Solo Leveling (Season One) – Ore dake Level Up na Ken

Jinwoo is mankind’s weakest hunter. However, an ill-fated dungeon raid left most of the party dead. The survivors left Jinwoo behind, but that was just the beginning of his story! Can he climb to the top?

Solo Leveling (Season One) – Ore dake Level Up na Ken

What did you watch?

I read the first volume of Solo Leveling back towards the end of 2022 and really enjoyed it. In all honesty, I’m surprised that I didn’t read any more, but at that time, I was busy sampling a whole bunch of manga (and manwha). So, when I saw that it was getting the anime treatment, I was all in. I knew straight away that it was going to be one of those series that I needed to cover episodically. So, after twelve weeks of doing just that, I find myself looking back at the first season and wondering if it was worth it. Spoiler – it most definitely was. Anyhow, let’s get into the review!

What happened?

Portals started to open up across the world. Inside there was a wealth of riches, guarded by monsters. If the portal was not closed by defeating the dungeon boss within a certain amount of time, the monsters were able to come out and wreak havoc on the surrounding areas. The biggest problem with these monsters was that conventional weapons did nothing to them. Humanity’s only hope came from the rare few who experienced an awakening, giving them powers beyond normal humans. They became known as Hunters, and Jinwoo was the weakest among them.

However, whenever Jinwoo showed up for a dungeon raid, it instantly put the party at ease. If he had been selected, it was bound to be an easy one, and for the most part, that was true. The only exception came when they discovered a second dungeon within a dungeon. They should have reported it to the Hunters Association so that they could assess its level, but they assumed it would be fine. The second dungeon was unlike anything they had seen before.

Within seconds, they were shut inside. One hunter tried to escape and was mercilessly cut down by a stone monster. They noticed some strange writing under one of the giant stone monsters. It appeared to be a set of rules. Surprisingly, Jinwoo was the one to work out what was going on first. He told everyone to kneel, but not everyone was fast enough. Then, the giant stone statue stood up and stomped toward them. The rules told them to praise it, but how? Again, Jinwoo solved the problem but lost a leg in the process.

The final test was a test of faith. The doors opened and several of the Hunters ran, leaving Jinwoo, Song, and Joohee behind. Song told Joohee to carry Jinwoo out, but her legs collapsed with fear. Jinwoo begged Song to take Joohee and leave him behind. The giant stone statues ignored them, closing in around Jinwoo. Finally, they attacked. However, a fraction of a second before Jinwoo’s heart stopped, a message appeared before him, giving him an option. Accept the terms and he would survive. Of course, he accepted. Soon after, he woke in a hospital bed with several more of these messages floating before him. In a world where levels are permanent, he now had a chance to increase his, however, it wouldn’t be easy!

What did you think?

I absolutely loved this series. It wasn’t without its problems, but I’m willing to give most of it a pass because of how well it maintained the action. When I write my season reviews, I look at my favourite and least favourite moment, and I’m surprised to see that often my favourite moment was not necessarily near the end of the season. That might be fine with some shows, but this is an action-packed power fantasy and as such, the action should rise all the way through the season. It can dip here and there, but overall it should get bigger and better, and Solo Leveling delivered. A-1 Pictures did an amazing job of bringing the manwha to life. The action was fluid and exciting, keeping me on the edge of my seat throughout.

What was your favourite moment?

Given what I just said, it should come as no surprise that my favourite moment in this season was the Job-change Quest which was the final two episodes. I loved the fight with Igres the Bloodred and then the chaos that came with the endless army of monster knights that flooded the throne room. I particularly liked how it gave us all of the clues to see exactly what was going to happen next, although it wasn’t always obvious until after the fact. Using the punishment from the daily quests as a way to give Jinwoo a chance to recover was a great touch and I loved how it still wasn’t a simple task.

Of course, it all culminated in Jinwoo developing telekinetic powers and becoming a necromancer. That was insane, especially how he was automatically promoted to Shadow Monarch because of how well he did in the Job-change Quest. He really gamed the system with his four-hour break in the desert fighting giant centipedes and leveling up some more. I also loved the speech he gave to Igres as he attempted to awaken his shadow as a part of his shadow army. This was an incredible way to end the season as it has left me absolutely desperate for some more.

What was your least favourite moment?

It’s more of a concept than a moment, but I think it’s worth talking about. That would be the way they tried to explain that the monsters could only be hurt by weapons found in the dungeons or forged from the materials within. I know this annoyed some other reviewers and I tend to agree with them. The series opened with a battleship watching Jeju island and the commander pointing out how completely helpless they were… even with a huge artillery… It makes sense that the Hunters are the only ones that can fight the monsters… however, that should be can effectively fight the monsters. Maybe if regular weapons worked but barely did anything it would be more believable. At this stage, it’s just nitpicking, but if I had to have a least favourite thing, it’s that.

Who was your favourite character?

It has to be Jinwoo. I liked Cha Hae-In and Joohee Lee, but they were side characters at best. It would have been good to explore more of their stories, especially Joohee, whom I felt incredibly sorry for when she decided to quit being a Hunter. Anyhow, Jinwoo’s growth was great to watch as it didn’t happen overnight. I think back to Arifureta and how Hajime went from nothing to the World’s Strongest in an episode. It made his development feel cheap and gimmicky. Whereas with Jinwoo, we saw him struggle over and over again. Even as he got stronger, so did the monsters (and humans) so he never got a chance to just walk over anything until he started focusing on the C-ranked dungeons with Jinho. I think the Job-change quest showed him that if he really wants to grow, he needs to seek out the tougher opponents, and with his shadow army led by Igres, it’s going to be amazing to see.

Who was your least favourite character?

This might seem unfair but I think it’s Jinho. I quite liked Jinho and how quickly he realised that Jinwoo was out of his league in terms of power. He did well to recruit Jinwoo to his cause as well, but then the wheels came off. He was hoping to impress his father by becoming a guild master, but his desire to do that quickly brought a lot of attention to himself and his party, and Jinwoo by extension. We saw one guild approach Jinwoo with the hopes of poaching him and we learned that Jinho’s brother had become aware of what he was doing. It’s safe to say that all of the major guilds would have noticed. I don’t see how Jinwoo will be able to keep working with Jinho and keep his ability to level up a secret unless he can use his shadow army without being seen.

Would you like some more?

They’ve already announced a second season and the rumours are that it will be twenty-four episodes long. There are no dates attached to the project yet, but I will definitely be ready for it when it drops. In the meantime, I’m quite likely to get back into the books. There are currently eight volumes with a ninth one on the way. There’s also the audiobook which I’m quite excited about. That’ll be something good to listen to while walking my dog. Anyhow, I want more and I know a few ways to get it.

What have you learned?

Sometimes, the best way to develop a story is to keep it simple. There could have been more focus on more characters. There are numerous things it could have done, but it didn’t. Solo Leveling is a fairly simple premise that grows and grows, adding layers and slowly developing the world around Jinwoo. We may not see everything that is going on, but the stronger Jinwoo becomes the more we experience and to put it simply, it’s exhilarating. The action was outstanding. Jinwoo’s motivation is believable because of his motivation to help his family, which also makes him a likeable character. Of course, there have been hints that he will change as time goes on. It will be interesting to see if George Orwell was right – power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. We’re going to see Jinwoo get stronger, but will he be able to retain his humanity? These are the aspects that make this series absolutely fascinating.

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