Summary
Character development stands as one of the most fundamental elementsin storytelling, whether it revolves around the main character or one of the supporting cast. Essentially, watching a certain character’s ascension from being weak and naive to becoming unfathomably strong and wise is what storytelling is all about. It is precisely their growth and progress throughout their journey that makes them so relatable to the general readers—it makes them feel more human despite not being so.
Every now and then, readers encounter exceptions—characters who don’t require growth or maturation in the typical sense or pace as traditional protagonists. These characters are already overpowered and prodigies of their times, and are either isekai-ed beings that have lived their lives once, can retain all their memories and powers from their experiences, or are naturally smarter and better than everyone around them. Regardless, writers have now started to experiment with this trope heavily, and it’s seen a notable rise, especially within the realm of manhwa and webtoons.
6Vivielle—The Little Landlady
Shows Amazing Mathematical Brilliance and a Knack for Architecture.
Prodigal talents aren’t only limited to combat prowess or magical affinity; they can include something as simple and realistic as being good at a certain subject or having the smarts to excel at a particular job. Vivelle Andate, fromThe Little Landlady, is a little girl who remembers everything from her previous lives and displays an exceptional talent for architecture.
Despite meeting unfortunate ends in her previous lives, Vivelle is fittingly reborn into a Kingdom that is desperately in need of an architect. The first three years of her new life are as unfortunate 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 realizesshe’s the daughter of a duke. To gain her seemingly curt father’s favor, Vivelle starts helping him with his noble duties—by helping him solve complicated math problems for his paperwork!
5Desir—A Returner’s Magic Should Be Special
A Seasoned Mage with a Lifetime of Experience.
A second chance given to a hero after he loses his life failing to protect the people he loves, is one way to start a manhwa.A Returner’s Magic Should Be Specialincorporates typical reincarnation elements into its plot just like many other manhwa on this list do, but does so through the lens of a man who’s already a prodigy in his previous life.
What sets Desir apart from other prodigies here is his background as an accomplished and highly respected magician in his past life. He hadalready achieved ‘prodigal’ statusand was one of the select few to survive the Shadow Labyrinth. Reincarnation, for him, simply streamlined his growth process slightly and gave him a mind to not make the same mistakes he did in his first life.
4Unseong—Heavenly Demon Reborn!
A Martial Arts Prodigy with Ambigous Aspirations.
When a seemingly talentless child suddenly shows signs of having inexplicable knowledge and power beyond their years, it suggests the involvement of otherworldly forces—such as reincarnation. While that is a recurring theme in a lot of manhwa and webtoons,Heavenly Demon Reborngives its reincarnation trope a very smart twist by throwing in a bit of moral and ethical dilemma surrounding innate evilness versus goodness of the heart.
It follows the journey of a vindictive martial arts disciple, Unseong, who witnesses theunjust death of his righteous masterat the hands of corrupt, envious men. Unseong loses his life trying to protect his master, vowing to get back at every single person who’s done him wrong, before his last breath. His desperation is answered by strange magic, and he’s thrust into the body of a young boy belonging to a ruthless demon cult—a stark contradiction to Unseong’s lifelong lessons.
3Firentia—I Shall Master This Family
Black Sheep of Her Family Who Rose Through Ranks Solely Due to Her Unmatched Intelligence.
I Shall Master This Familyis the primary example of an actual child prodigy trope done right. Sure, this manhwa also incorporates certain isekai elements that initially seem to undermine the protagonist’s abilities, but they ultimately become inconsequential when the readers come to understand that Firentia has always been a prodigy who was never given a chance to showcase her skills.
Firentia was once the forgotten, mistreated illegitimate child 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 her family. Eventually, following her reincarnation, Firentia begins to take back control of her life, consequently earning the support and affection of her family.Reborn into her seven-year-old body, she exhibits abilities beyond the capacity of a typical child. She’s well-versed in business, academia, etiquette, and even the art of manipulation—only when she truly requires it though.
2Astina—The Lady and the Beast
A Former Empress, Retaining All Her Skills from Her Past Life.
Empress Martina, the great and wise empress of Kingdom Blanche, once belonged to a marginalized group within her realm. Her people were mercilessly exiled and eliminated, leaving her as their sole survivor. Despite her blind rage, Martina exhibited exceptional sharpness, stealth, physical superiority, and strategic skills, eventually ascending through the royal ranks to become queen through whatever means she could afford. Even as an empress, she showed extraordinary leadership qualities, military prowess, and resilience, but had unfortunately lost her life to unknown causes.
Now, as Astina, Martina exhibits 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’s only the daughter of a lowly count with superficial nobility and no real financial sustenance, making her prodigaltalents seem almost like an overkill. She is smart, confident, and literally has the experience of an entire lifetime, but is incredibly bored with her stagnant life. That is only until she receives a marriage proposal from the notoriously cursed archduke of Atlanta, “Terriod the Beast,” and finds herself being drawn to him.
1Arthur—The Beginning After the End
A Man So Strong, His New Weak Body is Unable to Keep Up with His Prowess.
While prodigal talents are definitely not limited to only certain skills, the notion of one character possessing nearly every extraordinary quality seems completely outlandish—but not impossible. The protagonist ofThe Beginning After the End,Arthur Leywin, like Astina fromThe Lady and the Beast, was a king in his previous life who had to go through hell and back to get to where he was. Despite that, King Grey (Arthur’s identity in his previous life) wasn’t entirely satisfied with his feats and was essentially a ghost of his former glory.
After his reincarnation, he starts showing signs of supernatural abilities, intellect, and cognition beyond his years. His mental acumen and instincts are so strong, that his underdeveloped body is not able to keep up with his mind for the first few years of his life. Arthur is so ridiculously overpowered that he has to go out of his way to train and acclimate his new body to his unfathomable power. Additionally, Arthur’singrained ‘leadership qualities’drive him to be effortlessly ruthless, arrogant, and outright apathetic when it is required of him—even as a kid.
