Solo Leveling, Vol. 1 by Chugong & DUBU
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4)
I watched the Solo Leveling anime before picking up the first volume, so I was curious to see how the two compared. They are actually fairly one-to-one, and I was a little surprised that I sometimes felt like the anime gave certain parts more detail. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing, especially since I already enjoyed the story, but I didn’t come away feeling like the manhwa added a ton that I hadn’t gotten from watching it. The art was definitely a highlight, though. I haven’t read a huge amount of manga or manhwa, but I really liked the full-color artwork here, and visually this stood out more to me than a lot of what I’ve read so far.
The concept is still what I like most about Solo Leveling. The hunters, dungeons, monsters, and game-like leveling system make it immediately appealing, especially as someone who already enjoys gaming and fantasy. I didn’t really have anything that bothered me about this first volume, and it was an easy story to enjoy. It just didn’t quite push itself into five-star territory for me, especially since so much of it felt familiar after watching the anime. Still, if you like the anime, gaming-inspired fantasy, or progression stories, this is a fun way to experience the story in another format.
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