Solo Leveling
a review by Underscore
a review by Underscore
Solo Leveling
Summary
In a world where dimensional gates leading to dungeons where dangerous monsters reside certain people experience awakenings, a change that allows them to pass through the gates and defeat the monsters before they cross over into the world. These reawakened people, called hunters, are stronger than regular humans, but not all awakenings are equal. Hunter Sung Jin-Woo is a class E rank, and he’s the weakest of the weak, barely stringer than the average person. Yet, he still goes into the dungeons day after day, risking his life just to earn a little cash. That all changes one fateful day when a dungeon raid goes wrong. Somehow, he manages to escape with his life, but now he’s different. Normal hunters stay the same rank after their awakening for their entire life, but Jin-Woo now has the miraculous ability to get stronger. When you’re at the bottom of the heap, the only direction to go is up!
Plot (8.1/10)
A somewhat unique twist on a tired tale, the main character is able to continuously increase their strength and ability in a world of survival of the fittest. The storyline is easy to follow and somewhat predictable and doesn’t really stray from the path. However, that’s not necessarily a bad thing, and this manga manages to pull it off almost flawlessly. It focuses on action and fights, it doesn’t have to have a convoluted plot to be enjoyable. However, especially towards the start , it can feel a bit rushed at times. It’s obvious he gets stronger, but there’s sudden huge leaps in strength with no real struggle. This also brings up another issue. Because Jin-Woo is so strong, there’s few fights with any real struggle, leaving drawn out battles for the sake of eye candy, which isn’t a bad thing in and of itself. But there’s not much of a story without conflict, and Solo Leveling could have more. However, as the chapters progress, the conflicts start to come less from the dungeons, and more from other people.
Characters (8.2/10)
The characters are well written, but you aren’t going to get anything particularly extraordinary from them. There are a lot of likeable characters though, and a few you don’t like, not because of bad writing, but because of good character design. Most of the focus is directed at Jin-Woo and his inner dialogue which makes it very easy for you to empathise with him. He’s put in a lot of situations where he acts different from your average protagonist and more like a real person would. His motivations are also realistic and you get a good sense for the kind of person he is. While he is a good guy, he does some bad things that the manga regrettably and conveniently forgets about considerably quickly, at least from his perspective. As mentioned before, the characters take themselves seriously, but not too serious, with plenty of small comedic moments.
Visuals (9.4/10)
The visuals are perhaps the most redeemable quality of this entire manga, not to imply the other qualities are bad. It’s just that Solo Leveling’s artwork stands head and shoulders above your average manga. The colors and lighting are beautifully combined not to mention the one thing that this manga is unrivaled in, its ability to show perspective. The long panels showcase many fights and dramatic scenes with phenomenal depth and perspective that make the reader lose focus on the story and direct their attention on the art. The art started off great and only seemed to get better, especially after 100 chapters. There is nothing bad to say about it.
Bingeable/Hype (9.0/10)
While it’s such an enticing plot, it’s also not very hard to understand or consume, making it just that much more easy to consume chapter after chapter of this manga. The chapters aren’t short, but still always leave you wanting more, and the cliffhangers, there are a lot of them. It’s nearly impossible to put down. There’s a reason it’s one of the top ranked manga in the community, and everytime a new chapter is dropped the hype for the next one seems to increase that much more.
Enjoyment (9.1/10)
A good story, well written characters, amazing artwork, and an addictive plot, what more could you want? Everything you could ask for in a manga has been delivered. Granted, it might not be the most complex manga ever created, but I actually quite like that. It keeps the story a relaxing read but at the same time not boring. Normally, I feel as if I’d rather watch the anime of a story first because of the better delivery of action, but in this case ,I actually feel as if an animated version wouldn’t be able to do it justice. I’ll admit, I haven’t read much manga, but I really enjoyed this one.
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