Is Id Worth Reading? Review & Where to Read
Quick Answer
Worth reading for the ride, not for closure. Id has real imagination and a fun early stretch, but its publisher went bankrupt with the story unfinished, so there's no ending waiting for you at volume 29.
Quick Verdict
“Genuinely inventive for a long stretch, then it just stops — know that going in and you'll enjoy it more.”
Best for: Readers who want an imaginative isekai-adjacent fantasy with a strong, competent lead and don't mind a story that doesn't get to finish.
Not for: Readers who need a series to reach a real ending, or who lose patience with art that shifts noticeably across a long run.
- Type
- Manhwa
- Genres
- Fantasy, Action
- Status
- On Hiatus
- This review
- Minor Spoilers
- Author
- Kim Daewoo
- Artist
- A. T. Kenny
- Publisher
- Book Box
| Quick facts | |
|---|---|
| Format | Manhwa (shōnen), 29 volumes |
| Run | on hiatus |
| Community score | MangaUpdates 8.5 |
Overview
Id opens with a familiar hook — a man named Ye Chun Hwa finds himself stranded in a fantasy world far from his own — and then does something more interesting with it than most isekai stories bother to. Taking the name Id to avoid drawing attention, he's soon chosen as the master of Lamia, an ancient sentient sword forged by a dragon and the gods, and pulled into a world where elves, dwarves, mages, and wuxia-style martial artists all coexist without the story treating any of it as a novelty act.
Kim Daewoo and artist A. T. Kenny build out a genuinely large cast and world across the manhwa's 29 volumes, following Id as he grows in strength and reputation while slowly revealing pieces of a mysterious past he doesn't fully remember.
What it does well
The fusion-fantasy premise is more than a marketing label. Western sword-and-sorcery staples sit alongside qi and Taoist wuxia concepts without either side feeling shoehorned in, and that blend gives the world a distinct flavor that a lot of similar manhwa from this era don't bother chasing. Id himself is also a refreshing lead for the genre — he starts capable rather than spending volumes as a punching bag waiting to unlock power, which keeps the story moving at a faster clip than the standard shonen power-up formula.
The romance that develops over the early-to-mid volumes is handled with more care than you'd expect, avoiding the love-triangle padding a lot of long-running fantasy manhwa fall back on. And the sheer scope of the world — multiple nations, factions, and species all given real distinctiveness — makes the read feel expansive rather than repetitive, at least for a long stretch.
Where it falls short
The unavoidable issue is that Id doesn't end. Its Korean publisher, Book Box, went bankrupt while the series was still running, and the story simply stops mid-arc with major questions about Id's past and the wider world left open. If you need narrative closure, that's a real cost to weigh before starting a 29-volume commitment.
The art is also a genuine hurdle by the later volumes — character designs shift enough over the run that distinguishing people during fight scenes gets noticeably harder, and several long-time readers note the story leans more on repetitive fights against ever-stronger villains as it goes, losing some of the character-driven texture of its stronger early chapters.
Verdict
Id is a genuinely inventive fusion fantasy that's worth reading for its imagination and a capable, likeable lead, as long as you go in knowing there's no ending. If an unresolved story is a dealbreaker for you, this one will frustrate more than it satisfies — but for readers happy to enjoy 29 volumes of a fun ride without a destination, there's real substance here.
Strengths & Weaknesses
Strengths
- The fusion premise actually delivers — western sword-and-sorcery elements and wuxia ideas coexist without feeling like a gimmick bolted onto a generic isekai.
- Id himself is a rare shonen lead who's already highly capable rather than spending volumes powering up from nothing, which keeps the pacing brisk.
- The sentient sword Lamia and the surrounding cast are genuinely imaginative, and the early-to-mid volumes build a believable romance without leaning on love-triangle padding.
- The world-building has real scope — elves, dwarves, dragons, and multiple factions all get room to feel distinct rather than interchangeable.
Weaknesses
- The story never gets an ending. Its Korean publisher went bankrupt mid-serialization, and the manhwa simply stops mid-arc with major plot threads unresolved.
- The art shifts noticeably across the run, to the point that some readers have trouble telling characters apart by the later volumes.
- The back stretch leans harder into repetitive power-up-and-fight-the-next-boss structure than the more character-driven earlier volumes.
Similar Titles
Id (Novel)
The original web novel this manhwa adapts, for readers who want the full, unabridged story.
Another long, ambitious Korean fantasy epic with a similarly divisive reception.
Shin Angyo Onshi
A different flavor of sprawling dark fantasy manhwa if the incomplete ending here is a dealbreaker.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Id have an ending?
No. The manhwa's Korean publisher, Book Box, went bankrupt partway through serialization, and the story stops without a resolution. The original web novel it's based on does reportedly go further.
Is Id licensed in English?
No, there's no official English release, so this one is a bit harder to access through mainstream channels.
Is the art consistent throughout?
Not entirely — character designs shift noticeably across the long run, which can make later battle scenes harder to follow than the earlier volumes.
