Highlights

• Watching characters grow from weak to strong is essential in storytelling, making them relatable to readers.
• Prodigal talents in manhwa include exceptional abilities beyond combat, such as mathematics or strategic ability.
• Characters like Astina and Arthur display extraordinary abilities, sometimes struggling to match their own brilliance.

Character development is one of the most fundamental elements of storytelling, whether it revolves around the main character or one of the supporting characters. Essentially, watching a given character rise from weak and naive to becoming incomprehensibly strong and wise is the goal of storytelling. It is precisely their growth and progression throughout their journey that makes them so relatable to general readers – it makes them feel more human, despite the fact that they are not.

Every now and then, readers come across exceptions—characters who don’t require growth or maturation in the sense or pace typical of traditional protagonists. These characters are already powerful and prodigies of their times, and are either isekai-ed beings who have lived their lives once, can retain all of their memories and powers from their experiences, or are naturally smarter and better than everyone around them. Regardless, writers have now begun to experiment heavily with this trope, and it has seen a notable rise, especially in the realm of manhwa and webtoons.

6 Vivielle – the little landlady

Shows incredible mathematical brilliance and talent for architecture.

• Author(s): Sam Baekhwa, Pilmyeong
• Release: 2022
• Status: Completed

Prodigal talents aren't limited to combat prowess or magical affinity; they can include something as simple and down-to-earth as being good at a particular subject or having the intelligence to excel at a particular job. Vivelle Andate, from The little landladyis a girl who remembers everything from her previous lives and demonstrates an exceptional talent for architecture.

Despite having met unfortunate ends in her previous lives, Vivelle is fittingly reborn into a kingdom in desperate need of an architect. The first three years of her new life are just as miserable as her previous ones, during which she is isolated from her father and treated horribly by her caretakers. However, she eventually reunites with him and realizes that she is the daughter of a duke. To gain her father's seemingly rude favor, Vivelle begins to assist him in his noble duties—helping him solve complicated math problems for his paperwork!

5 Desir – a returner’s magic should be special

A seasoned wizard with a lifetime of experience.

• Author(s): Your So-nan, Uk-jakga
• Release: 2018
• Status: In progress

A second chance given to a hero after he loses his life for failing to protect the people he loves is one way to start a manhwa. The magic of a returner must be special incorporates typical reincarnation elements into its plot, much like many other manhwa on this list, but does so through the lens of a man who was once a prodigy in his previous life.

What sets Desir apart from the other prodigies here is his experience as a talented and highly respected magician in his past life. He had already achieved 'prodigal' status and was one of the select few to survive the Shadow Labyrinth. Reincarnation, for him, simply simplified his growth process slightly and gave him the resolve to not make the same mistakes he made in his first life.

4 Unseong – Heavenly Demon Reborn!

A martial arts prodigy with ambiguous aspirations.

• Author(s): Ilhwang, Gomguck
• Release: 2018
• Status: In progress

When a seemingly talentless child suddenly shows signs of having unexplained knowledge and power beyond his years, it suggests the involvement of supernatural forces—such as reincarnation. While this is a recurring theme in many manhwa and webtoons, Celestial Demon Reborn gives your reincarnation trope a very clever twist, throwing in a bit of a moral and ethical dilemma around innate evil versus the goodness of the heart.

Follows the journey of a vengeful martial arts disciple, Unseong, who witnesses the unjust death of his righteous master at the hands of corrupt and jealous men. Unseong loses his life trying to protect his master, vowing to take revenge on every person who has wronged him before his last breath. His despair is answered by a strange magic, and he is thrown into the body of a boy belonging to a ruthless demonic cult – a complete contradiction of Unseong's lifelong lessons.

3 Firentia – I will rule this family

Black sheep of his family who rose through the ranks solely due to his unparalleled intelligence.

• Author(s): Kim Roah, my
• Release: 2021
• Status: In progress

I will rule this family is the prime example of a true child prodigy trope done right. Of course, this manhwa also incorporates certain isekai elements that initially seem to undermine the protagonist's abilities, but end up becoming inconsequential once readers understand that Firentia has always been a prodigy who never got the chance to showcase her abilities.

Firentia was once the neglected and neglected illegitimate daughter of the highly influential Lombardi family. Her role within the household was always that of a mere housekeeper, and her presence was barely acknowledged by the family. Eventually, after her reincarnation, Firentia begins to take back control of her life, eventually earning the support and affection of her family. Reborn into her seven-year-old body, she displays abilities beyond the capabilities of a typical child. She is well-versed in business, academia, etiquette, and even the art of manipulation—only when she really needs it.

2 Astina – The Lady and the Beast

A former empress, retaining all her abilities from her past life.

• Author(s): Maginot Seon, Hongseul
• Release: 2020
• Status: In progress

Empress Martina, the great and wise empress of the Blanche Kingdom, was once a marginalized group within her kingdom. Her people were exiled and ruthlessly eliminated, leaving her as the sole survivor. Despite her blind rage, Martina displayed exceptional insight, discretion, physical superiority, and strategic skills, eventually rising through the royal ranks to become queen by any means she could afford. Even as empress, she demonstrated extraordinary leadership qualities, military prowess, and resilience, but sadly lost her life to unknown causes.

Now, as Astina, Martina displays all the qualities she possessed as an empress, but without all the influence and power that comes with being a royal. In her current life, she is merely the daughter of a lowly count with superficial nobility and no real financial backing, making her prodigal talents seem almost an exaggeration. She is intelligent, confident, and has literally a lifetime of experience, but she is incredibly bored with her stagnant life. That is until she receives a marriage proposal from the notoriously cursed Archduke of Atlanta, “Terriod the Beast,” and finds herself drawn to him.

1 Arthur – the beginning after the end

A man so strong that his new, weak body is unable to keep up with his prowess.

• Author(s): TurtleMe, Fuyuki23
• Release: 2018
• Status: In progress

While prodigal talents are definitely not limited to just certain abilities, the notion of a character possessing almost every extraordinary quality seems completely outlandish – but not impossible. The protagonist of The Beginning After the End, Arthur Leywin as Astina from The Lady and the Beast, was a king in his previous life who had to go through hell and back to get where he was. Despite this, King Grey (Arthur's identity in his previous life) was not entirely satisfied with his deeds and was essentially a ghost of his former glory.

After his reincarnation, he begins to show signs of supernatural abilities, intellect, and cognition beyond his years. His mental acumen and instincts are so strong that his underdeveloped body is unable to keep up with his mind during the first few years of his life. Arthur is so ridiculously overpowered that he has to work hard to train and acclimate his new body to his unfathomable power. Furthermore, Arthur's ingrained 'leadership qualities' lead him to be ruthless, arrogant, and completely apathetic when it is demanded of him - even as a child.