Discussion Manhwa vs. Manga

[k-dom]

AluminumTough, I suggest you replace in your post manga by shonen action manga because what you described is absolutely not manga but only a tiny portion of it. Of course it is the most famous one but you can not say you don't like manga if you have only read one genre.
As for manhwa, I don't see what is diverse, original, unpredictable in titles such as breaker or veritas. I'm not saying they are bad, but you can't say you have never read something similar.

 

[midorikun]

I love manga just because I've been reading manga ever since I was a kid.
I agree with k-dom. This thread is probably best be titled "shounen manga VS (shounen) manhwa". BECAUSE, Mangas are not restricted only to shounen! I am not really aware of the manga market out there (or shounen-jump whatever) BUT there are a lot of different genres for manga such as, shounen, shoujo, seinen, and many more! And trust me some of them are really worth-reading. If you haven't found any manga that really sort of captured your attention, than I suggest you SEARCH HARDER. For instance, if it comes to shounen manga I think One piece or Inu yasha isn't bad at all. If you want to look for a shounen manga that doesn't involve fighting than go for something like detective conan, and IMO this is a good shounen series. Hikaru no go, or Death note is also another good ones, although it's not purely a shounen. As for another genre, let's say shoujo, there are some good shoujo mangas too, like tokimeki tonight (this is an old one), card captor sakura, or a recent one called kimi ni todoke. SO really, there are plenty of them out there and they have good stories and they are so creative and original! However, There are mangas that have a lot of ecchi stuff going on and yes they can be very annoying and repetitive. I always kinda perceive ecchi in a funny way as a part of japanese culture. It's nothing serious, I guess it's just their way of making jokes (sort of). One thing that I really like about mangas is that they are just so imaginative. I always get so amazed by how mangaka can came up with such a brilliant/crazy/hilarious/disgusting idea (like Crayon SHin-Chan LOL). I find that to be very refreshing and that is why manga will always have an appeal to me. And there is nothing wrong with learning about something that is based off of a culture.

As for manhwa, again, most of the opinions that I've read in this forum only talking about shounen manhwa, not manhwa in general. Because I know several shoujo manhwas that are just plain BAD. But there are awesome manhwas out there too! So I think it all really depends on the authors and the genres, regardless if it's manga or manhwa. You just have to know how to choose a good manga/manhwa that fits your taste.

 

[2bst2d]

Because I know several shoujo manhwas that are just plain BAD.

Hwang Mi-Ri, anyone? :P (she did do a decent one, Crazy Girl Shin Bia)

I enjoy the "Shonen" manwha trio immensely (Noblesse, Breaker, TOG) but I could say the same of the old Shonen Jump trio (OP, Bleach, Naruto) when they were just as young, so I have fingers crossed. Out of the three, TOG seems likeliest to become epic IMO.

I do love manga for producing some old-timey and ongoing greats (Berserk, Akumetsu, Akira, Nausicaa, etc, and all the amazing oneshots). There's a grandeur to them, particularly in their political dimensions, that I just haven't yet seen in most manwha. Ha Il-Kwon (Annarasumanara) could pull something off, I think. I hope.

I totally agree that current manwhas on the whole seem to have more potential. Kubera and Lessa are two new personal favourites of mine. Kubera is doing a magnificent job at world-building and that lovely grand convolution of plots and characters. Lessa gets more mysterious, interesting, and mythological with every passing chapter.

 

[realsmart987]

maybe only the best series makes it out of Korea's borders but Manhwa seems to be better as far as non-generic story is concerned. just look at "rebirth" by Woo

 

[Cloudyrain]

Personally, I first started reading manga like many people and in my point of view I believe some manga's nowadays have crappy plot... like the new animes only concentrates on the art and forget the storyline plays a big role but of course this doesn't apply on the popular and all of the manga's
But on the other hand, Manhwa Is just Fantastic Baby AWESOME
Anyways, If I wanted to read let's say shoujo and romance cute moments and have butterfly's all over my stomach I'd go to Manhwa section without thinking!! seriously, I BELIEVE that the difference between shoujo manga and manhwa is :
Manga: [ Doesn't apply on all of them just 65%]
- Crappy storyline ..
- The Romance is FAST!!! " REALLY!! do people fall in LOVE in just a couple of days" this is the most frustrating reason!!
- Predictable Endings
- I feel I've waisted my time after reading/finishing the whole series with their ending
- the HEROINES!!!! sorry but their STUPID, and always the heroine makes me hate the story.. she's weak, can't stand people, anti-social, and always falls/trips !! and suddenly, all the girls are her friends! wasn't she anti-social and the most popular/handsome in the WHOLE school likes HER!! please, be a little realistic and even though she's plain looking how is it that the guy like only her!!
- RAIN-SCENES , she just stays 5 no like 2 minutes under the rain and the next day she's SICK!!! I really can't understand !!
-and one of the frustrating reasons too is, all the boys like her o_O and like i said not all the manga's like that !! this reason is 40%
These are like the main reasons that always frustrate me and make me NOT want to read shoujo manga

Manhwa [also, not all of them but the ones I read!]
- The plot is good
- the heroine can FIGHT OH YEAH! near perfect personality xb and some of them are evil
- The ROMANCE the guy/girl fall in love after months and because of some events (lost a fight or helped them and some other reasons) and some of the romance feels real I feel like crying
- RAIN-SCENES , I Read this manhwa that the heroine followed the guy she loves under the rain and stayed like 30 MINUTES that's like 6x times than the manga and the second day she was alright just puffy eyes after crying ..
- Love triangles are always in every manhwa I've ever read and manga too .. I really hate that moment when I like the other guy I feel so sad and hate the heroine "sorry I wanted to put this"
I think this all...

but on the other hand shounen manga/manhwa BOTH of them are BE CALM AND READ SHOUNEN
Shounen is an exception!! I can't decide which is better but recently I've only read manhwa

 

[Connorm2]

Oh boi. Story plot for sure. There are some boundries that the mainstream manga use every time. Most of the time its mercy. Mercy ANNOYS THE HELL OUT OF ME. For an example, its like, person messes the main character’s life soooo much! And somehow they get a smack on the butt or minor punishment. Ticks me off real bad.

Another thing about anime: when the main character decides not to finish off the main character and keep them ALIVE. THEN THE BAD GUY BACKSTABS THE MAIN CHARACTER OR HURTS THEIR FRIENDS FOR THEIR MERCY. EVERY. FRICKEN. TIME. NO STOP IT!!

Another, the main character ALWAYS falls for the enemy’s tricks, like why?!

All three of those are not in the manhwa called ‘An eye for an eye’. I encourage all of you to read it. IT BEATS EVERY ANIME I SWEAR.

Gender Equality.

Manhwa boys and girls are more REAL. Most of the time its not about some slut showing everything they got or falling head over heels. Or they always need protecting. It shows the realistic version of how girls react. Mostly, there isn’t any of that girls ganging up on one girl crap and trying to break up some girl’s relationship with the boy. Love comes naturally and not after first sight. Its a very long road. The main character doesn’t always get hitched with the main character female. Like in God of Highschool.

Noblesse, there is close to 0 romance in fact most of them don’t even know what it is.

Tower of God, he might have a harem of princesses but its not filled thick with it. In fact its barely present, but you know its still there.

Any way you look at it the sterotypes are just not there!

Forshadowing and space to imagine

Now, I will agree that One Piece did a good job with forshadowings and has many oppertunities to discuss theories. But almost every single Manhwa I have read has a deeper meaning and legitamit suprises but with logic when they occour. The endings are more abstract and most of the time its not a ‘EVERYBODY LIVES AND WINS AND ITS A HAPPY ENDING’. Thats one thing many mainstream anime have a problem with.

Conclusion
There Are many more reasons why I love manhwa over manga. To be honest I didn’t know it wasn’t anime until someone told me. Then it all clicked and I suddenly knew why I loved these way more than the anime giants. I read anime first then discovered Manhwa over time. I am not Korean; I am an American so no I am not biased based on where I live.

 

[green willow]

webtoon by far, manga is too cookie cutter nowadays.

 

[Askeladd]

Manhwa [also, not all of them but the ones I read!]
- The plot is good

Only the start.

Dorohedoro vs Sweet Home. The winner is the good plot.

Many manhwa are free*