Solo Leveling

by Dubu, Chugong

Genres: Manga
Pages: 320
Series: Solo Leveling #1
Rating:

Synopsis:

Known as the the Weakest Hunter of All Mankind, E-rank hunter Jinwoo Sung's contribution to raids amounts to trying not to get killed. Unfortunately, between his mother’s hospital bills, his sister's tuition, and his own lack of job prospects, he has no choice but to continue to put his life on the line. So when an opportunity arises for a bigger payout, he takes it… only to come face-to-face with a being whose power outranks anything he’s ever seen! With the party leader missing an arm and the only healer a quivering mess, can Jinwoo some­how find them a way out?

Someone I follow online has been super enthusiastic about Solo Leveling for a while, so when I found volume one of the manhwa in the local indie bookshop, it seemed like a sign (especially as it didn’t seem much like anything else they have in stock). I liked the art okay, though I didn’t always keep track of who was who very well, probably in part because they were a bit “cannon fodder” ish — this book is really an introduction, and ends with Jinwoo’s first solo instance.

I enjoyed it, though it really does feel like just reading a prologue. It sets up the world and the basics pretty well (it helps for me that I’m familiar with gaming, admittedly), and it gives us a solid feel for who Jinwoo is and what he wants/needs out of life.

I’m curious to see where it goes, and I might check out the light novels as well. It’s hard to say whether it’s for me just from this first volume, because it feels like things could turn out really different once it gets into the meat of the story. We’ll see!

Rating: 3/5