The best isekai manhwa where villains are reincarnated as heroes

Summary

• Former villains turned heroes in Isekai Manhwa provide unexpected twists.

• Stories like Standard of reincarnation & The villain lives twice are worth a read.

• Solo leveling follows Sung Jin-woo's exciting journey of death and rebirth.

Isekai manhwa is often criticized for following the same old formula of a hero being reincarnated in another world. But what happens when a former villain is reincarnated as a hero tasked with defending the world? This is definitely an unexpected twist and a recipe for disaster if not handled carefully.

That's why we've selected a few stories worth reading where the hero of the story is actually a reincarnated villain. This ranking highlights five of the best series about an evildoer who turns to the light side (so to speak) and reforms while gaining a new perspective on life. Family, friends, lovers and even one or two animal companions are represented in this series. Let's take a look at these isekai manhwa with unlikely villains turned heroes.

5

Standard of reincarnation

Reincarnation as the son of his rival family is perfect for him

• Genre: Adventure, Shonen, Dark Fantasy, Sword and Sorcery, Action, Reincarnation
• Author: Ilhwang
• Artist: Ramwoo

This story begins with the death of the one-armed devil and at the hands of the Samion family. The devil was an outlaw and enemy of the kingdom who tried to murder his entire family because they rejected him. After he is killed, he is summoned by the spirit of a boy named Vincent Adenca, the son of a rival family of the royal line.

He is said to take over Vincent's body and become a guardian spirit, an earlier stage of ascension to godhood. Together they plan to continue their plans for revenge against the two families who rejected them as “weak”. So begins the story of two villains inhabiting a single body, but as it turns out, they end up becoming the heroes of this story.

4

66666 years: Arrival of the dark magician

The devil you know wears the face of an innocent child

• Genre: Action, Dark Fantasy, Sword & Sorcery, School Life, Drama
• Author: Hwabong
• Artist: Taru

Diablo Volpir is the name of an ancient dark wizard who rose to godhood and challenged the gods to overthrow them and free humanity from their evil power games. Because he was too strong to be killed, all the gods gathered their forces to banish him, but they were only able to contain his power for 66,666 years. After this time, the dimension keeping him at bay collapses and Diablo is free. Only he doesn't come down to the world as his former self. Instead, his soul is reincarnated in the body of a young nobleman: Jamie Welton.

The heir to the esteemed Welton family is quickly deemed a messenger of the gods as he receives the blessing of one of the goddesses he despises most, an interesting proposal that he cannot refuse: to help her rid the world of other deities . Now the former villain turned hero will gather allies (former and new) in a crusade to destroy the corrupt gods once and for all.

3

Solo leveling

An ancient being from beyond Earth merges his soul with a promising hunter

• Genre: Action, Dark Fantasy, Sword & Sorcery, Reverse Isekai
• Author: Chu Gong
• Artist: Gi So-Ryeong, Jang Sung-Rak

The story of Sung Jin-woo and how he died and how his soul merged with one of the worst “villains” in the universe is quite exciting. Destined to become the new Shadow Monarch, this hero displays brutal behavior, killing his enemies and raising them from the grave to obey his commands. Solo leveling is both a powerful story of death and rebirth and an action-packed adventure in which heroes from our world attempt to fend off an extra-dimensional invasion emerging from some mysterious “portals.”

Like many urban fantasy stories, this reverse isekai manhwa involves “awakened” superhumans called Hunters who form an association and rank its members from D (lowest) to S (highest). Jin-woo is initially ranked D and at the bottom of the rankings. However, as the story progresses, he quickly rises through the ranks and becomes a powerful necromancer, wielding both the blade and dark magic.

2

FFF class trashero

A villainous hero is redeemed through an endless loop and then falls again

• Genres: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Shounen, Isekai
• author: Farnar (Art & History)
• status: Complete

Kang Han Soo, a hero summoned against his will, is vicious and has a less than heroic attitude. However, no one can question his results since he managed to kill the Demon Lord. The bad thing is that he brutally sacrificed his entire team, which is why the goddess condemns him to repeat the cycle in an endless loop until he receives her approval.

This is the story of a villain who becomes a true hero and then realizes that in order to become the hero the world needs, he must become the next Demon Lord. An endless cycle of misadventures awaits all readers who read this mean-spirited manhwa with a heavy dose of dark comedy.

1

The villain lives twice

She gets a second chance to correct her mistakes

• Genres: Romance, Adventure, Drama, Fantasy, Shoujo, Isekai, Reincarnation
• author: Mint
• status: PEACHBERRY

Artezia, the most villainous child of the nobility, is reborn and given a second chance. She decides to turn away from her old misdeeds and come to the hero's aid, helping him bring peace to a kingdom riddled with war, political conspiracies, and the suffering of the “lower people.”

This story follows the concept of noblesse oblige from the perspective of a former villain turned heroine of the story. It's a good read with lots of heartwarming moments, some spicy love scenes and lots of action and adventure.