Solo Leveling

The recent trend of Korean manhwa being adapted into Japanese anime has finally brought us to this point. Arguably the biggest manhwa of all time, Solo Leveling has finally got an anime and is a meathead action fan’s biggest dream come true. Delivering some of the best action scenes you’ll see this year, an amazing Sawano OST and a solid power fantasy, this one was a fun watch. For the last several years, I’ve heard a ton of hype about Solo Leveling and I honestly didn’t think too much of it. Shonen esque battle series are just pretty meh to me at this stage in life,so I never picked up the novels or manhwa. But I have to say I was blown away by the anime. A-1 gave us an absolute visual spectacle with some amazing fights, but I also found the concept of hunters, dungeons and portals into other dimensions to be really cool. This type of urban fantasy adventurer setting isn’t really something I’ve seen before so it was quite the experience. Particularly seeing how the Korean government regulates the hunters and how it’s such a big part of the economy. I think I’ll be in the minority here on this one, but I actually like the story of Solo Leveling? At least as an anime only to this point in the story. That’ll probably come as a surprise to many of you given one of the biggest criticisms against the series is it being a generic power fantasy with no plot and great art. That could be the case later on in the story, but to me, the story so far while simple, is still interesting. Jinwoo getting stronger to provide for and protect his family as well as unravelling the mystery of being a “player” while simple, was still interesting. I also think your mileage may vary entertainment wise depending on the amount of power fantasy dungeon crawling stories you’ve seen. To my understanding, SL’s success made these tropes quite popular in manhwa, but since I haven’t seen or read any others, it’s fresh to me. Jinwoo as an MC is pretty one dimensional. He wants to get stronger and protect his family, but that’s about it to him so far. It’s hard to really criticise that aspect of the story, though because it’s clear the author just wanted a zero to hero type story with some cool fights and a little escapism. As he levels up and fights stronger opponents, we do see gradual changes in his personality. The cruel and ruthless reality of the world in which hunters operate forces him to morph into a more jaded and brutal person. Going from unable to kill humans to doing it with ease. He’s definitely a bit edgy at times, but again, didn’t mind it too much. In most of the fights in this season, he’s an underdog going up against opponents stronger than him. I like that every big fight gave him a struggle, but I wish they would have been more creative with some of the kills in the fights. It’s like the build up to and climax of the fights were top tier, but the kills were a little meh due to the same technique being used to take down 3 bosses in a row. I will say, even though it’s a meathead series, Jinwoo at least to the point we’ve seen so far, has to outwit some of his opponents since he isn’t straight up stronger yet. Seeing those techniques made the fights even more interesting. As a massive Sawano stan the joy I felt when I first heard the OST in this one was immeasurable. Absolute masterclass. Made every fight and hype moment so much more intense and Sawano just has a way of transporting you to another world in a way no other artist can. His collab with one of my fave Kpop groups, TxT for the OP was also incredible. A-1 brought the A team out for this one. The fights and direction were top notch and you can only image the painstaking hours that went into this. It paid off and I got to tip my hat to the staff. Solo Leveling might not be the strongest story or have the most compelling MC out there, but it has an interesting world, awesome fights and is just a nice visual spectacle. Not everything needs to be complex, it just needs to be competent, which this is. The story knows what it is and makes no effort to be anything else. It’s confident in its power fantasy status and excels in it. If you’re looking for something with substantive narrative, this isn’t for you. If you want to turn your brain off and have fun, this is one for you. Solo Leveling gets 9 out of 10.

Solo Leveling, the series that took the world by storm back in 2018. No less than a few years later, we are graced a with a 12-episode adaptation that appears to be one of the most hyped series in 2024. It's on a lot of wishlists and for good reasons: stunning visuals, a wish fuflling premise, a diverse cast, and through word of mouth. Korean webnovel anime adaptations have been gaining mainstream popularity in recent years, with Tower of God being another recent example. Solo Leveling tries to set its own example as well. I want to preface and mention, this review is based from ananime viewer's perspective. I have not read the original source so everything here is based on what's shown in the anime without comparsion to the manhwa. With its promotional material, there was still no doubt that Solo Leveilng would be a popular title this year. The stellar animation offers a visual feast with its sharp character designs and impressive chereography. It's hard not to talk about the show just from what a technical point. The producers and episode directors had a vision: deliver on its promise to treat fans to what they want to see. Solo Leveling starts off introducing protagonist Sung Jin-woo, who is known as the 'weakest Hunter'. Throughout the show, he gets stronger after teaming up with allies while also engaging in feuds with other guild members. The anime revolves around dungeon quests with standard RPG elements including a leveling system with loot/gear. Think of it as a protagonist in a video game starring Jin-woo. Despite supposingly being the 'weakest hunter', he adapts with situation quickly and uses logic, strategies, and plans to survive. Watching Jin-woo's role in this show feels like being in the shoes of a gamer. He plays and thinks like one while trying to prove himself. While Jin-woo didn't seem to have a main goal at the start of the show, it does become more appearent that he wants to become stronger to protect the ones he loves. It's a typical protagonist trope used to represent heroes. Jin-woo seeks opportunities to becomes stronger for the sake of his family, and it's not that surprising when we witness his actions. They speak louder than words when we realize how much risk he puts himself in. Even against overwhelming odds, he will try to overcome them. Jin-woo is also a character with flaws, as evidenced in early episodes. His self-doubt and inferiority complex in the beginning held him back and isn't until he fights on the frontlines that he begins to grow out of that shell. Even at times when he is confident, he realizes that not everything can be resolved through his actions. However, this season doesn't truly explore his character and a particular drawback revolves around the relationship he builids with others. This is especially minimal with characters like Cha Hae-In, who early on in the show managed to impress the audience with her skills and reputation. His character relationship with anyone outside his family is mostly obligatory rather than commitment. He always puts his family first and it's his love for them that motivates him. Sadly, the character cast ends up being collateral damage for underdevelopment at the expenise of Jin-woo. There's an overemphasis on his character progression at the expense of others. Being that it's a 12-episode, the pacing didn't help much either. Despite the underwritten cast, I must give praise to its combat system in the show. Even if the idea isn't original, its loot and gear system brings out the classic standands of dungeon crawlers. At a fundamental level, hunters fight monsters, accepts quests, collect gear, but there are also special objectives. These may be seem like 'side objectives' but each of them improves a hunter's rank and skill. The anime adaptation goes through lengths to show what certain hunters are capable of. S-rank for instance is in class of its own. Even though we do not see their true potential, Cha Hae-In's presence alone breathes meaning into that rank. Nonetheless, this season only scratches the surface although in one particular episode, we see a bit of Jin-woo unleashing what appears to be his true hidden potential. It's just a slap in the face that it was one surreal moment and we don't see it much more. Solo Leveling has a tendency to get fans hyped for certain moments, and when it delivers, it really do deliver. Other times, it drops the ball. To be honest, it felt like A-1 Pictures was destined to be involved in this project. They've done work related to fantasy adventures before, most noticable among their projects including the Sword Art Online franchise. The animation team indeed gave his a visual paint that surpassed my expctations. The action has sharp cheroegraphy that gives the show its momentum while important scenes are animated with cinematic quality. Character expressions are focused in detail ranging from eye coordination to human emotions. Most noticable is how Jin-woo responds to different scenarios whether it's fighting monsters or social conversations with certain cast members. Similarly, the theme songs contains a well-crafted tone courtsey of SawanoHiroyuki[nZk]. It might sound predictable to see that they're involved but I can think of no better composer to make this work. Solo Leveling can be approached with the amount of hype it sets itself up. As an anime original viewer, I was definitely curious on how they tell a story in the fantasy adventure genre and game mechnics. After all, we have been flooded with so many similar shows every season in recent years. For Solo Leveling, it's a show that is watchable for its hype and sure enough, anyone can watch it to be enjoyed. But for its overall presentation, I really did expect more.

Solo Leveling is proof that if you throw in enough overpowered characters, flashy fight scenes, and shallow revenge plots, fans will eat it up regardless of how abysmally written it is. Sitting at a baffling 8.2 rating, it’s clear that standards for storytelling in this medium have hit an all-time low. The show is written like a middle schooler’s power fantasy gone wrong. Our protagonist, Jinwoo, starts as a laughably weak hunter who—surprise, surprise—gains overpowered abilities overnight. Character depth? Forget it. Jinwoo’s personality is as flat as the screen you're watching him on. His only defining trait is being ridiculously strong, but with no real challengenor stakes, everything he encounter felt more like a chore than a genuinely exciting moment. Plot? What plot? It’s just a rinse-and-repeat cycle of Jinwoo slaughtering enemies in dungeons and then leveling up like it’s some poorly designed RPG, that's it. Any semblance of tension or intrigue is immediately squashed by the fact that you know he’s never in danger. It’s a one-man show where the supporting cast exists solely to either worship him or be so useless that they make him look even better by comparison. And yet, here we are, with fans defending this mediocrity as if it’s the pinnacle of modern fantasy storytelling. Apparently, all it takes for a story to get high praise these days is mindless action, zero plot complexity, and a protagonist that’s more cheat-code than character. You could swap Solo Leveling with any other generic isekai or power-trip story and no one would bat an eye—because, let’s face it, they’re all the same. The fact that this anime holds an 8.2 rating is either a joke or a sign of how low the bar is set for storytelling in this medium. At this point, fans are praising spectacle over substance, and Solo Leveling embodies everything wrong with anime today.

Target audience matters. and I am just outside the target audience. Younger me would have loved this, it's high energy, power fantasy, gory, and the protag is edgy. However, older me has developed new tastes (which I will not claim to be superior, simply different), and subsequently I struggled to feel invested. Things I can praise: - Animation. It's high quality stuff for the action scenes. They are bombastic and top notch - Joohee. The only person who feels realistically portrayed in this show. Can't say much about why without spoiling events. I only wish she had a bit more time on screen in order togive her a bit more development and give the audience more time to build an attachment. - Use of violence. While gore is generally not a selling point for me, this show used violence in such a visceral way that it helps sell the gravity of many scenes. They don't hold back or sugar coat. Things that I found disappointing - Story. It's relatively bare bones and straight forward. There is certainly some hints at underlying depth but so far not enough of that was presented to captivate me in to wanting to know more. Otherwise, as it's presented here, it's more or less "What if RPG mechanics were introduced in the real world." - Characters. They can be overly dumb at times, not noticing very obvious things, and many are very one note and cliche. The thing I dislike the most is when characters become powerful they also become super edgy, and that's the route our protagonist went down. It's the kind of edgy teen me wanted to be, always one step ahead, people being afraid of my super reflexes, a cold demeanor, etc. But adult me feels it's too one note and became a trope. - Stakes. The main character being in peril only matters if they have sufficiently built up your concern for other characters. It's rare the main character will die, either they are able to rally themselves to win, or somehow survive to fight another day, either way it's their plot armor kicking in. It's the supporting cast suffering the consequences of the hero's failure that drive stakes, because they are more expendable. Unfortunately, the show did not do enough to make me care what happened to the supporting cast. They got little screen time, and those that did weren't given enough time to be interesting and likable characters. The main character sure does endure a lot of punishment, and you can really feel it, but in the end I knew he had plot armor and would come out the other end unscathed. As it's plain to see I have more issues than praise but I'll reiterate that I'm no longer the target demographic. I was able to enjoy the show for it's animation, and great action scenes, so I did continue to tune in each week. Sometimes that's all you need, even if it's not your kind of story, it'll still please the eyes.