Perfectly paced story, having insane fights, gorgeously illustrated, with comedy drizzled in all the right places.

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###(Anyone can read this review. It contains spoilers, but those are clearly stated before and written in blue, and spoiler pics are given in spoiler tags. So if you're a fan of Solo Leveling, or just checking to see if you should get into Solo Leveling, I'm clarifying that anyone can read it. ^^ Enjoy :)

It was almost time to eat. My mom was calling me downstairs. I had been checking which manga to add to my list, and only one had intrigued me. Solo Leveling. I was staring at it, and it stared back.

Quest: Read this manhwa (I know it’s a manhwa, but I’m going to be calling it a manga from now on for simplicity.)
Rewards: Get to go on an insane journey with a badass character
#Do you accept?

“He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster...when you gaze long into the abyss, the abyss also gazes into you” - Friedrich Nietzsche

In the beginning, I didn’t have very high expectations for any manga (much less think I would write a review for it, but look at me now lol). It never gave me the hype that anime did, especially in the case of fight scenes. In my eyes, manga was always inferior to anime, that is, until I read this…..

If I were to describe this manga in a few words, I would call it a perfectly paced story, having insane fights, gorgeously illustrated, with comedy drizzled in all the right places. In short, something that exceeds a masterpiece. With the perfect blend of character development, emotion, story, and explosive fights, this manga captivates the reader completely. Once drawn in, I wanted to read more and more.

Pretty much my reaction while reading this manga lol

#Story and illustration

Had me enraptured throughout. There wasn’t a single chapter where I felt bored. Not many manga can consistently be interesting, but this completely blew away the norm. Every panel was beautifully drawn, for a solid storyline. Many mysteries were revealed, and many deciphered. Each fight scene was drawn in such a way that I felt as if I was there seeing it with my own eyes. I usually only get chills when I see really well animated fights in anime, but this manga completely blew away that view and gave me chills in almost every fight. The art never failed to impress, with each panel being detailed right down to the finest level.

(Spoilers ahead)

<a>The weakest hunter, putting his life on the line just so he could support his ailing mother and fund his sister’s education, is how the story starts. The stronger hunters, not having a care in the world, lived their life pompously, while the weaker hunters strived to even earn a meagre wage. It brings into our perspective, how society is divided.</a> Even though the strong and weak were close to each other geographically, they were miles away metaphorically. <a>
Sung Jin-Woo, an E-rank, worked his ass off, disregarding his own safety in order to support his mother and sister. Due to an unfortunate event, he got trapped in a double dungeon, but due to his quick intellect, he managed to decode the hidden puzzles, and save whoever he could. In the end, he was the only one left, choosing to sacrifice himself to save the others.</a> Death was clutching his neck, ready to snap it at any moment, but destiny had other plans for him. <a>After passing out, he awoke to find within him, a power of unknown origin. Using his newfound ability, he transformed from a weak person who frequently got hurt, to a badass dude ready to protect his family and friends, whatever may come his way. This can clearly be seen, where he chose to protect his father, even if it meant going against every single hunter. </a>(Open spoiler to see)

Not just his family, but Sung even cared for his friend brother a lot, even if he was comparatively much weaker. (Open spoiler to see)

The emotional impact these scenarios created in me was immense. It made me realise how much my parents and close friends meant to me, and made me realise I would go against even the world to protect them. Overall, its plot was perfect, infused with all the right elements at the right proportion.
#Characters

I could go on and on about how I love all the characters, and how each have their own individual charm, but I’ll just focus on a few characters briefly and on the protagonist mainly, because he is the one we are most exposed to, and through whose eyes we see this magnificent plot unravel.

(Spoilers Ahead)

<a>Jin-Ho Yoo- A character I loved the instant they introduced him. Funny, righteous and loyal are just some of his loveable traits. They way he tried to protect Sung even before he knew of Sung's power, and choosing to stand beside him when threatened by Hwang Dong-Suk to kill him, showed he what kind of a character he was. Him telling Sung that he considered him as an older brother, and Sung telling him he’ll consider him as a younger brother made my heart jump for joy.

Hae-In Cha (her just straight up admitting she liked Sung was really hilarious lol), Gun-Hee Go (was so sad when he died, rip legend), Jong-In Choi, Jin-Chul Woo ,Yoon-Ho Baek, Esil Radiru(One second she tries to murder Sung, the next she begs for forgiveness, only to try murdering him again lmao) -All epic people. But their names are so hard to remember lol

Shadow soldiers: Beru, Kaisel, Igris, Tank, Iron -They’re all so cool. Each have their own individual character, which deepens their personality. </a>

Now for the character I’ve been waiting to talk about. The MC who’s more badass than the villains (*insert badass music of your choice here)

#Sung Jin-Woo

One of the most badass characters I’ve seen, the epitome of cool. Going against the world to protect those close to him, he’s the renegade we all deserved.

(Spoilers Ahead)

<a>A minimum number of people needed to clear a gate? Oh, don’t mind me and my army clearing it ourselves. It’s not just his attitude and mindset, but his abilities too. They’re nothing short of amazing. Shadow Extraction, Ruler’s Authority, Bloodlust and Mutilation are just some of his staggering abilities. Is it just me, or does Shadow Extraction and Preservation give off Pokemon vibes?</a> A badass MC with badass abilities who will do his best to protect those he cares for, what more do you want? (He rampaged into my top 3 favourite characters faster than him summoning his shadow soldiers lol.) Here are some of my personal favourite moments of Sung that you can relive :D





(I really hope this manga gets an anime adaptation soon!)

If you enjoyed reading this review, be sure to like it, show it to your friends and check out my other reviews. I checked out the top reviews for Solo Leveling, and they all seemed to be years old, so I decided to write one which also covered the recent events. Thanks for reading till here. Hope you enjoyed reading this review.(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧~~~