The God of High School () is a South Korean manhwa released as a webtoon written and illustrated by Yongje Park. It has been serialized in Naver Corporation's webtoon platform Naver Webtoon from April 2011 to December 2022, with the individual chapters collected and published by Imageframe under their Root label into four volumes as of January 2023. The God of High School received official English translations by Line Webtoon beginning in July 2014.
It has received a mobile game and an original net animation (ONA) short attached to the aforementioned game's original soundtrack. An anime television series adaptation produced by MAPPA aired from July to September 2020.
Synopsis Setting In GOH, the action takes place and involves the inhabitants of three different realms: The Human Realm is mainly populated by humans and is identical to the real world. It is the least powerful realm followed by the Sage Realm and then the Heavenly Realm at the highest. The Sage Realm (), also known as the Demon Realm, Taoist World, or Other World. It is populated by various mythical creatures, spirits, and monsters (collectively known as demons) such as Dragons, Minotaurs, and Phoenixes. The Heavenly Realm () is the last realm and the most powerful. The Heavenly Realm is home to many powerful gods of various mythologies and legends like the Jade Emperor, Michael the Archangel, and Hercules. At the dawn of time, humans, demons and gods lived together on Earth. The gods allowed the weak humans to borrow their powers, creating the "Borrowed Power" system (or "Charyeok" in Korean) so they could defend themselves from the demons who wanted to rule over them. Shortly after the demon defeat, the gods split up the humans, demons and gods among the three Realms. Humans are since able to use Borrowed Power freely but are not allowed to attack gods with it.
Plot The main protagonist is Mori Jin, a 17-year-old martial artist from Seoul, South Korea. At the beginning of the story, he is invited to join a Martial Arts tournament called "The God of High School" (or GOH). The event, sponsored by a shady corporation, brings together people from high schools all over South Korea on a regional and then, national level in order to select three representatives for the World Tournament. As a prize, the winner gets his wish fulfilled by the hosting corporation, no question asked.
This intrigues Mori, and as he continues through the tournament, he meets many competitors each with a different way of fighting. Martial arts aside, participants fight by using "Borrowed Power", a mystical energy granted by supernatural entities (gods, demons, mythical creatures....), hence the name Borrowed Power. During the opening rounds, he comes across two other martial arts prodigies: Full-Contact Karate expert Daewi Han and epeeist master Mira Yoo. These two would befriend Mori after their fights with him, and will become teamed together as the Korean Team after the preliminary rounds. As the tournaments preliminary rounds finish, and teams assemble, plans for many different people within the organization, and those pitted against them begin to make their moves to achieve their goals.
Characters Mori Jin (); (Japanese: ジン・モリ, Jin Mori (anime)) Voiced by: Tatsumaru Tachibana, Hana Sato (Young) (Japanese); Nam Doh-Hyeong, (Young) (Korean); Robbie Daymond (English) A happy-go-lucky 17-year-old martial artist from Seoul, South Korea who practices a fictional version of the Korean martial art Taekwondo called Renewal Taekwondo () later shortened to Re-Taekwondo. Carefree, friendly and (rightfully so) self-proclaimed "Tough guy" (), Mori participates to the GOH tournament so that he can fight strong opponents and wish to be reunited with his grand-father Taejin. Later in the series, after the mystical "Borrowed Power" is introduced Mori is labeled as a Genuine Fighter meaning he uses martial arts to fight rather than borrowing power from other beings (one chapter shows that he actually borrowed power from his clone). However, the reason Mori is so powerful is due to his true identity of the mythical Jaechondaesong, or Sun Wukong, the hero of the Chinese Novel Journey to the West. After RagnarÖk, he assumes a new form and name via Dan Mori as a result of Park Mujin killing his grandfather and sealing his powers.
Daewi Han (); (Japanese: ハン・デイ, Han Dei (anime)) Voiced by: Kentarō Kumagai (Japanese); (Korean); Sean Chiplock (English) A 17-year-old martial artist from Seoul, South Korea who practices Full-Contact Karate. Daewi starts off the series as a hard-working young man who works to pay off his best friend's hospital bill due to terminal cancer. After being invited to the GOH tournament, he participates to cure his friend of the disease. After his friend's death, Daewi finds a new purpose in his life through his friendship with Mori and Mira and now wants to help them fulfill their dreams. A tall, lazy-looking young man with a loner personality, he is nonetheless fiercely loyal to his friends and willing to go to great lengths to protect them. His Borrowed Power is that of a Haetae, a Korean mythical creature with the ability to control water as a defensive tool or a weapon as well as augmenting attacks. After RagnarÖk, he has the Wisdom of the Sage, which allows him to manipulate gravity, electromagnetism, and even nature itself. He also becomes one of The Six.
Mira Yoo (); (Japanese: ユ・ミラ, Yu Mira (anime)) Voiced by: Ayaka Ōhashi (Japanese); (Korean); Veronica Taylor (English) A 17-year-old swordswoman from Seoul, South Korea and the 25th master of a fictitious sword style called the Moonlight Sword, () which emphasizes strong yet fluid attacks. She initially joins the GOH Tournament in order to fulfill her wish of finding a suitable husband to carry on the school bloodline. Thanks to her friends Mori and Daewi, Mira let go of her family burden and will make a new path for herself. Mira's borrowed power is of an Ancient Chinese general named Lü Bu, which is loosely based on the historical figure of the same name. This power gives her several abilities such as enhanced strength and the ability to summon a red horse (based on Red Hare, the legendary steed of Lü Bu). After RagnarÖk, she becomes one of The Six and leader of Neo Nox, a merger of National Assembly of the Homeless and Sang Man-Duk's faction of Nox. She also gains some abilities of Han Daewi via Fundamental Force Manipulation.
Ilpyo Park (); (Japanese: パク・イルピョ, Paku Irupyo (anime)) Voiced by: Koki Uchiyama (Japanese); (Korean), Griffin Puatu (English) One of the main supporting characters in the series. Ilpyo is an 18-year-old boy competing in the God of High School tournament. He is introduced as a logical and calculating fighter who uses a fictional version of the traditional Korean martial art of Taekkyon () called Ssamsu-Taekkyon (). Ilpyo joined the tournament in order to wish for the recovery of his cousin, crippled during a martial arts competition against Taek Jegal. He later acts as an ally to Mori and helps him through many hardships in the series. His Charyeok is Hojosa, the nine-tail fox of Eastern Asian folklore.
Seungchul Baek (); (Japanese: ペク・スンチョル, Peku Sunchoru (anime)) Voiced by: Yūya Uchida (Japanese); (Korean), Kyle McCarley (English) An 18-year-old participant in the God of High School tournament who uses a metal baseball bat as a weapon. Seungchul is of genius-level intellect and peak physical conditioning. This makes his fighting style unorthodox and unpredictable for those he is fighting.
Manseok Gang (); (Japanese: カン・マンソク Kan Mansoku (anime)) Voiced by: Tomokazu Sugita (Japanese); An Jang-Hyeok (Korean) A 19-year old participant in the God of High School tournament for the metropolitan region who uses ITF Taekwondo to slaughter his opponents. Manseok is a violent street thug with a sadistic streak who has to be restrained by wearing straitjacket and heavy pants. During his match with Gamdo Go whom he tortures mercilessly, Mori intervenes and knocks Manseok out cold.
Gamdo Go (); (Japanese: コ・カンド, Ko Kando (anime)) Voiced by: Hiroyuki Yoshino (Japanese); (Korean) A skilled practitioner of Tai Chi Chuan with a polite and composed demeanor. After promising debuts during the preliminaries of the tournament, he is pitted against Gang Manseok who proceed to beat him to a pulp and would have maimed him without the intervention of Mori. Gamdo quits the tournament after that. His role in the story substantially decrease, though he is briefly seen in later arcs mastering traditional medicine and helping the protagonists.
Taek Jegal (); (Japanese: ジェガル・テク Jegaru Teku (anime)) Voiced by: Kenjiro Tsuda (Japanese); (Korean), Kaiji Tang (English) Main antagonist of the first and second arcs. Sold off as a baby by his mother to become the heir of the chairman of a large company, he grew up with a "Might is right" philosophy. Dubbed a monster by his opponents and team mates alike, Taek has an arrogant personality and extremely violent style of fighting, viewing everyone around him as insignificant trash. The only exception being the guardian of Ssamsu-Taekkyon, Ilpyo, his mortal enemy and the only person to defeat him years prior to the GOH tournament. Taek's Charyeok is characterized by "Greed", allowing him to absorb other fighter's powers.
Taejin Jin (); (Japanese: ジン・テジン, Jin Tejin (anime)) Voiced by: Kazuhiro Yamaji (Japanese); (Korean), Michael Sorich (English) The adoptive grandfather of protagonist Mori. Probably the strongest Genuine Fighter of the series, Taejin is powerful enough to easily defeat gods by using his sole martial skills. His disdain for Borrowed Power and unlimited potential threaten the status quo between gods and humans and have made him the target of many secret organizations. He is the creator and only master of the fictional Renewal Taekwondo, whom he taught Mori. His disappearance serves as the main motivation for Mori to join the GOH tournament.
Mujin Park (); (Japanese: パク・ムジン, Paku Mujin (anime)) Voiced by: Daisuke Namikawa (Japanese); (Korean), Edward Bosco (English) Main antagonist of the manhwa. Member of the National Assembly of Korea, he is the figure in charge of the God of High School tournament. In the series, Mujin acts as a mastermind by laying out plans to achieve his goal of obtaining power in order to create a new world. Considered a prodigy and destined for greatness from a very young age, the best shaman in Korea even told him that he would become "a king who will revolutionize the world", setting the history of God Of High School into motion. His Borrowed Power is called "Longinus" which manifests as two yellow crosses appearing on each of Mujin's hands. The name Longinus is loosely based on the Roman soldier said to have pierced the side of Jesus during the Crucifixion. Longinus allows Mujin control over gravity and as a defensive shield. He commands a group of powerful humans specialized in Charyeok called commissioners or executives (Kor: 집행위원). These figures are responsible for recruiting contestants and running the God of Highschool Tournament.
Commissioner O (); (Japanese: 審判員O, Shinpan-in O (anime)) Voiced by: Yuki Kaida (Japanese); (Korean); Lucien Dodge (English) Member of the judges. Slightly shorter than the other executives, he has white, shoulder-length hair and dark-colored skin. O has won the first G.O.H tournament and, as such, is regarded by his colleagues as the strongest judge. His calm and perky character often makes him act as a mediator between the irritable R and the rash Q, often at each other's throat. He wields the Charyeok "Dragon slayer" which enables him to summon and command dragons as well as controlling fire. O is the one who recruited Mira for the G.O.H Tournament and appears fearful of the young woman, always avoiding eye contact with her and calling her "a monster". His true name is Sochun Yang.
Commissioner P (); (Japanese: 審判員P, Shinpan-in P (anime))