Style Over Substance

<center>
Solo Leveling is akin to One Punch Man but without the parody. Essentially, Solo Leveling is a mish-mash of video game isekai elements (a la No Game No Life) & battle shounen characteristics (a la Naruto) that leaves us with an edgy generic power fantasy type of series as a final result.

What generally makes shounen battle series engaging is the raising of the stakes over time. The villains get stronger, the protagonist gets stronger, and everyone gets stronger over time as they are continually pushed to their limit. Conversely, in Solo Leveling, our protagonist Sung Jin-Woo goes from being the weakest to strongest person in the entire verse in a matter of about ten chapters. As a result, no matter the opposition. our MC takes care of them rather handily. And this dynamic plays out in every single dungeon or fight throughout the series.

While it is cool to have an MC with broken powers, the problem with this dynamic is -- why should the reader care? Sung Jin-Woo is never in any danger. Progression doesn't matter because he is already OP. No one else in the verse matters because they simply aren't as strong as Sung Jin-Woo & are incapable of saving the day. Ultimately, the characters are not characters -- they are plot devices in and of themselves.

Early on, we are introduced to The Chairman, an S-Ranked Hunter (2nd highest level) & Sung Jin-Woo is amazed at how powerful the old man is. Yet, five chapters later, Sung Jin-Woo is a multitude of times stronger than The Chairman. This even happens with the introduction of Thomas Andre, a National Ranked Hunter (highest level). The author uses these characters as bars of strength for the MC to compare himself to. Yet, another five chapters later, Sung Jin-Woo is on the verge of killing Thomas rather easily when they get into an altercation.

As aforementioned, every single character introduction is played out the same way. It just intrinsically is not interesting. All of the characters in the series are akin to NPC's in a video game -- bland, boring, stale, lame, and formulaic characters designed to make Sung Jin-Woo, our playable character, look even better. There is no emotional weight or eccentricities that make any character stand out, including our protagonist. The character writing is fundamentally atrocious.

Likewise, the story writing is equally as bad but not as appalling. Essentially, it is a good vs. evil story. While not altogether original or engaging, it gets the job done I suppose. It is difficult to critique something so excessively average in nature.

The main strength of Solo Leveling is the art, particularly the action. The action is well-drawn & well-choreographed. The artwork is generally pleasant to look at. The coloring feels consistent. And it radiates a unique style that is just cool.

As a whole, Solo Leveling is lauded as one of the best manhwa series out there. Yet, I find this praise to be misguided. Yes, the concept is cool albeit unoriginal. But, the writing is awful. Genuinely. Altogether, Solo Leveling comes across to me as popcorn entertainment -- an edgy generic power fantasy with some cool moments and good art. Great style. But, no substance.