The Wave is K.

Korean pop culture, ranked by the numbers · 한류 랭킹

Webtoons

Korean Webtoons Turned Into Anime: A Timeline

한국 웹툰 원작 애니메이션 연표

Nine anime releases from four Korean webtoons, from the Noblesse OVA in December 2015 to Solo Leveling's second season in January 2025. Each row gives the premiere date, studio and where it first aired; Solo Leveling began as a web novel.

Data as of

Thumbnail of the Solo Leveling OP and ED trailer: an animated character with a glowing blue eye
Pictured: the thumbnail of the Solo Leveling "Official Trailer 4", an animated character with a glowing blue eye, from Crunchyroll's YouTube channel; Solo Leveling has three of the nine entries.5
Aired anime adaptations of Korean webtoons, by premiere date
Premiere Title Type Studio Source began First shown Source
Dec 4, 2015Noblesse: Beginning of Destruction노블레스: 파멸의 시작OVAStudio AnimalWebtoon, Dec 30, 2007DVD in Korea; VOD from Feb 4, 20163
Feb 4, 2016Noblesse: Awakening노블레스ONAProduction I.GWebtoon, Dec 30, 2007Crunchyroll and YouTube3
Apr 1, 2020Tower of God, season 1신의 탑TV seriesTelecom Animation FilmWebtoon, Jun 30, 2010Naver Series On and Aniplus (Korea); Japan from Apr 21
Jul 6, 2020The God of High School갓 오브 하이스쿨TV seriesMAPPAWebtoon, Apr 8, 2011Tokyo MX and AT-X (Japan); Aniplus and Naver Series On (Korea)2
Oct 7, 2020Noblesse노블레스TV seriesProduction I.GWebtoon, Dec 30, 2007Crunchyroll; Tokyo MX an hour later3
Jan 7, 2024Solo Leveling, season 1나 혼자만 레벨업TV seriesA-1 PicturesWeb novel Jul 25, 2016; webtoon Mar 4, 2018Tokyo MX and other networks; Crunchyroll4
Jul 7, 2024Tower of God, season 2신의 탑TV seriesThe Answer StudioWebtoon, Jun 30, 2010Tokyo MX and other networks; Jul 7 to Dec 291
Nov 29, 2024Solo Leveling: ReAwakening나 혼자만 레벨업FilmA-1 PicturesWeb novel Jul 25, 2016; webtoon Mar 4, 2018Cinemas in Japan with the first two season 2 episodes4
Jan 5, 2025Solo Leveling: Arise from the Shadow (season 2)나 혼자만 레벨업TV seriesA-1 PicturesWeb novel Jul 25, 2016; webtoon Mar 4, 2018Jan 5 to Mar 30, 20254

Dates, studios and platforms are as Wikipedia's articles on each title give them, retrieved November 5, 2026.1234 "Premiere" is the first airing or release of that installment; the Korean and Japanese airings can differ by a day. "Source began" is the date the original started on its platform: Naver Webtoon for Noblesse, Tower of God and The God of High School, and KakaoPage for Solo Leveling, which started as a web novel and was adapted as a webtoon.1234 Left out: any adaptation announced without a confirmed premiere date, such as Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint (announced at Anime Expo 2024, with Crunchyroll as streamer), and any title whose date I couldn't confirm on an opened page. Live-action adaptations aren't included.

Key moments

Dec 2015

Noblesse gets its first animation

Son Je-ho and Lee Kwangsu's Noblesse was first posted on Naver Webtoon in December 2007. Its first animated version, Noblesse: Beginning of Destruction, was made by the South Korean studio Studio Animal, shown at the 17th Bucheon International Animation Festival and released on DVD on December 4, 2015, with a video-on-demand release on February 4, 2016. On that day a 31-minute net animation, Noblesse: Awakening, animated by Production I.G, went up on Crunchyroll and YouTube.3

Apr 2020

Tower of God opens in three countries at once

Lee Jong-hui's Tower of God began on Naver Webtoon on June 30, 2010. Its anime, announced at Seoul Comic-Con in August 2019, aired on April 1, 2020 on Naver Series On and Aniplus in South Korea and from April 2 in Japan on Tokyo MX, and it was released in the United States as a Crunchyroll Original. Takashi Sano directed it, and Stray Kids performed the opening and ending themes.1 Video: Tower of God | A Crunchyroll Original | FINAL TRAILER, from the Crunchyroll YouTube channel.5

Jul 2020

The God of High School, from MAPPA

Park Yongje's The God of High School started on Naver Webtoon on April 8, 2011. MAPPA animated the series, which aired from July 6 to September 28, 2020 on Tokyo MX and AT-X in Japan and on Aniplus and Naver Series On in South Korea; Crunchyroll sat on the production committee and announced an English dub that premiered on August 24, 2020.2 Video: The God of High School | A Crunchyroll Original | OFFICIAL TRAILER, from the Crunchyroll YouTube channel.5

Oct 2020

Noblesse returns as a TV series

Announced at Comic Con Seoul on August 2, 2019, the Noblesse television series was animated by Production I.G and aired on Crunchyroll from October 7 to December 30, 2020, with a Japanese broadcast on Tokyo MX an hour after each Crunchyroll release. Dubs in five languages premiered on November 18, 2020.3 Video: Noblesse | Official Trailer | Crunchyroll, from the Crunchyroll YouTube channel.5

Jan 2024

Solo Leveling reaches the screen

Solo Leveling began as a web novel on KakaoPage on July 25, 2016, and its webtoon launched there on March 4, 2018. The anime, announced at Anime Expo 2022 and produced by A-1 Pictures, was first scheduled for 2023, was delayed, and aired from January 7 to March 31, 2024; the first episodes were screened from December 2023 in Tokyo, Seoul, Los Angeles, India and Europe. Crunchyroll streamed it, and its opening theme, "Level", is by SawanoHiroyuki[nZk]: Tomorrow X Together.4 Video: Solo Leveling | Official Trailer 4 | Crunchyroll, from the Crunchyroll YouTube channel.5

2024–25

Second seasons and a compilation film

Tower of God's second season, by The Answer Studio, aired for two cours from July 7 to December 29, 2024.1 Solo Leveling: Arise from the Shadow aired from January 5 to March 30, 2025, after the compilation film Solo Leveling: ReAwakening screened in Japan from November 29 to December 12, 2024 alongside the first two episodes of the new season. A further film, Solo Leveling: Beyond the System, was announced at Crunchyroll's Anime Expo 2026 panel.4

Sources

  1. Wikipedia, Tower of God (manhwa and anime sections), retrieved 2026-11-05.
  2. Wikipedia, The God of High School, retrieved 2026-11-05.
  3. Wikipedia, Noblesse (manhwa) (animation and anime sections), retrieved 2026-11-05.
  4. Wikipedia, Solo Leveling (web novel, webtoon and anime sections), retrieved 2026-11-05.
  5. YouTube, Crunchyroll, "Tower of God | A Crunchyroll Original | FINAL TRAILER", "The God of High School | A Crunchyroll Original | OFFICIAL TRAILER", "Noblesse | Official Trailer | Crunchyroll" and "Solo Leveling | Official Trailer 4 | Crunchyroll" (all oEmbed-verified, lead thumbnail checked), retrieved 2026-11-05.