102 replies to this topic

[svines85]

Here's a question to all those who strictly differ webtoon vs manhwa - what is The Breaker: New Waves? Is it a webtoon or is it manhwa?
Personally I don't really differ webtoons and manhwa, since most webtoons are korean, so I classify them as manhwa.

That one's a Daum online comic isn't it? Though it's been licensed and released in print in a number of countries as well.

 

Yup, good point, at least how I look at it is that "manhwa" is an "umbrella" term that would correctly refer to any Korean comic in either medium........ "webtoon" would just be a specific type of "manhwa". 

 

Along the same lines would be a manga like Freezing. A print publication whose publisher shut down its print publications and went to an all online format. So, is it no longer a "manga" but now a webtoon? Not to me.........but I also wouldn't argue if someone wanted to say it was now a "webtoon" either..........I'd just consider it to still be a "manga",  a "Japanese comic", which would cover either format. 

[Mizura]

Aww, this thread is a bit old but... I just wanted to point out something about the popularity of Tower of God:
- Naruto/Bleach/One Piece are well-known and popular because they've had their anime and manga spammed all over the world. They are The most heavily publicized franchises, and rode an initial wave of popularity of manga/anime in general.
- Tower of God (and other popular webtoons) became popular through Nothing but word-of-mouth!

Despite that, a number of webtoons have quickly soared to the Top 50 on many sites. I also suspect that Tower of God's numbers are skewed downwards on other sites because everybody reads them here (where they can use the more convenient one-strip mode).

On mangaupdates.com, Tower of God is ranked #3 for 6-months ranking and #5 in 3-months ranking (current monthly ranking is lower, but that's probably because SIU took several breaks). And on mangaupdates.com , it has the highest rating.

Given how many manga readers are still "not used to webtoons", I think that's absolutely remarkable, and says quite a few things about the appeal of the series itself.

Edited by Mizura, 17 October 2013 - 03:29 PM.

[svines85]

Spoiler

Aww, this thread is a bit old but... I just wanted to point out something about the popularity of Tower of God:
- Naruto/Bleach/One Piece are well-known and popular because they've had their anime and manga spammed all over the world. They are The most heavily publicized franchises, and rode an initial wave of popularity of manga/anime in general.
- Tower of God (and other popular webtoons) became popular through Nothing but word-of-mouth!

Despite that, a number of webtoons have quickly soared to the Top 50 on many sites. I also suspect that Tower of God's numbers are skewed downwards on other sites because everybody reads them here (where they can use the more convenient one-strip mode).

On mangaupdates.com, Tower of God is ranked #3 for 6-months ranking and #5 in 3-months ranking (current monthly ranking is lower, but that's probably because SIU took several breaks). And on mangaupdates.com , it has the highest rating.

Given how many manga readers are still "not used to webtoons", I think that's absolutely remarkable, and says quite a few things about the appeal of the series itself.

I guess you're referring to the "Series Stats" list as far as the Manga/Baka Updates site. I never knew they had that until now, though I'm not sure just how much you can infer from it.......other than simple site activity of course,  which is what it says it's based on. It doesn't necessarily reflect readership.

 

Just looking at it today there's a number of pretty obscure titles in the top 25 that are probably there simply as a reflection of there having been a lot of recent scanlation activity. 

 

But yeah, you're right without question, webtoons have become extremely popular, most likely in large part due to the ease of access. They're online from the start unlike traditional printed manhwa or manga. 

[Waller]

Nowhere Boy is not in the list.

 

This list is irrelevant already.

[zno]

But yeah, you're right without question, webtoons have become extremely popular, most likely in large part due to the ease of access. They're online from the start unlike traditional printed manhwa or manga. 

Ease of access had certainly help

 

The first thing that made me read manhwas was that they are different than mangas

 

The first that i have read was Ares (just by looking at the art, you see that it is not like the manga you have read before )

 

Later, I found my first webtoon Noblesse and that was the back to the color (not only, i wanted to find other webtoons but also i read more bds and a few comics (mostly "one shots" that not need to read the previous 99999999999 issues from 99999999 different series ). So, Noblesse too was different (the rythm, the humor, the color ...)

 

After that, there was Tower of God and I will say again 'so great' and I let you discover it if you dont know

 

And there are a few new manhwas, i found interesting, like The gamer.

 

And there are so many that i didnt read.... yet

 

Still, I cant say that manhwa is better than manga (or the opposite)

 

I just tell that : FMA, GTO, Ikigami

 

I dont know any manhwa about sport, so I cant compare, but mangas are really great with this theme (and I am not a sports fan ) : Eyeshield, One Outs and so many others

 

And if I have to say one that is ongoing : Kingdom

 

I miss a lot of very good mangas and manhwas but still both have comics that must be read ! (and not speaking of comics, bds or the others that i dont really know)

[svines85]

Ease of access had certainly help

 

The first thing that made me read manhwas was that they are different than mangas

 

The first that i have read was Ares (just by looking at the art, you see that it is not like the manga you have read before )

 

And there are a few new manhwas, i found interesting, like The gamer.

 

Still, I cant say that manhwa is better than manga (or the opposite)

 

I dont know any manhwa about sport, so I cant compare, but mangas are really great with this theme (and I am not a sports fan ) : Eyeshield, One Outs and so many others

Yes, I agree, even comparing traditional Korean manhwa (print in other words) to Japanese manga there are some fairly noticeable differences. Mostly to me I think they're reflective of cultural differences between Japan and Korea, and for the most part I just accept them.......none of them really make me say "one is better than the other" or anything like that. 

 

And yeah, Korean "webtoon" manhwa are significantly different than either of them in my opinion. Surely part of it is the format and ease of access, but another part of it is the amateur nature of them...........these are all new authors who aren't subject to an entrenched editorial department and constrictions of "what will or won't sell".

 

That point right there is why I find comparisons of numbers (readers) between webtoons and traditional manga/manhwa so difficult and not necessarily fair...........nobody actually has to buy webtoons.  

 

There really are far, far less manhwa as compared to manga on these reader sites (even including webtoons)..........I assume it's just representative of the "countries of origin" and that Japanese manga is simply a bigger industry than Korean manhwa.

 

Ares looks interesting, not my cup of tea but it's pretty obvious it was a very successful title............I'm reading The Bride of the Water God myself right now, another very successful traditional Korean manhwa. 

 

Mmmmm.......yeah, Korean "sports" ones, I personally only know of two, the webtoons Green Boy (one of my absolute favorites, boxing) and Girls of the Wild's. And yeah, Eyeshield 21 is one of my all-time favorites.  

[zno]

Mmmmm.......yeah, Korean "sports" ones, I personally only know of two, the webtoons Green Boy (one of my absolute favorites, boxing) and Girls of the Wild's. And yeah, Eyeshield 21 is one of my all-time favorites.  

I know about them but the thing is they are about Fighting sports that i always put apart from other comics about sports.

But thats true that Green Boy is totally focused on boxe like Ippo

 

 

Like I cant stop talkin, I preferred make a post about it

http://vatoto.com/forums/topic/15539-what-about-sports-or-games-no-fighting-sports-in-manhwa/

[svines85]

I know about them but the thing is they are about Fighting sports that i always put apart from other comics about sports.

But thats true that Green Boy is totally focused on boxe like Ippo

 

 

Like I cant stop talkin, I preferred make a post about it

http://vatoto.com/forums/topic/15539-what-about-sports-or-games-no-fighting-sports-in-manhwa/

Yeah, I do know what you mean about the difference between "fighting" and the "martial arts" genre as compared to "real" sports.........I personally would think twice about including GOTW with "sports" (much like Transfer Student Storm Bringer where it's really just fighting and unorganized violence)  whereas GB I wouldn't. It really is mostly based on an organized sport, albeit one considered on the fringe because of its violent nature. 

 

But yeah, where the heck are the baseball manhwa?? I know darned good and well baseball is popular in Korea!!

[Anudevil13]

The Breaker  and the breaker New Waves

GOTW and Ofc the King ToG for me

 

 

And yeah, Eyeshield 21 is one of my all-time favorites

 

 I love u so much

Edited by Anudevil13, 15 November 2013 - 09:01 AM.

[Riley Escobar]

ToG & Manwha FTW

[Leonie]

Kubera, Annarasumanara, and Cheese in the Trap (why isn't there an option for Cheese ;_; I had to vote for "other" instead) were my votes, though I love a great more than those. Those just happen to be my ultimate favourites.

 

Oh, and there's another I only discovered, like, yesterday - Automata. That art style. It is SO COOL. And that story. ALSO COOL. It oozes coolness and quality. And it has ferrets. Why isn't it on this poll?

 

Manwha in webtoon format beats manga, in my opinion. The whole webtoon thing just has so many possibilities, thanks to it all being digital. Unlike traditional ink and tone, digital art has unlimited possibilities, so even if many manga have better artwork (in regards to anatomy, flow, and balance) than webtoons, if you regard webtoons as something that have only been around for the last couple of decades, if that, it's freaking exciting to just imagine what it will look like in ten years time! I mean, look at what Wenquin Yan has been doing with Fisheye Placebo lately. She took the same methods that Noblesse uses (3D constructed backgrounds with 2D figures), and with amazing colouring techniques has started on something that's looking to be a masterpiece in all aspects. So there you have one technique that's just upped a few notches. Just thinking of the way digital art will evolve is making me very very excited. And it gives a great deal of freedom in the storylines available to be used. As it's looking to me, manga seems to be stuck into a mindset which allows little freedom in regards to art technique, but webtoons have the freedom to go past that, and that makes it, to me, the better of the two. Not only because of the great stories it has already produced, but because of all the possibilities in the future.

 

Of course, like anything, webtoons have the possibility to produce horribly low quality works, too, but what with all the assets, they also have the ability to produce works greater than any manga.

 

Ah - the ease of access is also a big thing. That's something else webtoons can have in the future - imagine if Naver and Daum actually got around to getting good quality translators, and the websites and comics were available to read in a variety of languages, not only Korean. That would be the coolest thing ever, and it's not too farfetched a dream, when you look at the direction Naver has been going.

Being able to support the artist directly and easily, and being able to read it without a third party involved (second party being Naver/Daum/host website). That is something mangas can't ever achieve, unless they were all ported to the internet via official channels. ... that would actually be pretty cool.

 

Well, that's all my opinion. Most of it is based on possibilities rather than realities, which is sad, but we live in hope! Or on hope, depending how desperate.

[Frizzo]

The Breaker is slower than a turtle, but there are some epic moments that can't be found in other similar manwha or manga.

Tower of God is so damn good. I read TOG from the first chapter to the 70th of volume 2 in less than one week.  

a few months ago I would have chose manga. But now I prefer manwha (a lot of manga I used to read have lost their quality)!!!

Edited by Frizzo, 09 December 2013 - 05:15 PM.

[SNMS6]

Hey , how about Lessa ? it is good IMO ...

[NoboriRyu]

Tower of God, Breaker New Waves and Girl'S of the Wilds are my favorites.
I prefer manga though, slightly only, but it's just the sheer amount of manga I like compared to the few Manwhas.

[Ninjacat Dude]

I like tal, the gamer and girls, the breaker new waves, special martial arts extreem hell private scool and girls of the wild the best..

 

......SOB don't make me CHOOOOOOSE....cry

[Maahaad10]

Kingdom: Read Kingdom!! I promise you after 30 chapters you will not stop reading it, Best war manga ever and also it came 14th on top manga sales in Japan....and don't watch the anime it's a disgraceful to the manga. The artwork gets better and better.

"Millions of years have passed since the times of legends, when the worlds of man and gods were still the same. In these times it was the desires of man that moved the world. It is the era of the 500 year war: The warring states period. Kingdom is the story of a young boy named Xin who grew into a great general and all the trials and bloodshed that lead him there."

 

Sun-Ken Rock: Great artwork! The story is good and It's on the final arc.

"Ken, a young Japanese guy, is in love with a young Korean girl, Yumin. He followed her in Korea and wants to become a policeman just like her. But then, he finds himself at the head of a local gang. What will happen to Ken?"

 

Blaster Knuckle: Wild west version of Berserk. Good artwork. There are only 20 chapters  

"Take yourself back to the 1880s where the KKK is thriving and the African American community lives in fear. The African Americans don't fear the KKK simply because they beat, rape, and kill them. No. They fear the KKK because the KKK eats them. They are the aptly named man-eaters, a kind of mix between werewolves and vampires. They consume human flesh, can shapeshift into various forms, and are practically immortal. Only one man, an ex-heavyweight boxer named Victor Freeman, dares to stand up to them. Equipped with a small arsenal and a set of modified brass knuckles, can our hero defend his people and avenge his past?"

[Davine]

I voted for Trace, ToG, Annasumanara, The Breaker, Freezing and Noblesse. I don't want to sound rude, but I think there's still a huge gap between mangas and manwha. The first ones surely have a major distribution, are worldly know and have a more concrete fanbase all over the world. Moreover, scanalation groups prioritized them over manwhas mostly because shonens like Dragonball, Naruto and One Piece already had a huge market out of their own origin's country. This helped give publicers great profit; the same profits went then back to the manga industry. The more mangas got scanalated, the more investments there were, the more assistants a mangaka could manage, the better for everyone. Authors have created comics that could please everyone and at the same time keep a unique style. Animes have also greatly supported this trend, spreading the japanese culture even among kids who could watch Dragonball or Naruto on TV while having launch (yep, that's me xD).

Manhwa, on the other hand, suffered the closure of the market, and even today there aren't many famous, at least not in Europe. However manhwa are currently gaining ground with webtoons. Although their format isn't the most comfortable for the ones used to mangas, a lot effort is being put into the story development and the characters typecast and I think that webtoons like ToG and Trace can pave the way for manhwa spreading.

 

I didn't notice I wrote this much   , hope didn't get you too bored .

[fishiiie]

If I could, I would give all 5 votes of mine to Tower of God.

 

 

AND IDC IF THIS IS A BIASED POLL OR NOT, TOG WINS HANDS DOWN

[Epic Score]

I have not read many of the Manhwas listed in the poll (due to my general preference for manga over manhwa), but my personal favourite would be "Master School Olympus", a discontinued Manhwa written by the author of Yureka.

[Miki]

there's no TAL TT^TT!

that was my favourite one...