Seriously, it’s all in the title.
Summary:
- Many fans are disappointed that Solo Leveling isn’t complex enough.
- The manhwa was mostly praised for its art.
- In general, it promises the viewers Solo Leveling, and it is, indeed, about Jinwoo leveling up alone.
Some anime-only fans have expressed their disappointment with Solo Leveling (Ore dake Level Up na Ken). Apparently, the hype for the manhwa has made them pick up the anime, thinking it would have some sort of complex story and insane plot twists.
While yes, the anime certainly has great animation, according to the anime-only viewers, it doesn’t actually deserve the hype it gets. The plot is simple and doesn’t have much going for it, and the characters leave much to be desired.
However, this disappointment comes from expecting too much from Solo Leveling: after all, the manhwa was never actually hyped because of its plot.
Why was the manhwa liked in the first place?
The reason the manhwa was liked a lot was its amazing art and simple story. Essentially, Solo Leveling is a power fantasy, with a protagonist whose motivation is realistic. It’s nothing more than that — expecting it to be complicated in any way would be wrong.
It’s also really easy to figure out the true nature of Solo Leveling if you look at its title. It is Solo Leveling — so yes, Jinwoo goes into dungeons (often solo), and he levels up and gets stronger. It’s really nothing more than that — yes, some titles can be misleading, but this one definitely isn’t.
If you actually listened to the source fans, you’d have known
In fact, if the anime-only viewers complaining about Solo Leveling being disappointing now actually researched it before, they could have easily avoided this situation. Even in the manhwa community, it was mostly praised for its art — not for anything else. Expecting it to have some incredibly complex plot because of the hype was completely wrong.
One can argue that the most popular things are those that have simple but well-executed stories. Examples like that include Demon Slayer (Kimetsu no Yaiba) and My Hero Academia (Boku no Hero Academia) — and Solo Leveling falls into the same category.
It doesn’t need to do anything else
Could Solo Leveling be better? Perhaps, but it’s good enough as it is. Solo Leveling doesn’t really need to do anything different — it promises Solo Leveling in the title and actually delivers it.
It’s interesting to watch and really well-made — after all, the main selling point of the source material was the visuals, and the animation in the adaptation is great as well. The biggest issue with it is just how forgettable it would be if it doesn’t get a second season.