(AfroGamers.com) Swordmaster’s Youngest Son is a martial isekai manhwa by creator Ice Penguin. I’ve made it no secret that I love isekai and martial arts comics and putting the two together—a popular combo—is the Reese’s Cup of manga. Sure, slice-of-life isekai is fine and who doesn’t like a series like Karate Baka Isekai, Overlord, or Shield Hero?
For those unfamiliar, isekai involves a character leaving their reality and going to another. This can occur by the characters being summoned to the world or dying in their world and arriving in a new world. I’d also say that MMORPG gaming manga and manhwa can be included in this in some cases. There are also series where the character dies and goes back in time—often with the knowledge of future events in that timeline up until their time of death.
So, if Steven dies at 70 and gets isekai’d back to a being a baby, he’ll retain decades of knowledge and the events will occur as they are supposed to. Of course, the main character always interferes or takes some advantage of their knowledge.
The world they are sent to often involves some level of magic or enhanced abilities. In most cases, the main character will develop some sort of mastery or feature a special trait. If they were considered trash or a waste yute in their world or time, they tend to excel when they go back in time or they become used to the world they’re in become stronger.
Just like The World After the Fall. It’s worth a read.
Swordmaster’s Youngest Son
But this is about SYS, a series that follows young Jin Runcandel who grows up in the world’s mightiest swordsman martial family, the Runcandel Clan. The youngest son of the family’s patriarch, he is considered a waste and is eventually banished from the family after he fails to make significant improvement in swordsmanship.
He would find out he has a talent with magic—a grave offense in his family—and eventually make a contact with the family’s guardian: a god of shadows. The god unlocks the curse placed on him that stifled his ability with the sword.
Following his death, he is sent back in time as a child and uses his knowledge of future events and magic to unlock mysteries, gain power, and rise in status with the brutal Runcandel family. He also aims to become a major force in the family and in the empire as his clan wrestles with the sorcery family the Zipple.
That’s just a sum up of Swordmaster’s Youngest Son—at least without giving away the specifics of the story. Going to the artwork, it’s one of the better-done manhwa—which tends to have very good artwork that rivals manga. It’s manhua where things become a mixed bag and runs the gamut of really good-to-about publishable.
However, SYS delivers with artwork from character design to action scenes to special effects for the attacks. I’m not putting it up there with Solo Leveling but the artwork is valid.
Is It Worth a Read?
This series isn’t that unique after you’ve seen a lot of martial isekai or just fantasy martial arts series. You get to know the tropes and whatnot about family wars, internal conflict, strength systems, gathering secrets, politics, and so on.
Many series feature all of that in martial isekai, so if you’re familiar with any of that, you’ll be at home with Swordmaster’s Youngest Son and I believe you’ll enjoy it. That is, unless you want something unique. For new readers, SYS is a good introduction to isekai as there isn’t a lot of concepts to gather or understand early into the manhwa.
That’s a nod to Ice Penguin who did a great job at pacing this series in a way that the reader gets into the action and adventure a few chapters in. SYS isn’t a slog to and between major fights as Jin is involved in power struggle with extremely powerful siblings—some who get him into these major fights.
Ultimately, I’ll say this is a series worth reading 100-percent. It’s a fun, fast-paced series thst just gets it done for me. If you’ve read Swordmaster’s Youngest Son, let us know what you think and recommend some of your favorite isekai series.
Staff Writer; M. Swift
This talented writer is also a podcast host, and comic book fan who loves all things old school. One may also find him on Twitter at; metalswift.