Summary

SL's brisk pacing ensures no arc lingers, maintaining excellent storytelling flow.
A1's stellar animation brings the manhwa's incredible art to life for engaging action.
Limited romantic subplot allows focus on action, meeting fans' expectations for a power fantasy.

Solo Leveling has been in the spotlight over the last two years, as it has dominated the anime discourse, both for good and not-so-good reasons. On the one hand, it is lauded as the show responsible for a greater interest in Korean manhwa, while on the other, it has been labeled as an overly simplistic story with little depth.

A collage of South Korean actor Byeon Woo-seok and Sung Jinwoo from Solo Leveling.

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By Julián Jorge Fernández Loyarte

However, the truth that few can dispute is that Solo Leveling is one of the best pure action anime from the last decade or so. It does this even with an uncomplicated story, and this is because it has a number of things going for it, many of which might be underappreciated.

1 The Pacing

SL Moves At A Brisk Pace

The first two seasons of Solo Leveling, which cover approximately 110 chapters of the manhwa, comprise a combined 25 episodes that contain multiple arcs and tell a cohesive story. This makes the pacing of the show excellent, with no arc ever lingering longer than it needs to.

The bane of a lot of action shows is filler episodes, which can sometimes drag for ungodly amounts of time. This is not a problem for Solo Leveling as the action progresses briskly, and every interaction feels like it serves a purpose. Some might say this makes it too short, but better that than be considered as going on for too long.

2 The Art And Animation

A1 Did An Excellent Job

Action anime are all about spectacle. Such a show must draw an audience in and hook them, one of the best ways to do this is by sublime art and animation. As a manhwa, Solo Leveling was so popular because the art was incredible, and as an anime, it excels because the animation is stellar.

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By Mirza Aaqib Beg

The animation looks clean, the action scenes engaging, and the character and monster designs are effectively beautiful and grotesque depending on the context. This is a must for any action show, and many have lost audiences when not up to the expected standard.

3 The Romantic Subplot Doesn’t Hamper The Action

Sung Jin-woo Is A Focused Man

There is a lot of argument regarding the amount of romance that should be in an action fiction narrative. It is relatively safe to say that an action anime shouldn’t have too much romance or even a perfect blend between the two, as that becomes an action romance.

Ideally, an action show should have limited romance, and Solo Leveling does this well. Sure, there are the beginnings of a romantic tension between Sung Jin-woo and Cha Hae-in, but it never gets in the way of the action. Even the hints of affection from characters like Lee Joohee and Esil Radiru are acknowledged, but given little room to affect much else, and this is perfect.

4 Giving Fans What They Want

Solo Leveling Indulges Its Fans

Solo Leveling is an action power fantasy, and it doesn’t shy away from this; neither does it dress itself up as anything other than that. Most fans of action come for great action sequences and watching things go boom! Solo Leveling delivers on all of this and more.

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By Fridous Adetutu

Detractors might say this makes it shallow, but can it really be called shallow if that is exactly what people want? Can it be called rubbish when everyone finds it invaluable? For many other action shows, in a bid to appeal to the widest range of people, they will add things that perhaps not all will appreciate. Solo Leveling knows the demographic it wants and caters to them completely.

5 Protagonist Progression

Sung Jin-woo’s Progression Is Satisfying

Everyone loves an underdog story, but perhaps a more controversial statement might be that people don’t seem to want their underdogs to remain so for too long. They want progress. For some action shows, audiences get a protagonist who is an underdog and remains that till the bitter end.

However, Solo Leveling has Sung Jin-woo start from the bottom, fight his way to be stronger, but he gets there soon enough to make a lot of his battles feel very satisfying. None of Sung Jin-woo’s progression is artificial, and he doesn’t get temporary, in-the-moment power-ups from friends. He is who he is, and that’s what makes him so popular.

6 Purity

Solo Leveling Is Never Anything Else

A common thing that happens, especially when it comes to long-running action anime, is that certain arcs take on other genres. So, it isn’t uncommon for an action anime to have an arc that feels more like a mystery, or even a slice of life, as the audience is made to experience the story in a new way.

Solo Leveling things the Manhwa does better than the anime

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By Lucas Simons

Solo Leveling has no such problem. The tone is consistent. This means there are no unusual moments of levity, and it retains its stakes at every point of the story. This makes it an action anime fan’s dream come true.

7 A Well-Serviced Protagonist

Sung Jin-woo Gets Everything He Needs To Shine

If there is one thing Solo Leveling does well as an action anime is to platform its protagonist. John Wick is considered a masterpiece of an action movie because of how well it portrays the titular main character, giving him the lore, grit, and personality needed to be the center of attention in all the best ways.

Solo Leveling does this with Jin-woo. Does this mean he’s an aura farmer? Yes. But aren’t the best protagonists exactly that? Sung Jin-woo gets the right amount of dialogue and is made to straddle the line between charismatic and stoic rather well. He loves his family and shows them a different side of himself, but is at the same time standoffish to everyone else. It works.

8 Epic Battles

What’s An Action Anime Without Great Battles?

What makes Solo Leveling hype? What makes it peak? While one can point to several things, one of the major ones is the delightfulness of the battles. There are quite a number of epic battles in Solo Leveling, and the fact that fans can enjoy these battles without the very common internal monologue and backstory that generally tend to accompany such fights is a plus.

The animation helps in this regard. When Sung Jin-woo took on the Ant King, it was a pure spectacle that had friends, solo-watchers, and companies of people shrieking in enthusiasm. Sung Jin-woo’s battles evoke great excitement, however one looks at it, and this is nothing short of amazing.

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