Viral Hit, Volume One by Taejun Pak delivers exactly what it promises: over-the-top action, fast-paced fights, and a scrappy underdog story that's easy to root for. Following Hobin Yu — a scrawny, bullied student who stumbles into viral fame after posting his fights online — this graphic novel taps into the adrenaline of classic fight comics with a distinctly modern, social media-driven twist.

The art style fits the chaotic energy of the story well, especially during the fight scenes, which are exaggerated in a way that’s both ridiculous and fun. Hobin’s transformation from punching bag to rising internet sensation is satisfying, though the early chapters definitely lean heavy on repetition: fight, win, upload, repeat. It’s a formula that works for now but risks getting stale if it doesn’t evolve quickly.

There’s a real heart underneath all the flying fists — Hobin’s motivations, especially caring for his mother, add a layer of sincerity that keeps the story from feeling hollow. Still, I found myself wishing for a little more character development beyond the spectacle in this first volume.

That said, I can absolutely see why this series has been adapted into an anime — and I’m excited to watch it. With its flashy action and “anything can happen” vibe, it feels like it was made to be animated.

Overall, Viral Hit is a wild ride that’s not meant to be taken too seriously. If you’re in the mood for a quick, punchy read packed with energy (and don’t mind a little chaos), it’s a fun start — and I’m curious to see where Hobin’s story goes next, both on the page and on screen.

I feel for him and his mom and trying to make money. The way him and his friend called people out was interesting. I didn't like the Livestream aspect but that's the world today. I loved that he found a girl who likes him and when he was honest, it was nice to hear his thoughts. Some of the illustrations were too realistic for me.

I have thoughts on the mystery videos he found! Can't wait for volume 2!

Very interesting read! The plot was very realistic in my opinion. It shows the struggle of people who are treated less then, their social struggles in high school and outside it. As someone who does social media I could relate to alot of what Hobin felt. The fear of being embarrassed, not looking good enough, or just being boring. It really made the story relatable. Character wise, Robin is interesting. He's someone you want to root for and can even feel embarrassed with. Bomi seems like a sweet and genuine person not caught up in labels but more so in how people treat her. Munson seems scary but the mentor type. Snapper and Dakgo frustrate me and seem like easy to hate characters but unlike Dakgo, I feel like Snapper can change and grow. All that to say the characters are relatable and we'll written. I believe this is a very fun, comedic, a little stress inducing book about the underdog. You should definitely read it!

This was a fast and funny graphic novel. I am a huge fan of Tokyo Revengers and Wind Breaker, so when I come across something I think would be similar to them I always try to read them! This is about a boy named Hobin, who cannot fight, and gets bullied by his classmates. He gets into a fight with a classmate and the video goes viral, and thus, they want to make more videos and turn into streamers. It was campy, over the top, and wild. I had no idea the other volumes were out already and that there was an anime adaptation. I will be getting to those immediately. If you like either of the above manga's, or action/social media style webtoons I definitely recommend this. Thank you to Net Galley, WEBTOONS/WATTPAD, and author for this! There were several times I genuinely laughed out loud. I got to the end and kept checking the page count to make sure I was really at the end. That's how I know I really liked this one! Thank you again.

This was a great graphic novel. I loved the author's other work, Looking, and this is definitely on par with it. The story was great, though there was a bit of a cliffhanger at the end! The main character and storyline was fun with some unexpected twists. This definitely left me wanting more so I will have to look for other works or go and reread!

*Thank you to Net Galley and Webtoon/Wattpad for arc*

This ended up being really fun. Hobin really has a rough life and it's great seeing him fight to get some control of it. This is for fans of underdogs. Hopefully as he grows he doesn't end up corrupted as well.

This story so far is fine. They go viral for fighting each other. I like that Hobin he’s using the money to pay off his debt and for his mother. And that he’s getting the confidence and standing up for himself after being bullied for so long. Maybe he is gonna get friends along the way, but only time will tell. If they are going to be there for the long haul for him or if they’re only using him for his viral hits. I would like to know what he’s gonna do once everything is paid off and how is that gonna change him. Also if Jihyeok is actually gonna be a good friend to him or is he gonna use him and tell there’s no more vile hits left. I’d also like to know more about his story as well.

I am so grateful for the opportunity to ARC read this incredible work. I really enjoyed reading this manwha, and the art style is super interesting! I really enjoyed this story, loser becomes bada**. I am really excited for volume 2 and see how Hobin grows on NewTube. Hobin teams up with another loser after an accidental fight was posted online. I wonder who else Hobin will call out in the future and if Bomi ends up his girlfriend. This was a really fun read and can't wait for volume 2!

Thank you WEBTOONS and Netgalley for the ARC.

I have already seen the first season for the anime adaptation of this web comic so obviously I am familiar with the story and how it develops. However, if you haven't watched the anime and this is your first time experiencing the story it definitely still holds up in its original web comic format.

"Viral Hit" is a full colour Korean webtoon comic collected into a book. It is a high school bully victim story of using live streaming and social media to get revenge on bullies and rise in the ranks of society. This is a good book for people who like revenge dramas with a lot of fighting. Many of the characters felt pretty one dimensional, but if you're just looking for some light action entertainment, then Viral Hit can hit the spot.

This was weird...

It's basically about streaming and social media and this guy and his "friend" fight on screen one night and people love it, so the kid becomes a viral hit. But then they get into more and more stuff to keep the money flowing, especially for our lead who needs money for his sick mother. It's fast paced, and it is funny at times. BUT the curse words censored, the odd facial expressions, the overall flow of the story is just bonkers. It's a weird one to recommend, least for me personally. I did not like ANY character at all, all of them seem horrible. Overall a weird one, and sadly not for me.

Published by Wattpad WEBTOON Book Group and available April 1, 2025, Viral Hit is a Korean webtoon now being published physically. I can't seem to get into webtoons/manwa but I look into them for work and these reviews. This series follows a bullied high schooler as he goes viral for fighting bullies on stream. The art is pretty good -- manwa tends to have pretty impressive realistic art and this is no exception. The premise will appeal to people interested in streaming culture and heroes starting from zero, but it just didn't interest me. The constant profanity, which is censored with asterisks, feels like they're trying too hard to be edgy and just looks dumb. It was funny seeing a kimchi slap right out of a K-drama though.

Thank you Wattpad WEBTOON Book Group and Netgalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

This is a fun but predictable high school story, with all the typical cliches of the genre. However, the arts are very beautiful. But I don't know if I will pick up future volumes to be honest.

Thank you NetGalley and WEBTOONS for the ARC.

This might be closer to 3.5 stars, however I rounded up because I enjoyed it for the most part.

This is a fun comic, although it does have some issues. I loved how spot on the live streaming was, including the portrayal of the streamers/bullies being fake for their audience. I also enjoyed the little bit of romance that’s being sprinkled in.

Parts of the story are a bit predictable. Although the bullying and violence is harsh and hard to read at times, there were other parts of the comic that made me laugh. Unfortunately I got a little bored during some of the fighting scenes.

Besides a lot of violence, there is an excessive amount of cursing. For most of the volume, the curse words are censored (until near then end). I understand it being censored for WEBTOONS, but when put into a book, why censor them? Also, there are a few typos and syntax issues. I’m guessing WEBTOONS brought the rights to the comic and copied and pasted but didn’t bother to edit or correct errors. It should be edited because, for example, I don’t know if the head bully made “3000,000” won or “300,000” won. And I don’t know if that equates to $250 USD or $35 USD.

I do look forward to future volumes.

Thank you Wattpad WEBTOON Book Group for the eARC via NetGalley.

This is a filled with high school drama. Bullies, getting beat up, crushing on a girl. The art style is very good and clean. But it’s hard to see what major plot will befall Hobin (protagonist).

This webtoon could definitely be adapted to kdrama, but it needs higher stakes or a serious antagonist for Hobin - which maybe we don’t see yet in this first volume.

e-ARC from NetGalley.

If this turned into a K-drama, I think I'd like to watch it, but I probably wouldn't watch an anime version.

This is the story of a pushover who desperately needs money to pay his mom's hospital bills. When a video of him fighting with a classmate goes viral, he decides to capitalize on the views by filming more content.

This felt very introductory but lacking in real substance. I love a good underdog literally fighting the odds story, but this first volume isn't compelling enough to convince me to pick up the next one. If we'd gotten juuuuuuuuuust a little bit more of his MMA classmate, maybe I'd feel differently, but I didn't particularly care for the character or his story thus far.

Decent manhua, just not for me.

I received an eARC of this title through NetGalley in return for an honest review.

This wasn't a bad read. I would say there is an audience for this title, it is just not exactly what I expected. The main character is interesting and their motivations are clear and understandable. It is easy to read and get into the story. The art is great.

I think this just was not for me.

This book offers an intriguing take on what it’s like to be a live streamer—though with a much more violent twist. The main character is bullied at school by a popular streamer who fakes laptop giveaways to boost his audience. But after a heated confrontation between them and the bully’s crew gets streamed live, things take an unexpected turn.

Instead of staying enemies, the two team up and begin calling out bullies live on their stream. Meanwhile, the main character is also learning how to take a punch and fight back, both physically and mentally.

It’s a really interesting concept, and the art style complements the tone of the story perfectly. A well-done and engaging read!

I’m looking into the medium of webtoons recently since I’ve been reading a few of Webtoon Unscrolled’s physical releases. It’s an interesting strategy, but also, it’s a testament to how much popular titles have grown in the past years. One such title, Viral Hit, just received a physical release collecting the first eight episodes of the popular title. It’s a rocky start, but I can see the appeal.

Hobin Yu is a high schooler that’s in an unfortunate situation. Stuck in a dead-end job with an absent father and hospitalized mother to take care of, he’s constantly bullied by his peers. More unfortunately, one of his bullies is the famous streamer Pakgo, who uses his influence to get his way. After Pakgo’s cameraman Snapper takes advantage of his situation a bit too far, Hobin ends up fighting Snapper in his house. The fight is inadvertently recorded, making Hobin into a viral sensation overnight.

After a confrontation with Pakgo, Hobin reluctantly partners up with Snapper as the two try and figure out the Newtube game. After watching a mysterious video about how to get hit without getting hurt, Hobin decides to level up his fighting game while trying to impress Bomi, a girl at his job that takes a liking to him. This may be a hurdle, as Hobin’s MMA classmate Munseong Kim might also be eyeing her… or is he observing Hobin’s potential as a fighter?

I’m conflicted with my experience reading this series. On the one hand, I ate up the whole book in one sitting, but that was because I had a fascination for how amateurish the first few chapters are set up. I didn’t actually like any of the cast for most of the early episodes, and the initial incident just feels so slapstick and humorous compared to the rest of the volume.

It doesn’t help that the first few episodes have this weird censorship where more extreme expletives are bleeped out; it wouldn’t be an issue normally, but those words come up extremely often, which made me wonder if this was a problem in the original webtoon release.

Thankfully, the story gets out of this funk near the end, where the action gets wild and Hobin and Snapper’s partnership feels genuine. The bleeped expletives are gone too, with the swears uncensored, so it makes a bit more sense narratively. I think I’ll keep following this one if only because it’s got a lot of potential, but for now this was a very inconsistent opener.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was a fun tale. I'm always a sucker for stories that have any sort of martial arts base. The fighting so far in this isn't that, with a lot of sloppy techniques from bully fighting, but it seems like it's going in the direction of learning how to legit fight, soooo, I'm counting it xD Admittedly, some bits of this had me cringing pretty hard. I think that was because of the art style that it would use for those times. Others may have found it funny. I just found it unpleasant to look at >_< Still, overall a fun webtoon, and I was definitely very grrrr with the ending because it left me on a scene I really wanted to see play out.