Disclaimer: The following review contains a few minor spoilers. 

An action-packed comic with the highest rating according to myanimelist.net, “Solo Leveling,” concluded with 179 episodes in Dec. 2021, three years after its debut into the comic world. Written by Chugong and published by Tappytoon, the story includes hunters who make money fighting against monsters that destroy humanity via portals. While predominantly a power fantasy, it has elements of comedy and romance, attracting a broad audience. 

“Solo leveling” follows the story of Sung Jinwoo, an E rank hunter infamously known as the “the weakest hunter of all mankind,” who reawakens into a S rank hunter who’s the strongest in his country, South Korea. While it is a typical zero-to-hero story, what sets it apart from other stories is the relatability and Jinwoo’s characterization: while being a hunter is physically demanding, he has no choice but to be one in order to make money and pay hospital bills for his sick mother, and familial sentiments are something every reader can sympathize with. 

This story has one of the best progressions into different arcs and plot twists, though most of the lore is explained in the last few chapters. As the title suggests, the power creep, fighting with different monsters along with the detailed art makes the read enjoyable. Jinwoo’s powers grow exponentially over time and his abilities are used and grown throughout the story. The art has improved tremendously over the course of the comic, and all fight scenes and characters are beautifully drawn. 

Jinwoo’s impressive powers and abilities are definitely the biggest reason behind the comic’s popularity. His unlimited inventory, longevity ability that heals all diseases and poisons, and bloodlust ability which decreases his opponent’s stats by half, along with many other powers make this comic appealing to readers. As a “shadow monarch,” he is able to turn dead enemies into his “shadow soldiers” who will fight for him. While a powerful ability, I love the comedic aspect some of the giant monster-looking shadow soldiers bring to the story: one of them watches historical shows and is cheesy while the other gets shy and smiles at cameras. 

While the title has the word “solo” in it and Jinwoo as a character is explored well, I wish hunters and dungeons from other countries were explored as well. Some side characters had backstories and were involved in the story but they usually follow a similar trajectory: they look down upon Jinwoo only to realize how strong he is. This trajectory along with minimal backstory for side characters made it hard for me to empathize with or understand them, making them pale in comparison to Jinwoo. While this may be the intent (to make Jinwoo stand out as much as possible), discarding side characters after a few chapters comes off as lazy writing and predictable worldbuilding. Aesthetically, though, all characters no matter how major or minor (including the monsters) are well-designed. 

This comic, however, falls into the same pit most action stories fall into: a lack of proper female characters/the damsel in distress trope. First off, there are way fewer female characters than male (15 and 70 respectively), and none of them are developed well. The healer who was in Jinwoo’s party in the beginning wasn’t talked about after he went through a reawakening, and a similar fate follows most other female characters. S rank hunter and Jinwoo’s love interest, Cha Haein mentions she likes him because “he smells good.” Their romance is abrupt and is explored only towards the end for a few chapters, which is understandable because it’s a fantasy/action comic. What infuriates me, though, is how Haein was “saved” by Jinwoo when fighting against other characters and how she is reduced down to being Jinwoo’s love interest despite being a skilled S rank hunter. Although their interactions were limited and Haein doesn’t appear often in the comic, their very few dates were heartwarming to read. 

Despite the criticism, “Solo Leveling” is one of the most popular action comics with a highly desirable power creep and an “OP” (overpowered) main character, attracting a large number of readers who enjoy action stories and a power fantasy. The comic’s unpredictable plot twist and ending along with the beautiful art makes the read worthwhile as well.