Ore Dake Level Up na Ken / Solo Leveling

[MFauli]

Ten years ago, "the Gate" appeared and connected the real world with the realm of magic and monsters. To combat these vile beasts, ordinary people received superhuman powers and became known as "Hunters." Twenty-year-old Sung Jin-Woo is one such Hunter, but he is known as the "World's Weakest," owing to his pathetic power compared to even a measly E-Rank. Still, he hunts monsters tirelessly in low-rank Gates to pay for his mother's medical bills.


Episode 1:

First of all, I left out the second part of the synopsis above, because it spoils the 2nd episode ... that hasn't been released, LOL. Just searched whether this was another double-release, but no.

As for the first episode, it was much better than expected. While the beginning feels a bit rushed and we're supposed to accept a lot of ridiculous things as a given (I really want to know what conventional weapons are literally useless. If those monsters step through a gate into our world, the laws of physics should dictate that a heavy force should impact them, no matter what. There'd have to be an active magic spell protecting the monsters from our world's weaponry. Very weird choice), the general feeling was pleasantly down-to-earth and with a nice amount of realism - except for the idiot who uses his pregnant wife as a reason FOR going to fight deadly monsters, lol.

Made a thread because this seems to be the #1 hyped anime of the season and it's surely gonna be fun enough. I'm still skeptic of how good it's gonna remain, because from the synopsis, the main character will probably quickly turn into a powerful character. If we get another Kirito, that'd be super bad.

Anyway, this anime season is already leaps better than last.

[Ryllharu]

Hard skip for me. I read the majority of the manwha/webtoon and well...yeah.

It should be considered the flagship title in setting off a flurry of korean-style Xianxia/Cultivation stories. But this is certainly going to be the most overhyped series of the season.

It has a rabid cult following that refuses to give it a balanced take.

[Kraco]

The manhwa was quite good. Although if you have read a lot of similar series, I'd guess it wouldn't impress much.

This hasn't got anything to do with xianxia/cultivation. I don't know why Ryll would throw those words randomly around here. Korea has its own martial arts series (murim stories), but this isn't one of them, not matter how you look at it. This is more like a weird isekai story happening right on Earth.

[Ryllharu]

It's not a murim story since there is no parallel society of martial artists, they're all publicly known. It is definitely closer to xianxia since it focuses on being reborn and rewriting fate through effort.

It is a xianxia story viewed through a LitRPG filter.

And while I agree that it is good, it isn't mindblowing and it is absolutely overhyped to hell and back.

[MFauli]

My god, stop throwing around random Korean words or at least explain them ;>

@Kraco: It's not "weird isekai" imo, it's a better GATE.

[Kraco]

double post

I has absolutely nothing to do with xianxia. Xianxia is Chinese, in the first place. They are fantasy stories of swords, magic, and dragons, but usually lack any typical Western fantasy elements, instead going for modernised Chinese legends/fairy tales for inspiration, of course also martial arts, daoism, and such. The name itself refers to immortals, and the core idea of all xianxia is to basically rebuild (cultivate) the body and soul, step by step, into that of a deity. It usually involves travelling from world to world or even universe to universe. It's pure fantasy, though, unlike wuxia, which has more mundane martial arts typically enhanced by some lighter fantasy elements and sometimes even supposedly takes place in "real" historical China.

I'm now not even sure if you read all of Solo Leveling, but you ought to know it's more related to typical contemporary Western-influenced fantasy than xianxia or wuxia.

[Ryllharu]

My god, stop throwing around random Korean words or at least explain them ;>

China and Korea have fiction genre staples for martial arts that are dissimilar from their Japanese counterparts.


wuxia - Chinese martial arts hero series. You probably know this one. Just that kind of series in general.
xianxia - "immortal heroes", is wuxia where the heroes essentially become living deities or actual ones through years of effort or granted due to extraordinary achievements. It is your Taoist and Buddhist Chinese myths and folk stories. A subgenre within this where specific styles, techniques, means, effort of this training accomplishes becoming an ascendant being is often translated as "cultivation". As in cultivating skills, techniques, qi or some other energy, etc.
Murim - Is specifically Korean wuxia, but with the very consistent theme is that the world is divided into a normal world run by the regular government, and the "murim" world of martial artists run by their own laws, practices, and authorities. The regular government and the murim leaders have agreements with each other not to interefere with each other's "worlds," so that the two societies exist in parallel and the murim one is largely hidden within the regular one. The martial arts sects within the murim world fight each other over stupid shit.

[MFauli]

Ok, just to be safe: Pls no spoilers about where this story goes and such. Gotwoot has a manga-forum :>

Edit: Ah, Ryll just posted. So ... could Dragonball be called a story that started out as Wuxia and then turned into Xianxia?

[Ryllharu]

Ok, just to be safe: Pls no spoilers about where this story goes and such. Gotwoot has a manga-forum :>

Edit: Ah, Ryll just posted. So ... could Dragonball be called a story that started out as Wuxia and then turned into Xianxia?

I wouldn't go that far. Dragonball is still very Japanese at its core and Toriyama is a nutcase in the best way possible, so there's not really a direct parallel. Ranma 1/2 is a very clear wuxia series though, just written by a Japanese woman.

[MFauli]

I wouldn't go that far. Dragonball is still very Japanese at its core and Toriyama is a nutcase in the best way possible, so there's not really a direct parallel. Ranma 1/2 is a very clear wuxia series though, just written by a Japanese woman.

Ok, so Xianxia and Wuxia require Chinese story elements to be called Xianxia and Wuxia? Because Japanese genres are separate from any ethnic connotation, that's what irritates me a bit.

[Ryllharu]

Historically, at the time both were developed and launched, Japan was deeply influenced by Hong Kong cinema the same way the US was, just explosion of content from the territory that people became very enamored with. So no, I mean the whole plot in general of Ranma 1/2 is explicitly wuxia and written to be one. It's a Japanese author making a wuxia series because she wanted to tap into the craze, aimed at women and children. It has Chinese elements because she couldn't think of a better way to make the mysticism of series fit well.

Dragonball is not really the same thing. It is a comedic Journey to the West combined with Jackie Chan's Drunken Master that then just becomes its completely own thing. It isn't necessarily wuxia, though it started as one thematically, it's just Dragonball. It's shaped more heavily by Toriyama and his editor(s) adapting to the Japanese market like any shonen series does. Toriyama was forced to write it so they'd let him end Dr. Slump. Dragonball is Toriyama just completely making a wuxia-style setting up that then goes bonkers because he wrote Dr. Slump, so of course it does, but then shifts back to a pure fighting series because that is what the market wanted.

All three countries influence each other's comics industries in strange ways due to their history with each other. Obviously, Japan has the biggest influence, but from post WWII to the 1990s, Japanese media was banned in Korea. In that time, Korea was more directly influenced in content and art style by wuxia and other comics from China directly in contrast. Korea's industry exploded in the early 2000s thanks to their shift to the webtoon format. Chinese manhua was then deeply influenced the webtoon format (easier to read on phones, and you scroll through pages rather than flip) as well. Now Japan is shifting to color comics and web-only series. One big circle.

Solo Leveling is a web novel, that was adapted into a very popular webtoon.

[KrayZ33]

I think the show will be enjoyable up until a certain point.
That's how far (and a bit beyond before I realized it) I read and enjoyed the source material as well.

After that it really became quite boring and pretty garbage.

So... season 1 might actually be enjoyable to watch for me.


The ranking system of S,A,B,C,D,E class hunters should tell everyone what this show is about, as we've seen 500 shows like this before and those who do read manwha and isekai stories, probably have read another 5.000 of them. (you know, the ones with names that have like 60 words in them)
And they all suffer from the same errors and mundane story telling. All 5.000 of them.

All 5.000 of them start with them being quite fun, until the author just throws random shit and deus-ex-machina abilities, items and situations into the fray, because they have no flipping idea how to keep their story "entertaining" anymore. They literally have to invent stuff on the fly for stuff to even work out, or to make it not "more of the same we had in the last 100 chapters".

But at the same time, I enjoy almost all 5.000 of them before it gets to that point.. or sometimes even beyond until every remotely intelligent creature on the planets would start thinking: "Okay buddy, this is Goku level of nonsense you are just throwing at me now"

The very first episode, the statue room scene, most likely is what most people got into the series and I believe the anime did it just as well.
You were clearly able to see how everything else was like 10% effort (the explanations on how the gates work and what hunters do etc. - it was so freaking boring to listen to, lol) and the statue room got 90% of it even though it was like 10% of the episode.


The reason why I think the statue room is so good is because it feels like they are actually doing some dungeon crawling and the "Gamemaster" gave them something to figure out, as they are quite clearly not powerful enough (as seen in this episode already)

[MFauli]

Historically, at the time both were developed and launched, Japan was deeply influenced by Hong Kong cinema the same way the US was, just explosion of content from the territory that people became very enamored with. So no, I mean the whole plot in general of Ranma 1/2 is explicitly wuxia and written to be one. It's a Japanese author making a wuxia series because she wanted to tap into the craze, aimed at women and children. It has Chinese elements because she couldn't think of a better way to make the mysticism of series fit well.

Dragonball is not really the same thing. It is a comedic Journey to the West combined with Jackie Chan's Drunken Master that then just becomes its completely own thing. It isn't necessarily wuxia, though it started as one thematically, it's just Dragonball. It's shaped more heavily by Toriyama and his editor(s) adapting to the Japanese market like any shonen series does. Toriyama was forced to write it so they'd let him end Dr. Slump. Dragonball is Toriyama just completely making a wuxia-style setting up that then goes bonkers because he wrote Dr. Slump, so of course it does, but then shifts back to a pure fighting series because that is what the market wanted.

All three countries influence each other's comics industries in strange ways due to their history with each other. Obviously, Japan has the biggest influence, but from post WWII to the 1990s, Japanese media was banned in Korea. In that time, Korea was more directly influenced in content and art style by wuxia and other comics from China directly in contrast. Korea's industry exploded in the early 2000s thanks to their shift to the webtoon format. Chinese manhua was then deeply influenced the webtoon format (easier to read on phones, and you scroll through pages rather than flip) as well. Now Japan is shifting to color comics and web-only series. One big circle.

Solo Leveling is a web novel, that was adapted into a very popular webtoon.

I guess what I don't understand is why you'd create a label for a very specific kind of story. "A story where a character grows stronger, using chinese mythology, and martial arts, is wuxia." And a story where a character goes on a date with someone and proposes while wearing a diving usit is suixia. Made that one up, ofc, but that's why I have a hard time accepting these terms.

Scifi is scifi
Fantasy is fantasy
Shounen is adventure aimed at boys
Shoujo is aimed at girls
Seinen is for older audiences
and so on

Wuxia and Xianxia sound like terms for such specific story setups that you could create hundreds of "genres" that way. Feels unnecessary imo. But that's just my ignorant opinion and I wouldn't have talked about it if you hadn't completely trashed Solo Leveling, lol :D

[Ryllharu]

Xian - immortal beings. The word is the same word used for those mythical heroes and beings in Chinese folklore. "Demi-gods" is just as apt.

Xia - specifically implies a person who is brave, chivalrous, righteous and defiant. Hero/vigilantes.

It's a subgenre of wuxia. No different from isekai being a subgenre of fantasy.

[MFauli]

Xian - immortal beings. The word is the same word used for those mythical heroes and beings in Chinese folklore. "Demi-gods" is just as apt.

Xia - specifically implies a person who is brave, chivalrous, righteous and defiant. Hero/vigilantes.

It's a subgenre of wuxia. No different from isekai being a subgenre of fantasy.

Yeah, but Xianxia just feels like further specification. You could have an isekai-xianxia. Immortals and a brave hero, that's part of so many anime or stories in general, putting a label on it now ... I mean, sure. Imo it's just part of many stories.

[shinta|hikari]

The reason is because these specific sub-genres are really popular, so much so people generally seek out almost exactly the same type of stories. Having a name for them is convenient when doing searches and filtering results.

These sub-genres also use a ton of the same tropes, enough that it would make sense for them to be classified as one sub-type.

[neflight86]

...but how's the show? Is this going to be a mess like God of High School again?

[Kraco]

...but how's the show? Is this going to be a mess like God of High School again?

That's impossible to know. The first episode was decent enough, but it's just the first episode.

[KrayZ33]

What Kraco said.
Season 1 might be "slow enough" for it to be enjoyable.
First episode was okay, but it already shows signs of the source material being "not so good".

I think you'll like it enough for the first 3-5 episodes or so before you can make that judgement yourself.
After all, it's going to be the zero to hero kinda thing, I think you and most other people (me included) like these kinda things.
MC is a completely useless dude that can't do shit on his own right now and the show is called "solo leveling" - take a guess what's going to happen in terms of story.

It's always when that "hero status" is achieved, it starts to move into a really boring territory most of them.

[KrayZ33]

I actually watched episode 1 again because a guy told me how great he thought the first episode was..... (He gave it a 10/10 wtf)

I was surprised and started rewatching...and honestly, now after watching it twice I like it even less, lol.
The worldbuilding is horrible.

Guy in suit (no matter who that character is) drops information about how everything works, with images flying by. The lowest, easiest, and least interesting way to do worldbuilding.
People saying shit like "Oh no, our "RANKS" are too low" (oh okay, that kinda felt forced though..)
The captain mentioning "our guns don't work anyway..." (hmm okay I see)

Then after all that, the freaking association dude explains EVERYTHING for the dumb people, literally everything we've seen with actual images first, even if they weren't all that great.
It's like they went for the "show, don't tell" approach and then said "ah naw, we really have to actually say it out loud, or they'll miss it".

I honestly think a 5/10 for that first episode would be a fair judgement. The animation was real jank from time to time too (the scene in which MC hid behind a stone and the group was fighting against werewolves and goblins)

If they had started with the Gate mission, like the manwha did, I honestly believe it would've been a better episode. The attempted worldbuilding and explaining made everything worse in my book. Frontloading everything instead of letting us explore it is just a worse way of doing this imho.

[Kraco]

The director might have been worried about the number of episodes, or other such details, that would prevent from building the world properly. The sudden lecture was egregious, that's for sure. I'd say the director is incompetent and has no faith in the story to carry itself, but maybe the director knows the Japanese audience far better than I do.

[Ryllharu]

I hope we eventually get an anime adaptation of "The Fantasie of a Stepmother" or even "Trinity Wonder", so as much as I shit on this series, I still hope it does well. Same as the last two manwha's with moderate and crap adaptations.

[MFauli]

Episode 2:

That really should have been a double episode last week, meh.

Episode was alright, but the above drags it down, it feels like we're NOW past the opening act.

The other adventurers are dumb. They don't know anything, so why move? Also, the hero was dumb, too, because he CLEARLY knew the inscription was important, yet kept stalling to think about the text and talk it out with the others.

One criticism I have and hope is resolved soon is that we know nothing about the world. There's so much I want to know, starting with "why does he need to risk his life so his sister can go to school and his mom isn't left dying?" Japan surely has a healthcare system that doesn't poor people let die, and school should be free, so unless his sister is going to some prestigeous school she doesn't need to go to, there shouldn't be such dire need for money. Also, portals to another world appear, okay, so what about the other world? Are there ONLY monsters? Doubtful, when there's human statues and weapons and such. So what about foreign relations with the people living over there?

Hey, this is still fun, but I can see how this is a light novel in origin. There's parts that just feel very shallow.

Oh, and why tf must the level up-menu be a menu? :/ NOTHING so far suggested any sort of virtual game mechanism. God, I hate how uncreative isekai have become ...

[Kraco]

You wanted all of that revealed in the first episodes, huh? We already got one exposition lecture in the first ep.

This takes place in Korea, not Japan. I seem to recall school isn't free of charge in Japan, not sure of Korea. The same for medical treatment.

Yeah, this did make the adventurers look prettu dumb. On the other hand, this was clearly a dungeon different from anything they had seen before, so being veteran adventurers would only work against them, since they couldn't help but try to draw inspiration from their previous experiences when solving problems, but it was utterly useless here, with the enemies being basically unkillable and the way out being a puzzle. They were all in panic, to boot.

The MC would have been painfully consciouss of the fact he's the odd man out (the weakest hunter in the world), despite this series refreshingly not making all the other adventurers be scumbags about it. I guess that was a detail that comes from this being manhwa, not manga, as in Japan he would have been the laughing stock, instead of receiving quite cordial and sympathetic treatment. Nevertheless, he would know he's still only tolerated as an adventurer, fighting for scraps and relying on the healers goodwill to remain alive at all. Such a position wouldn't make him easily deal out advice/suggestions vocally.

[Ryllharu]

One criticism I have and hope is resolved soon is that we know nothing about the world. There's so much I want to know, starting with "why does he need to risk his life so his sister can go to school and his mom isn't left dying?" Japan surely has a healthcare system that doesn't poor people let die, and school should be free, so unless his sister is going to some prestigeous school she doesn't need to go to, there shouldn't be such dire need for money. Also, portals to another world appear, okay, so what about the other world? Are there ONLY monsters? Doubtful, when there's human statues and weapons and such. So what about foreign relations with the people living over there?

This takes place in Korea, not Japan. I seem to recall school isn't free of charge in Japan, not sure of Korea. The same for medical treatment.

It's cram schools in Korea that cost tremendous amounts of money, and they are basically mandatory if a student has any intention of higher education. The high schooling coursework and leading up to the national exam (CSAT) is notoriously brutal for students. The private schools are expensive on top of that, but that's typically for gifted students.
Quoting wikipedia, "The average South Korean family spends 20% percent of its income on after-hours cram schools, more spending per capita on private tutoring than any other country."

Healthcare is absurdly accessible and affordable. His mom is really sick though.

[KrayZ33]

This episode was a lot better.

Although I really hate it when they kill an MC 50 times over but he doesn't die.
I'm not feeling "on edge" when shows/movies do this, it's just unrealistic and immersionbreaking to me because the statues didn't f-around before.

Well whatever.
Episode 1 as a 1hour one would have been better and once again, the association dude talking about how the world works is so unnecessary. The story itself does a well enough job explaining how this all works.

[Buffalobiian]

Alright, so I watched this because of the hype.

And fuck those two episodes were a slog. The entire time I'm thinking "Hurry the fuck up with this plot already", and "yeah, these side characters are dumb, get a move on". The puzzle was slightly interesting. To be honest I had no idea what the "praise" bit was going to be.


Although I really hate it when they kill an MC 50 times over but he doesn't die

I disliked that as well. For how efficiently they showed the statues killing everyone, the MC sure dodged a fuckload of attacks - from the shield dude initially to everyone else laying into him while the timer ticked forever.

As for the whole classification thing, I don't usually feel too pedantic about it. Wuxia and Xianxia both end up developing the MC to be stronger through cultivation, though the latter's usually more explicit and spiritual in nature. The former's just through finding masters and ancient combat texts - and isn't usually the MC's main goal initially.

Murin (武林) and Jianghu (江湖) being essentially martial artist politics/society that isn't usually interferred by the state isn't Korean-specific.

As for things like RPG vs these stories, I feel like it's really just application/themes. Before computer games you had all the Wuxia stories where people who chance across a master who needed some help and rewarded them with learning new moves and martial arts styles. They then go on to meet more people, find powerful swords, some evil dude decides to fight them in a month so the MC holes up in a cave somewhere to increase his life essence and power level before the fight.

With computer games, now you see a quest giver and get rewards/skill trees, find items and you farm to increase your level / mana. The power scaling is just more explicit with levels/numbers instead of saying "I am now strong enough to defeat the lead student of the HwaShan Sect" or something more specific to the lore.

[Ryllharu]

@Buff

The issue with LitRPG as a genre is that it allows sub-standard/unpracticed authors to cut corners on actual development and develop good writing techniques. Not all LitRPG authors are trash, but it allows bad ones through far more than most genres.

Instead of detailing their struggles, epiphanies, training, or how challenging something is or how much stronger they are than their opponent through detailed descriptions...Number go up.

Even basic stuff like how wounded they get or pain they're experiencing or how threatened the feel. Instead they write, "I got hit. It hurt. My HP went critically low!"

[Buffalobiian]

That's quite true.

[David75]

That dungeon was a little bit to human in many ways. I wonder what is truly behind those.
The puzzle feels like some sphinx enigma, but also very similar to one of the Indianna Jones movies if anyone has seen those.

[Kraco]

Episode 3

- - - - - -


We finally got into the bread and butter of this show, after the intro. Now begins Jinwoo's journey of leveling up.

The goblin fight was pretty good. The vast majority of cheap fantasy/isekai these days would have had the goblins stand pretty much still (in lack of animation budget and skilled animators), yet still pretend the MC is in danger, but here the goblins were fast and vicious.

[MFauli]

First episode I didn't like.

I have 2 major gripes with this one:

First, we suddenly virtual game world. Yes, this was started at the end of last episode, but here they went full-in. This is so dumb. So far it was like a fantasy world with magic, connecting gateways between worlds. Now we introduce the boring, thousand-times done game world-gimmick. BORING.

And then he went into a dungeon by himself. There was ZERO reason for him to go into that dungeon at this point in time. He could have just left the key in his menu. Could have kept training himself. Could have asked others to join him. But nah, just go straight intothe dungeon at his still low level. So dumb.

Oh, actually 1 more complaints: The pentalty for not doing the exercises was way too harsh. How did he even survive for 4 fucking hours? Those centipede monsters should have gotten to him instantly. The way we saw him doge them via cameraman was Bugs Bunny-level of cartoonish.

[Buffalobiian]

4hrs was indeed ridiculous. If hunters were stronger than regular people then that'd be one thing, but they commented that he's essentially a civilian. All of this previous fights suggest the same as well - which makes 4hrs of running beyond what he's actually capable of.

As for going into the dungeon himself - I suppose he had the impression that you could always leave. If you assumed that, then dungeons would be considered safe. That said, he did just encounter a boss room that did not allow anyone to leave, so he indeed should have been more careful.

Overall he just seems to get overconfident, and his currently levelling up has done nothing to address that. He is eager to earn money to help his mum, so at least that's noble.

The biggest standout of this show is actually the art style where people are rather lanky, which gives it a more oldschool vibe. The contents of the show isn't exceptional though. It's pretty in line with all the other "MC has a special RPG skill" shows.

[Kraco]

First, we suddenly virtual game world. Yes, this was started at the end of last episode, but here they went full-in. This is so dumb. So far it was like a fantasy world with magic, connecting gateways between worlds. Now we introduce the boring, thousand-times done game world-gimmick. BORING.

No, it started when you read the series name for the first time. Level ups are something that happen in game worlds. I also prefer non-game interface worlds in isekai, but game interfaces are super popular both in Japan and Korea, so what can you do?


And then he went into a dungeon by himself. There was ZERO reason for him to go into that dungeon at this point in time. He could have just left the key in his menu. Could have kept training himself. Could have asked others to join him. But nah, just go straight intothe dungeon at his still low level. So dumb.

He ignored the first task the system gave him, and as a consequence was running for hours for his very life. Don't say he should keep ignoring stuff again. If the system gave him a private dungeon key, it's obviously for a reason, just like that physical training was. What others would he bring with him? He has got no buddies, as he's basically only baggage who's tolerated out of pity and general human decency, but that's it. It's entirely possible others wouldn't have even seen the entrance, nor be able to enter it, just like they didn't see the game interface.

So, all in all, his choices are to trust the system, that he can solve the current tasks with his own, still pitiful, strength or... die trying. In the end, if it looks like a game, it's not unreasonable to believe it's designed like a game. It's not like when you start a new game, it immediately throws you against the last boss, making it impossible for you to ever play further.

[David75]

At his civilian strength/abilities level even 4 minutes of running for his life, in sand, in that predator's ecosystem/turf, would be far too long.
It's essentially the same as surviving against hungry white sharks hunting you at sea.
We knew from the start the show wouldn't be realistic and/or true to its own rules.
Now it's clear you can trash those ideas and hope something gets your interest.

[Ryllharu]

The biggest standout of this show is actually the art style where people are rather lanky, which gives it a more oldschool vibe.
That art style is pretty standard for most Korean manwha. The high-profile series that we've gotten previously (God of High School and Tower of God) are actually some of the rare exceptions.

This and Gekai Elise this season is closer to the norm.

[MFauli]

@Kraco:
It's fairly usual in rpg-games to get access to content you're supposed to play later on. There was no pressing need to use the key, it was dumb. And he could have ask his healer friend. "But she has a trauma", OK, SO DOES HE, more reason why he shouldn't have used the key. He's an idiot.

Also agreed with Buff, even 4 minutes would have been too much. I actually read it as "4 minutes" at first, then realized in the next scene that it was HOURS. You know, I'm fat so I can't talk from experience, but can regular people even run 4 hours nonstop? I doubt it.


At his civilian strength/abilities level even 4 minutes of running for his life, in sand, in that predator's ecosystem/turf, would be far too long.
It's essentially the same as surviving against hungry white sharks hunting you at sea.
We knew from the start the show wouldn't be realistic and/or true to its own rules.
Now it's clear you can trash those ideas and hope something gets your interest.

Sharks would actually kill you. Now building-size, fast monster centipedes? THOSE are easy to outrun /s.

[Kraco]

@Kraco:
It's fairly usual in rpg-games to get access to content you're supposed to play later on. There was no pressing need to use the key, it was dumb. And he could have ask his healer friend. "But she has a trauma", OK, SO DOES HE, more reason why he shouldn't have used the key. He's an idiot.

You are missing my point. It's safer for him to assume there is a pressing need than not. Like has been said already, the whole four hours in the centipede monster world was already over the top (a pity it was made so unrealistic). By now he should be realising the tasks will keep coming, and it's extremely dangerous to fail them, so he needs to get strong fast if he intends to survive. Since it's a mixed game reality, it's reasonable to assume the key will open a private dungeon that he should be able to survive, but it will provide him with valuable experience. Experience he will probably absolutely need since there's no stopping or avoiding the tasks.

[MFauli]

Did the key tell him there'd be a penalty if he didn't use it asap?

[Kraco]

I don't think there was such, but missing an opportunity to get stronger is a penalty in itself. The centipede punishment world ought to have been enough to tell him the game system is not just a joke. But even outside of the game system, his wish is still to get stronger. He has had enough of being the world's weakest hunter.

[Buffalobiian]

My gamer mind tells me that if you receive an item in early game, you should attempt to use it first because holding out for a Legendary Lvl1 Sword at endgame is meaningless.

But this guy's a noob so I can't say for sure that this was his throught process. I think he just wanted to do a dungeon because that's what he does to earn money. Given that other people tend to take his rewards since they beat more monsters, and the fact that he thought he could yeet the hell out if shit hits the fans, I can see why he went in.

[MFauli]

My gamer mind tells me that if you receive an item in early game, you should attempt to use it first because holding out for a Legendary Lvl1 Sword at endgame is meaningless.

But this guy's a noob so I can't say for sure that this was his throught process. I think he just wanted to do a dungeon because that's what he does to earn money. Given that other people tend to take his rewards since they beat more monsters, and the fact that he thought he could yeet the hell out if shit hits the fans, I can see why he went in.

Funny, my gamer mind said: You're a bloody beginner, here you got a dungeon-teleport, better wait until later, because it might be fully of high level monsters". RPGs often give you items with a level-requirement you cannot use until hours later.

I guess the key being non-descriptive is what makes the choice ambigious. Still, him being the weakest of the weak should have made him more wary.

[Kraco]

You might say that wariness was his first stance. He had just woken up from... death, in a hospital bed when he got the first task. It was a good amount of exercise, and he thought that since he's still a patient under medical supervision, he can't possibly start the One Punch Man workout. So, he ignored it. The next thing he knew he was fleeing from giant monsters. Since he doesn't exactly know what those obligatory tasks will be in the future, he should now be feeling like he can't ignore any chances the game system is offering him to get stronger. The private dungeon key might seem like voluntary, but for all he knows, ignoring it for the time being might make a near future compulsory task difficult to clear.

[DarthEnderX]

Started watching this. Soon as the video game UI popped up I mostly checked out.


game interfaces are super popular both in Japan and Korea, so what can you do?Watch a better show?

I'm liking Delicious in Dungeon and Unwanted Undead Adventurer(which is REMARKABLY similar in concept to this: Guy finds secret area in low level dungeon where he gets murdered by a superboss, and unlocks the ability to level up in ways other adventurers can't) better than this.


He ignored the first task the system gave him, and as a consequence was running for hours for his very life. Don't say he should keep ignoring stuff again.He also "confirmed" the quest after looking at it. It's not clear if he can simply choose to not accept the quest.


My gamer mind tells me that if you receive an item in early game, you should attempt to use it first because holding out for a Legendary Lvl1 Sword at endgame is meaningless.A sword is a sword. It's not a key that sends you to a single-player death trap, and doesn't hide the fact that it sends you to a single-player death trap.

[Kraco]

A sword is a sword. It's not a key that sends you to a single-player death trap, and doesn't hide the fact that it sends you to a single-player death trap.

Why would it send him to a death trap? Seems pointless someone would create that system only to randomly throw the "player" into a death trap. Based on the obligatory daily physical training alone, the system is trying to make him stronger. Thus the private dungeon should also serve the same purpose, even if it had other, unknown purposes as well.

[DarthEnderX]

Why would it send him to a death trap?I don't mean a literal death trap.

Death gauntlet I guess would be more accurate.


There are countless examples in video games of "You have unlocked this side area". And if you go to that side area when you unlock it, you will die.

And that's fine for video games, but if he just decided to "try out" the side area on a whim and then discovers it's too difficult, he's just dead.

[Kraco]

I don't mean a literal death trap.

Death gauntlet I guess would be more accurate.


There are countless examples in video games of "You have unlocked this side area". And if you go to that side area when you unlock it, you will die.

And that's fine for video games, but if he just decided to "try out" the side area on a whim and then discovers it's too difficult, he's just dead.

Indeed, if it all was just a game. My argument is that he was specifically selected and is now being trained. The game UI screens automatically mean there's something/someone out there messing with him specifically. It's not like nature would give birth to a game-like interface. So, yes, while he could, possibly, still easily die, I can't think there would be a literal death trap with an unavoidable death waiting for him. The someone who selected him would lose the "player" in that case. It should be a situation where, if he gives it his all and uses his brain, he should be able to overcome it. Like happens in 99% of games, though naturally games being only games, you can always keep starting anew from the beginning, at the very least, if there are no checkpoints or manual saves. That being said, Jinwoo did seemingly die already once, before he became a "player".

[MFauli]

Kraco, the only reason he survived the 4 hour punishment is because he's got ENORMOUS plot shield already. Not sure the system *wants* him to get stronger. If he can keep up, good, if not, also good.

[Kraco]

Kraco, the only reason he survived the 4 hour punishment is because he's got ENORMOUS plot shield already. Not sure the system *wants* him to get stronger. If he can keep up, good, if not, also good.

If he's the only one, like the series name suggests, then quite special attention is being paid to him. Naturally one would think that if he fails and dies, then another person would be selected. But it would still be quite pointless for the system to purposefully attract him to a death trap with no escape. The giant centipede world was clearly an exaggeration. Maybe it was meant to be humorous, as it was a punishment. Who knows.

[DarthEnderX]

Naturally one would think that if he fails and dies, then another person would be selected.Why would you assume that? The portals have been around for years, and he's seemingly the first one to become a "Player". Why would they think another one would just get picked? It could be an event that takes years to happen. Or might never happen again.

No part of this system gives the impression that it's built with fair game design in mind. Just because it has the trappings of a video game, doesn't mean one should assume it's built like a video game. This could be designed by some malevolent extradimensional AI that's doing this for it's own amusement.

[Kraco]

Why would you assume that? The portals have been around for years, and he's seemingly the first one to become a "Player". Why would they think another one would just get picked? It could be an event that takes years to happen. Or might never happen again.

No part of this system gives the impression that it's built with fair game design in mind. Just because it has the trappings of a video game, doesn't mean one should assume it's built like a video game. This could be designed by some malevolent extradimensional AI that's doing this for it's own amusement.

Like you also said, it's designed. The dungeons themselves, plus giving a fixed amount of powers to a few, random humans is something far more natural. You could even say in a fantasy world it would be perfectly natural. However, the game UI is 100% artificially created. Perhaps Jinwoo is the first simply because it took this long to create the game-like system? However, with the system now created, in my eyes it makes sense that if Jinwoo fails, another human would be turned into a player, lest developing the system would be a waste. Normally I'd say there should be more players at the same time, but the series name is solo leveling, so that's it.

Although I know what you are saying and it's reasonable, but in this case I have to point out that an AI wouldn't be doing anything for its own amusement. Some alien creature could indeed be doing this for its own amusement. But AI doesn't possess emotions. In fact there's another manwha, where Earth is turned into a total disaster zone with most of humanity wiped out and the remaining ones fighting for their lives against imported monsters. It's done for some kind of galactic entertainment show, which picks planets with intelligent life and turns them into bloodbath reality TV shows for profit. Or something along those lines. It has been a long while since I read it.

[DarthEnderX]

Like you also said, it's designed.But you're assuming it's designed like a game, which is meant to be beaten.

But that's a weird life-or-death assumption to make when you know nothing about who or what the designer is or what it's trying to accomplish.

The dungeons could be made by a Cthulhu to facilitate sacrifices and the leveling could be a way to enhance your flavor.


but in this case I have to point out that an AI wouldn't be doing anything for its own amusement. Some alien creature could indeed be doing this for its own amusement. But AI doesn't possess emotions.Somebody isn't familiar with I Have No Mouth, And I Must Scream (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Have_No_Mouth,_and_I_Must_Scream).

Or any other sci-fi about AI for that matter.

[shinta|hikari]

Do we have a thread for Delicious in Dungeon (dumbest localized title ever - should be Dungeon Meals) already?

[DarthEnderX]

04

---

Zero to OP in one episode. Any sense of progression, instantly killed.


Do we have a thread for Delicious in Dungeon (dumbest localized title ever - should be Dungeon Meals) already?Didn't see one. Netflix shows get overlooked here sometimes. Maybe because they aren't on SubsPlease.

[Ryllharu]

Do we have a thread for Delicious in Dungeon (dumbest localized title ever - should be Dungeon Meals) already?

We still don't have one for Maomao either.

Dungeon Meshi is tough for me to talk about because I recently reread the whole finished manga and I'd probably spoil something on accident.

[MFauli]

04

---

Zero to OP in one episode. Any sense of progression, instantly killed.

Unfortunately, have to agree.

WTF were they thinking?! He kills a couple wolves, rises 15 levels from that alone, and then kills a boss by simply hugging it too hard. LOL. And before that he kept saying how strong and fast the boss is and that its scales are impenetranable - didn't keep Jinwoo from outrunning, dodging and surviving EVERY attack. I laughed out loud when the snake pressed him against a wall and instead of crushing him, the wall broke and he was sent flying further backwards. LOL. I can already hear someone defend this with "well, he focused strength points, so ...". Yeah, no.

And the whole time, especially at the end, though, he had this really nasty smug attitude. Like, he's totally someone who goes from victim to bully the instant the opportunity arises. Not a hero I can like.

And why was that tank at the end so shocked? Yeah, it was a "high rank" helping you, so what of it? Why the shock?

This is still a somewhat entertaining anime, but this episode pulled it down to the level of something like Tate no Yuusha. sigh

[DarthEnderX]

And before that he kept saying how strong and fast the boss is and that its scales are impenetranable - didn't keep Jinwoo from outrunning, dodging and surviving EVERY attack. Remember when he was doing all those cartwheels and backflips on that first wolf, even though he hadn't put a single point into agility yet?


And why was that tank at the end so shocked? Yeah, it was a "high rank" helping you, so what of it? Why the shock?Maybe just cause it's weird a passing high rank would intervene from the sidelines, instead of actually being in the battle.

I assume Jinwoo is trying to hide his power for the time being, but to that guy, there's no logical reason anyone would do that.

[David75]

I fully agree, from zero to hero a bit too fast. I guess the OPM training still works in anime...
So his level is already at least a C with a B or A stength? That was fast.
I also had a problem with the guy being a natural olympic level gymnast, stronger than a concrete beam, able to hug that snake to death and ripping it barehanded when a sword could not pierce it.
Like last episode, any kind of rule or coherence has to be forgotten.
Makes any kind of tension useless

[shinta|hikari]

We still don't have one for Maomao either.

Dungeon Meshi is tough for me to talk about because I recently reread the whole finished manga and I'd probably spoil something on accident.

Shame cause they are the heavy hitters last and this season.

Having said that, I am now off to not create threads for them but instead watch Reacher S2 for some dumbass violence.

[Kraco]

Why are you dudes talking about the lack of threads for other series here? If that's your way of looking down on this series, by talking about irrelevant things, stop it.

In any case, it seems like the hype got to you. This isn't some deep story of exquisite storytelling. While it is a from zero to hero story, yes, I judged the larger theme is to build scenes of badassness, quite often by relying on the visuals. Since Jinwoo is only now climbing out of wretchedness, it's not that obvious yet. If you try to study the plot too much, and all that, you will just be disappointed. The only way to try to enjoy this properly is to treat it like some 80's action movie.

[shinta|hikari]

I haven't seen the latest episode, but I'm liking this series so far. Dungeon Meshi was mentioned, so I just kinda chimed in, and then Maomao got brought up, and I cannot not say anything about Maomao. Sorry for the off topic posts.

[DarthEnderX]

Why are you dudes talking about the lack of threads for other series here? If that's your way of looking down on this series, by talking about irrelevant things, stop it.Okay. I'll go back to looking down on it directly.

This is pretty dumb so far. And not in a cool way. In a lame Sword Art way.

[shinta|hikari]

I just finished watching the wolf episode. I'm looking forward to him fucking shit up while being confused as to how. Always a nice trope.

[Buffalobiian]

I'm okay with him ripping the snake apart with his hands, because it kind of actually plays with the strength thing. The snake also has scales and his sword is supposed to be damaged, so it being useless compared to fists makes videogame sense to me

But then it's tough to say that throwing the broken sword was good enough to shatter some defense. So no, it doesn't make THAT much sense at all.

Anyway, looks like they're done with giving us a reason to feel sorry for MC now and it's about everyone gizzing about how powerful this guy has become.

[KrayZ33]

Ep4 was great imho.
Although the "everything just goes my way"-storytelling is visibly starting now. I'm just not much of a fan of that in these kind of stories.

And I'm saying that, fully realising that the dungeon/"game" itself is designed that way.
(Just like how in games you get enemies/quests matching your level and such)

[Kraco]

Although the "everything just goes my way"-storytelling is visibly starting now. I'm just not much of a fan of that in these kind of stories.

I have polluted my brain with so many isekai series that my tolerance has gone remarkably up, even though I'm always massively positively surprised when a series offers struggle for the MC. The writing in this series isn't really good enough to make the MC struggle too long, while still trying to make him look badass.

[Kraco]

Episode 5


- - - -



Yeah, we definitely entered the phase where the world is supposed to see the MC as a badass. The ep even started with salivating nurses. It's also quite traditional storytelling that he bumped into corrupt hunters so soon. There's naturally a difference between beating nameless monsters and beating evil humans, after all. For what it's worth, I deem the balance in his mental change quite reasonable. He wasn't aware of looking suddenly so attractive in women's eyes, that's quite removed from beating monsters in dungeons, after all, but he was pretty relaxed walking into this dungeon, as he already conquered one dungeon all alone. Furthermore, it's a normal dungeon, so he can simply flee any time he wants.

[David75]

I don't know if rich boy survives this. But being well versed in laws might be a help? First he can probably keep a secret, second our MC doesn't put much points in INT so he needs someone reliable. Someone to manage the real world too, and giving him pointers as to how to officially enter higher ranked dungeons

[MFauli]

This is dumb. MC didn't just get stronger - he's an entirely different person! His personality, even his voice is different. This goes beyond "boring", it's super-boring just switching out the hero like that.

I wonder if there's at least some negative twist later on, because it cannot be good to have your personality be changed by some outsides source like that. My hope would be that at some point he has a moment of realization and says "wait, that's not me anymore!". Although even if that happened, it'd probably lead to some shitty "when in danger, I switch to my badass persona, irl I keep my original one" situation :/

Oh, and PLS, not another gay hero. He should have banged the nurse, and there was a hint of his sister admiring his new body, too, might have a chance at some quality Duo Leveling ;>

[DarthEnderX]

They've established that raising his "game" stats also changes him in the real world. So logically, that would apply to ALL of his stats.

He already has a 27 Int, when he started at a 10. So he's almost three times as intelligent as he used to be. Same with his Perception. That would alter your entire outlook on the world, which could cause your personality to change.


I DID laugh though when he was like "Int? That's probably for magic. I don't need that." I'm like, "Those are your real stats dude! More Int makes you smarter!" He's lucky that leveling automatically puts a point in each stat, which is keeping him from being a completely min-maxed meathead.


I do like that he's being cautious with his status as a leveler and keeping it secret till he can learn more about his situation. You don't want to end up exploited, or as a lab rat being studied.

[Kraco]

They've established that raising his "game" stats also changes him in the real world. So logically, that would apply to ALL of his stats.

He already has a 27 Int, when he started at a 10. So he's almost three times as intelligent as he used to be. Same with his Perception. That would alter your entire outlook on the world, which could cause your personality to change.

I doubt Int would work like that under any circumstances. Certainly I hope it would make him a bit smarter, perhaps quicker in understanding things, but if he was actually three times more intelligent than he was, he would be beyond Einstein already. In such absolute numbers, I doubt he's even 27% more intelligent than he was originally. So, its major effect might truly be mana alone.

At the end of the day, there might not be any authors around who could write a supernaturally intelligent characters. Great many have tried, but they are miserable attempts, pretty much without exemptions. Usually the author's skills stop at making the so called genius character just conveniently sort out all problems, like solve crimes without even needing to study the evidence or anything, naturally without the author making it too detailed. It's understandable as it's easy to imagine how an overly strong character (Hulk) might interact with the environment, but you'd actually need to be a genius yourself to imagine how a genius would view the world and act on it.

[DarthEnderX]

but if he was actually three times more intelligent than he was, he would be beyond Einstein already.I dunno. He was kind of a dipshit. He'd rather work a job of constantly almost dying to barely scape together a living than just get a normal job.

[Kraco]

I dunno. He was kind of a dipshit. He'd rather work a job of constantly almost dying to barely scape together a living than just get a normal job.

Wasn't he making pretty decent money, despite how gruesome his performance used to look like? The apartment looks good, the sister keeps living comfortably, with plans to send her to a good university, and the mother is in a coma but taken care of in a hospital. He could also afford to recuperate between the missions. What would be the normal job, anyway? I don't think he had the time to get a good education before he needed to become the family's moneymaker. He's not likely that much older than the high school student sister.

Anyway, this is just the beginning for him, so imagine how high those numbers will be after a while. If there was a mistake, maybe it was the author naming that attribute Int.

[DarthEnderX]

Wasn't he making pretty decent money, despite how gruesome his performance used to look like? The apartment looks good, the sister keeps living comfortably, with plans to send her to a good university, and the mother is in a coma but taken care of in a hospital.Oh right. He's paying expensive hospital bills.


If there was a mistake, maybe it was the author naming that attribute Int.Not really his fault that that's the naming convention of RPGs. 'Int = magic'.

JRPGs just don't normally have conversation trees that are effected by stats, so there's no representation for 'Int = your character is smarter'.

[MFauli]

Yeah, intelligence in jrpgs means magic.

[Kraco]

Episode 6


- - - - -


Dynamic quest creation system. It was pretty nice for him that it did turn into a quest because that's why he got the rewards. That being said, he isn't a psycho, so the author had to put some hesitation in it for him before he starts killing humans. I suppose that's because he wasn't bullied all his career but many people actually showed him sympathy, knowing how difficult being a hunter must be for the weakest hunter in the world. That being said, his death in the stone god's room wasn't especially pretty and did involve some people saving themselves, the rest be damned, so it's not like he would be utterly devoid of regret and vengeance.

As expected, that murder-robber group wasn't so powerful. Otherwise, they wouldn't have been running such a business where they picked even weaker people to kill and rob. Since even Jinwoo could make enough money to support himself, the sister, and the mother in the hospital, despite being the weakest hunter, there's no way that C rank dude plus D rank goons couldn't have made plenty of money honestly. They just didn't have what it takes mentally, instead going for the bandit route.

[MFauli]

I really hate how ENTIRELY unwarranted Jinwoo's "cool shtick" is. He got lucky to get this special ability of leveling up, show some humility.

What I loved about this episode, though: No chickening out of fighting those assholes! God, I was so waiting for any hint of "no, I cannot kill humans!" and then either he doesn't do it (i expected the spider boss to have some surprise life left in it and suddenly kill them from behind) or he was relieved of the moral choice. Well, the program telling him "if you dont, you die" was a bit like that, but still. This is what I always talk about when I speak of CONSEQUENCES. If only it were a more frequently occurring thing.

The people in this world are shit, though. The girl at the end, wtf. "Oh, it must have been you who beat the dungeon, not that shitty guy WHO STANDING RIGHT NEXT TO US." :( If I were Jinwoo I'd hurry the fuck to make enough money for life and then settle on some far away island with my hot sister.

[DarthEnderX]

What I loved about this episode, though: No chickening out of fighting those assholes! God, I was so waiting for any hint of "no, I cannot kill humans!" and then either he doesn't do it (i expected the spider boss to have some surprise life left in it and suddenly kill them from behind) or he was relieved of the moral choice.I was worried about that at first too, but then I remembered this series has a reputation for being edgelordy.


And, in a way, he kinda WAS relieved of the moral choice by the quest. The quest said if he didn't defeat them, his heart would stop. And it didn't make it clear whether that's because they would kill him if he didn't, or if the system would kill him as a penalty. Which turns it into a question of survival instead of morality.

Although, the quest did say "defeat" not "kill". So I'm curious if he could have just knocked them out and still completed the quest.

[Buffalobiian]

I would have liked it much more if he chose to kill them, rather than have this turn into a survival quest.

I'm not sure if this episode implies it, but MC went for the face palm (blunt trauma) vs the last foe who reinforced himself - so fucking shit up with his fists is actually stronger for him if he can't cut with his equipment.

[MFauli]

I was worried about that at first too, but then I remembered this series has a reputation for being edgelordy.


And, in a way, he kinda WAS relieved of the moral choice by the quest. The quest said if he didn't defeat them, his heart would stop. And it didn't make it clear whether that's because they would kill him if he didn't, or if the system would kill him as a penalty. Which turns it into a question of survival instead of morality.

Although, the quest did say "defeat" not "kill". So I'm curious if he could have just knocked them out and still completed the quest.

As I said, yeah, but let's be fair: If this was SAO or some shit, the hero would have refused to kill them and then by some magical occurrence, he wouldn't be punished by death. So in that regard, it was a positive surprise here.

[Buffalobiian]

E07

------------









I found it hard to get into this episode.

For one, I've come to expect some bullshit to save the MC from bad consequences. It's just a question of what.

The disparity between the physical state of his body and his HP also doesn't help.

Killing the monster by constantly critting their eye with a dagger is a very video-game mechanic, but ends up being funny when they're killed that way and their entire blood volume pisses out of their one eye.

-20% physical damage is cool, but from the way that fight was going it didn't look like it should matter. MC had 100-200 HP while impaled in the monster's mouth, but had the luxury of stabbing it to death while he didn't die.

The non-fighting aspects of the episode was more enjoyable. lol @ the rich kid trying to blackmail the MC.

Infamous fellow just going "My brother's murdered. Where are the survivors, I'm going to kill them" felt weird and forced. It'd make more sense if he was either
-the cerebral, thinking type that suspects foul play and looks into the MC, or
-just gets emotional and wants to kill them regardless of reason/logic. In which case it's weird how he's putting business first.

[David75]

Cerberus loses one of its 3 heads and it dies?
No self healing mechanism?
Sure it's the very first stage of that dungeon, but still the many heads should've played a greater role.

[MFauli]

I still don't understand why he won, lol. The Cerberus had him dominated BEFORE it doubled its power. When it returned to regular power, the anime treated it as a "now I can win!", except there was no reason to.

Really thought he'd retreat and ask other S-ranks to help him, that that would have been how he learns about the blond girl we saw in an earlier episode. But nah, he just bullshits his way to victory. Eh.

On a side note, happy to see the incest grow firmer, lol, now he's going on a nice jog with his sister. <3

[DarthEnderX]

Cerberus loses one of its 3 heads and it dies?He killed all 3 of the heads. You see the first 2 go limp as he kills each of them.

[David75]

Oh, I was probably tired and didn't even follow that... Thank you.

Still I find it strange how he won as he was overpowered all the time and even had multiple insta death wounds.
So the guess is that if the HP doesn't do to 0 he can still fight.
I guess the next step is an overboost berserk mode when he goes below 10 or near 0. And probably a God mode below 0 since he can already survive with negative stats.

[Buffalobiian]

His survival hinged around the fact that he got the -20% physical damage reduction buff without the -35% strength debuff, but 20% just sounds too low to make a difference given how dominated he was. On the other hand, this sounds like a permanent potion and any stronger damage mitigation going forward would sound ridiculous.

[Kraco]

It might have been more satisfying if he needed to withdraw, get a bit stronger, and then come back.


Really thought he'd retreat and ask other S-ranks to help him, that that would have been how he learns about the blond girl we saw in an earlier episode. But nah, he just bullshits his way to victory. Eh.

He's still officially E-rank. I doubt any S-rank would even bother to meet him, let alone agree to go on raids with him. Googling his name for a quick background check would reveal he's the "world's weakest hunter". If we went for reevaluation, things might be different since he could already be even A-rank, or at least B-rank. But he clearly doesn't want to do that yet. His situation is pretty precarious as possibly the only hunter able to climb ranks nonstop. Better avoid attention for the time being.

[DarthEnderX]

but 20% just sounds too low to make a difference given how dominated he was.This. If he's losing a third of his life per hit, 20% isn't going to save him.

[MFauli]

It might have been more satisfying if he needed to withdraw, get a bit stronger, and then come back.



He's still officially E-rank. I doubt any S-rank would even bother to meet him, let alone agree to go on raids with him. Googling his name for a quick background check would reveal he's the "world's weakest hunter". If we went for reevaluation, things might be different since he could already be even A-rank, or at least B-rank. But he clearly doesn't want to do that yet. His situation is pretty precarious as possibly the only hunter able to climb ranks nonstop. Better avoid attention for the time being.

But ... any alternative would have been better than dying. :/

[Buffalobiian]

This. If he's losing a third of his life per hit, 20% isn't going to save him.

Imagine if he could farm that snake for 100% damage reduction.

[Buffalobiian]

Episode 8 delayed till March 2nd

Next ep will be recap.

[Kraco]

Episode 8 delayed till March 2nd

Next ep will be recap.

This series must be popular in nursing homes if we're already getting a recap.

[Buffalobiian]

Apparently it's a forced recap because the VA is sick with haemoptysis or something. This was facebook news and I haven't gone to confirm it.

[MFauli]

Apparently it's a forced recap because the VA is sick with haemoptysis or something. This was facebook news and I haven't gone to confirm it.


He sounds totally different from before the power up anyway, just use a different voice actor :>

[Kraco]

I wish anime production wasn't such a zero-sum industry that they could actually make the whole season first, then air/stream it in peace.

[MFauli]

Episode 8:

That is SUCH bs, lol.

1.) "Coincidence" my ass. And they believe it. Come on.

2.) Using prisoners to fill the gap? And ones that are openly hostile? Fucking lol, ONLY IN ANIME. But I guess we need that rape attempt-scene next episode, huh.

Man, so much potential, so hard failed. This anime is a mess. And we saw the blonde chick again without her doing anything of importance. Why show?

[DarthEnderX]

Yeah, the 6th survivor obviously thinks they all have to die for some reason.

Doesn't matter, Jinwoo's gonna kill all those prisoners anyway.


Man, so much potential, so hard failed. This anime is a mess. And we saw the blonde chick again without her doing anything of importance. Why show?All the scenes with the S-rank hunters are obviously meant to set up the island raid for later in the show.

[Kraco]

Dangerous criminals who awaken as hunters would certainly be troublesome. Ordinary prisons or guards would be powerless in front of them. I see the wisdom in using them to clear dungeons, but it's indeed dodgy to have other, unrelated hunters inside the dungeon at the same time, especially if they aren't a rank higher than the prisoners.

[David75]

So there's an ultimate dungeon. Gives a long term goal for the Story/MC
Those criminals are cannon fodder. What happens in a dungeon stays in the dungeon. Losing them there is convenient for that society.
Bar that hunter's brother, I don't think someone else is after the lives of the survivors of the double dungeon incident.
But that B class hunter probably is there to understand more about them.

[DarthEnderX]

I don't think someone else is after the lives of the survivors of the double dungeon incident.He said 6 people survived that incident, and 5 of them are here. I'm pretty sure the crazy looking guy going "they all have to die!" was the 6th survivor.

I think he had a breakdown and is convinced they were all supposed to die.

[David75]

It's true that I totally forgot that one scene for some reason.

[Buffalobiian]

Those criminals are cannon fodder. What happens in a dungeon stays in the dungeon. Losing them there is convenient for that society.

Interesting. I didn't see it that way.

I wondered why they even bothered to use 3x C ranks if the B rank supervisor is expected to beat them all anyway. If that was the case then just bring the B rank dude along. If the government can bend rules to bring prisoners out then they can bend the quota rules equally.

Killing the prisoners off intentionally would reduce cost to society keeping them in (if they were indeed super nonredeemable criminals), but if the death rate goes up too much then that'd dissuade anyone from taking the job (assuming they have a choice).

The title of the next episode.. yeah, let's see how these guys take it. Since hunters aren't supposed to get significantly stronger, they'd definitely think the kid was holding out on them - even though there's no logical reason for that to be the case either.

[Kraco]

The title of the next episode.. yeah, let's see how these guys take it. Since hunters aren't supposed to get significantly stronger, they'd definitely think the kid was holding out on them - even though there's no logical reason for that to be the case either.

They would consider it a second awakening. If you rewatch episode 3 at 4:30, they talk about it.

[Buffalobiian]

They would consider it a second awakening. If you rewatch episode 3 at 4:30, they talk about it.

Except the B-rank supervisor dude was there to grade him after their hospital stay and he remained a low rank. So he wouldn't be able to pass it off as a second awakening.

[Kraco]

Ooh, I didn't pay enough attention to notice it was a the same dude. You are indeed right.

[DarthEnderX]

Killing the prisoners off intentionally would reduce cost to society keeping them in (if they were indeed super nonredeemable criminals), but if the death rate goes up too much then that'd dissuade anyone from taking the job (assuming they have a choice).And yet, somehow, the Suicide Squad never runs out of volunteers. :p

[shinta|hikari]

Everyone thinks they are the ones who will survive.

[DarthEnderX]

Everyone thinks they are the ones who will survive."Surely I have the same level of audience appeal as Harley Quinn!"

[MFauli]

Episode 9:


"This special technique of mine conceals me almost perfectly, hahahaha"

*hero blocking every single attack until that last one*

:/

That assassin guy was so comically evil that it really removed all and any moral choice whether to kill him or not.

[Kraco]

That assassin guy was so comically evil that it really removed all and any moral choice whether to kill him or not.

Gotta keep the hero clean. There can't possibly be that many hunter prisoners, so if that dude was the only one taking them to the dungeon, very rarely all in all, then nobody really paying any attention to some of them going missing isn't so strange. For statistics, they would have likely needed to compare to other countries.

[shinta|hikari]

Comically arrogant is the hilarious part. A B ranker behaving like that is hilarious. I'd understand if you were at the top of the world, but B? In a system that goes all the way to S?

[DarthEnderX]

Comically arrogant is the hilarious part. A B ranker behaving like that is hilarious. I'd understand if you were at the top of the world, but B? In a system that goes all the way to S?I mean, he only has to be stronger than the people in front of him to warrant being arrogant. He's a B+ in a place where everyone is C or lower. They SHOULDN'T have been able to touch him.

[Kraco]

Comically arrogant is the hilarious part. A B ranker behaving like that is hilarious. I'd understand if you were at the top of the world, but B? In a system that goes all the way to S?

I wouldn't necessarily say so. Based on everything I've seen in life, it's not usually the topmost people who are the most arrogant or at least let their arrogance show blatantly. It's those who are somewhat above the average. Of course there are always exceptions.

[MFauli]

I mean, he only has to be stronger than the people in front of him to warrant being arrogant. He's a B+ in a place where everyone is C or lower. They SHOULDN'T have been able to touch him.


Why? This isn't like Digimon where you can only defeat enemies of up to your own evolution, is it?

[Buffalobiian]

He's apparently top of B, and felt that his Stealth skill was OP so get where he's coming from. He probably feels that he's underrated purely based on the stealth alone.

[shinta|hikari]

Seems absurd he thinks he has an OP ability and never considered someone else has a similarly OP ability regardless of their rank...

[Kraco]

Seems absurd he thinks he has an OP ability and never considered someone else has a similarly OP ability regardless of their rank...

Wouldn't he have needed that kind mindset when he decided to become a serial killer of hunters?

[DarthEnderX]

Seems absurd he thinks he has an OP ability and never considered someone else has a similarly OP ability regardless of their rank...His ability isn't OP. It's in line with someone of high B rank.

[David75]

Regarding our MC, it feels like he will hit a growth plateau if after beating a B+ he feels dwarfed by an A.
I don't know of there are many levels to S, but the island mentionned last ep seems to be difficult for all S hunters we've seen so far.
Also, there's an S that will soon come after MC.
We've heard a lot about a second awakening. I guess that's what will happen at some point, he'll get quest to improve his base status.
Maybe directly to S, or gradually.

Also, we have no idea if he's the only player.
If he isn't, a S hunter getting into the same process would be either a great ally, or a tough opponent.
If such a player exist, she could be that blonde. Too much screen time when she feels like a background character.

Lastly, what about the growth of that B healer? When is it she becomes useful to the story or just becomes irrelevant and stops spoiling frames? Even that C-hunter has more meaning in less frames...

[Kraco]

Also, we have no idea if he's the only player.

The name of the series is Solo Leveling. These cut-of-out-cardboard stories usually have pretty straightforward names.

Jinwoo hasn't really been leveling up for that long. Not much time has passed since his "death". He hasn't cleared that many significant quests or dungeons yet. Though logically it should be faster to level up at the low levels than the high levels. On the other hand, his hunger should be growing as well, seeing how he has quite a clear goal of acquiring the components for the Cure All potion.

[MFauli]

she could be that blonde. Too much screen time when she feels like a background character.


She's hot. That's why screentime, lol.

[shinta|hikari]

His ability isn't OP. It's in line with someone of high B rank.

I was going off from what Buff said.


He's apparently top of B, and felt that his Stealth skill was OP so get where he's coming from. He probably feels that he's underrated purely based on the stealth alone.

[DarthEnderX]

Though logically it should be faster to level up at the low levels than the high levels. On the other hand, his hunger should be growing as well, seeing how he has quite a clear goal of acquiring the components for the Cure All potion.Did he recently say he stopped getting stat points from doing the exercise quests? That would also severely slow down his growth.

[Buffalobiian]

Did he recently say he stopped getting stat points from doing the exercise quests? That would also severely slow down his growth.

He stopped getting extra points for doing extra exercise. Before he was just filling the quest. He then found out that if he ran more than was required he gets bonuses. He then no longer got bonuses for doing extra work.

As for Stealth being OP, he mentioned that it was a rare skill that few obtain and that everyone that he's used it on has died. That would be sufficient enough to be considered OP in his mind. Compared to other things we've seen thus far, it does seem pretty powerful. He got tracked because he was putting out too much bloodlust, which seems to be an unfortunate side effect of who he is as a person. I imagine it would be harder to track anyone else who wasn't a hellbent killer like he was.


Lastly, what about the growth of that B healer? When is it she becomes useful to the story or just becomes irrelevant and stops spoiling frames?

Yeah but her off-shoulder getup at the end made up for it all though.

[shinta|hikari]

Lastly, what about the growth of that B healer? When is it she becomes useful to the story or just becomes irrelevant and stops spoiling frames? Even that C-hunter has more meaning in less frames...



Yeah but her off-shoulder getup at the end made up for it all though.

Here we have two different specimens of weebs in their natural habitat. One is clearly plot driven, while the other is PLOT driven.

[DarthEnderX]

He stopped getting extra points for doing extra exercise. Before he was just filling the quest. He then found out that if he ran more than was required he gets bonuses. He then no longer got bonuses for doing extra work.Ah. Okay.

[MFauli]

Episode 10:

I mean, this is still somehow fun to watch, but did we really need another full episode of showing how badass the hero is? Woohoo, you intimidated and tricked a sales man, alright.

Something I didn't understand: So that A-rank guy tells him that an S-rank is after him and not just the hero himself but also his family aka sister are in danger. He ignores that entirely. What's his plan for the S-rank attacking his sister? :/

Also, guess we have a love interest? The school colleague of the sister who's an E-rank seems to like him. I SAW THAT BLUSHING!!!1

[Buffalobiian]

Here we have two different specimens of weebs in their natural habitat. One is clearly plot driven, while the other is PLOT driven.

The PLOT is about to retire with all it's ponytail and off-shoulder glory. We can't let this happen.


Something I didn't understand: So that A-rank guy tells him that an S-rank is after him and not just the hero himself but also his family aka sister are in danger. He ignores that entirely. What's his plan for the S-rank attacking his sister? :/


Get strong quickly. There's really no other way.

Chances are, the guy's going to approach him first. S rank ain't going to start this off by holding the E-rank's sister hostage.

[Kraco]

Get strong quickly. There's really no other way.

Chances are, the guy's going to approach him first. S rank ain't going to start this off by holding the E-rank's sister hostage.

Yeah. I reckon the hunter association guy merely meant that if Jinwoo is planning to make himself scarce, disappear from the public eye, then he must take his family with him. However, in reality this doesn't really change anything, per se. He's planning to get a lot stronger in any case, regardless of any crazy S-rank dudes swearing vengeance.

[DarthEnderX]

What's his plan for the S-rank attacking his sister?He told you his plan. Level up until he can do something about it. Because, right now, there's nothing he can do to stop an S-Rank.

[MFauli]

He told you his plan. Level up until he can do something about it. Because, right now, there's nothing he can do to stop an S-Rank.


He could pack up, grab his sister and go into hiding. It's what I'd do instead of giving up and hoping: "Hopefully, he doesn't visit NOW and kills her".

[DarthEnderX]

He could pack up, grab his sister and go into hiding.I mean...then his mom dies. But okay.

[MFauli]

I mean...then his mom dies. But okay.

THEN GRAB THE MOM!!!1

(and grab whatever doctor to keep her alive. And if that's not possible, at least hide the sister, no need to risk both's lives. Heck, couldn't he hide them inside a cleared bonus-dungeon?)

[Kraco]

He could pack up, grab his sister and go into hiding. It's what I'd do instead of giving up and hoping: "Hopefully, he doesn't visit NOW and kills her".

He's a dude who literally and repeatedly risked his life in the dungeons as the certified world's weakest hunter, never giving up despite only staying alive due to a healer pretty much walking one step behind him all the time and a hospital becoming his second home. He's not going to run, obviously. The threat of an S-rank is nothing much compared to what he has already faced and what he envisions he will face in the future. He has even been brutally killed once before, which is more than most people can say.

[DarthEnderX]

THEN GRAB THE MOM!!!1

(and grab whatever doctor to keep her alive.Lol, what? What kind of powers do you think he has?

If dude starts going around kidnapping doctors, than I hope the other guy does kill him and his whole family. I have no interest in watching a guy get strong just so I can watch him turn into a Light Yagami.

[MFauli]

Lol, what? What kind of powers do you think he has?

If dude starts going around kidnapping doctors, than I hope the other guy does kill him and his whole family. I have no interest in watching a guy get strong just so I can watch him turn into a Light Yagami.

Then, not ignoring the rest of my posting, just get the sister to safety. There's no reason to give up on both your mother and sister and HOPE you get stronger before an attack occurs.

[Kraco]

Episode 11


-- -- -


The fight animation was pretty good. I wouldn't call it exceptional or anything, but it seemed like the director had used the budget available well with the kind of fast cuts it had. Scenes with more complicated animation were few, perhaps, the artistic choices made up for it decently. That being said, it didn't really feel like an extremely tough fight, even if Jinwoo himself claimed so. Maybe because the opponent, despite having a name, was only introduced in this same chapter and had no personality or background. It's difficult to believe such an opponent could really win the fight.

As opposed to that, the bunch of elite hunters heading out to the infamous island seems more thrilling. After all, the main character can't die (although he did once), but all those other characters aren't similarly protected by plot armor.

[MFauli]

God, I hate this shit so much. I already dread all the normie-fans who love Jujutsu Kaisen and Naruto and will go "whoah, the scene where he beat the red knight!!11". It was the most unearned victory I've seen in a battle-anime in a long time. He even said himself that it was a "fluke" and that the enemy was better in every area. Victory through writing. Cool ... not.

Nah, this has gotten really frustrating. There's just no fun in watching someone grow stronger who doesn't earn it. I want to see what makes him win, but there's nothing. Also, the anime does such a shit job at showing why that red knight was supposed to be a threat. "He's so fast!", the hero said ... and yet he's even faster, evading every single attack. Until he gets hit ... and then his body is sturdier than the massive stone wall that's crumbling from pressure behind him LOL.

There was a lot of potential for this story and setting, but the execution makes this an anime for 12 year olds. Fuck this shit.

[DarthEnderX]

Until he gets hit ... and then his body is sturdier than the massive stone wall that's crumbling from pressure behind him LOL.To be fair, he's wearing magic armor now. Which can be as sturdy as the writer wants.


Making it all automatically invisible so the writer doesn't have to chance how his character looks was super lazy though...

It's also super stupid that MC has never thought to try...equipment...until now. That's right up there with "What do I need Int for?" in terms of 'shit nobody who's ever played a video game would do'.

[MFauli]

To be fair, he's wearing magic armor now. Which can be as sturdy as the writer wants.


Making it all automatically invisible so the writer doesn't have to chance how his character looks was super lazy though...

It's also super stupid that MC has never thought to try...equipment...until now. That's right up there with "What do I need Int for?" in terms of 'shit nobody who's ever played a video game would do'.

Tbf, without INT, he wouldn't have INT


/jk

[Buffalobiian]

The fight was boring because you know he'll win with some BS thing and you're just waiting to see what it'll be. That said, I thought the inventory re-equipping move was pretty neat. They also made the knight chivalrous enough to drop his sword for the unarmed fight, but also by having the knight draw his sword again first, the story removed MC's moral dilemma of pulling out his dagger again. Stocking the Ruler's Hand runestone for later felt like forced suspense. There's no demerit to unlocking that skill as soon as you obtain the item.

[shinta|hikari]

Yeah, the one thing I hate about this show is he doesn't use his skills and items to their maximum. He kinda waits until he is forced before using them. In a game that makes sense because you want to save them, but games have retries.

[MFauli]

Episode 12/FINAL:

The only good thing I'll say is that they wrote a somewhat believable, plausible way for how Jinwoo managed to survive and win the dire situation.

The rest was bad, though. And now we have to wait? ugh

[KrayZ33]

So... last fight was kinda cool... the necromancer stuff was neat as well - but that's all fine and how I expected it would be (for me).
I still believe season 1 will be the okay, heck, even good one and everything that will now follow will just turn it into something much worse.

Overall it wasn't a bad experience up until now. I'd be surprised if it remains that way.
I remember that the tone shifts from time to time in this show. Like for example the ghosts he summons do silly things and all that kind of stuff, I wonder if this will be done in the anime as well, I didn't really like that in the original.

[David75]

@KrayZ33 :
Can you edit out spoilers? Even though they are of low importance, I was still spoiled.

[Kraco]

I expected this show to keep going continuously at least for two seasons.

[Buffalobiian]

The necromancer class came out of nowhere. The 25% buff was animated like it was a 100% buff. The fights are enjoyable enough overall.

Wonder if the penalty zone becomes harder. It may get to a point where the penalty zone is even preferred, assuming that the rewards from within are good compared to the rewards from the daily quests.

[Kraco]

The necromancer class came out of nowhere.

"You like to work alone and you leave behind a pile of corpses. You'd like to be a necromancer."

Yeah, that sounds about as logical as a horoscope from a random youth magazine. Funnily enough Jinwoo seemed to find it just as ridiculous, so he tried to refuse it once.


Wonder if the penalty zone becomes harder. It may get to a point where the penalty zone is even preferred, assuming that the rewards from within are good compared to the rewards from the daily quests.

The cardio and muscle training would do absolutely nothing for him anymore, but the penalty zone looks quite lucrative for the time being. Though I'm not sure if the giant centipedes drop any loot.

[DarthEnderX]

Funnily enough Jinwoo seemed to find it just as ridiculous, so he tried to refuse it once.And the System is all "Are you SURE? This is some rare character flag shit here!"


The cardio and muscle training would do absolutely nothing for him anymoreI mean...stat points are still stat points.

But the reward is, like, 5 points. Whereas leveling gives you +1 point in every stats. So if you level several times in the penalty zone, then the penalty zone is a better deal now.