Best Manhwa With Necromancer Protagonists

Key Takeaways

• Necromancy in manhwa blends genres to offer unique storytelling perspectives.
• Protagonists explore ethical boundaries while navigating dark fantasy worlds.
• Various manhwa showcase different interpretations of necromancy, from commanding undead armies to unique power-building methods.

Necromancy is a dark and mysterious art that has captivated many readers due to its powers of communicating or controlling the dead. It offers a great perspective on storytelling by blending the genres of horror, fantasy, and action in unique ways. Like Solo Leveling, many other manhwa with necromancer protagonists utilize their power similarly or very differently.

Some of these manhwa introduce new concepts of necromancy or dabble with the textbook version to depict a thrilling journey. Fans of dark fantasy can explore these titles as the protagonists try to understand their powers and moral and ethical boundaries. From commanding an undead army to fighting epic battles to using different forbidden spells, these manhwa offer the best when it comes to necromancer protagonists.

Solo Leveling

The Most-Favorited Necromancer Among Manhwa Readers

• MyAnimeList Score: 8.67
• Published: Mar 4, 2018
• Authors: Chugong (Story), Jang, Sung-rak (Art), Disciples (Art)

In a world invaded by ‘Gates’ and monsters, Sung Jin-Woo struggles to become a hunter to help pay his mother’s medical bills. He is stuck as an E-rank hunter where it is common knowledge that one cannot increase ranks no matter the effort. During a dungeon raid, he and his comrades discover a double dungeon with frightening monsters. Most of his teammates meet their fate, and he is the only one left as the others escape. In a twist of fate, he gains a unique system when he wakes up in the hospital three days later.

Solo Leveling has to be the first entry in the list as it pulled many new readers into the manhwa culture. Although it wasn’t the first title with a necromancer protagonist, it did make the concept popular. Sung builds his strength and skills as he levels up and becomes a necromancer after completing a class-change quest. He can create shadow soldiers from any monsters or humans he defeats with the famous catchphrase ‘Arise.’ Aside from battle, he can use his summons to stay in someone’s shadow for eavesdropping, protection, or teleporting by exchanging places.

SSS-Class Revival Hunter

Discover One Of The Best Uses Of Necromancy (Not Just For Battle)

• MyAnimeList Score: 8.23
• Published: Dec 31, 2020
• Authors: Bill K (Art), Sinnoa (Story)

Confucius Kim lives a forgettable existence on the first floor of the mysterious Tower that appeared in his world one day. He feels very envious of the top rankers in the Tower until his wish comes true with a legendary skill. Although Confucius could copy any skill, he has to die to do so. He feels hopeless until he dies by the number one ranked hunter and copies a new skill to travel back in time upon death.

Despite the cheeky title, SSS-Class Revival Hunter is a fantastic manhwa that emphasizes storytelling more than focusing on other aspects. The author does a great job of wrapping beautiful sub-plots in each level as the protagonist explores his way up. He gets the skill ‘Ghoul Reincarnation’ while clearing the 12th floor. Although he can only summon those he has killed (including himself), they are mere skeletons with no skills or abilities. However, he negotiates with the Tower to modify his skills to make them retain their memories. As a result, the summoned undead can now remember their past lives and work with him to help climb the Tower. Readers will love his use of necromancy after he clears the 20th floor.

The Dark Magician Transmigrates after 66,666 Years

Dive Into Necromancy In Great Detail With Proper Rituals & Spells

• MyAnimeList Score: 7.32
• Published: Jun 29, 2021
• Authors: Pasa (Art), Hwabong (Story), Taru (Story)

Diablo Volpir is a dark magician who gets sealed in a battle against the twelve Gods. He reincarnates 66,666 years later after slipping through his seal with a fraction of the power he once had. Although he is born into a loving family, his original plan to exact revenge against the Gods still burns fresh.

Most readers may not know that necromancy is a small part of dark magic. Here, The Dark Magician Transmigrates after 66666 Years explores dark magic at its very core. When it comes to necromancy, Diablo has to prepare the necessary ritual to get a hold of the dead person’s soul before they “cross over.” Once caught, he must reanimate them in their body by transforming them into half undead zombies. Naturally, the new body is many times stronger than their original body, and they are bound to Diablo through a contract. As a result, they cannot refute his command in any case. Diablo primarily relies on his powers during combat and summons otherworldly creatures for support. He uses the undead to do his bidding here and there and take care of the small fries.

Kill The Hero

Necromancy Class With A Unique Take On Combat Abilities

• MyAnimeList Score: 7.21
• Published: Mar 26, 2020
• Authors: D-Dart (Story), Manhwa Insaeng (Art)

Woojin regresses after meeting an untimely demise at the hands of the righteous leader of his guild, whom he admires. With a second chance, he decides not to trust people again and plans to kill the “heroes.” He stops at nothing to climb his way up by leveling up and boosting his stats faster than anyone.

Kill The Hero has a pretty wacky story with great visual art. The manhwa is mainly focused on regression and revenge, so there are slow developments in the overall plot. With a necromancy class, he can create undead summons from the monsters he killed. The unique take is that the summoned undead can engage in combat just as he would. In a way, Woojin becomes a one-person army who has inherited his combat ability. Therefore, he doesn’t have to bother commanding them, since they know what to do. He also gains other abilities and skills as he levels up.

Solo Necromancy

Another Necromancy Class With A Textbook Approach

• MyAnimeList Score: 7.11
• Published: Sep 13, 2021
• Authors: Jijeomjang (Story), Kim, Dong-jun (Art)

Seongwu is attending college after completing his national service as a special forces soldier. However, one day, a prompt appears in front of everyone to make them choose one of the ‘class’ cards in front of them. Each card specifies a class with a star rating (out of 5) to reflect its power level. As the urgency increases, Seongwu chooses the only five-star card he can find, a necromancer class. Then, monsters start attacking discriminately, and everyone is left to fend for themselves with their chosen class.

Solo Necromancy has been hailed as a great manhwa with a necromancer protagonist next to Solo Leveling. It follows the textbook approach where he can summon skeleton soldiers from the monsters he killed. Plus, the monsters can retain their skills and abilities from before their demise. As a result, Seongwu seldom partakes in fighting, as he focuses on commanding the undead for combat. The summoned soldiers can also level up individually and learn new skills by absorbing a monster’s essence. Seongwu also gains additional skills and discovers hidden features as he becomes proficient at becoming a capable commander.

Boundless Necromancer

Devours Spirits Of The Dead To Increase Stats Permanently

• MyAnimeList Score: 7.10
• Published: Dec 17, 2022
• Authors: Seonun (Story), 2 Sarang (Art)

Seong-yun Han lives in an era where ‘Dungeon Breaks’ have become the norm from where monsters spawn now and then. He lost his parents in one such event during his childhood when he vows to get revenge by becoming a hunter. Sadly enough, Seong-Yun cannot improve his stats and abilities even after having trained diligently for seven years. Fate intervenes, and he receives an invitation to partake in the Tower of Trials to help him become stronger. He accepts without a second thought at the hardest level of difficulty.

Boundless Necromancer shows readers a new variant of necromancy that doesn’t rely on summoning undead soldiers. In a tower trope, Seong-yun’s ability helps him grow faster than other hunters/awakeners. He uses the spirits of the monsters he killed to increase his stats permanently. Furthermore, he can use it as a base for casting spells and using his skills and abilities. Other times, he can also learn the skills of the monsters he has defeated through his necromancy. On the other hand, the manhwa has a great story with some excellent character development.

Seoul Station’s Necromancer

Former Necromancer Builds His Strength Once Again

• MyAnimeList Score: 6.74
• Published: Oct 14, 2021
• Authors: Jin, Seolwoo (Story), Ji, Sung Woong (Art)

Kang Woojin has spent many years in Alphen, trying to survive for another day. Eventually, he becomes one of the most feared necromancers and a ruler of his territory. One day, he finally gets to return to Earth, where dungeons and hunters now exist. However, he’s left without his dark magic powers. Fortunately, he still has his former strength and starts working on regaining his necromancy by conquering the dungeons.

Seoul Station’s Necromancerstarts a little confusing but eventually picks up pace as the protagonist’s history is explored. Back in Alphen, Kang had been a force to reckon with. After his return to Earth, he becomes the type of person detached from society who comes off as rude and aptly so. It builds up slowly regarding necromancy, as Kang has to start again from scratch. In the process, he trusts his combat ability to subdue and kill monsters himself. As a result, he becomes a dual-class hunter as a necromancer and a warrior. He can also gain new skills as he levels up, but he can only summon skeleton soldiers, which requires a monster corpse.

Reincarnation of the Murim Clan’s Former Ranker

Unique Concept Of Necromancy In The Murim World

• MyAnimeList Score: 6.64
• Published: Oct 31, 2021
• Authors: Sanbo (Story), Inyong (Art)

Kang Taeha was an SSS rank hunter before he met his untimely end. The next thing he knew, he awakened again in imperial China as Liu Xinyun. Thinking he’ll have it easy in this new life, he soon realizes he’s stuck in a power-hungry fight with his relatives. Eventually, he starts again from scratch to learn martial arts and hone his necromancy to become the ultimate boss.

Briefly beginning with a dungeons and monsters trope, Reincarnation of the Murim Clan’s Former Ranker shifts its focus entirely on the Murim genre from the initial chapters. Kang reincarnates into the body of the lazy noble Liu, who has no talent for martial arts. When he gains the original body’s memories, he becomes aware of his situation and again starts honing his skills. The manhwa depicts necromancy uniquely, where Liu can either ‘absorb’ the spirits of the dead or summon them. He comes across the spirits of various former martial arts masters, and their spirits give off different colors, which reflect their mastery. Apart from summons, he can also learn martial arts from the summons and use them as sparring partners.

The Holy Emperor’s Grandson Is A Necromancer

Creative Approach to Necromancy Mixed With Holy Power

• MyAnimeList Score: Unlisted
• Published: Mar 4, 2018
• Authors: Chugong (Story), Jang, Sung-rak (Art), Disciples (Art)

Suddenly reborn as Allen Alfalls, he finds himself in the body of a young prince in another world. However, he realizes that his necromancer class and skills have been inherited from the game he had been playing before his death. Additionally, the young prince appears to be the grandson of the Holy Emperor. As a result, his body is brimming with holy energy. Unable to grasp his current situation, he finds that all his necromancy skills have become twisted.

The Holy Emperor’s Grandson Is A Necromancer is an excellent manhwa with a unique premise. Most of the readers are aware of necromancy as a ‘dark’ ability. Naturally, holy power is supposed to be the exact opposite. However, the manhwa explores combining the two unmixable powers as one. It is also addressed in the story how they are like oil and water, but Allen can somehow use them together. All his summons become “holy undead” where they share both the powers of necromancy and holy powers. Moreover, some of his deadly necromancy skills become healing skills due to the effects of sacred power. As a result, readers are in for a great treat with this necromancer protagonist.

Necromancer’s Evolutionary Traits

Explore Necromancy In Great Detail With Unlimited Growth Opportunities

• MyAnimeList Score: Unlisted
• Published: 2023
• Authors: Chabin Dong Ghost (Story)

After retiring from the Special Forces, Makoto Kaneshiro has been spending his days playing video games. With no way to return to society, he relies on streaming to make a living. That is until he gets a mysterious phone call stating that the person knows every detail about him. Before he can turn his computer off, he is suddenly whisked away into a fantasy world.

Necromancer’s Evolutionary Traits has one of the most unique approaches to the dark ability. Makoto inherits a game-like system that notifies him about his skills and ability. Even his journey begins by working as an assistant to a dark magician. Therefore, the manhwa explores the intricacies of necromancy through trial and error and proper rituals. Moreover, the system helps him to gain power bit by bit until he can ‘evolve’ any skill of his choosing. Naturally, he evolves his necromancy powers, which brings him to new heights. On top of his summons, he can also handle himself well in combat due to his special forces background. In a way, he becomes a dual-class warrior like Kang Woojin from Seoul Station’s Necromancer.