Sorry for any audio issues! i was pretty sick when recording. Hope you enjoy! Also, yes this is a re-upload. Had to fix some copyright issues that, appreciate your patience with this!
Its a dumb fun power fantasy that gets repetitive with a edgy op mc otaku wet dream and a main heroine who is just a prize for the mc to show that he's not just op but cool that he can have such a high tier girl not the no name weak nobody like healer girl.reality quest is better than this.the mc of reality quest still struggle and there are other characters and can beat the shit out of him without even trying also he has more personality than jin woo.also don't compare the artist to a generic power fantasy manhwa where the world revolves around an mc that has a clear advantage(a big dumb advantage at that)where he can grow and others can't.the artist is an actual person with talent and flaws of his own
Really amazing project 👍🏾, I’m no good at video essays but I love listening to them. A premise you might also find interesting, “Solo Leveling is not about Jin Woo, but his son” 🫨🫨🫨 do with that what you may 😏
I liked the moments where Jinwoo has to face his own changes, and its an active choice to continue valuing humans, even with how much he'd been wronged and facing some of the worst traits of humanity, he continued to defend them. A lot of people face a similar choice when they grow up, whether they choose to continue to care, or closing themselves off. It could have had more focus, and I think the ending was rushed, but its a good series and I love it a lot.
All depends on context. There are ways to do all those story lines really well and effectively, but it's just SUPER easy to make them shortcuts to avoid effort and THAT I'd the problem with them. They aren't inherently bad, just inherently easy to mess up lol
This also have hidden genetic and friendship lol, main character is selected due to some speciality in him. And main reason he fighting is for his family and protect his friend.
@@mr_santaclauss2840he was chosen not because his father had some connection to the rulers, but because of how close he was to death all the time during the raids. The architect didn’t want to choose Sung but ashborn insisted. Having family as motivation to get stronger/provide for them is different then in some other mediums where friendship/family is literally the cause of their power up
I disagree. This isn't a story like overlord. (A story that people praise for its side characters development, even if they don't really grow and all focused around the mc. You just spend more time with them doesnt make it better). The reason solo leveling is one of the best stories out there is because of its focus. It didn't extend its time for more profit and chapters. The author had a idea for the story and kept its focus on the main plot of the story, while using side characters as story telling peices. It's perfect way to keep your story interesting and how you really put yourself in sungs shoes. If you connected to the main mc in the start of the story, you would see the same growth as the mc. Struggle isn't necessarily needed anymore. You would have the same questions and feelings sung has durning the story.
@@acephas3 yes yes you do. It's what makes it so great. You spend enough time doing something you will be a master at it, and it becomes way way easier.
@@be9240not a money grab to make side characters interesting with their own drive and purpose. Also it’s not interesting to watch an overpowered mc for 100s of chapters no matter how strong ppl get something can always challenge us….
We don't want tension, we want the bad ass to be bad ass. It's why the show is popular. Don't want him being reluctant to get stronger or weak or take forever before he gets stronger.
Yeah every single story has enough tension or delay between badass moments, which is all fine and good, but I've been waiting for a story where the MC just demolishes everything, In this specific story, I loved that he never really faced an intense challenge late game, it was so refreshing.
@@jkavathas1010bruh he literally dies. But yeah, I like the change of pace from the ‘but-what-will-the-power-do-to-me’ protagonist. And they also didn’t make Jinwoo a brat either. Instead, he’s smart and gets shit done when it needs to be done.
Jinwoo is one of if not the most generic protagonist ive ever seen, but he is by far my favorite protagonists from this genre. His motivations make sense and hes so dedicated to them that it checks out why hes kind of a dumbass when it comes to relationships. The powering system makes sense and is done in a way thats pretty fun, even when it gets more complex and the story starts to get out of hand. It was just done so well in a manner thats so fun to watch play out. I love how simplistic he is at his core, hes just a boy that loves amd supports his family, he never becomes this holy than tho guy, even when he has the power of a god, the most benevolant thing he ever does is become the neighbourhood watch lmao.
you just made me cry all over again. i get the shortcomings of this story, but despite all of them, i really can't stop myself from loving the whole story, the twists, the characters, and the world the creator, the illustrator, and everyone involved in the visualization of the story. thank you for an awesome video.
23:24 so when I played the Witcher 3 I spent most of my saving monsters from humans and killing humans that were the real monsters, the monsters don’t have a choice in what they are/need the humans choose to become monsters. When you get down to it everything on earth is an animal the difference is us humans have conned ourselves into thinking we are more, been human is something a person has to be taught and it is something that can be unlearned.
The author died 😭 wow i did not know that however ive only gotten into this series 3 weeks ago but still kinda sad but incredible at the same time he have created something that people will remember for ages which is all i could ever want before leaving this wolrd , Fly High🌠
I see what you mean about other characters being brushed away but it makes sense to the overall story cause it’s called “SOLO” Leveling, no one else should matter too much to the story
I think I can agree with some points on your critique, but you mention the biggest appeal about this being a struggle for power, but It is also a power fantasy, I wasn't unhappy about exponential growth at the tower because the way I was being shown was cool, really cool S level magic and that's what I wanted to see. Probably not a repeating pattern of struggle, overcome, till he gets to the top. I want to see him pop off. yk?
Bro why am I watching this and tearing up at the end like I didn't read the novel and webtoon as they were being published and wrote a tribute post for Dubu when he passed away...honestly your tribute at the end was lovely. I am glad we finally got an anime too so I can experience Only I Level Up all over again. For your comments on the weak points...since the webtoon is from Jinwoo's viewpoint I understand the lack of 3rd character omniscient to explore the other characters but I think if you read and review the novel you will find it more fulfilling. However I will say that the tension was created by the release schedule since you couldn't read it all at once. Jinah's school getting attacked was stressful even when reading it again as a manhwa.
Glad to receive this video looking into Solo Leveling and its story, I got to say that i got a nice perspective at what makes a power fantasy what it is after seeing more of what makes Solo Leveling. Thanks AxelBeats for this awesome video it was a delightful video to watch~!!!
Solo leveling is generic premise but execution is so awesome that i cannlt stop reading! What you call flaws is actually part of its charm. It does not add too much side character development so the story flows much faster pace. Some stores add too much side stories then lose focus. It reminds me a lot of gantz. Another one of my favorite 20 years ago. A weak boy facing unfathomable monsters who killed him then he revives and atart getting stronger. I look forward to finishing the story! Highly recommend,! 😊
Ok ok ok here me out at the end of solo leveling he fights the god thst gave him his magic power and they take all his powers and they also take his hair and the god takes his memory also. Trywhen he wakes up he keeps his strength and becomes one punch man. He also sucks at video games because he was the player
Solo leveling is one of those stories where you just turn your brain off and enjoy the ride. It also helped that the art in the manwha was hype as fuck. I've also enjoyed other power fantasy novels like Legendary Mechanic, Supreme Magus, and Sword God in a World of Magic when I don't want to think and just want to read.
You gained a subscriber my friend, it was a really interesting 1.5 hrs journey, was never into manwas but the story really intrigued me , getting to hear the story out made me feel like theres a lot of potential in here. Really cool job again. Rooting for another audio soon. ❤❤
true that side characters werent flashed out enough, didnt read the ln tho so dont know much about that, the interesting thing is dubbu who also was the ceo of the company was getting sicker so lots of ups and downs were going in real life which effect is shown in the manhwa.I hope the anime adaptation improves it source material further like they are doing right now
While it does suck that a lot of the other characters aren't really explored and they kind of disappear as he gets stronger it also makes sense. If you really think about it as he is the player, then that means that everybody else is just an NPC. As he levels up he has to leave behind the party members that don't help him anymore, and find new ones that will allow him to continue to develop.
Really cool video my man, I found your words at the end a good inspiring note as to what his message meant and will continue to mean to the world. Loved the whole video, hope to see other cool things from ya!
Anime hurts bad cause mixed up with music it emotionally binds you with the character's life. It's better to take this up completely here rather than crying at the last episode there
this is one of the best videos I've ever seen on RUclips it accurately highlights all the important and the consistent flaws the manhwa has but you allowed me to expand my horizons and start reading them. To address the level of depth and great storytelling the manhwa has although it didn't go into a lot of detail into the side characters aspects it's still presented as one of the best manhwa ever In my opinion. Cant criticise on how you said everything you said on this manhwa and I fully support everything you have said about this manhwa, (Just subscribed)
I like solo leveling so much because we can see ourselves in the shoes of sung jin woo. Everyone has some hidden potential but we are always too late to realize it. Solo leveling teaches us that being weak is not the end of the world. You can always be serious and courageous enough to grow strong in any aspect of your life through sheer hard work and will. This power fantasy gives us the motivation that even the weakest can become the strongest. So, if you are strong from inside then you can become strong in no time.
What you say about Song and Lee Joohee is not true. You don’t SEE them again in the manhwa and the webtoon. But they do appear again IN THE LIGHT NOVELS. See this is the problem I have with videos like this. Both the manhwas and the webtoon shorten the story for impatient fans. But for fans like ME they would benefit from reading the light novels. They are just about night and day to the webtoon and the manhwas.
Fam I'm well aware of all of this. However this is a review of the manhwa alone. If I reviewed thr Harry potter movie, it would not be fair of me to say "well in the original book, they went into this more, so that's ok".
@@AxelBeats which is why I said, you should read and review the light novels. And consider posting a video about those. They are available on Audible so you won’t have to strain your eyes 😂
I already have read it. I chose to make a video about the manhwa because it was the most accessible and well known version of the story. I don't plan on making more solo leveling videos, but feel free to make the video you'd like to see yourself. I'd love to see your thoughts
It definitely felt very rushed and poorly explained. The anime seems to be cleaning things up so I wonder if they will give it some more attention to fix the end
First ever manhwa I finished, I have my doubts but after reading it I found myself so hook to the story that I can't stop reading it. I'm glad it got animated!
The cha hae in plot is such a missed opportunity. When she tries to join his guild and it gets glossed over for no reason. It's a good story but so much missed opportunity
3 lol i had a big audio issue i needed to fix the first time, and then youtube picked up a copyright issue 2 days later the second time -.- it's been a very annoying process lol Sorry for the extra notifications
Okay I do get the point about side characters getting zero development, however the story is meant to solely focus on Jinwoo. Think of it like a game, how many NPC’s get character development? Mostly the ones who are going to be around the longest. Both of the survivors of the double dungeon and Kang incident retire from hunting at that point. She leaves the city to go home, and I believe he stays as the sole mentor of Cha Hae In. But the story doesn’t really follow cha so we’re not going to see him much. Incidentally though, the light novel actually goes into a few characters more, the Manwha leaves A LOT of that out (panel space I guess) Anyway sorry for the little tangent my point is, side characters don’t matter because if Jinwoo doesn’t see them we don’t see them, the story is from his eyes unless us the reader are needed to know about something for some reason.
Thank you for your fantastic, knowledgeable overview for this manwha. I am watching the anime episodes as they come out. They interested me so much, I got the 8-book series of the original novels (predating the manwha) and just finished the main story today. Many of your critiques are less of an issue in the novel. They are still there, but, with more time to flesh things out, they are no longer total buzz-kills narrative wise. For example, the middle section, where you have a lot of problem with characters just disappearing, more of them last longer. The demon princes still gets written out, but other characters do have an extended presence, fleshing them out.
I feel like part of the reason solo leveling still works after Jin woo becomes a monarch and over powers everyone is because you’ve been with him through the struggle and the level grind so it feels like he deserves it
That's fair! It's definitely fun the whole time, I just think the opening arcs fit my own preference more. I can totally see why people would like the latter bits more tho
@@AxelBeats I actually agree I enjoy the early arcs more bc I don’t think the later arcs would be anywhere near as good or enjoyable without the early struggles
@@AxelBeatsyeah, I saw some where that this was like the first thing the author ever wrote. Having completely watched the anime so far, and having read most of the manhwa and LN, I can confidently say that, while each iteration has its pros and cons, on a whole the story has gotten better while each adaptation Which is how things should go, and I hope the anime continues the trend. Btw, mostly agree with your reading, I’d give the LN a 7.5, manhwa an 8, and anime a 9 so far.
i found that it was appropriate for jin to get as strong as he did and for things to get as easy as they did. it’s still relatable, as i now wanna work as hard as i can untill life becomes just as easy as it got for our mc, it makes sense that he’d get that strong given the nature of the story and the trope of leveling up
Bro u just broke me this whole time I thought douboo was still alive in at the supermarket fighting back tears cuz I just learned literally the only managa type content I've ever read let alone followed as it came out n more over finished (well obviously not the prologue) is no longer with us rest in power my man ty my god ty so much for the laughs the smiles the absolute adrenaline rushes and the single most gorgeous beautiful art work these eyes have ever seen bare none
The biggest flaw of this story is that no one else but Jinwoo matters. The B-rank healer he had a connection with… gone. The demon king's daughter, who would've added so much more to the story… gone. His own mother was no more than an NPC. All of the other interesting hunters that could've become comrades… gone.
I feel like solo leveling is a solid C+ that had the tools to be an A. Like it's still a good time, but it was soooo close to being something with a lot of weight and value
You guys are the people who watch power fantasy because of some simp mc who likes to play around with a bunch of girls and do perverted stuff bro it's not what power fantasy should do
the b rank healer left because of trauma which makes sense and the demon daughter wasn’t really going to add anything. shes just a random demon that he took a liking to she has no use outside of that. i agree on the mum though
@@NotHalfEatenPotatoesno lol, this genre is done by many and at least such side characters r relevant. Ie, in sao s1 we still got characters being relevent and having personality. In SL thats never the case, just cause its called solo levelling does not mean it can simply ignore side characters and make a generic story having jinwoo as the only mc doing everything with barely any personality
I think I’m dumb cuz after reading the entire series, I kinda still think it’s just shallow and kinda mediocre. MC doesn’t even feel like a person, he just seems like he’s a robot.
Lol, it's so true.. I always self-insert myself when I read this manhwa 😂. It's so fun. What I like is the main character is not someone who do crazy things not because overromantize something useless like friendship. Sure friendship is not useless, but still.. But I am very enjoying this manhwa because every decision he make is logical and mirror what I would do when I am in his position. It's so rare to have manhwa like this these days..
Now I understand what you're saying when characters just disappear and it is frustrating, but I do think that the anime is kind of fixing this. For instance, his future love interest is introduced way earlier into the story than it was throughout the manga and I'm going to say manga cuz I always say the Korean version incorrectly but she gets early film play. She gets a visual aspect. I feel like the director of the anime is looking at this from a topside view like you are and saying there needs to be a fix here and I do feel like there's going to be some peppering of characters that actually do have some substance to them but get left behind in the manga that will be placed in the animate. They will be more interactive in the anime but like a back story or something happening in the background a lot like how his love interest is in the background. She doesn't get actual image time in the manga until later on throughout the story, but they introduce her extremely early. They show you what kind of person she is. They show you her interactions with the people around her. So I do plan on seeing more of that. Or at least I hope on seeing more of that in our future for the anime and it is quite a positive change. It's very rare that an anime provides you with more detail than the manga, but you're 100% correct. They just pick up and then put down really easily and I'm happy to see that this mysterious woman is introduced while you think he has a different love interest, but she goes away with good reason. She's going home and she doesn't need to look out for him anymore. I don't know what happens with our favorite one-armed uncle but I do think that there will be a hey what's going on bro? Kind of visit every now and then or a belated conversation which is like reality. You have friends and sometimes you just stop talking for no reason and every now and then you get a phone call from them or you decide to call them and you talk like nothing's changed and then you put the phone down. You spend a little bit of time with them here and there and then you go your separate ways for a little bit again
I feel like there is a good way to fix this problem and I go to another character for the best way to handle an overpowered character and that is that time I got reincarnated as a slime that little dude that slime ruin power for no other reason. Then he had the opportunity. There wasn't a huge reason on why he was doing what he was doing. In the beginning he died. He came back. He needed something to come from it and he got a friend and was like I'm going to live my life and eat LOL. In this process of him eating, he grew stronger without cool understanding of what his capabilities were growing into. But once he found something to fight for, you saw the intention of his growth. Still not understanding how strong he really is. He's still intended on getting stronger for those individuals, but the individuals around him that are as strong near as strong, somewhat kind of strong that grow with him. Get the limelight in some ways more often than he is, you get to see other nations and their expansion you get to see His friends take the limelight and destroy things and although the story is about him and the nation, he builds when it all comes down to it. If he shows up the fight is over, there is no if ands or buts. The fight is typically on the best end over, but he doesn't leave it up to himself. The director, the writer, the individuals with the power to make it all about him to make it an extremely narcissistic story. Don't make it all about him. They include the people around him. They include the love and the intention and why he is the way he is and that makes the story super relatable and it makes you want to see how he can get what he wants out of it because you love these characters. If anybody doesn't have a character in that monster Nation that they don't feel attached to, or feel like or feel a likeness towards, you're watching the wrong anime, you either hate it or you are in love with that story. But you hate it because it's an isakai not because it's a bad story and you love it. Not because it's an isakai, but because it's a great story. By the way, I do think the main character in that story was issakai twice, not just one time, but that's for the mangas to expand on later. They haven't gotten to that part yet. I'm sure that's what's coming LOL but that would be a great way to remedy this story to watch his sister and his mother to watch his love interest. His best friend, his actual outside character arts and I'm not saying he's narcissistic because he's not. I'm saying it becomes a narcissistic view because that's all you see granted. Love both stories. They're both amazing but you are right they don't expand on the other characters enough
I definently get the criticisms about jinwoo and severe power creep but the jeju island and him not going is mainly because it was thought that with all the s-ranks going that another strong one wouldn’t be necessary. He didn’t skip just because he didn’t want to.
Exactly, i don't remember where i see it but the author of solo leveling had problems with the creator of the gamer for the great amount of similarities border on plagiarism with both works
E rank as they say, is only slighty better than your avg person. I wonder how Batman, who would be considered peak human ability would rank 😂 🔥 just as himself without magic
Great video, thank you for putting so much time into making it. With that said, this is a very overrated series carried by it's wonderful art. You pointed out all the flaws of this story, so no need for me to expand.
Sung Jinwoo got what Gojo Satoru didn't... The answer to WHO HE IS Is he Sung Jinwoo because he is The Strongest? Or is he The Strongest because he is Sung Jinwoo?
I have seen this type of comment before: You need to understand Joohee was never meant to be waifu 🤷🏽♀️ She was shaken very badly by the double dungeon. Being a healer Hunter was not for her anymore especially after the Taeshik Kang event. This confirmed for her that she was done. A huge part of her going into the dungeons even though she was scared, was solely because of Jinwoo. But now she sees he is different and he scares her 😔, add in that he doesn’t need her to heal him anymore and that he is no longer a burden. Take all of that in. She went home to Busan, and in the LN, she comes back when she is needed. Chugong didn’t need to attach her to Jinwoo anymore, and this frees her to pursue other job avenues back home. Jinwoo never thought of Joohee again though when the time came he could feel her presence, but by this time he already had feelings for Cha Haein. As for Eisa, she was a means to an end. She attempted to kill him in the Demon’s Castle. He was impressed with her skill and he wanted her shadow. But then she speaks and he is told she was protecting her home and her family, which Jinwoo easily understands. He respects that when she was beaten, she had the good sense to speak up. He also respected that she was able to make a viable offer to him: spare me and my family and I give you the transport scroll. Jinwoo having upped his Knowledge skill (finally 🙄🤣) sees the logic and due to his high Perception stat he knows she is telling him the truth. He meets her dad, who flips his lid as he can see the Shadows that Jinwoo has with him, but is appeased that no one from his clan need to die over the scroll and so he keeps Eisa’s promise to Jinwoo. He took Eisa with him not out of any feelings of love. She had told him that she knew exactly where the other transport scrolls were, so she is a living map. Jinwoo wanted to work smarter not harder. 🤷🏽♀️He liked her intelligence and after sharing a meal with her father and the clan, found that they were okay Demons. He tells Eisa that he spared her even though he got the scroll, because he liked her. Not romantically like SHE thought. He leaves her when he gets the final scroll because he: 1. Doesn’t want to see her get hurt, and 2. He wants the Elixer of Life, that is his end goal after all. 🤷🏽♀️ Eisa can’t be with him outside of the gate and so why have Jinwoo have feelings of love for her? It can’t be, and Chugong knew this and so she was written out of the story. It had to be that way. And while Jinwoo would see her family’s banner and think of her and hope she was okay, he was not in the vision to care about HER, he was there to unlock HIS memories from Ashborn, though he doesn’t understand all of what was shown to him. These two females were never to be used past their purposes, and Chugong got it right. There was no need to waste time on these two as the goal beyond them was gigantic 🤷🏽♀️ And in case you don’t pick it up from the webtoon or the manhwas, Jinwoo is a bit dense when it comes to noticing things like ‘ Hey that girl likes you!🤦🏽♀️’ His complete misunderstanding of why the nurse wanted his number, the girl at the bank, the upper class women at his sister’s high school, and so on. He is oblivious to what they see in him. But he SAW Cha Haein 😏 and he knew that she was to be his, but even then he was a little slow on the uptake 😂
Yah wish the character dynamics were better. Healer girl just ignored and demon girl. I really thought we would at least see her lvl up from being in a pt with him. Cha hae relationship makes sasuke sakura or naruto hinata look like Shakespeare too.
I love this show so much I just wish it didn’t follow the trope of the main characters entire appearance having to change. it just comes off as unnecessarily superficial.
I don't really love Power Fantasies. Sorry. They're predictable. They're formulaic. If you've read one, you've read them all. You know that the main character will never die, he will accomplish his goals of saving the world, he will be universally loved and respected, and he will get the girl. Every. Single. Time. Without exception. How boring. There are no stakes, so there's no reason to engage in power fantasies. The main character is always the strongest and smartest. No challenge they can't overcome. So there's no tension, no struggle, no drama.
Depends power fantasy can be pretty different. I am sure konosuba is a power fantasy and , its pretty funny and wholesome. And for all the brokenness of the party they are hillarous terrible at it. Power fantasies can be pretty fun. Hell argumently gurren laggan is a powerfantasy and its great. Depends on the balancing.
@@marocat4749neither of those stories are power fantasies though?? Kazuma and his party are repeatedly shown to be not very good people who mess up a lot and yes while Simon gets very powerful at the end of his journey he went through wayyyy more than jinwoo and is a lot less of a 1 dimensional self insert character
I understand all of these arguments, and I think it just comes down to having different tastes. Additionally, power fantasies also seem really easy to do wrong. Though admittedly I’ve only read/watched solo leveling, just based on the concept it seems really easy to just constantly have fighting. Other genres can do this (looking at jjk, at least the anime, though they make up for it by making the fights incredibly varied and unique). But that’s one of the reasons why I like Solo leveling but don’t expect to like many other power fantasies; the creator takes time to let the characters chill and has built an incredibly complex world. This means I can enjoy it without having to suspend my disbelief as much as I do with other similar series. Sure, it has its fair share of faults, but what series doesn’t? If you don’t like it, that’s fine.
I can understand that view on it. Honestly it isn't the typical show I watch, but it was a good "turn your brain off" read and sometimes that's nice too
I like that you did this, and I respect your thoughts but you seem to take umbrage to tropes in general. There are mountains of outsider, more esoteric manga that you should move to because honestly the tropes are the relatability for fans of the genre. Check out things like BLAME! or TYE. I think this isn't the genre for you to remain objective, my guy. Cheers.
I enjoy plenty of trope series. Love power fantasy and shonen in general, this one just feels like it misses the mark in a way that I didn't super vibe with. I'll check out the recommendations for sure tho!
great explanation. as someone who's just new to the series, i think your points about jin-wu's early struggles is what makes him more relatable to more people than superman.
The main thing I keep hearing is not character development for the secondary characters and that we don’t spend enough time with them and understanding them.. It’s called solo leveling. The show follows through with that premise throughout. It’s about one guy going through this by himself as much as he can and him being absorbed by his power in a sense. Focusing on side or secondary characters takes away for the true core of going through something by yourself “SOLO” I prefer the way they did it rather then have to focus on different subplots and characters
It's literally like 40 chapters in of 200 before the story says the words "this isn't solo leveling anymore" Idk why people get so caught up on the name. I'm not saying focusing on just jinwoo is bad inherently. I'm saying the constant fake outs of "this character will be important...nvm" is just bad writing
I'm having trouble coping with the episodic drip feed of the anime release I'm sure you are too after being able to binge read it in it's entirety. at the time of this comment there is only 6 episodes out and each one is short and leaves you with blue balls for the next.
I get that narratively some of the story is a little stupid. No real challenges, no focus on side characters. But I also kinda loved it because of that. He just steamrolls the whole plot because he’s determined to just be the absolute best. And then it ends with him soloing the ‘evil gods’ of the universe all by himself. It’s kinda sick lol
TBH I found it refreshing reading a comic that didn't go off in a dozen side stories. It knew what it was here to do and it did it. I think if you focus so much on the side characters, you're just ruining it for yourself. Judge a work for what it is not what you wish it was.
We call most Isekai 'self insert power fantasies', which is why the main character has to be generic and bland and uninteresting as possible, so one can slap their likeness onto his face. Every relationship is will-they-wont-they, so those watching can pick their best girl, and every situation is ideal so you don't have to put 'yourself' through challenging hardships. There are a few exceptions, and those are usually touted as the best Isekai ever.
I think in a post-Reincarnated as a Slime world, you can’t call this “power fantasy done right.” There have been better power fantasies that condemn Solo Leveling as edgy trash.
46:45 At this point AxelBeats says that Jinwoo plows through most of the 100 floors of the dungeon in a couple of chapters, with attention only given to a couple of major bosses. This might be true of the manhwa, which I have not read, but the light novel covers in detail progressing through a large number of floors. If this were a movie I can easily see many of these scenes winding up on the cutting room floor. BTW, I am absolutely adoring this recap. Not just the story itself but also the editing and narration. Thank you. I discovered a few days ago that I haven't read the light novel to the end (maybe it wasn't translated to English when I read it) so I'm looking forward to the final third of your recap.
As a fellow necromancer myself, this is by far my most favorite anime of all time, ever. As far as his development goes, I'm not sorry that he becomes as powerful as he does. The world around him had its chance to be kind and forgiving when he was kind, caring, and creative. And that version of him essentially DIED, alone, in a dungeon. Nah this is earned. The world can deal with what is now a shadow monarch. I hope he rules the fricken world.
@ebaocihc7085 Ummm, Overlord is pretty decent. Death mount death is kinda eh, But as far as anime goes where the MC is a necromancer, there really isn't much. I myself am working on something, but I'm no one right now 😅
Ultimately, the story being solely about Jin-Woo is Solo Leveling’s biggest downside. And while you learn more about why this is as the story progresses, it just makes the ending and epilogue feel far more hollow.
I think the manwa The Gamer uses a tool Solo Leveling would benefit from. The Gamer can recruit others into a "party" so they can level as well. This would allow the story to branch off from Jin Woo and help slow down power creep as you can focus on smaller stories with other characters
I love this so much because it reminds me so much of Sword Art Online just like you said; it was the first Anime I watched that wasn’t YuGiOh and Pokemon.. (I then watched yowamushi pedal and wrote off anime until One Piece live action; now I’m a weekly manga reader)
![NOSFERATU - Official Trailer [HD] - Only In Theaters December 25](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/nulvWqYUM8k/mqdefault.jpg)
Sorry for any audio issues! i was pretty sick when recording. Hope you enjoy! Also, yes this is a re-upload. Had to fix some copyright issues that, appreciate your patience with this!
copyright is a b1tch, I hope this is the one!
@@ecowo57 me too aha
Its a dumb fun power fantasy that gets repetitive with a edgy op mc otaku wet dream and a main heroine who is just a prize for the mc to show that he's not just op but cool that he can have such a high tier girl not the no name weak nobody like healer girl.reality quest is better than this.the mc of reality quest still struggle and there are other characters and can beat the shit out of him without even trying also he has more personality than jin woo.also don't compare the artist to a generic power fantasy manhwa where the world revolves around an mc that has a clear advantage(a big dumb advantage at that)where he can grow and others can't.the artist is an actual person with talent and flaws of his own
Really amazing project 👍🏾, I’m no good at video essays but I love listening to them. A premise you might also find interesting, “Solo Leveling is not about Jin Woo, but his son” 🫨🫨🫨 do with that what you may 😏
Awesome job my brother
I liked the moments where Jinwoo has to face his own changes, and its an active choice to continue valuing humans, even with how much he'd been wronged and facing some of the worst traits of humanity, he continued to defend them. A lot of people face a similar choice when they grow up, whether they choose to continue to care, or closing themselves off. It could have had more focus, and I think the ending was rushed, but its a good series and I love it a lot.
This is how other fictional stories should properly write plot armors, not that stupid hidden genetics and power of friendship.
All depends on context. There are ways to do all those story lines really well and effectively, but it's just SUPER easy to make them shortcuts to avoid effort and THAT I'd the problem with them. They aren't inherently bad, just inherently easy to mess up lol
I think you didn't watch till the end
This also have hidden genetic and friendship lol, main character is selected due to some speciality in him. And main reason he fighting is for his family and protect his friend.
@@mr_santaclauss2840 but not as the same level as Bleach and FairyTail HAHAHAHAHAHA
@@mr_santaclauss2840he was chosen not because his father had some connection to the rulers, but because of how close he was to death all the time during the raids. The architect didn’t want to choose Sung but ashborn insisted. Having family as motivation to get stronger/provide for them is different then in some other mediums where friendship/family is literally the cause of their power up
I appreciate the fair critique of Solo Leveling as your points are valid and I agree with them. The ending of your video was sad but beautifully done.
I'm glad you enjoyed :)
I disagree. This isn't a story like overlord. (A story that people praise for its side characters development, even if they don't really grow and all focused around the mc. You just spend more time with them doesnt make it better). The reason solo leveling is one of the best stories out there is because of its focus. It didn't extend its time for more profit and chapters. The author had a idea for the story and kept its focus on the main plot of the story, while using side characters as story telling peices. It's perfect way to keep your story interesting and how you really put yourself in sungs shoes. If you connected to the main mc in the start of the story, you would see the same growth as the mc. Struggle isn't necessarily needed anymore. You would have the same questions and feelings sung has durning the story.
Yeah, but we ALL reach a point where we are over -leveled for the tasks before us, especially if you’ve spent time grinding.
@@acephas3 yes yes you do. It's what makes it so great. You spend enough time doing something you will be a master at it, and it becomes way way easier.
@@be9240not a money grab to make side characters interesting with their own drive and purpose. Also it’s not interesting to watch an overpowered mc for 100s of chapters no matter how strong ppl get something can always challenge us….
We don't want tension, we want the bad ass to be bad ass. It's why the show is popular. Don't want him being reluctant to get stronger or weak or take forever before he gets stronger.
Yeah every single story has enough tension or delay between badass moments, which is all fine and good, but I've been waiting for a story where the MC just demolishes everything, In this specific story, I loved that he never really faced an intense challenge late game, it was so refreshing.
Same here.
@@jkavathas1010bruh he literally dies.
But yeah, I like the change of pace from the ‘but-what-will-the-power-do-to-me’ protagonist. And they also didn’t make Jinwoo a brat either.
Instead, he’s smart and gets shit done when it needs to be done.
Solo leveling is the story of how saitama became one punch man I said what I said lol
Jinwoo is one of if not the most generic protagonist ive ever seen, but he is by far my favorite protagonists from this genre. His motivations make sense and hes so dedicated to them that it checks out why hes kind of a dumbass when it comes to relationships. The powering system makes sense and is done in a way thats pretty fun, even when it gets more complex and the story starts to get out of hand. It was just done so well in a manner thats so fun to watch play out. I love how simplistic he is at his core, hes just a boy that loves amd supports his family, he never becomes this holy than tho guy, even when he has the power of a god, the most benevolant thing he ever does is become the neighbourhood watch lmao.
It basically takes the power fantasy genre, both its good parts and its weaknesses, and shows it off perfectly.
Flaws? Couldn't notice any because I was having so much freaking fun!
you just made me cry all over again. i get the shortcomings of this story, but despite all of them, i really can't stop myself from loving the whole story, the twists, the characters, and the world the creator, the illustrator, and everyone involved in the visualization of the story.
thank you for an awesome video.
The light novel needs to be read first because there's a lot left out of the manwha and the anime.
God THANK YOU FOR SAYING THIS! 🙏🏽🙏🏽 people who are new are missing so much! And so is Axel because he didn’t read the LN either🤷🏽♀️🤦🏽♀️
23:24 so when I played the Witcher 3 I spent most of my saving monsters from humans and killing humans that were the real monsters, the monsters don’t have a choice in what they are/need the humans choose to become monsters.
When you get down to it everything on earth is an animal the difference is us humans have conned ourselves into thinking we are more, been human is something a person has to be taught and it is something that can be unlearned.
The author died 😭 wow i did not know that however ive only gotten into this series 3 weeks ago but still kinda sad but incredible at the same time he have created something that people will remember for ages which is all i could ever want before leaving this wolrd , Fly High🌠
To clarify the webtoon artist died. The original author of the novel is alive.
@@hipployta ah the artist still he created such stunning work 😭
I see what you mean about other characters being brushed away but it makes sense to the overall story cause it’s called “SOLO” Leveling, no one else should matter too much to the story
That's what I tell people about Naruto too.
I think I can agree with some points on your critique, but you mention the biggest appeal about this being a struggle for power, but It is also a power fantasy, I wasn't unhappy about exponential growth at the tower because the way I was being shown was cool, really cool S level magic and that's what I wanted to see. Probably not a repeating pattern of struggle, overcome, till he gets to the top. I want to see him pop off. yk?
100% get you on that. I just wasn't super satisfied with how to tone shift was done. Still had fun overall tho
Bro why am I watching this and tearing up at the end like I didn't read the novel and webtoon as they were being published and wrote a tribute post for Dubu when he passed away...honestly your tribute at the end was lovely. I am glad we finally got an anime too so I can experience Only I Level Up all over again. For your comments on the weak points...since the webtoon is from Jinwoo's viewpoint I understand the lack of 3rd character omniscient to explore the other characters but I think if you read and review the novel you will find it more fulfilling. However I will say that the tension was created by the release schedule since you couldn't read it all at once. Jinah's school getting attacked was stressful even when reading it again as a manhwa.
Its honestly heartbreaking to see these brilliant manga artists/authors passing due to hematoma or hemorrhaging.
Glad to receive this video looking into Solo Leveling and its story, I got to say that i got a nice perspective at what makes a power fantasy what it is after seeing more of what makes Solo Leveling. Thanks AxelBeats for this awesome video it was a delightful video to watch~!!!
Keep up the awesome work and videos alexbeats love the video
Solo leveling is generic premise but execution is so awesome that i cannlt stop reading! What you call flaws is actually part of its charm. It does not add too much side character development so the story flows much faster pace. Some stores add too much side stories then lose focus. It reminds me a lot of gantz. Another one of my favorite 20 years ago. A weak boy facing unfathomable monsters who killed him then he revives and atart getting stronger. I look forward to finishing the story! Highly recommend,! 😊
Don't get me wrong, I still had fun with it. It's BECAUSE I like it that I wanted to know more about the world is all
Can you make a video of God of Highschool
Ok ok ok here me out at the end of solo leveling he fights the god thst gave him his magic power and they take all his powers and they also take his hair and the god takes his memory also. Trywhen he wakes up he keeps his strength and becomes one punch man. He also sucks at video games because he was the player
Solo leveling is one of those stories where you just turn your brain off and enjoy the ride. It also helped that the art in the manwha was hype as fuck. I've also enjoyed other power fantasy novels like Legendary Mechanic, Supreme Magus, and Sword God in a World of Magic when I don't want to think and just want to read.
I appreciate your work but you missed some vital points in his development and shadow ability
I mean obviously. Some stuff is worth talking about, some stuff isn't. I just made judgement calls as I went
You gained a subscriber my friend, it was a really interesting 1.5 hrs journey, was never into manwas but the story really intrigued me , getting to hear the story out made me feel like theres a lot of potential in here. Really cool job again. Rooting for another audio soon. ❤❤
true that side characters werent flashed out enough, didnt read the ln tho so dont know much about that, the interesting thing is dubbu who also was the ceo of the company was getting sicker so lots of ups and downs were going in real life which effect is shown in the manhwa.I hope the anime adaptation improves it source material further like they are doing right now
While it does suck that a lot of the other characters aren't really explored and they kind of disappear as he gets stronger it also makes sense.
If you really think about it as he is the player, then that means that everybody else is just an NPC.
As he levels up he has to leave behind the party members that don't help him anymore, and find new ones that will allow him to continue to develop.
Okay trying to just piss writing lol
The ending of this great manga ended with the father who created it. It really it a true form of love
Really cool video my man, I found your words at the end a good inspiring note as to what his message meant and will continue to mean to the world. Loved the whole video, hope to see other cool things from ya!
Anime hurts bad cause mixed up with music it emotionally binds you with the character's life. It's better to take this up completely here rather than crying at the last episode there
this is one of the best videos I've ever seen on RUclips it accurately highlights all the important and the consistent flaws the manhwa has but you allowed me to expand my horizons and start reading them. To address the level of depth and great storytelling the manhwa has although it didn't go into a lot of detail into the side characters aspects it's still presented as one of the best manhwa ever In my opinion. Cant criticise on how you said everything you said on this manhwa and I fully support everything you have said about this manhwa, (Just subscribed)
I like solo leveling so much because we can see ourselves in the shoes of sung jin woo. Everyone has some hidden potential but we are always too late to realize it. Solo leveling teaches us that being weak is not the end of the world. You can always be serious and courageous enough to grow strong in any aspect of your life through sheer hard work and will. This power fantasy gives us the motivation that even the weakest can become the strongest. So, if you are strong from inside then you can become strong in no time.
Nah some people just born with terrible genes
Solo leveling plot armor is used correctly and effectively
What you say about Song and Lee Joohee is not true. You don’t SEE them again in the manhwa and the webtoon. But they do appear again IN THE LIGHT NOVELS. See this is the problem I have with videos like this. Both the manhwas and the webtoon shorten the story for impatient fans. But for fans like ME they would benefit from reading the light novels. They are just about night and day to the webtoon and the manhwas.
Fam I'm well aware of all of this. However this is a review of the manhwa alone. If I reviewed thr Harry potter movie, it would not be fair of me to say "well in the original book, they went into this more, so that's ok".
@@AxelBeats which is why I said, you should read and review the light novels. And consider posting a video about those. They are available on Audible so you won’t have to strain your eyes 😂
I already have read it. I chose to make a video about the manhwa because it was the most accessible and well known version of the story. I don't plan on making more solo leveling videos, but feel free to make the video you'd like to see yourself. I'd love to see your thoughts
i lost intrested in the last 1/4 all this gods & ANGELS RUBBISH WAS DONE HORRIBLELY
It definitely felt very rushed and poorly explained. The anime seems to be cleaning things up so I wonder if they will give it some more attention to fix the end
First ever manhwa I finished, I have my doubts but after reading it I found myself so hook to the story that I can't stop reading it. I'm glad it got animated!
The series is literally called solo leveling, obviously it’s gonna be about jinwoo soloing people wtf
I know. It was so lame how naruto talked about Sasuke and Kakashi all the time
Thank you for the last section of this video, you really went above and beyond. Rest in Peace Dubo
You should try out apothecary diaries you and your fan base who likes inuyasha would love that anime . It fits them
It also has a 5 star rating on crunchy roll . That’s a hard feat!
The cha hae in plot is such a missed opportunity. When she tries to join his guild and it gets glossed over for no reason. It's a good story but so much missed opportunity
This is a great comprehensive video for the story!
Thanks friend! I hope you enjoyed :)
Ok, how many times have you been uploading the same video?
3 lol i had a big audio issue i needed to fix the first time, and then youtube picked up a copyright issue 2 days later the second time -.- it's been a very annoying process lol Sorry for the extra notifications
Okay I do get the point about side characters getting zero development, however the story is meant to solely focus on Jinwoo.
Think of it like a game, how many NPC’s get character development? Mostly the ones who are going to be around the longest. Both of the survivors of the double dungeon and Kang incident retire from hunting at that point. She leaves the city to go home, and I believe he stays as the sole mentor of Cha Hae In. But the story doesn’t really follow cha so we’re not going to see him much.
Incidentally though, the light novel actually goes into a few characters more, the Manwha leaves A LOT of that out (panel space I guess)
Anyway sorry for the little tangent my point is, side characters don’t matter because if Jinwoo doesn’t see them we don’t see them, the story is from his eyes unless us the reader are needed to know about something for some reason.
Thank you for your fantastic, knowledgeable overview for this manwha. I am watching the anime episodes as they come out. They interested me so much, I got the 8-book series of the original novels (predating the manwha) and just finished the main story today. Many of your critiques are less of an issue in the novel. They are still there, but, with more time to flesh things out, they are no longer total buzz-kills narrative wise. For example, the middle section, where you have a lot of problem with characters just disappearing, more of them last longer. The demon princes still gets written out, but other characters do have an extended presence, fleshing them out.
I feel like part of the reason solo leveling still works after Jin woo becomes a monarch and over powers everyone is because you’ve been with him through the struggle and the level grind so it feels like he deserves it
That's fair! It's definitely fun the whole time, I just think the opening arcs fit my own preference more. I can totally see why people would like the latter bits more tho
@@AxelBeats I actually agree I enjoy the early arcs more bc I don’t think the later arcs would be anywhere near as good or enjoyable without the early struggles
The way you talk about this series, it almost sounds like you don’t even like it lol.
It was a solid 6 out of 10. A lot that I liked, a lot that I didn't. Fun overall tho
@@AxelBeatsyeah, I saw some where that this was like the first thing the author ever wrote. Having completely watched the anime so far, and having read most of the manhwa and LN, I can confidently say that, while each iteration has its pros and cons, on a whole the story has gotten better while each adaptation
Which is how things should go, and I hope the anime continues the trend.
Btw, mostly agree with your reading, I’d give the LN a 7.5, manhwa an 8, and anime a 9 so far.
Hopefully this get fleshed out more in the anime kind of like we are seeing in the Bleach TYBW
Unrelated but I appreciate the Honkai and Genshin OSTs. You happened to pick my favorite ones too 🔥
I've been S O L D just by the intro, Imma go watch
I actually left this series after 125-130 issues
So repeat arc.. Kinda got bored (his father's entry and then i left)
i found that it was appropriate for jin to get as strong as he did and for things to get as easy as they did. it’s still relatable, as i now wanna work as hard as i can untill life becomes just as easy as it got for our mc, it makes sense that he’d get that strong given the nature of the story and the trope of leveling up
Bro u just broke me this whole time I thought douboo was still alive in at the supermarket fighting back tears cuz I just learned literally the only managa type content I've ever read let alone followed as it came out n more over finished (well obviously not the prologue) is no longer with us rest in power my man ty my god ty so much for the laughs the smiles the absolute adrenaline rushes and the single most gorgeous beautiful art work these eyes have ever seen bare none
The biggest flaw of this story is that no one else but Jinwoo matters.
The B-rank healer he had a connection with… gone.
The demon king's daughter, who would've added so much more to the story… gone.
His own mother was no more than an NPC.
All of the other interesting hunters that could've become comrades… gone.
I feel like solo leveling is a solid C+ that had the tools to be an A. Like it's still a good time, but it was soooo close to being something with a lot of weight and value
That's just the nature of this genre. Don't judge a fish by it's ability to climb trees.
You guys are the people who watch power fantasy because of some simp mc who likes to play around with a bunch of girls and do perverted stuff bro it's not what power fantasy should do
the b rank healer left because of trauma which makes sense and the demon daughter wasn’t really going to add anything. shes just a random demon that he took a liking to she has no use outside of that. i agree on the mum though
@@NotHalfEatenPotatoesno lol, this genre is done by many and at least such side characters r relevant. Ie, in sao s1 we still got characters being relevent and having personality. In SL thats never the case, just cause its called solo levelling does not mean it can simply ignore side characters and make a generic story having jinwoo as the only mc doing everything with barely any personality
I think I’m dumb cuz after reading the entire series, I kinda still think it’s just shallow and kinda mediocre. MC doesn’t even feel like a person, he just seems like he’s a robot.
Nah I get that tbh
OK, one punch man dead put in work for his power. He was pushing himself to death every day, and then he just broke is limited.
And become a meme
Lol, it's so true.. I always self-insert myself when I read this manhwa 😂. It's so fun. What I like is the main character is not someone who do crazy things not because overromantize something useless like friendship. Sure friendship is not useless, but still.. But I am very enjoying this manhwa because every decision he make is logical and mirror what I would do when I am in his position. It's so rare to have manhwa like this these days..
Now I understand what you're saying when characters just disappear and it is frustrating, but I do think that the anime is kind of fixing this. For instance, his future love interest is introduced way earlier into the story than it was throughout the manga and I'm going to say manga cuz I always say the Korean version incorrectly but she gets early film play. She gets a visual aspect. I feel like the director of the anime is looking at this from a topside view like you are and saying there needs to be a fix here and I do feel like there's going to be some peppering of characters that actually do have some substance to them but get left behind in the manga that will be placed in the animate. They will be more interactive in the anime but like a back story or something happening in the background a lot like how his love interest is in the background. She doesn't get actual image time in the manga until later on throughout the story, but they introduce her extremely early. They show you what kind of person she is. They show you her interactions with the people around her. So I do plan on seeing more of that. Or at least I hope on seeing more of that in our future for the anime and it is quite a positive change. It's very rare that an anime provides you with more detail than the manga, but you're 100% correct. They just pick up and then put down really easily and I'm happy to see that this mysterious woman is introduced while you think he has a different love interest, but she goes away with good reason. She's going home and she doesn't need to look out for him anymore. I don't know what happens with our favorite one-armed uncle but I do think that there will be a hey what's going on bro? Kind of visit every now and then or a belated conversation which is like reality. You have friends and sometimes you just stop talking for no reason and every now and then you get a phone call from them or you decide to call them and you talk like nothing's changed and then you put the phone down. You spend a little bit of time with them here and there and then you go your separate ways for a little bit again
I feel like there is a good way to fix this problem and I go to another character for the best way to handle an overpowered character and that is that time I got reincarnated as a slime that little dude that slime ruin power for no other reason. Then he had the opportunity. There wasn't a huge reason on why he was doing what he was doing. In the beginning he died. He came back. He needed something to come from it and he got a friend and was like I'm going to live my life and eat LOL. In this process of him eating, he grew stronger without cool understanding of what his capabilities were growing into. But once he found something to fight for, you saw the intention of his growth. Still not understanding how strong he really is. He's still intended on getting stronger for those individuals, but the individuals around him that are as strong near as strong, somewhat kind of strong that grow with him. Get the limelight in some ways more often than he is, you get to see other nations and their expansion you get to see His friends take the limelight and destroy things and although the story is about him and the nation, he builds when it all comes down to it. If he shows up the fight is over, there is no if ands or buts. The fight is typically on the best end over, but he doesn't leave it up to himself. The director, the writer, the individuals with the power to make it all about him to make it an extremely narcissistic story. Don't make it all about him. They include the people around him. They include the love and the intention and why he is the way he is and that makes the story super relatable and it makes you want to see how he can get what he wants out of it because you love these characters. If anybody doesn't have a character in that monster Nation that they don't feel attached to, or feel like or feel a likeness towards, you're watching the wrong anime, you either hate it or you are in love with that story. But you hate it because it's an isakai not because it's a bad story and you love it. Not because it's an isakai, but because it's a great story. By the way, I do think the main character in that story was issakai twice, not just one time, but that's for the mangas to expand on later. They haven't gotten to that part yet. I'm sure that's what's coming LOL but that would be a great way to remedy this story to watch his sister and his mother to watch his love interest. His best friend, his actual outside character arts and I'm not saying he's narcissistic because he's not. I'm saying it becomes a narcissistic view because that's all you see granted. Love both stories. They're both amazing but you are right they don't expand on the other characters enough
I definently get the criticisms about jinwoo and severe power creep but the jeju island and him not going is mainly because it was thought that with all the s-ranks going that another strong one wouldn’t be necessary. He didn’t skip just because he didn’t want to.
I don’t want to be him. I just want him. He can own me…
Don't be weird in my comments please
Exactly, i don't remember where i see it but the author of solo leveling had problems with the creator of the gamer for the great amount of similarities border on plagiarism with both works
Cerberus is A rank isn't it? What's inside the Demon's Castle is S. Am I mistaken?
E rank as they say, is only slighty better than your avg person.
I wonder how Batman, who would be considered peak human ability would rank 😂 🔥 just as himself without magic
Great video, thank you for putting so much time into making it. With that said, this is a very overrated series carried by it's wonderful art. You pointed out all the flaws of this story, so no need for me to expand.
1:13:09 wouldnt make sense if Thomas is of same level as Jin Woo. 😂
As a famous mangaka said… “people only die… when they are forgotten…”
Solo leveling will make sure HE lives on!!!
Sung Jinwoo got what Gojo Satoru didn't...
The answer to WHO HE IS
Is he Sung Jinwoo because he is The Strongest?
Or is he The Strongest because he is Sung Jinwoo?
So jin woo just.., chose up completely dropped the B rank healing girl
Healer girl, and demon girl deserved better. Like she would add a lot by her, being with him since the beginning, even just as friend.
I have seen this type of comment before:
You need to understand Joohee was never meant to be waifu 🤷🏽♀️ She was shaken very badly by the double dungeon. Being a healer Hunter was not for her anymore especially after the Taeshik Kang event. This confirmed for her that she was done. A huge part of her going into the dungeons even though she was scared, was solely because of Jinwoo. But now she sees he is different and he scares her 😔, add in that he doesn’t need her to heal him anymore and that he is no longer a burden. Take all of that in. She went home to Busan, and in the LN, she comes back when she is needed. Chugong didn’t need to attach her to Jinwoo anymore, and this frees her to pursue other job avenues back home. Jinwoo never thought of Joohee again though when the time came he could feel her presence, but by this time he already had feelings for Cha Haein.
As for Eisa, she was a means to an end. She attempted to kill him in the Demon’s Castle. He was impressed with her skill and he wanted her shadow. But then she speaks and he is told she was protecting her home and her family, which Jinwoo easily understands. He respects that when she was beaten, she had the good sense to speak up. He also respected that she was able to make a viable offer to him: spare me and my family and I give you the transport scroll. Jinwoo having upped his Knowledge skill (finally 🙄🤣) sees the logic and due to his high Perception stat he knows she is telling him the truth. He meets her dad, who flips his lid as he can see the Shadows that Jinwoo has with him, but is appeased that no one from his clan need to die over the scroll and so he keeps Eisa’s promise to Jinwoo. He took Eisa with him not out of any feelings of love. She had told him that she knew exactly where the other transport scrolls were, so she is a living map. Jinwoo wanted to work smarter not harder. 🤷🏽♀️He liked her intelligence and after sharing a meal with her father and the clan, found that they were okay Demons. He tells Eisa that he spared her even though he got the scroll, because he liked her. Not romantically like SHE thought. He leaves her when he gets the final scroll because he: 1. Doesn’t want to see her get hurt, and 2. He wants the Elixer of Life, that is his end goal after all. 🤷🏽♀️ Eisa can’t be with him outside of the gate and so why have Jinwoo have feelings of love for her? It can’t be, and Chugong knew this and so she was written out of the story. It had to be that way. And while Jinwoo would see her family’s banner and think of her and hope she was okay, he was not in the vision to care about HER, he was there to unlock HIS memories from Ashborn, though he doesn’t understand all of what was shown to him.
These two females were never to be used past their purposes, and Chugong got it right. There was no need to waste time on these two as the goal beyond them was gigantic 🤷🏽♀️ And in case you don’t pick it up from the webtoon or the manhwas, Jinwoo is a bit dense when it comes to noticing things like ‘ Hey that girl likes you!🤦🏽♀️’ His complete misunderstanding of why the nurse wanted his number, the girl at the bank, the upper class women at his sister’s high school, and so on. He is oblivious to what they see in him. But he SAW Cha Haein 😏 and he knew that she was to be his, but even then he was a little slow on the uptake 😂
Yah wish the character dynamics were better. Healer girl just ignored and demon girl. I really thought we would at least see her lvl up from being in a pt with him. Cha hae relationship makes sasuke sakura or naruto hinata look like Shakespeare too.
Power fantasy are the best and most popular for a reason.
I love this show so much I just wish it didn’t follow the trope of the main characters entire appearance having to change. it just comes off as unnecessarily superficial.
Love this video! You’ve gained a new subscriber
Great video, have been looking for a video like this showcasing the manhwa, thanks!
Outstanding work on this one!
His power required him to live as he did to improve, im sure the characters not being dragged along is because it is intentionally solo
I don't really love Power Fantasies. Sorry. They're predictable. They're formulaic. If you've read one, you've read them all. You know that the main character will never die, he will accomplish his goals of saving the world, he will be universally loved and respected, and he will get the girl. Every. Single. Time. Without exception.
How boring. There are no stakes, so there's no reason to engage in power fantasies. The main character is always the strongest and smartest. No challenge they can't overcome. So there's no tension, no struggle, no drama.
It's a genre for the weak and depressed, their hopes and dreams that they'll never reach finally fulfilled through a comic book character
Depends power fantasy can be pretty different. I am sure konosuba is a power fantasy and , its pretty funny and wholesome. And for all the brokenness of the party they are hillarous terrible at it.
Power fantasies can be pretty fun.
Hell argumently gurren laggan is a powerfantasy and its great. Depends on the balancing.
@@marocat4749neither of those stories are power fantasies though??
Kazuma and his party are repeatedly shown to be not very good people who mess up a lot and yes while Simon gets very powerful at the end of his journey he went through wayyyy more than jinwoo and is a lot less of a 1 dimensional self insert character
I understand all of these arguments, and I think it just comes down to having different tastes.
Additionally, power fantasies also seem really easy to do wrong. Though admittedly I’ve only read/watched solo leveling, just based on the concept it seems really easy to just constantly have fighting. Other genres can do this (looking at jjk, at least the anime, though they make up for it by making the fights incredibly varied and unique).
But that’s one of the reasons why I like Solo leveling but don’t expect to like many other power fantasies; the creator takes time to let the characters chill and has built an incredibly complex world. This means I can enjoy it without having to suspend my disbelief as much as I do with other similar series.
Sure, it has its fair share of faults, but what series doesn’t?
If you don’t like it, that’s fine.
Utter shite, story is boring. This trend of powerless to absolute power is shite. Growth is nom existent, mc is op and can't lose. Utter tripe
Very thorough and valid criticism of the series. This story is junkfood, but it does taste good.
Bro stop yapping and just tell the story
Bro stop commenting and read it yourself
Solo leveling is the most overrated piece of media since AOT
It's definitely overrated. Still fun enough to enjoy though :)
@@AxelBeats very true
The anime gonna lose people next season when he goes through the one punch man arc.
Yeah I’m probably out after the second season now I know how it goes it was fun tho
I really don't get the hype of that thing. It is so dragged out and boring. 🤷♂️
I can understand that view on it. Honestly it isn't the typical show I watch, but it was a good "turn your brain off" read and sometimes that's nice too
I like that you did this, and I respect your thoughts but you seem to take umbrage to tropes in general. There are mountains of outsider, more esoteric manga that you should move to because honestly the tropes are the relatability for fans of the genre. Check out things like BLAME! or TYE. I think this isn't the genre for you to remain objective, my guy. Cheers.
I enjoy plenty of trope series. Love power fantasy and shonen in general, this one just feels like it misses the mark in a way that I didn't super vibe with. I'll check out the recommendations for sure tho!
Id probably add woo chin Jul to the list of characters. I mean he's been there from the beginning and constantly pops up.
Even more true in the light novels.
So JinWoo is the new Night King. Reviving the dead continuously.
Crazy to me that the author spent the entire series hyping up chae hae in just for her to basically be fodder
yup and in the new world she was just a housewife and mom. Such a wasted potential.
im sure the writer played spectre hero in dota2 berfore he starts this manga
great explanation. as someone who's just new to the series, i think your points about jin-wu's early struggles is what makes him more relatable to more people than superman.
Sung Jinwoo got what Gojo Satoru didn't...
The answer to WHO HE IS
Is he Sung Jinwoo because he is The Strongest?
Or is the strongest because he is Sung Yinwoo
The main thing I keep hearing is not character development for the secondary characters and that we don’t spend enough time with them and understanding them.. It’s called solo leveling. The show follows through with that premise throughout. It’s about one guy going through this by himself as much as he can and him being absorbed by his power in a sense. Focusing on side or secondary characters takes away for the true core of going through something by yourself “SOLO” I prefer the way they did it rather then have to focus on different subplots and characters
It's literally like 40 chapters in of 200 before the story says the words "this isn't solo leveling anymore"
Idk why people get so caught up on the name. I'm not saying focusing on just jinwoo is bad inherently. I'm saying the constant fake outs of "this character will be important...nvm" is just bad writing
@@AxelBeatshe said that because his summons are also leveling up 😂
I'm having trouble coping with the episodic drip feed of the anime release I'm sure you are too after being able to binge read it in it's entirety. at the time of this comment there is only 6 episodes out and each one is short and leaves you with blue balls for the next.
Bro i started living my life where i see my daily task like he did and boy does your body change quick especially in the gym
I get that narratively some of the story is a little stupid. No real challenges, no focus on side characters. But I also kinda loved it because of that. He just steamrolls the whole plot because he’s determined to just be the absolute best. And then it ends with him soloing the ‘evil gods’ of the universe all by himself. It’s kinda sick lol
TBH I found it refreshing reading a comic that didn't go off in a dozen side stories. It knew what it was here to do and it did it. I think if you focus so much on the side characters, you're just ruining it for yourself. Judge a work for what it is not what you wish it was.
We call most Isekai 'self insert power fantasies', which is why the main character has to be generic and bland and uninteresting as possible, so one can slap their likeness onto his face. Every relationship is will-they-wont-they, so those watching can pick their best girl, and every situation is ideal so you don't have to put 'yourself' through challenging hardships. There are a few exceptions, and those are usually touted as the best Isekai ever.
Does anyone know what the anime is that he talks about after mentioning SAO? Can’t make out what he’s saying when he says the name
Bofuri
I think in a post-Reincarnated as a Slime world, you can’t call this “power fantasy done right.” There have been better power fantasies that condemn Solo Leveling as edgy trash.
46:45 At this point AxelBeats says that Jinwoo plows through most of the 100 floors of the dungeon in a couple of chapters, with attention only given to a couple of major bosses. This might be true of the manhwa, which I have not read, but the light novel covers in detail progressing through a large number of floors. If this were a movie I can easily see many of these scenes winding up on the cutting room floor.
BTW, I am absolutely adoring this recap. Not just the story itself but also the editing and narration. Thank you. I discovered a few days ago that I haven't read the light novel to the end (maybe it wasn't translated to English when I read it) so I'm looking forward to the final third of your recap.
As a fellow necromancer myself, this is by far my most favorite anime of all time, ever.
As far as his development goes, I'm not sorry that he becomes as powerful as he does. The world around him had its chance to be kind and forgiving when he was kind, caring, and creative. And that version of him essentially DIED, alone, in a dungeon. Nah this is earned. The world can deal with what is now a shadow monarch. I hope he rules the fricken world.
Any other good anime with necromancy?
@ebaocihc7085 Ummm, Overlord is pretty decent. Death mount death is kinda eh, But as far as anime goes where the MC is a necromancer, there really isn't much. I myself am working on something, but I'm no one right now 😅
How big is your skeleton army?
@@Blackmarketbirdseller In terms of units and structure? or like, actual numbers?
@@CryptTheNecromancer numbers
Ultimately, the story being solely about Jin-Woo is Solo Leveling’s biggest downside. And while you learn more about why this is as the story progresses, it just makes the ending and epilogue feel far more hollow.
I think the manwa The Gamer uses a tool Solo Leveling would benefit from. The Gamer can recruit others into a "party" so they can level as well. This would allow the story to branch off from Jin Woo and help slow down power creep as you can focus on smaller stories with other characters
I love this so much because it reminds me so much of Sword Art Online just like you said; it was the first Anime I watched that wasn’t YuGiOh and Pokemon.. (I then watched yowamushi pedal and wrote off anime until One Piece live action; now I’m a weekly manga reader)
Rest in peace 🕊️🪦