a novel you read, and you happen to know that your fate is to die at your father’s hands before you even reach adulthood. That’s the situation that Athanasia finds herself in, and she has to figure out a plan if she wants to live.

With the path ahead of her anything but easy, Athanasia starts planning to live quietly while collecting valuable items that she can use to fund her escape plan and provide enough money for her to keep living decently outside of the palace. However, she unexpectedly attracts the emperor’s attention, which makes her plans more difficult to execute. At the same time, she starts learning information that provides new context to what she knows from the novel, and it turns out that the situation isn’t as simple as she thought.

7. Surviving the Game as a Barbarian

Who hasn’t wanted to wake up in the world of their favorite video game? That’s what happens to Hansu Lee, who’s spent the last nine years playing an RPG that nobody has been able to beat. Once he reaches the dungeon that holds the final boss, he receives a notification that he’s completed the tutorial. From there, he finds himself in the body of Bjorn Yandel, a barbarian inside the game, and gets to start his new journey. Surviving the Game as a Barbarian is a fun read that captures similar vibes to Delicious in Dungeon and Dungeons and Dragons.

8. The Divine Surgeon

Dr. Han Jinsoo has lived an unlucky life, despite doing his best to be a good person. In the end, all that got him was fired from his job, swindled by a con man, and killed by his own professor. After his death, Han Jinsoo is offered the chance to live another life, and he finds himself in the body of Hua Tuo, the legendary physician who lived during the Eastern Han Dynasty.

Unfortunately, medicine during the Eastern Han Dynasty is quite different from medicine in the modern age, so Han Jinsoo has to learn to live up to his new identity without the luxury of modern medicine to help him during this exciting historical adventure.

9. Kill the Villainess

An overworked employee finds herself in the body of Eris Miserian, the villainess of a romance novel she read. As a noble, she could live a decent life, but Eris switches up the script and avoids going down the somewhat standard isekai path of working to change the future of her new life. Instead, Eris is determined to die in order to return to her past life.

Of course, dying isn’t easy, and the novel actively prevents her from dying ahead of the time she’s supposed to in the novel. With some help from unlikely allies, she puts together a plan that makes sure she’ll die and stay dead for the sake of going home.

10. FFF-Class Trashero

Hansoo Kang is a normal boy who ends up in Fantasia, a world that’s run by demons. He believes that his task is simple: defeat the lord of Fantasia and return back to his regular life. As it turns out, raising his might high enough to face the lord of Fantasia and defeat him is rather easy. With that done, Hansoo Kang waits to be taken back to his world.

Unfortunately, Hansoo Kang gets a report card from god with failing grades, because might isn’t the only requirement to be a hero. Still stuck in Fantasia, Hansoo Kang has to develop a new plan to return to his normal life, and that includes learning about what it means to be a hero.

Manhwa has a ton of hidden gems for every genre, so while this set is great to get you started with isekai stories that definitely need an anime adaptation, it can also help you start your journey into the world of manhwa. Even if none of these isekai manhwa ever become an anime, they’re worth taking the time to read.