Why You Should Read Solo Leveling
With a total of 270 chapters, this Korean web novel has become the face of the Manhwa community. Under the writing spearhead of Chugong, the web novel was serialized on Kakao Page. The art style and illustration by Jang Sung Rak are widely appreciated and have enhanced the storyline.
The webtoon is a combination of all your favorite shonen anime combined into one delicious meal.
It follows the story of Sung Jin Woo, a weak hunter who is struggling to make ends meet. He later turns into an overpowered badass and his adventure continues as a Hunter.
In this blog post, I have talked about Solo Leveling Manhwa and the reasons you should definitely check it out.
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Story arc
It takes place in a parallel universe in South Korea where there are dungeons. Certain people of the general population get reawakened as Hunter and these hunters go into the dungeons to hunt these monsters and cleared them. In the dungeons, there are several rare items and raw materials that could be resold for money in the real world of Korea. Around this new system, political gains and power dynamics emerge and rest in a handful.
The story begins following Jin Woo, a hunter that goes into the dungeons to pay off his sick mother’s medical bills. Dependent on your Hunter rank, the economic level in the real world is influenced. Jin Woo belongs to the lowest rank and is even considered the weakest hunter of all time. Starting in the Manhwa, you see him struggling to fight even level-one slimes.
One day, Jin Woo and some of his friends went along with a party to clear a D-ranked dungeon. It is later revealed that this D-ranked dungeon was actually of S class. Jin Woo and the party gets tested by the S rank Boss.
There is a sense of despair in the Manhwa, from a minute of happiness, it turns into gruesome scenes in a minute. It reminded me of the series Overlord, where characters assumed, they will clear the level but the next thing you know everybody is dead. Such scenes with despair really keep you on your toes.
In Solo leveling, the sense of despair creates a sense that nobody is safe. The main character gets out of the dungeon and rises from the drop low level to being appreciated. The show does not grow the MC as he is Jesus, but rather understands that time is required to develop a well-written character.
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Hero’s Grinding
Jin Woo is not portrayed as a God-like character. He had to grind to climb every rank ladder. Though he is progressing at a fast pace than to rest of the characters, you feel like being part of his journey.
Every time Jin Woo learns a new skill or gets a new item and beats a powerful dungeon boss you feel both hyped and happy for him. This feeling is the result of him earlier being so weak when everyone underestimated him.
I loved the detail that as Jin Woo was leveling up, his mental, physical, and even his overall aura completely changed. He turned from a nobody into a BTS K-pop star.
Revenge Never Tasted Sweeter
I loved the factor of revenge portrayed in the series. Revenge stories have in a way carried many genres in Manhwas. We love to see stories where characters avenge their dead mother, dead friends, dead pets, and even the stolen mouse pad.
We learn in this world of dungeons and hunters that it works in a similar way to the real world. In this parallel world powerful take complete advantage of the poor and weak. It has a common thread with the real world in terms of economic oppression.
The revenge arc comes in after Jin Woo’s experience in that S-Class dungeon. Jin Woo gets to the powers unheard of. Because he was still registered as an E-class hunter, most people think that he is weak.
The revenge sequences happen over and over again. The main character turns the tables with his Saitama powers and the barbaric savagery is satisfying to watch.
No obnoxious Romantic Relationships or Harems
After watching a million fantasy series where the main character turns into a cult leader with a love decagon with ten female characters. I have started to appreciate solo leveling to forgo that romantic route.
I feel like many of the time romantic tropes are just thrown into these different fantasy series just because that’s the only way to progress the story or they just want to sell some extra merchandise.
A well-written romantic line can be appreciated in a fantasy series, but in the case of series like solo leveling, it takes a completely different route in the overly saturated romance trope in this genre.
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Art Style and Illustrations
If artwork is your main choice to judge any Anime, Manga, or Manhwa then you are up for a treat. The web novel is presented in full color opposed to many opting for black and white. The characters are easily distinguishable and the reader is comfortable with the web novel.
It is beautifully illustrated in terms of the paneling and the artwork attaches us more to the protagonist.
The action scenes are intensified by the illustrations and leave your heart pounding. The art quality in every panel is breathtaking and even the minor characters get a lot of detail.
Well Written Overpowered MC
Even though he is overpowered, it never feels like he is cheating Every new skill or ability he has unlocked is the virtue of his hard work and dedication. The character takes time to be termed OP compared to a lot of characters who are overpowered right off the bat.
Jin Woo has the powers of a Necromancer, after killing anyone in a fight he can raise them from the dead and make part of his Shadow soldier. Imagine him killing Goku and having a shadow Goku destroying everything. And this is just the surface of his powers.
He has the ability to open large and small gates that can move millions of people as far as he wants. He has the access to abilities such as invisibility and to completely wipe his presence away.
He has a standing shadow army of 10 million and can access them anytime. His high-level Generals are considered to be the level God of Destruction in their universe.
He can’t be poisoned thanks to his detoxification process which automatically purifies his body of all abnormalities. He has resistance to every single element. Even Superman could be scared of that green rock.
Being the Shadow monarch and the ruler over darkness, Jin Woo is immortal and can’t die in the traditional way of death. He has the power to age his body to whatever age he wants at will.
To fight the Monarch of the destruction’s Dragon form he used his power to create an armored body size of a mountain.
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How Human Jin Woo is
Though in between the series, the story gets a bit bland and predictable. The series plays it right later on. Even though Jin Woo has attained the Shadow Monarch’s power there is still a lot for him to grow as a character.
Ending is a Well Send Off
It was a bittersweet ending for Jin Woo, growing up in this new world and motivating himself for that last ride. I was brought to tears watching Jin Woo fight for humanity all by himself with a shadow army for 27 years.
When he did that last Arise, it was literal goosebumps.
Jin Woo sacrifices his humanity for nearly 30 years of his life and then returns to his original world, where no one acknowledges that he was the one who saved all of humanity.
It kind of hurts that the rulers want to move Jin Woo to a new world or seal his power away because the current world no longer needs his power.
The ending was different from that guilty crown ending and makes a lot more sense. Though it was sad that Jin Woo did not get the collective recognition he deserves.
In the closing sequence, Jin Woo is shown running toward Hein all the iconic characters we came to love in the series are shown. It was heartwarming to see the Old Man, all the S-teir hunters, villains, and the waifus.
Conclusion
This Dark dungeon run game is the most hype read I ever had. It understands the concept and the idea of presenting a threat to the audience and then constantly progressing and adding on top of that threat.
It is set to make an anime adaptation and will be released in 2023 according to most of the sources. This Manhwa has been a game changer for the Korean comic industry and led to many similar stories being created.
I hope that I gave you enough reasons to start with Solo Leveling. I guarantee a read wouldn’t disappoint.
Check the List of Top Manhwa to Inspire You: https://animeloved.com/blog/best-manhwa-for-inspiration/
