The art is superb and it adapts the novel well but this is just intended to make you feel good about yourself if you self insert in mc. Judging this realistically the story is one dimensional. No one matters except for the main character.The main character's personally takes a 180* flip in the start and stays that way till the end. With no improvement.There is no sense of danger as mc is pretty much Characters come and go and never get any future development, fillers if you will.
Read it if you want to escape reality. (Hence the popularity) still only a little bit better than all the other generic trash out there.
Had to delete my older review for when it had only started. Disappointment.

... Last updated on March 6th, 2021, 2:42pm

I tend to get bored of levelling up/gamer system manhwas after 50 chaps or so, because they tend to get pretty repetitive, but Solo Leveling pleasantly surprised me. It has great pacing - fast-paced but not overwhelming, and new plot points and characters are constantly being introduced. I thought the story was pretty nice.

MC is okay, even though he is OP - it's nice seeing that he has friends and family for once. I do roll my eyes sometimes at how powerful he is, but the other characters in the story all have brains and personalities, a major part of what kept me going. I also wished that the other characters could shine a bit tho, they seem like interesting characters but we don't see them enough! Near the end, it's just MC beating everything and the others watching or being useless.

Otherwise, the art's amazing, especially the fight scenes. Despite its typical OP flaws, it's a good read, I recommend it!

... Last updated on February 6th, 2021, 8:04pm

I had originally dropped this after the first season because the Mc is a bit too OP and I ended up getting bored with some battle scenes getting over-prolonged without explaining some basic facts about the MC (The most balant example being his dad) and having seen similar media with a plot that advances faster .Japanese being imperialists are apparently a default generic beginner enemy on Korean novels just as the sick mother/debt (in the case parents/family appear).

But after getting disappointed with those (they end up having way too many cliches or come up with some brain dead strategy or MC's become obsessed with the game system )

And since it's based on a novel I peaked on the end a bit and gave it another try. After I reread it,I saw that the action was good enough and the plot is actually advancing fast. What encouraged me is that the mc puts the effort , isn't "chosen by destiny" and isn't a homicidal maniac (I tell you guys some series like "the time i got reincarnated as a slime" end up having a shitty end almost as if it was inevitable for the mc to win and become godlike).

... Last updated on April 20th, 2021, 8:13am

- Great world-building. Great action sequence. Great art (~drool~)
- Interesting storyline. Has a lot of potential
- Strong MC (perseverance, stubbornness, always strive to be better)

“Mindless fun” sounds just about the right description for this manhwa. You can’t go wrong with this if you’re looking all of the above. The plot drags on a bit as it focuses more on strength-building than the larger plot, but I don’t really care. Why? Because the ART is so great. The MC is so so so cool. I’m always cheering for him when he faces new opponents (and do I care that objectively his character kinda stops evolving around 50 chapters in? Nah) and oh mah gawd, he’s the definition of a BAMF. I can’t wait for the next chapter. Like, on my hands and knees waiting.

BTW there’s a light novel version of this. Chapter 135 manhwa corresponds to chapter 173 in the light novel. You’re welcome 🙂

... Last updated on January 19th, 2021, 9:23pm

The minor issues i'll get out of the way first

Cons:

- Main character is sold initially as someone who is not very powerful and nearly meets his end, only to have a reawakening and enhanced and soon to be overpowered abilities. The issue here is that the plot takes multiple chapters to kinda put together, and makes you think that the main character might take some time to overcome the issues. I will say that the author does a better job than most at selling you on why the start had to be like this by providing a path for where it is legitimized over the next x amount of chapters, but i'd still much prefer to know that this is the route it's going right away.

- It seems like the author gets bored at some point and changes how the main character works. You'll have to read to probably understand this gripe, but it was just ok to me.

- The majority of the supporting cast is exactly that, they exist to make the story work, don't expect much depth with most of them. The writer appears weak in this area, complete opposite of story writing.

Pros:

- Main character start to finish is worried mostly about his family and himself, and this focus doesn't change for the majority of the work. So while his style of fighting changes significantly, it's not going to change him into something else mentally for a long time.

- For a long time the author makes sure to convey information as to how the main character gets from point a to point b with his skills, and spends the time to deliver this message both in the literature and the manwha. This is a major hurdle for many writers in this field, so it's worthwhile to give this one props for not failing for a significant portion of the work to explain things.

- Each major event in the story has a reasonable beginning, middle, and end. Again, i respect the ability to complete a thought and have a well structured plan as to how to integrate it into the entire story.

It's not in my top 10 reads overall, but as far as one genre goes, this story is probably one of the more worthy ones of your time to read or view. The flaws are minimized by what the story does well.

Okay Imma redo my review.

This manhwa used to be my fav manhwa ever. I waited patiently for updates when season 1 ended, but I couldn’t stand it and went to read the novel. Well I stopped in the middle because it gets boring and I heard the ending wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea. The manhwa, I’d say has amazing art! I was reluctant to read it but my brother forced me to read it. The pace is a okay, it tells the novel well. Would I recommend it? Yes, I would.

... Last updated on August 12th, 2021, 1:56am

Only the MC can get stronger. WTF. I've read my fair share of average works over the years, but this is still one of the lamest just in terms of premise. Do yourself a favor and skip this one.

[as of chapter 123]

Solo Levelling is very popular, and it is immediately apparent why. It has style, attractive characters, and captures current preferences for isekai-flavour. So while it has all the makings of a main-stream starlet, I personally find it to be lacking in imagination, depth and vision.

Each individual arc has been rather formulaic. We have seen it all before. The MC gets into some sticky situation, and he either immediately over powers it, or gets knocked around a bit before he inevitably crushes. These fights aren't very detail orientated and strategy is a minor concern. What strategy and considerations are relevant to other characters (specific class strengths etc) are completely irrelevant to the MC. The big bad ant was outclassed on everything it tried - that may be "cool", but it isn't very interesting. My primary concern is that due to the very nature of power within this series (e.g. your rank is fixed and there is little that can be done to mitigate that), we are going to reach a situation where other characters are simply part of the background. Like One Punch Man but without it being a gag. There is some suggestion in the recent chapters that power levels might be changing with the advent of more gates opening up, so maybe my concern will be ameliorated, but somehow I doubt that it will (especially given the spoilers I've seen in regards to the "barrier expert" in the next arc).

So, if the main thrust of the series, the action, isn't very interesting. What about characters? Setting? I've already touched on the setting not being very well elucidated. The geopolitical situation is touched on slightly, but the officials seem to have a very intense blindness when it comes to the MC and how they can possibly utilise him. For example, why did they allow him to just reject joining the Jeju Island Raid without any attempt to draw a deal with him? Given the history of prior excursions onto the island they should have been on high alert and been involving anyone they possibly could who might make a difference. But they don't even try to simply offer money to the MC? Why?? Other possible elements of the setting such as what has been the economic and technological implications of the gates and the awakenings are left impoverished. Hunters from other countries don't seem any different than those native to South Korea and we have next to no sense of what the relative situations of each country is when it comes down to gates. The number of S-tier hunters is commented on but everything else is left in the dark.

Characters on the other hand, while not awful, are far from memorable. Many of them don't get enough screen time and don't have enough plot relevance for us to even develop much of an interest in them. Some of the S-tier hunters have moments to demonstrate their competencies, but this usually falls by the wayside when it comes time for the MC to have another moment in the sun. I also take particular issue with the development of the MC, who appears to change drastically as soon as he re-awakens. I know his trauma and prior situation is used to justify this, but I just find it rather hard to believe. He also has a metamorphosis from goofy-weak looking kid to a jacked k-pop idol with little justification apart from the "system did it". It thought it would may be associated with his attributes, but despite him gaining about 200 points in every one since then he hasn't undergone any other drastic physical change (which is why I sort of hate the addition of attributes in these stories, even if they are common in RPGs). I also would have liked some commentary on the blatant inhumanity of the MC in certain situations. Specifically, brutally murdering a large number of demon clans when climbing the tower. He forms an alliance with the first one he meets after having some affinity for the clumsy girl underneath the demon mask, and then her father is also shown to be rather human in his emotional profile. Are we meant to believe that the other clans are not the same? If so, if you liked those two characters shouldn't you also feel that all those clans being eviscerated is somewhat morally questionable? It would have been interesting to see the MC realise that he was beginning to view sentient entities as simply bags of XP and loot, rather than as characters with personalities and aspirations. Of course, Solo Levelling makes the majority of its antagonistic monsters, even the intelligent ones, to be completely morally reprehensible (with creepy grins to match). "I am the Sorcerer King" tackles this in a far more interesting way but setting up intelligent adversaries who aren't necessarily immediately blood thirsty and are simply having to content with the situation they find themselves in as well. The situation in Solo Levelling is fine, but I just don't find it as interesting.

In conclusion, is Solo Levelling enjoyable? Yes. But it most certainly does not approximate a masterpiece, and there are series with very similar starting premises that are far more elaborate and creative in how they have moved forward in their setting, characters and concepts (such as "I am the Sorcerer King"😉.

... Last updated on October 21st, 2020, 3:44pm

A typical enjoyable OP main character type read. Takes some time to pick up and has some slow/boring moments but I’m looking forward to the 2nd season. I also feel like the main character lacks a bit of depth like yeah he’s cool and hot but you get sick of hearing about how strong he’s getting and how he used to be weak after so many times.