Teenage Mercenary Webtoon Gets TV Anime Adaptation
The announcement signals Webtoon Entertainment's continued aggressive push into anime production, with 'Teenage Mercenary' joining a slate of 20 adaptations in development, making it one of the largest webtoon-to-anime pipelines currently active.
Reporting from 1 sources: Deadline Anime.
Webtoon Entertainment's Line Digital Frontier announced on Wednesday that the action thriller webtoon 'Teenage Mercenary' is being developed as a television anime series. The adaptation is currently in the early development stage. Since its launch in 2021, the series has accumulated over 1.8 billion global views, is available in ten languages, and ranked as Line Manga's top title in both 2023 and 2024. Created by YC and Rakyeon, the story follows Ijin Yu, a child who survives a plane crash and becomes a mercenary before returning to Korea a decade later to navigate high school life. Webtoon Entertainment currently has 20 anime adaptations in development, including 'Omniscient Reader' in partnership with Aniplex and Crunchyroll. Recent adaptations from the company include 'Viral Hit,' 'Tower of God Season 2,' 'True Beauty,' and 'Senpai is an Otokonoko,' all streaming on Crunchyroll.
Line Digital Frontier, the Japanese arm of Webtoon Entertainment that operates Line Manga and ebookjapan, is shepherding the project. The series has been a consistent performer on the platform, holding the top spot on Line Manga for two consecutive years. Co-creators YC and Rakyeon both released statements expressing gratitude to fans, with YC recalling his initial nervousness about reader reception when the series first launched. The adaptation is part of a broader strategy by Webtoon Entertainment, which has ramped up its anime output in recent years. The company's current development slate includes the high-profile 'Omniscient Reader' adaptation, which is being co-produced with Aniplex and Crunchyroll. Other recent titles that have made the jump from webtoon to anime include 'Viral Hit,' 'Tower of God' (which received a second season), 'True Beauty,' and 'Senpai is an Otokonoko,' all of which are available on Crunchyroll. No studio, director, or cast has been announced for 'Teenage Mercenary' yet, as the project remains in early development.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.