I recommend this if you want to read an action manhwa with an OP MC from the start

Read 190+ chapters on WEBTOON

Plot Summary

After ten years of working as a child mercenary in a foreign country, Ijin Yu goes home to Korea and reunites with his family.

Starting over, he’s now a normal high school senior and living a much more peaceful life than before though not for long.

When he isn’t in class, he’s fighting school bullies, security professionals, members of organized crime, hired killers, and more. 

He doesn’t mind though if it’s to protect his family and friends.

My Thoughts (Contains Minor Spoilers)

TL;DR It’s a good action manhwa but don’t go in if you need a plot-driven story

Setting

The story is set in modern Korea and fights are usually hand-to-hand with the occasional knife or even guns.

All of which Ijin can handle, having been trained into an expert in combat and tactics.

As the OP main character, he’s a one-man army, automatically winning every fight no matter how outnumbered or “under-experienced” he is.

There are rare exceptions where he does struggle though those moments are in much later chapters and justified (in my opinion.)

The fights, while pretty good and have great art, aren’t for the sake of an overarching plot though.

The story is very episodic, making Ijin face different problems affecting his friends, family, or work and not much else.

And the structure of each arc is repetitive but that hasn’t stopped me from enjoying it for the past three years.

Why it’s good (Just my take so feel free to disagree)

The short version is that it’s easy to follow and hits you in the feelings sometimes, sort of like action-packed slice-of-life.

The long version is this:

The story revolves around a small group of recurring side characters’ problems and the monster of the week, so to speak.

Their problems usually involve new characters but the cast of recurring characters doesn’t expand very far until later, when we meet Ijin’s former comrades who then become recurring characters as well.

Said problems typically seem hopeless, only for Ijin to step up and show how reliable he is.

And the arcs mostly end with us learning more about the recurring side characters, them getting character development, or saving a new character.

After Ijin wipes the floor with someone, of course.

And as a bonus, sometimes those side characters interact with his family which leads to funny and wholesome moments.

Like the underling of a former enemy watching out for his grandpa.

His little sister packing up a meal for said former enemy.

Or that underling taking a selfie with his grandpa which Ijin misinterprets as a threat and they have to teach him what selfies are.

These developments don’t have much depth but they make the manhwa more entertaining.

There are also plenty of wholesome moments in general, between Ijin and his family and those between the recurring side characters.

Characters

Ijin has very little character development throughout the story.

As a calm and quiet protagonist, he keeps his words brief in most conversations.

And he’s also dependable, seeing his commitments through no matter what.

This personality trait combined with his combat skills wins over even the most skeptical of side characters when Ijin inevitably chooses to bail them out of a bad situation.

His grandpa is an exception though since he quickly tries to bond with Ijin and make up for lost time.

Dayeon, his little sister, is meeting him for the first time as she was too young to remember him but starts getting close after he stops her bullying problem.

Other exceptions are his old crew, fellow child mercenaries who trained and fought alongside Ijin during his time away.

And as for the antagonists, they’re mostly cut from the same mold, going after a side character for their own gain or personal reasons while not expecting Ijin to be overpowered.

Which works well because the stakes almost never feel too high for me to worry but also not too low since I know there will be some sort of relief for Ijin or a side character when the threat is gone.

If you’ve read this far, I hope what I’ve said sounds interesting and you’ll give Teenage Mercenary a try.

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