Warning: The following article contains spoilers for Solo Leveling.
One of the most anticipated anime of the year has ended its first season, and it is fair to say that Solo Leveling has left quite the impression. After years of buildup, it arrived, and we got to see the beginnings of infamously incompetent hunter Sung Jinwoo. As the first season wrapped up and Jinwoo soared to new heights, I realized why I had come to have a kinship with the fool gifted with inhuman abilities. I understood his fury and where I had personally felt it before – in gaming.
I’ve Been Levelling Up This Whole Time
Throughout my whole life as a gamer, I’ve pushed myself. I find enjoyment when I find myself in sync with the battles I go through. Whether it be the blood-soaked battlefields within the God of War series or the lush and vibrant worlds of the Tales franchise, I try to immerse myself in each of these worlds. So, when those moments of utter insanity occur, when you’ve taken on a boss you were not prepared for, I always feel elated when I’ve achieved the impossible and won. This is what Solo Leveling has achieved in its storytelling. Watching Jinwoo struggle so hard to achieve his goals is thrilling, and when the fruits of his labor come to bear, it’s cathartic.
It reminds me of those days playing Halo with my friend on his Xbox as we were drowning in the Flood. It makes me chuckle and think back to the first encounter my friends and I had when we fought a Locust Berserker in Gears of War. Honest to god, my friend Hugh screamed from the top of his lungs when it burst through a wall charging at us. It’s been 18 years, and I remember that moment as if it were yesterday.
What Solo Leveling capitalizes on is the grind, of leveling up and then being just enough to handle the challenges that lie ahead. When Jinwoo took on the Hell’s Gatekeeper Cerberus, there was a sense that Jinwoo had only barely achieved the power to defeat it. We’ve all been there when your back is up against the wall, and you start throwing everything at a boss.
You think you’ve put in your hours, but it’s still not quite there. You’re desperate and worried that all was for naught, and then everything just falls into place as you pull victory from the jaws of defeat. It’s exhilarating, and with A-1 Pictures’ stellar animation, you feel every dash and stab with all the weight and purpose behind it.
The greatest moment, though, comes in the shape of the defeat of Knight Commander Igris the Bloodred. We’ve all been there – you go one-on-one with a boss because of some strange sense of pride. Then, when you’ve defeated him and his corpse lay strewn upon the mountain, you gain him as an ally. The hype is real in these moments.
Related: Where to Read Solo Leveling: Ragnarok
You’re Giving Yourself the Best Shot
The best example I can give of how well Solo Leveling achieves this feat is when I look back at my gaming “career” with the Soulsborne genre. I was not a fan of the genre when I first saw it emerge. Then, years later, I tried my hand at Souslborne, and I liked it. I didn’t get far, only killing some bosses thanks to being carried by my far better-skilled friend James.
Then, one day, I decided to test my mettle against Sekiro, and I wouldn’t give up. I found myself figuring out how the game worked, diving into the community for help until I brought down gods and demons. It was exhilarating, and I found myself more than once screaming in triumph as I did battle with these mythic creatures. I’ve now fallen in love with Soulsborne titles, and I’m eagerly awaiting the arrival of the Elden Rings DLC.
It’s funny – you could say I’ve been early days Jinwoo in several games like this. Currently, I’m playing Helldivers 2 and find myself being the dead weight while my friends run and gun throughout the galaxy, spreading “Managed Democracy.” I’ll find my way, though, and keep growing in skill and join them.
Arise
With its weighted and purpose-filled animation and energetic and monstrous score, Solo Leveling is an incredibly cathartic experience. It is already high on the tower of “Power Fantasy” tales and gives that gamer lust for glory that many will find irresistible.
I don’t know what is coming next, but I can’t wait to see how Jinwoo battles the unknown, wielding his grit and determination in both hands, along with some divine providence, of course.
Solo Leveling is streaming now on Crunchyroll.
