So.... let me just tell you how I ended up watching Solo Leveling the three night ago , I had a night shift at my work place , and honestly, that day shift was one of those quiet ones where nothing much was really happening, you know those kinds of nights when you are expected to be busy, but everything is just unusually calm.... Yeah, that was it, so, instead of just staring at the clock or scrolling endlessly through my phone , I decided to make good use of my time and finally watch Solo Leveling , and let me just say it was the best decision ever.
From the very first episode, I was hooked , the way the anime starts off, introducing Sung Jin-Woo, who they literally call the weakest hunter alive , made me shake my head, like, I could actually feel the embarrassment he was carrying, Imagine going into battles where everyone else is strong, and you’re just the one dragging everyone behind and at some point, I even asked myself, “omo would I still be showing up if I was this weak?” But then again, that’s what made this whole story relatable, he was not some overpowered character from the start, he was just a guy trying to survive in a world that didn’t rate him at all.
And While I was watching, I liked how the dungeons and monsters were animated, they gave off this very dark and creepy vibe that did keep me alert, even though I was supposed to be “working.” there was this one scene that made me pause and look around like, “What if these monsters just popped up here?”lol ..... That’s how immersed I was, the mix of fear and suspense had me glued to my screen, forgetting that time was moving at all.
What really got me though was when Jin-Woo had that near-death experience in the dungeon gate that has turned red while they were in , that was the turning point, my heart was literally pounding, and I was like, “Guy, are you going to die in episode one?!” But then the whole “System” thing appeared, and he got that power where he could level up like a game character,at that point, I knew this anime was going to be something different,I mean the idea of leveling up endlessly, becoming stronger after every fight, and unlocking new abilities, ah, it was just so satisfying to watch.
Another thing I noticed while watching at work was how smooth the pacing was,You know some anime take forever to build up, dragging scenes that make you yawn, but Solo Leveling didn’t waste my time , every scene felt like it had a purpose, and the animation? It was top notch, They really put in effort to make the fights look intense, I even had to adjust the brightness of my phone because the dark tones were pulling me in so much.
At some point, I caught myself smiling like an idiot, and I had to quickly compose myself before my colleagues thought I was losing it, That’s how much I was enjoying it, there’s something about seeing an underdog rise that just hits differently, the way Jin-Woo transformed from being weak to gradually becoming strong gave me this rush of motivation like, “If this guy can pull through, maybe I can too.”
By the time I got deeper into the episodes, I completely forgot I was on shift, the workplace was quiet, the clock was ticking slowly, and here I was, lost in a world of hunters, dungeons, and monsters.it really made that night shift one of the best I’ve had in a while because I didn’t even feel the usual boredom or sleepiness that comes with working at night.
So yeah, my first watch of Solo Leveling wasn’t just about enjoying a good anime, it was also about making the most of a slow night, the storyline, the character growth, the action, it all blended perfectly to keep me entertained while everyone else around me was either busy with little tasks or dozing off, and now, I can confidently say Solo Leveling deserves all the hype it’s been getting.
First Image designed on Canva, other are gotten from imdb