I Read Solo Leveling and Found It Boring, but the Anime Can Fix It (2024)

Warning: Contains manhwa spoilers for Solo Leveling.

Solo Leveling is no doubt one of the hottest anime of the year thanks greatly to just how popular the manhwa was to begin with. However, despite its global popularity, Solo Leveling's manhwa is actually far from perfect, so much so that I dropped it the first time around, but maybe the anime can fix some of its biggest glaring flaws.

Despite its initial allure, Solo Leveling's manhwa failed to keep me hooked beyond the Jeju Island Arc. The chapters following the Jeju Raid mark the beginning of season 2 of the manhwa and depict the so-called calm before the storm which is Solo Leveling's final battle against the Monarchs. However, this stretch of chapters makes for one of the dullest, most confusing moments in the entire series.

Solo Leveling was finally inching towards its finale and, ideally, I should have been unable to put the series down. However, the introduction of too many new characters and confusing subplots at once, coupled with poor pacing and an eventful yet uninteresting main plotline, meant I instead found myself growing bored and frustrated. Eventually, I dropped the series, forgetting to ever pick it up again and read the ending (which was equally disappointing).

Solo Leveling Goes Downhill After the Jeju Arc

The Manhwa's Poor Pacing Ruined What Could Have Been Great Arcs

The first time I was exposed to Solo Leveling was around the time the manhwa was gearing up towards its final big battle. At the time, I didn't even know what manhwa was, but I had certainly heard all about Solo Leveling, which only goes to show just how popular the series was even in a tiny corner of India.

Despite being constantly pestered to read it by people around me, it wouldn't be until over a year later that I actually dove into the series. Safe to say, Solo Leveling enchanted me with its bright, beautiful art, intriguing premise, and exciting pacing. I loved even the supporting characters like Yoonho, Beru, and Woo Jinchul, and even though I had never been drawn to shōnen action series in the past, Solo Leveling had a unique allure that even I, a devout shoujo consumer, could not resist.

However, this excitement surprisingly wore off shortly after the Jeju Island Arc, which is unanimously agreed to be one of the best arcs in Solo Leveling. The climactic fight against Beru had set the bar as high as it could get, but the manhwa' second season never quite managed to live up to the same heights. Until this point, Solo Leveling never had a single dull moment. The pacing was always perfect and kept me scrolling to the next page without a second thought. However, the arcs leading up to the final battle between Jinwoo and Antares were mostly underwhelming save for the Double Dungeon Arc.

The Japan Crisis Arc was by far the worst of the lot, despite being a rather exciting arc in the light novel which goes to show that the main culprit behind Solo Leveling's problems in the latter half of the manhwa was indeed the rushed pacing. The manhwa hastily introduced the various Monarchs as well as perplexing new plot elements like the Fragments of Light, trying to lay out various pieces of the story in a very short amount of time. As a result, these new plotlines were incredibly confusing and almost impossible to make sense of or keep track of.

Solo Leveling's Ending Was Just As Atrocious

The Rushed Final Battle Makes for an Anticlimactic Ending to an Otherwise Great Series

Still, when I heard that Solo Leveling was getting an anime, I finally resolved to reread and finish the manhwa this time around. Much like the first time, the first half was spectacular and while I made it through the second half of the story this time, I was once again let down by the ending. Without a doubt, it was beautiful to see these various pieces of foreshadowing across the series finally come together to reveal Solo Leveling's beautifully crafted lore.

That said, the lore isn't where the problem lies but rather the final battle itself, which was incredibly short and anticlimactic. Antares, who should have been Jinwoo's most challenging opponent and Solo Leveling's ultimate antagonist, left much to be desired in the end. Add to this the fact that the second half of the fight that takes place in the dimensional gap is entirely off-screened and there are very few redeeming qualities about Solo Leveling's ending.

The Anime Is Already Fixing Solo Leveling's Biggest Issues

Solo Leveling's Anime Could End Up Being More Loyal to the Light Novels

Despite my gripes with the manhwa, Solo Leveling's anime adaptation has reignited my love for the series and has the chance to be even better than the manhwa in many regards. Season 1 of Solo Leveling's anime has also already begun fixing many of the manhwa's major issues and has the perfect chance to flesh out the final battle against the Monarch of Destruction as well as the arcs leading up to the finale.

The early introduction of the S-rank hunters in season 1 suggests the anime may also do the same with the Monarchs which could help make the latter half of the story less confusing. The anime could also give the Japan Crisis Arc and the International Guild Conference Arc the focus they deserve, making for a more loyal adaptation of the light novel.

Overall, Solo Leveling is no doubt a good story, and it is easy to see why the manhwa became as popular as it did. The series no doubt holds a special place as one of the first few manhwa I ever read, but having explored the medium more since then, I can confidently say that Solo Leveling is far from perfect, but simply one of the few manhwa out there that isn't outright bad.

The fact that I dropped the series midway doesn't necessarily mean the whole series is bad, as everyone enjoys this type of product differently according to their own tastes, but that there is definitely scope for the anime to greatly improve on the source material, which is why I simply cannot wait to see what Solo Leveling's anime has in store for the future.

Solo Leveling is available to read from Pocket Comics and TappyToon.

Solo Leveling

Action

Adventure

Animation

Fantasy

Based on a webtoon series, Solo Leveling is an action-adventure fantasy anime originally created by Chugong. When Sung Jinwoo is slain in the depths of a high-level dungeon, he is reborn - but this time with a plan. Utilizing a unique program that only he can, Jinwoo levels up remarkably fast - and he intends to use his newfound strength to reach the heart of the dungeon and uncover its secrets.

Release Date

January 7, 2024

Writers

Noboru Kimura

Directors

Shunsuke Nakashige

Creator(s)

Chugong

Where To Watch

Crunchyroll

Seasons

1