Best Manhwa With Necromancer Protagonists

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.

Updated April 30, 2025, by Sumit Agarwal: With the end of Solo Leveling season 2, the popularity of necromancy has been on the rise. New manhwa provides fresh interpretations and perspectives on death-related abilities, whether in an action or slice-of-life genre. Some necromancer protagonists focus on strategizing with undead minions, while others focus on building their unique power.

The variations of necromancy powers keep readers engaged with ever-expanding lore and world-building. Authors and creators also explore deeper themes around the fine line between a hero and a villain. While some necromancer protagonists struggle to come to terms with their powers, others embrace them and utilize them in never-before-explored ways. The growing complexity makes necromancer-focused manhwa thrilling with a mix of unique characters and intense action.

Solo Leveling

The Most-Favorited Necromancer Among Manhwa Readers

MyAnimeList Score: 8.65

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.’ Each shadow soldier is divided into a specific rank and can level up as they gain more battle experience. Depending on their ranks, they can each command a particular unit, essentially making Sung Jin-Woo a one-person army. Aside from battle, he can use his summons for eavesdropping, protection, or teleporting by exchanging places (as seen in the latest anime season).

SSS-Class Revival Hunter

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

MyAnimeList Score: 8.29

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 can 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 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. They also retain their sanity to make independent judgments as they would if they were alive. Readers will love his use of necromancy after he clears the 20th floor.

Solo Leveling: Ragnarok

Sequel to Solo Leveling Revolving Around Sung-Jin Woo’s Son

MyAnimeList Score: 7.86

Published: Jul 31, 2024

Authors: Daul (Story), Jin (Art)

The creators of universes, the Absolute Ones, witness the death of one of their own and aim to fill the power void through any means necessary. As a result, Earth falls into danger again, and gates and monsters ravage the peaceful world that Sung Jin-Woo had created. While he leaves earth to battle with the Absolute Ones, his son Sung Suho must become a hunter to reawaken his powers sealed by his father.

Fans of Solo Leveling must know the extra chapters after the end, which reveal how Sung-Jin Woo lives his life post-war and has a son. However, he fears that his son will not be able to live an ordinary life if he continues to hang out in his shadow. As a result, he seals his son’s powers. Solo Leveling: Ragnarok begins where the extra chapters left off. To fight the ongoing threat of dungeons and monsters, Sung Suho must level up and unseal his powers little by little to help protect Earth while his father is away. He has inherited most of his father’s skills, including shadow extraction, monarch’s domain, and shadow exchange. He has also developed unique skills like iron body technique, shadow form change, giant armor, and grassland wind.

Second Life Ranker

Great Revenge-Centered Story With Detailed World-Building

MyAnimeList Score: 7.62

Published: May 16, 2019

Authors: Sadoyeon (Story), Nongnong (Art)

Cha Yeonwoo receives a memento following his brother’s death in the form of a pocket watch. While observing it, he learns that his brother was betrayed while competing in the Tower of the Sun God. His grief quickly turns into anger, and he vows to get revenge on his brother’s behalf. As a result, he aims to challenge and climb the Tower using the knowledge left behind by his brother.

Readers often compare Second Life Ranker with Solo Leveling for its unique take on established power systems and necromancy powers. However, Second Life Ranker centers around revenge, and some readers claim it to be better than the latter. Cha Yeonwoo has a great backstory that showcases his mental pathway to making certain decisions. After climbing up the Tower for a while, he receives death-related powers that allow him to implant thoughts or ‘orders’ into the extracted souls. In rare cases, he can also directly take over the minds of those with weak mental powers to use them like puppets. He can control a horde of souls to steal the life force of any enemies or surroundings due to their instinct to regain their lives. Those who loved Solo Leveling are likely to love this manhwa.

The Dark Magician Transmigrates after 66,666 Years

Dive Into Necromancy In Great Detail With Proper Rituals & Spells

MyAnimeList Score: 7.31

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.

The Dark Magician Transmigrates after 66,666 Years explores dark magic at its very core. When it comes to necromancy, Diablo has to prepare the necessary rituals to get hold of the dead person’s soul before they “cross over.” Once caught, he must reanimate them in their bodies by transforming them into zombies. Naturally, the new body is often stronger than their original body, and they are bound to Diablo through a contract. Diablo primarily relies on his powers during combat and summons otherworldly creatures for support. Additionally, he has an exceptional sense of control of magic and is skilled in elements like ice, wind, fusion, lightning, and dark magic. Some other notable skills include darkness, cursing, disease, and supreme demon abilities. Diablo can also use the dead to restrain a target or sacrifice them to cause a massive explosion.

Kill The Hero

Necromancy Class With A Unique Take On Combat Abilities

MyAnimeList Score: 7.22

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 admired. 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, Woojin can create undead summons from the monsters he kills. 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. He doesn’t have to bother commanding them since they know what to do. Woojin’s necromancy powers have additional benefits, such as increasing his summons’ base stats to increase attack or defense power. He can also sacrifice a portion of summoned skeleton soldiers to summon different classes. Some other death-related abilities include reading a dead enemy’s memory, making weapons with a monster’s skeletons, and engraving and exploding corpses.

Solo Necromancy

Another Necromancy Class With A Textbook Approach

MyAnimeList Score: 7.10

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. 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. Monsters start attacking indiscriminately, 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 Seongwu can summon skeleton soldiers from the monsters he killed. The monsters can retain their skills and abilities from before their demise. The summoned soldiers can also level up individually and learn new skills by absorbing a monster’s essence. His other death-related abilities include creating bone weapons or armor using monster corpses’ bones. However, the quality and durability depend on the type and level of corpse used. For a specific time, he can summon zombies from the abyss to help him in battle. Additionally, he can summon specters, shapeless ghosts that do not take damage from physical attacks and can pass through objects. Seongwu also gains additional skills and discovers hidden features as he becomes proficient in becoming a capable commander.

Necromancer Academy and the Genius Summoner

Necromancy Is Widely Popular and Accepted

MyAnimeList Score: 7.07

Published: Oct 7, 2023

Authors: Iljesagyeok (Story), Hazelnutz (Art)

In this world, necromancers have made a name for themselves as influential dark magic practitioners. People have come to fear them as they could make entire empires fall to their knees. Simon Follentia is one such necromancer who has hidden potential and is scouted by the necromancer academy. However, he is unaware of his potential as he attracts attention everywhere.

Necromancer Academy and the Genius Summoner take a fresh perspective on necromancy with a mix of summoning magic. It differs from other necromancy-focused manhwa by introducing various powers and skills. Simon is a likable protagonist who feels grounded in reality since he isn’t perfect. Those who love reading the protagonists’ journeys building their power will love it. The side characters also have multiple layers, which keeps the story interesting and engaging. Some notable spells featured in the manhwa include bone armor handgun mode, blood golem, funeral song, and overlord — a unique undead artificially made by mixing mithril.

Absolute Necromancer

Necromancer Protagonist Who Can Master Other Classes As Well

MyAnimeList Score: 6.98

Published: Jun 30, 2023

Authors: Cheongsong (Story), Ji, Baekho (Art)

While raiding the Tower that suddenly appeared on Earth, Cha Jinhyuk is backstabbed and betrayed by his party members. However, he reincarnates into a different body 10 years later. He rechallenges the Tower and discovers the All-Master class during the tutorial. Thinking of it as a blessing, he hopes to conquer the Tower this time and get revenge.

Absolute Necromancer is an interesting manhwa with a necromancer protagonist whose powers aren’t limited to necromancy. After discovering the All-Master class, Cha realizes he can gain skills from other classes, like swordsman, spearman, or archer. His past life knowledge and experience helped him acquire his former necromancy skills much quicker. The story may be basic, but its art and action scenes complement it to make it enjoyable.

Boundless Necromancer

Uses Spirits Of The Dead To Increase Stats Permanently

MyAnimeList Score: 6.93

Published: Dec 17, 2022

Authors: Seonun (Story), 2 Sarang (Art)

Seong-yun Han lives in an era where ‘Dungeon Breaks’ have become the norm where monsters spawn now and then. He has lost his parents in one such event during his childhood, and vows to get revenge by becoming a hunter. Sadly, Seong-Yun cannot improve his stats and abilities even after having trained for seven years. Fate intervenes, and he receives an invitation to partake in the Tower of Trials to help him become stronger.

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. Other times, he can also learn the skills of the monsters he has defeated through his necromancy. As he levels up, Seong-Yun also gains candidacy to be the Death God and inherits its abilities and powers. He also levels up his necromancy to S rank, where he can act as the God of Death for a specific period and revive the dead with mana. The manhwa also has a great story with some excellent character development.