Spoiler: probably not.
Summary:
- As Solo Leveling S1 has ended, people started saying it was never good outside of animation.
- The criticism is similar to what was said about Sword Art Online before.
- Despite that, Solo Leveling is probably not reaching the same level of infamy, as even fans agree the premise is generic.
As the leakers claim Solo Leveling (Ore dake Level Up na Ken) will be six cours long — presumably adapting the whole story — fans have conflicted feelings on the fact. On the one hand, a full adaptation is certainly welcome. On the other hand, the manhwa supposedly becomes significantly worse in its last arc.
As if that wasn’t enough, many otaku already say that the anime was never good in the first place. This prompts fans to think that Solo Leveling will earn the same reputation as Sword Art Online did back in the day — incredibly popular, but liked by seemingly no one.
SAO and Solo Leveling are quite similar
There actually are many similarities between Solo Leveling and Sword Art Online. Both anime feature an overpowered protagonist in a game-like setting (in SAO, it’s actually a game).
In both, the protagonist is a loner — in SAO, though, he slowly develops relationships with others. Both anime are made by A-1 Pictures and have very good animation.
The way fans perceive both anime is also quite similar. While both were practically instant hits with the anime community, by the time they ended, people started arguing they were never really good. Both are considered “generic power fantasy” with great animation.
The reputations are actually quite different
Solo Leveling and SAO are actually significantly different, though, as is their impact on the anime fandom. SAO was hyped as the best new thing ever and influenced the isekai genre heavily, despite not even being a part of it. Solo Leveling doesn’t have that reputation, though — and never had it in the first place.
Since the beginning, Solo Leveling was hyped up because it was an action manhwa with really good art. That's all it is — Jinwoo levels up, and he does it solo, and he is cool and defeats some enemies, then the cycle repeats again. Even the fans said it was generic, but hype nonetheless. The adaptation was very good, although too short.
Solo Leveling fans don’t want to be a part of these discussions
The debates of whether SAO is good or not have gone on for years — before people eventually stopped caring. Despite having many haters, it also had many fans — as well as many defenders who thought it wasn’t that bad.
For Solo Leveling, pretty much everyone agrees that it’s pretty generic, but the execution is what makes it good. Solo Leveling fans just want to be left alone.