The first time I heard of Solo Leveling was when I first saw a picture of Sung Jin-Woo in a Youtube video. This was around the time when I first started reading manga. I searched up Sung Jin-Woo on Google and it gave me the name of the Manhwa he was from. So I started to read the first Manhwa of many that I would later read.

Story
After watching a TON of shounen, reading this felt like a breather after all the cliches of shounen. The story felt a lot more realistic because it uses a lot more of the human nature. At the beginning of story, I felt engaged but that maybe because I had nothing else to read. But either way, I enjoyed the story from beginning till end. At the start, the MC was a naive and kind person who cared for people but by the latest chapter, (144 at this time) MC became cold-hearted to his enemies but is still kind to his friends and family. In a lot of Manhwa, there are times when filler arcs just dominate the whole thing but I don't think there was a single filler in Solo Leveling.

Characters
Let's start with the MC. His social and mental progression was great though, at the arc where it is the first time he has to kill someone, it is a bit cliche though not necessarily bad. This MC does follow the OP trend so if you don't like that, I don't think you'll enjoy this very much. Next is his close companion, Yoo Jin-Ho. He can be a bit comical at times but hilarious which gives a break from the drama-filled storyline. The next character is Sung Jin-Woo's benefactor, Go Gun-Hee. I like the character and in the story he is said to be very powerful but I do wish that he is in at least a few fight scenes since all we ever see him is in his office. One antagonist is Hwang Dong-Su. This villain, so to speak, is interesting to read about because he can be a bit annoying but you can't help but admire him. So my opinion on the characters (though only 3 have been mentioned here) is great but I wish some characters got more scenes than others.

Art
Ok, let's be honest, this is one of the best in art in all Manhwa. The last few chapters (again, ch. 144 right now) blew my mind. I loved how the shadow effects (yeah, this doesn't make sense unless you have already read somewhere around chapter 40, I think) were drawn. In the first chapter, I felt like some of the characters had too many lines on their faces but that gradually came to pass.

Conclusion
Overall, I love Solo Leveling. It's my second favorite manga or Manhwa or whatever. It was great. I honestly feel like this needs more love. The pacing can be a bit slow at times or maybe a bit too fast. To me this is like a hidden-in-plain-sight gem. Like I never heard of Solo leveling until I got 6 months into my anime career (career lol).