Summary
Mages have been recurring characters in fantasy and adventure manhwa for the past few years, but they often play the role of advisors and allies instead of main characters. Although, some series focus on mages as their main characters, and when that happens, incredible settings and even better stories are born.
These are some excellentManhwa with mage protagonists:From a hardcore Korean gamer reincarnated in the trash character of a Magic Academy RPG, to a group of mages discovering the mysteries of the universe through mathematical formulas and hardcore experiments. No matter what challenges they face, these mages will surelyblast them away with their powerful magic.
7Magic Academy Genius Blinker
A Trash Character In The Right Hands Is The Most Powerful
A story about a hardcore Korean gamer reincarnating who was transported to his favorite RPG game, Magic Academy World, and took the place of the character Baek Yu-Seol, a seemingly useless mage, with a special talent for Teleportation magic. Ever since he got transmigrated, he has developed a keen sense for magical abilities, something he didn’t have while playing the game, and somehow, he will need to use all his magical abilities and knowledge to prevent the “really bad ending” from destroying the game’s world.
As the main plot progresses, Baek Yu-Seol has to deal with pesky secondary characters, another reincarnated main character who seems to know the Light Novels instead of the game and many annoying teachers who are hellbent on torturing their students until driving them mad. This mage will show them what it truly means to be a pro gamer in a magic RPG.
Survive All The Murderous Heroines, Become The Strongest
5
Reincarnated as the Villain of the Magic Academy, Ed Rothaylor, a former Korean gamer needs to use all his wits to survive in a world filled with “monsters.” The hero, the strongest magician of the academy, a straight-up justice maker princess, the most dangerous yandere summoner, and a vicious alchemist, the daughter of a merchant who wants to destroy his foster father’s company. Allthese main characters are potential alliesor enemies for Ed, who is nothing but a minor character in the story, so he needs to be careful, least he triggers some unsavory bad endings.
Little by little, Ed becomes someone respected in the Academy, despite his initially “near expelled” start point, and throughout the plot he develop his skills to the utmost, taking advantage of his knowledge of the game to get the best items, events, and magic spells for his character, while also doing his best to prevent the Main Characters to divert from the True Good Ending. Overall, a great read with good worldbuilding and interesting characters, especially the main heroine Janica, she is seriously nuts.
4The Great Mage Of The Hero’s Party Reincarnates
The Story Of A Sage Resurrected As A Regular Mage
Lista, the Heroine, and her party finally defeated “The Abyss” a great evil that was consuming the world, but at a great cost: Their mage, Rin, the Sage was consumed by the darkness and his soul entered a near dormant state. Cast away from the regular life-death cycle, Rin finally reincarnated into one of his descendants, Rain. But there’s a problem, his original body was perfectly preserved and is a near comatose state since 300 years ago, hidden in a vault on the Papal Palace of the Kingdom.
So, Rain will have to survive this new life he was granted, while also retaining all his past life’s memories. This comes quite handy as he enrolls in the Academy once again, to start his career as a mage. But the Dalaiten Magic Academy is not a dreamy magical place, instead, it is a ruthless house of studieswhere only the strongest survive. There, students are pinned against each other in order to separate the truly worthy of becoming mages, from those unfit to remain in the school. So Rain will have to survive not only a second academy cycle but the constant turmoil caused by his peers and crazy teachers.
3I Really Don’t Want To Learn Forbidden Spells
From Bottom Of The Food Chain, To The Strongest Mage
Ning Feng was always considered subpar:failed to awaken three times in a row, his final chance came when he turned 18. About to finish his school studies and desperate to enroll in a good University, he performs the Awakening Ceremony once more. Much to his surprise (and that of his Teacher Miss Qi) he awakens into a One Star Low-Grade Earth Magician. Or that is, at least, what Ning Feng manifests. In truth, he has awakened the Ultimate God of Magic secret class, and he is now able to use Forbidden Magic and Dark Energy without consuming his life force.
So, this magician will climb the ranks slowly but steadily, abusing his broken spells to delete monsters and clear dungeons while reaping the rewards. It is no long until Ning Feng reaches a near Legendary state, and causes turmoil in the Awakened society. But will he be able to endure the price of fame? As he progresses further down his class, Dark Forces and Ancient Gods begin to take notice of his movements, and it won’t be too long until he cannot remain an “anonymous powerhouse” and has to step into the spotlight as the world’s strongest Magician.
266,666 Years: Advent of the Dark Mage
The Resurrection Of The Demon Lord As A Young Magician
Some say the Darkest of Taboos is to go against the will of the gods, and Diablo Volpir, an ancient Dark Mage knows this all too well. Condemned to an eternity in Limbo for defying the heavens,the strongest Mage known as the Demon Lordwas resurrected after 66666 years, in the body of Jamie, the eldest son of a noble family. But the world has changed way too much since his prime, and Jamie quickly notices magic has reverted to a state where mages are barely something more than status-hoarding/favor-currying aristocracy.
So, to restore things back to the rightful way, Jamie begins his journey to regain his former powers and defy the gods once more. But this time, something surprising happens: one of the Goddesses of magic chooses him as her Apostle, knowing that he is her last hope to stop her siblings from destroying the world. Jamie reluctantly accepts the Goddess’s plea and begins to cooperate with her to bring balance to a world full of chaos, where magic is slowly disappearing.
1Infinite Mage
A Young Wizard Gazes Into The Abyss, And The Abyss Gazes Back
What do you get when you mix school life, magic academies, action, drama, sword and sorcery, and lots of maths? The answer isInfinite Mage, the story of Arian Shirone, the bastard son of a noble who enrolled too late in the Magic Academy, and together with his friends he will tryto uncover the secrets of the Immortal Function, the path to a mage to breaching into the Infinite and becoming the strongest ever.
The plot is filled to the brim with intense battle sequences, lots of magical research, and mysteries to uncover. Arian is a worthy heir for the classical Magical Student who is not scared to break into the unknown ground and has some reminiscence of the classic Vancian mages and Ged, from the Earthsea saga by Ursula K. LeGuin. The worldbuilding is considerably well-knitted, and the main storyline’s pacing is enthralling, with many wholesome moments where friendship and romance are at the order of the day. Quite a good find.
