If you want one manhwa like Kingdom, start with The Legendary Spearman Returns. Its hero is a knight who "ended the brutal civil war" fighting for his friend the emperor, which is the closest thing in manhwa to Xin fighting for Ying Zheng. If you'd rather read something already finished, take Legend of the Northern Blade. And if you can read Korean, Red Storm is the best pure war story in the genre, though it has no official English edition.
Set your expectations first. Kingdom is Japanese manga, not manhwa, and nothing in Korean webtoons copies what makes it special: a war story built on real history. Every pick below matches one part of Kingdom, so the list is sorted by which part you'd miss most.
Heads-up on Tapas: it shuts down on March 31, 2027, and episodes you unlocked there go with it. Lout of Count's Family is also on Tappytoon, Lezhin and Manta. Our top pick, The Legendary Spearman Returns, has no other English storefront listed yet. (What the shutdown means)
What Kingdom does that manhwa doesn't
Viz Media, Kingdom's English publisher, sums up the setup: "Xin is a war orphan in a poor village in the kingdom of Qin" with "big dreams of becoming a great general." When his best friend dies to court politics, Xin sets out to help a deposed ruler back onto the throne while "working his way up through the ranks of the Qin kingdom's army." Viz also notes that Yasuhisa Hara follows the historical events in the Chinese record Shiji and fills the gaps himself.
That is the part manhwa doesn't attempt. Korean action webtoons with a historical look are almost always murim stories, set in an invented martial world of sects and clans. They can give you an underdog who climbs, sect politics and big fights, but not a war you could look up in a history book.
Kingdom has run in Shueisha's Weekly Young Jump since January 2006 and reached 80 volumes by August 2026. Studio Pierrot's anime is now six seasons long; the sixth aired from October to December 2025, and Crunchyroll holds the English license.
The second main trailer for Kingdom's sixth anime season, from the anime's official Japanese YouTube channel.
| Pick | What it shares with Kingdom | English platform | Status as of October 13, 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Legendary Spearman Returns | A soldier who fights an emperor's wars | Tapas | 196 episodes, updated Sundays |
| Doom Breaker | A climb that starts in slavery | WEBTOON | Season 2 finale March 8, 2024; nothing newer |
| Legend of the Northern Blade | A sect war and a slow rise | Tappytoon | Completed, 202 chapters |
| Nano Machine | A succession fight between half-siblings | WEBTOON | Ongoing; updated Wednesdays |
| Return of the Blossoming Blade | Rebuilding a fallen power | WEBTOON | Season 3, updated Wednesdays |
| Lout of Count's Family | War and politics seen from a noble house | Tapas, Tappytoon, Lezhin, Manta | Between seasons since May 29, 2026 |
| Red Storm | Continental war, start to finish | None (Korean only) | Ongoing on Kakao Webtoon |
Manhwa like Kingdom: the soldier and the emperor
The Legendary Spearman Returns Korean cover, art by Studio Inus, story by Hu-Sang Jo, original novel by Cho-seonsaengnim. Cover via AniList.
1. The Legendary Spearman Returns
Joshua Sanders is "the legendary spearman who ended the brutal civil war," the man who "shattered the belief that one must wield a sword to be a master knight." He fought "in the service of his friend, Emperor Caesar Van Briton," until his own comrades turned on him. On the brink of death, his spear Lukia "propels him back to the stables of his childhood."
This is our first pick because it has the relationship Kingdom is built on: a soldier whose rise is tied to a ruler he believes in. The difference is the second chance. Joshua starts over with a future in mind and revenge on his agenda, and there's mana in the mix, so it plays as fantasy rather than history. Tapas lists 196 episodes, updated every Sunday. Pick it if Xin and Zheng's bond is what you'd miss most.
2. Doom Breaker
Zephyr "is the last human fighting evil in a world abandoned by the gods." Killed by Tartarus, the god of destruction, he is "sent ten years into the past, back to when he was a slave instead of the most powerful human alive."
That starting point is why it's here. Xin starts with nothing, and Zephyr starts lower than that, then climbs on skill and stubbornness. It's a revenge fantasy with gods, not a war story, and WEBTOON's English edition stopped at the Season 2 finale (Episode 101, March 8, 2024) with nothing newer since. Read it for the climb, and know you'll hit a wall. Our Doom Breaker review has the full verdict.
Doom Breaker Korean cover, story and art by Cheong-Dam. Cover via AniList.
Manhwa like Kingdom for sect wars and politics
Doom Breaker's two English seasons, in order, and where the story stops:
Doom Breaker Reading Guide →
3. Legend of the Northern Blade
"For decades, the brave warriors of the Northern Heavenly Sect fought to keep the world safe from the evil Silent Night." Then the sect's fourth-generation leader is accused of colluding with the enemy and forced to disband it. His son Moowon grows up under watch, trains in his predecessors' techniques and sets out for revenge.
It's the one finished series on this list: Tappytoon marks it completed, and AniList counts 202 chapters. The fights are personal rather than army against army, but a whole sect's war hangs over every one of them, and Moowon's slow rise is the nearest thing here to Xin's patience. Take it if you want an ending. Our Legend of the Northern Blade review has the full verdict.
The Legend of the Northern Blade Korean volume 1 cover, art by Hae-Min, original story by U-Gak. Cover via AniList.
Moowon's revenge arc by arc, if you pick the finished option:
Legend of the Northern Blade Reading Guide →
4. Nano Machine
"Nanotechnology meets martial arts at the Mashin Academy." Yeo-un's mother "may not be one of the High Priest's six official wives," but his blood still gives him a shot at becoming Minor Priest, and a nanomachine injection from a future descendant gives him an edge "in this fierce competition against his powerful half-siblings."
Kingdom opens with a fight to put a deposed ruler back on his throne, and that's the part Nano Machine shares: the political game inside a ruling house. The hero has a tech advantage Xin never gets, and the conflicts are sect-sized, not national. WEBTOON updates the English edition every Wednesday, though its web page only shows the first five episodes, so plan on the app. Our Nano Machine review goes deeper.
Nano Machine Korean cover, story by Geobalhan, art by Geumgangbulgoe, original novel by Hanjung Worya. Cover via AniList.
5. Return of the Blossoming Blade
When "Cheongmyeong of the Mount Hua Sect awakens a hundred years in the future," he finds "his beloved Mount Hua Sect reduced to a mere shadow of itself" and sets out to restore it.
Rebuilding a fallen power is close to what Ying Zheng is doing with Qin, just at sect scale. It leans on comedy and sect politics more than battlefield strategy, so treat it as the lighter pick here. It's in Season 3 on WEBTOON, updated every Wednesday. Our Return of the Blossoming Blade review has the full verdict.
6. Lout of Count's Family
Kim Roksu "transmigrated into Birth of a Hero, a fantasy novel," as Cale Henituse, "a minor villain who receives the beating of a lifetime from the main character, Choi Han." His plan is a quiet life. AniList readers rank War right behind Isekai among its tags, with Politics close after, and that's why it's here.
It's a comedy at heart, and Cale schemes rather than leads charges, so it's the loosest fit on this list. Tapas lists 173 episodes, with a May 29, 2026 notice that Season 4 has closed before Season 5. Our Lout of Count's Family review has the full verdict.
The best war manhwa isn't in English
7. Red Storm
Red Storm (Korean title 레드스톰) is the series Kingdom fans keep asking about, and AniList readers tag it more strongly for War and Military than anything else on this page. Kakao Webtoon's Korean blurb describes a desert soaked in blood and a boy who becomes the desert's god of war, then sets out to save the wider world. The current run is subtitled "Return of the King," and AniList lists it as ongoing, written by Gyeong-Chan No with art by Hyeon Am.
There's no official English edition. AniList lists only the Korean Kakao release, and we don't link to unofficial scans. Keep it on your list in case a license comes, or read it in Korean if you can.
Our Take: start with the spearman, finish with the blade
Our pick is The Legendary Spearman Returns, because it's the only series here built around a soldier fighting for a ruler he believes in, and that bond is what Kingdom readers usually miss first. If an ending matters more, Legend of the Northern Blade is the safe choice.
Readers who know both seem to agree. In an August 2025 r/manhwa thread asking for war-based recommendations, one reader replied to a Northern Blade suggestion: "its so goddamn good listen to this dude and read it i love both kingdom and northern blade so youll prolly like it." In the same thread, another reader said of Red Storm's return: "I started it with Red Storm and was overjoyed when it came back this year."
If historical war matters more to you than the format, our manhwa like Vinland Saga list and manhwa like Attack on Titan list cover the bigger-conflict side. The best historical manhwa guide and the best murim manhwa of 2026 cover the wider field.
How We Checked This
We checked every premise, status, episode count and credit on October 13, 2026 against the official Tapas, WEBTOON, Tappytoon, Kakao Webtoon and Viz pages, AniList and Wikipedia, one quoted row per fact in our sources table. That pass replaced the old top pick (Red Storm has no official English edition, so we removed a line pointing readers to fan translations), fixed a broken Viz link, and removed unsourced claims: Kingdom's chapter count and a chapter number for Xin's promotion, Red Storm's chapter count, Doom Breaker's "Season 3 confirmed", and an untraceable inline image.
Last reviewed: October 13, 2026
Related Reading
- Best Manhwa to Read in 2026: our cross-genre starter list for readers crossing over from manga.
- Best Action Manhwa 2026: the year's action picks, for when you want big fights more than politics.
- Return of the Blossoming Blade Reading Guide: the season structure, if Cheongmyeong's comeback is your pick.
- Best Cultivation Manhwa: murim picks that lean harder on martial progression than war.
- Best Long-Running Manhwa: for readers who want something with Kingdom's length.
References
- Kingdom on Viz Media (official English publisher)
- Kingdom on Wikipedia
- The Legendary Spearman Returns on Tapas
- Doom Breaker on WEBTOON
- Legend of the Northern Blade on Tappytoon
- Nano Machine on WEBTOON
- Return of the Blossoming Blade on WEBTOON
- Lout of Count's Family on Tapas
- Red Storm on Kakao Webtoon (Korean)
- Red Storm on AniList
