The genre of science fictionhas settled itself firmly in the entertainment industry, placing itself firmly within the hearts and minds of fans. From dystopian societies to time travel, A.I technology, and even parallel universes, the manhwa industry is also not excluded from the far-reaching tentacles of the sci-fi genre. Further, the genre has proven not to be limited, as it can be combined, layered, and mixed with other themes and tropes.
So, this piece focuses on the best science fiction manhwa that combines elements ofhorror and gorewell. These manhwa present plotlines and stories that are well-grounded in both genres to produce truly shocking and tense reading experiences. Therefore, here are some of the best manhwa that combine both
8The Blood of the Butterfly
Anime-Planet Rating: 4.0 / 5
The Blood of the Butterflyis something out of a nightmare. It features a bug-infested world, not just any bugs, but bugs big enough to outsize a human and have the capacity to annihilate humanity. Humanity’s only defense against the bugs are the humans with special abilities called Butterflies. The series follows the life ofthe central protagonist, Mawhwa Baek, a high schooler who is just trying to get his life back after an unfortunate accident that caused him to lose his memories.
To Baek, the Butterflies are no more than heroes that he could only see on TV. However, when a bug attacks Maehwa’s school and tragedy unfolds, Maehwa finds himself face-to-face with the people responsible for creating the Butterflies. What follows is a bloody and brutal piecing back together the life and memories he had once forgotten.
7Parallel City
Anime-Planet Rating: 4.2 / 5
Parallel City presents a chilling and eerie tale borne out of the infamous ‘The Upside Down’ theory. Things start to get uncomfortable in a city in Korea when the residents start reporting seeing their bodies double. What is dismissed as a probable coincidence snowballs into full-scale disappearances around the city.
The series follows the central character, Min Choi, whose best friend miraculously returns unscathed after being reported missing for almost a year. However, his sudden reappearance is only the beginning of what is to come.
6Ashen Oreum
Anime-Planet Rating: N/A
Ashen Oreumexploresa dystopian worldon the verge of collapse and extinction due to an alien invasion. The series revolves around the protagonist, Han Oreum, a military officer and a single mother. With alien attacks as frequent as possible, Han continues in military service while caring for her only daughter, Cho-rak.
However, Han’s life is turned upside down when the aliens ambush her and her military team during a civilian rescue operation. In fear, Han quickly evacuates her daughter and other civilians in the hopes of keeping them away from the ambush. After barely surviving the ambush with the hope of having protected her daughter, what awaits Han Oreum is the corpse of her gruesomely murdered daughter.
5Spore
Sporeexplores an apocalyptic world where society is halted suddenly one day when the sky is darkened by an unidentified object that releases insect-like monsters worldwide. The story focuses on the protagonist, Seonghu, a regularhigh schoolstudent who, after the mysterious occurrence, is on a journey to find his family through the chaos that has just descended.
While trying to survive, Seonghu discovers an ability that shows him a future that happens first in his head and then plays out in reality. Even more surprising is that he is not the only one with this ability. With everyone ensuring their personal survival, it remains uncertain if Soenghu will ever reunite with his family.
4Dr. Brain
Anime-Planet Rating: 3.8 / 5
Dr. Brainexplores both science and horror and combines both into a thrilling and nerve-wracking story, taking the potential of the human brain to an even higher level. The series focuses on the protagonist, Lee Sewon, who has been intrigued by neuroscience and the workings ofthe human brainsince he was a kid.
After an unfortunate accident kills his mother, Sewon devotes himself to his passion. As a result, he develops a method to directly hack into the human brain and extract memories from the bodies of dead people. Things start to move rapidly when he is approached by a private detective interested in using his discovery to solve crimes. The death of his mother being the foundation of his passion, Sewon sees an opportunity to test the limits of his discovery. However, as he becomes increasingly invested in these investigations, Sewon realizes the infinite potential for danger the mind carries.
3L.A.G
Anime-Planet Rating: 4.1 / 5
L.A.Gshowcases the gruesome and inhumane tale of the central character, Jeong Hyeok, as he tries to survive the mysteriousL.A.G. In this unknown realm/space, humans can use superhuman abilities and skills after going througha process called awakening. WithinL.A.G, monsters appear across each floor and room, and the goal of the humans is to eliminate these monsters and ultimately reach the bottom floor.
Among the humans, the protagonist, Jeong Hyeok, is slightly different as he can own unlimited passive skills, and most importantly, he’s a regressor. However, there’s a catch to his inability to die permanently. Despite regressing, Jeong Hyeok can not know the future, regardless of how many times he regresses, as it constantly changes. Desperate to survive the hellish torment of L.A.G, Jeong Hyeok clings desperately to life at every regression.
Evolution: Road To Space Monstercombines the horrors of an unknown monstrosity with the thrilling effects and feelings of a game. The story takes place in the gravity-less world ofthe popular gameSpace Survival, an RPG in which the species a player can choose is near-endless.
The series' protagonist finds himself in a pinch after he wakes up and discovers that he has been reborn as an alien creature within the game. With no way to return and stuck as an alien, he prioritizes survival. However, to survive, he must evolve, and evolution comes at the risk of losing his humanity. Through this evolution, the protagonist grows to become a frightening monster.
1Leviathan (Lee Gyeong-Tak)
Anime-Planet Rating: 4.3 / 5
Leviathantakes place in a post-apocalyptic world where the Earth has succumbed to the might of the seas and oceans. Humanity has lost almost all of its land surface due to a comet that struck the Earth about a century before the story’s beginning. With the Earth submerged in water, the remainder of humanity now lives aboard large ships that travel the seas endlessly.
However, nature is not so kind as what is beneath the waters are terrifying, bloodthirsty sea monsters that prey on the little populace of humans left alive.
The story focuses on the trio, Bota and Lita, who are the children of the infamous 7-star harpoonist Teon Ma and Kana, another famous harpoonist who rescues the siblings after their father’s death. While Bota and Lita have heard all about the horror of sea monsters, nothing prepares them for the horrors of life their father’s death would unleash on them.
