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The Solo Leveling anime adapts a Korean Manhwa, so maybe not the best example here. Not that there is any shortage of male wish fulfilment in original Japanese

by layer8 2y ago

The Solo Leveling anime adapts a Korean Manhwa, so maybe not the best example here. Not that there is any shortage of male wish fulfilment in original Japanese works.

smusamashah 2y ago
Shite, I wasn't expecting bad sentiment on Solo Levelling. I love games and this series touches me so differently. But unlike the parent comment, I have watched may be 4-5 anime series in total because I generally don't like anime, they look all same to me.
- dragontamer 2y ago
  There's a lot of better trapped in a video game anime out there. Overlord does a better job with grimdark. I'm fond of Log Horizon though S3 sucked. Solo Leveling came out the same time as Weakest Tamer began a journey to pick up Trash, and that was delightful for me. I think the visceral stuck at the bottom of the ladder feeling was better handled by weakest tamer. A young girl who was forced to run away from home because her village considered her 0-star skill literally a heresy and religious blight. Unlike Solo Leveling, the Weakest Tamer actually sticks with the plot. She never becomes much more powerful than she was, and instead leverages her relationships / friends she makes rather than literally solo leveling. -------- The Isekai / Reverse Isekai genre is literally animes biggest genre right now. There's so so so many better shows out there than Solo Leveling. But I guess the question is: what do you like about it? Solo Leveling is a passable male fantasy do-it-myself-by-plot-armor always win kind of show. But.... This plot honestly has been done better back by Sword Art Online (and I didn't even like that anime either). ------ Jobless Reincarnation, despite all the controversy, is probably the local optimum on that 'Do it myself' / solo leveling / get stronger loop. Hmmmmm... I'd give either Reincarnated as a Slime or I'm a Spider, So What? As my top picks on this genre / storytelling style. For personal enjoyment. Maaayyyyybe Re:Zero if you're into the body horror stuff that Solo Leveling also does.
  - fwip 2y ago
    I loved all the spider bits of "So I'm a Spider, So What?" But every time they cut to the other half of the cast members it sucked so bad.
    - dragontamer 2y ago
      Shun's storyline is literally traditional Isekai plot (and I'd argue that it skewers Solo Leveling even in its satire). Shun is an underdog who is suddenly thrust into war because the Spider Demon Queen attacks. He obtains the sacred power of the hero and is the one destined to kill demon lords. Fortunately for our Spider protagonist, Kumoko is not the demon lord but just an underling (a major underling... but nonetheless an underling) of the Spider Demon. ---------- IMO, it's fun to see Shun do 'Regular Isekai Things' while Kumoko has to survive in the dark dungeon. It's also very interesting to me that Shun's entire world and story ends up being irrelevant in terms of world powers. Still, I love street level and other such 'less powered' beings in my stories. It gives you a sense of what the ordinary humans are up to while our Spider is leveling up in the dungeons. ------- Solo leveling doesn't do the power of friendship thing that Shun and his party does. But otherwise, Sung Jinwoo is a chosen 'hero' of sorts thrust into a role. Much like Shun is suddenly chosen by God to be a hero as the skill passed to him. It's from Shuns perspective that we see how Kumoko's far away actions have a rippling effect onto human society. It's an integral part of the story despite being a bit more boring.
      - fwip 2y ago
        Yeah, that's fair. I might just not be the right audience for that type of thing.
  - zmgsabst 2y ago
    > Unlike Solo Leveling, the Weakest Tamer actually sticks with the plot. She never becomes much more powerful than she was, and instead leverages her relationships / friends she makes rather than literally solo leveling. But that’s a different plot than Solo Leveling, and in particular, a female rather than male power fantasy. (Social control vs individual strength.) Your criticism that Solo Leveling isn’t something it wasn’t meant to be is strange.
glandium 2y ago
Serious question, do Korean web comics count as Manhwa? I mean, the difference in media makes it a very different art form. (Although, in the case of Solo Leveling, it started as a web novel)
- layer8 2y ago
  At least the Wikipedia article counts them as such: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Webtoon https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Webtoon. Good point about the web novel, I have only passing familiarity with the franchise.
- jabroni_salad 2y ago
  As far as community parlance goes, Webtoon is a specific website (webtoons dot com) which is very popular in SK but the word is getting kleenex'd for korean webcomics in general. Manhwa is for published/printed works only.

by layer8 2y ago

The Solo Leveling anime adapts a Korean Manhwa, so maybe not the best example here. Not that there is any shortage of male wish fulfilment in original Japanese works.

smusamashah 2y ago

Shite, I wasn't expecting bad sentiment on Solo Levelling. I love games and this series touches me so differently. But unlike the parent comment, I have watched may be 4-5 anime series in total because I generally don't like anime, they look all same to me.

dragontamer 2y ago
There's a lot of better trapped in a video game anime out there. Overlord does a better job with grimdark. I'm fond of Log Horizon though S3 sucked. Solo Leveling came out the same time as Weakest Tamer began a journey to pick up Trash, and that was delightful for me. I think the visceral stuck at the bottom of the ladder feeling was better handled by weakest tamer. A young girl who was forced to run away from home because her village considered her 0-star skill literally a heresy and religious blight. Unlike Solo Leveling, the Weakest Tamer actually sticks with the plot. She never becomes much more powerful than she was, and instead leverages her relationships / friends she makes rather than literally solo leveling. -------- The Isekai / Reverse Isekai genre is literally animes biggest genre right now. There's so so so many better shows out there than Solo Leveling. But I guess the question is: what do you like about it? Solo Leveling is a passable male fantasy do-it-myself-by-plot-armor always win kind of show. But.... This plot honestly has been done better back by Sword Art Online (and I didn't even like that anime either). ------ Jobless Reincarnation, despite all the controversy, is probably the local optimum on that 'Do it myself' / solo leveling / get stronger loop. Hmmmmm... I'd give either Reincarnated as a Slime or I'm a Spider, So What? As my top picks on this genre / storytelling style. For personal enjoyment. Maaayyyyybe Re:Zero if you're into the body horror stuff that Solo Leveling also does.
- fwip 2y ago
  I loved all the spider bits of "So I'm a Spider, So What?" But every time they cut to the other half of the cast members it sucked so bad.
  - dragontamer 2y ago
    Shun's storyline is literally traditional Isekai plot (and I'd argue that it skewers Solo Leveling even in its satire). Shun is an underdog who is suddenly thrust into war because the Spider Demon Queen attacks. He obtains the sacred power of the hero and is the one destined to kill demon lords. Fortunately for our Spider protagonist, Kumoko is not the demon lord but just an underling (a major underling... but nonetheless an underling) of the Spider Demon. ---------- IMO, it's fun to see Shun do 'Regular Isekai Things' while Kumoko has to survive in the dark dungeon. It's also very interesting to me that Shun's entire world and story ends up being irrelevant in terms of world powers. Still, I love street level and other such 'less powered' beings in my stories. It gives you a sense of what the ordinary humans are up to while our Spider is leveling up in the dungeons. ------- Solo leveling doesn't do the power of friendship thing that Shun and his party does. But otherwise, Sung Jinwoo is a chosen 'hero' of sorts thrust into a role. Much like Shun is suddenly chosen by God to be a hero as the skill passed to him. It's from Shuns perspective that we see how Kumoko's far away actions have a rippling effect onto human society. It's an integral part of the story despite being a bit more boring.
    - fwip 2y ago
      Yeah, that's fair. I might just not be the right audience for that type of thing.
- zmgsabst 2y ago
  > Unlike Solo Leveling, the Weakest Tamer actually sticks with the plot. She never becomes much more powerful than she was, and instead leverages her relationships / friends she makes rather than literally solo leveling. But that’s a different plot than Solo Leveling, and in particular, a female rather than male power fantasy. (Social control vs individual strength.) Your criticism that Solo Leveling isn’t something it wasn’t meant to be is strange.

glandium 2y ago

Serious question, do Korean web comics count as Manhwa? I mean, the difference in media makes it a very different art form. (Although, in the case of Solo Leveling, it started as a web novel)

layer8 2y ago
At least the Wikipedia article counts them as such: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Webtoon https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Webtoon. Good point about the web novel, I have only passing familiarity with the franchise.
jabroni_salad 2y ago
As far as community parlance goes, Webtoon is a specific website (webtoons dot com) which is very popular in SK but the word is getting kleenex'd for korean webcomics in general. Manhwa is for published/printed works only.