Solo Leveling is how you do slop right

Solo leveling is about Sung Jinwoo, who gets the power to level up in a world where one's power is static and impossible to change. The show then focuses on his perils and plights as he grows stronger while learning more about the world and it's mysteries. This introduction may sound like the show may carry depth, worldbuilding character development, philosophy and complex themes, but it doesn't. The mysteries are very out-of-frame, and the entire show is incredibly surface level.

Sung Jinwoo himself is the main focus on the show. He is incredibly weak at first, but in a few episodes, he is more or less one of- if not the strongest person on earth. He rarely struggles in a fight, and most of his battles are incredibly one sided. Besides his strength growing, his character development is at most a change in attitude. There is no real development, since the show fails to set up a real "character" to develop.

Besides Sung Jinwoo, the side characters are way worse. They are all largely unimportant, and this gets shown by the fact that if you ask anyone to name any side characters (besides Jinwoo's summons/enemies), they will probably only be able to name one, or two; if any at all. Their part in the story is just to have people who can admire Sung Jinwoo, to make his aurafarming better.

The action in this anime is something that I actually don't have any complaints about, besides what I said earlier about Sung Jinwoo's fights later in the story being completely one-sided. This is actually not a super big problem, since the excitement does not come from an intense, evenly matched battle, but instead from the main focus of this anime: Aurafarming. The fights are well animated and interesting, and always fun to watch. This anime is a powerfantasy, and they let you fully indulge in what is the best aurafarming-to-depth ratio in all of anime. Being totally shallow and having fantastically enjoyable aurafarming. Even the fights where Sung Jinwoo doesn't decimate his opponent, they are exciting and captivating, making the action the best part of this anime.

As for the world building and power system, I will not make a comment, since there isn't anything to comment on. The plot is basic and unoriginal, and the story is practically invisible.

Solo Leveling is not a deep anime, but it isn't trying to be either. If you are looking for something complex, deep, layered, or even well written, this is not the place to look, but I cannot call it bad.

This is because it does exactly what it sets out to do, which is being a fun and enjoyable anime with cool fights, an overpowered mc and iconic aurafarming. It is a perfect example that something doesn't need to be "good" to be worth your time. This is an incredibly easy watch and also a great introduction if you want to get someone into anime!

I consider Solo Leveling to be the perfect example of a 5/10. If you have nothing to watch, this can give you a great time, and afterwards, it can safely be forgotten about.