(CR) Solo Leveling

[frubam]

As a fan of the manwha, I thought it was pretty solid. There's not much to be done about the jumping around. Feels like a lot of manwhas do that; that is, try and introduce too much at the beginning. Even I knew that the setup would be a bit lukewarm at best. Other expectations like the animation and knowing what's to come, is what gets me excited, but I can see why someone who has 0 exp with the source might not be too taken with this 1st ep. Still I think this ep will be overall consistent with the rest of the series, so the elements you disliked will not go away.

[Frontier]

I'm surprised they didn't premier this hour-long over streaming like they did at conventions.

[Tenzen12]

Animation was impressive, actual content not so much. Well, we didn't even get "cheat" gimmick yet so it's too soon tell how good or bad this will be.

[Decel]

This was the first Manwha I fell into and it's definitely in the top tier, if not the most anticipated series people were waiting for.

I have to say I am disappointed by the first ep. The pacing is all over the place, and the way the storyboard was layered out was incredibly hectic! Too much world exposition, especially characters and events we aren't really supposed to meet until way way later (maybe not even in the first cour), and badly sequenced too. It felt like they had a cameo checklist to go through.

Animation was weird too. Some place it felt incredibly detailed and others it felt cheapened out (like the part where the blue flames lit in the final chamber, felt like a B or C-class generic series). The lack of consistency was glaring.

Spoiler for Spoilery, maybe:

And the fact that the episode didn't end with the smile is, in my opinion, a bad sign. Unlike Mushoku Tensei, Kusuriya or Frieren, I somehow feel like whoever are in charge of the show doesn't understand its story or its appeal.

Edit: Re-skimmed the manwha to refresh my memories, and some events happen a bit later. Doesn't change my impression though.

6/10 for the first ep.

[Greenish Growth]

It feels like the first episode was done that way so they could end it where they did. To do that they added all that stuff to fill it up. It didn't work well for me being all mixed up like that. The first part felt rather meaningless to me. Action scenes and H-scenes at the very start of the story nearly always feel useless and meaningless to me because the story hasn't built up the settings and the characters yet. Stuff happens and I don't care. Let's move on to the actual beginning of the story is what I usually end up thinking.

The actual start of the story in the episode felt better (excluding all those added clips in between). Still looking forward to episode 2 because I enjoyed the manwha.

[zztop]

Originally Posted by Dengar

I guess. I can't even put into words what it is. But I have not been so thoroughly unimpressed with a first episode in quite a while. Like I can't even imagine what the manhwa would have that would impress people so much.

It was mainly the manhwa art and paneling that elevated Solo Leveling's popularity with readers - the late Jang Sungrak's art was pretty amazing especially in how he did action scenes that looked superb and fit the scrolling format on smartphones.

[Dengar]

Originally Posted by zztop

It was mainly the manhwa art and paneling that elevated Solo Leveling's popularity with readers - the late Jang Sungrak's art was pretty amazing especially in how he did action scenes that looked superb and fit the scrolling format on smartphones.

Surely there's also something about the writing that keeps people coming back tho?

[ryllharu]

Originally Posted by Dengar

Surely there's also something about the writing that keeps people coming back tho?

That they haven't yet encountered better writing before starting Solo Leveling...


It's a LitRPG at its core.

[Dengar]

Originally Posted by ryllharu

That they haven't yet encountered better writing before starting Solo Leveling...


It's a LitRPG at its core.

I mean, I enjoy a lot of 'mainstream' things that 'cultured' individuals find bad writing.

This just doesn't move me in any way. I don't think I've ever experienced this before.

[Decel]

The writing wasn't exceptional, but it was mostly very well executed. No real divergence from the core of the story and the pacing was decent. There was an arc that I found superfluous but that was it.

It's like a minimalistic cherished car: it did what it did well and felt polished. The execution, including the art, was the appeal of this series, to me at least.

The anime fails on that part: it doesn't have Kusuriya/Fate/Demon Slayer quality and the plot was a weird mish-mash of scenes, including many of the extra side-exposition that weren't in the manwha at those points.

I'm already encountering blogs and articles expressing their disappointment. This is not the series that will bring the manwha to animation ubiquity that many had hoped it would, especially after Tower of God and God of High School failed to do so.

[Dengar]

I mean, Fate and Demon Slayer actually had a good narrative. I really hope this is just the boring first episode that is somehow necessary to understand the rest of it. Even though at this point I don't really see anything worth remembering. Especially not the over the top sob story of whatever the kid's name is. Like what the hell? You have to pay for your mom's treatment AND your sister's college, and you do this by doing a highly dangerous job that earns you less than flipping burgers?

And then this plank of wood gets angry at him for not taking better care of himself because I guess she cares because... She's attracted to weak boys?

[Alchemist007]

Getting SAO vibes, but with a physically weaker MC.

[Twi]

I... am genuinely surprised they didn't make this an hour long release just to get to the hook.

[Frontier]

Originally Posted by Twi

I... am genuinely surprised they didn't make this an hour long release just to get to the hook.

The weird thing is it apparently had a premier that was an hour long but they're not streaming it that way .

[FlareKnight]

Definitely a weird choice to drop just the first episode. Normally a show will want to hit the big setup moment in the first episode if possible. Seemed geared to be a double length first episode. And all the more strange since yeah if they had a premiere that was super long they should have kept that for the actual streaming release.

Anyways, not a terrible episode. I do wonder if the MC shouldn't try...other work. If he's basically not making money the way he's going then I'm not sure the point for him. I get that he's got expenses to cover, but is he actually covering them if all he can get is the rare lowest level of magical stone? Are even those things selling well enough for it to matter?

Obviously good for him that he didn't quit. Clearly he's going to get...some powerup from this life or death situation that will send him on the path to being OP as heck. And he's got a cute healer girl that is totally into him.

I get her freaking out. As someone who can heal she probably can tell even better than him how close he's been to dying out there. Although considering how weak he is...maybe she should be treating him on that date ?

[larethian]

Originally Posted by Dengar

I mean, I enjoy a lot of 'mainstream' things that 'cultured' individuals find bad writing.

This just doesn't move me in any way. I don't think I've ever experienced this before.

I can agree with you. Except the only thing that has potential intrigue for me rn is the MC's mention about his ability to tell that the statue is about to fire its laser eyes in a certain way. Let's see where this will take it.

Otherwise, I agree that it's kind of non-sensical for him to be adventuring. Sure, the loot is going to help him, but I find it even more non-sensical for the party to accept him based on what he could contribute to the party, which is practically nothing? I've not sure I missed some information while multi-tasking and lacking a clear understanding on the reasoning behind that.

[FlareKnight]

Originally Posted by larethian

I can agree with you. Except the only thing that has potential intrigue for me rn is the MC's mention about his ability to tell that the statue is about to fire its laser eyes in a certain way. Let's see where this will take it.

Otherwise, I agree that it's kind of non-sensical for him to be adventuring. Sure, the loot is going to help him, but I find it even more non-sensical for the party to accept him based on what he could contribute to the party, which is practically nothing? I've not sure I missed some information while multi-tasking and lacking a clear understanding on the reasoning behind that.

If they lean on the whole "I've nearly died so much I've got a great ability to read attacks" then that could at least be something interesting to do with the guy.

On the other hand...yeah it really is crazy for him to be adventuring. Admittedly I'm not sure on logistics. I guess if you technically qualify as E-rank then you can be sent out on jobs so long as you want to be there. I'm guessing they just are short on bodies. Otherwise any sensible organization would cut off the level to participate at least at D rank if not C. Of course a competent organization should be equipping these people at least to a certain degree. Let the really talented use their money to get themselves the best possible gear. But at least send the lower ranked people in with good equipment so they have a chance to accomplish something.

I'm less sure on why he's actually doing it. He can't be making much if any money doing this considering he can barely survive much less kill anything!

[frubam]

Originally Posted by larethian

Otherwise, I agree that it's kind of non-sensical for him to be adventuring. Sure, the loot is going to help him, but I find it even more non-sensical for the party to accept him based on what he could contribute to the party, which is practically nothing? I've not sure I missed some information while multi-tasking and lacking a clear understanding on the reasoning behind that.

I mean, people form up into a party, but it doesn't feel like its some kind of requirement. It feels more like some company posts a job and establishes a leader, and then anyone who wants to can join in the expedition. Also, the older guy(the one who knows him) and the leader are probably just nice people trying to help the boy out. Its not like they are protecting Jinwoo; he still has to take care of himself and is responsible for himself(as does everyone it seems), so it doesn't matter whether he comes or not.

[Dengar]

I've played a few MMOs. Let me tell you, in a realistic scenario, nobody would ever have this guy in their raid.

[Mad Pierrot]

This kinda felt like the premiere of Goblin Slayer but without any Goblin Slayer to save them.