I have heard a ton about this show, and Solo Leveling episode 1 did not disappoint. I think if you see content about shows and stories like this online, you’ve definitely at least seen the iconic smile from this show.
*This article has spoilers only about episode 1*
(IMG Credit: u/grim5000 on r/sololeveling)
To be truthful, seeing this smile is what honestly made me want to watch the show in the first place! So, after seeing the official trailer one year ago on Crunchyroll’s YouTube and getting super excited, I was ecstatic to see the first episode came out a few days ago and gave it a watch right away.
Solo levelling was originally a manwha (known as Only I Level Up in Korean) and gained property pretty fast. Though I haven’t read the complete manwha, I’ve seen some panels and parts of it that lead me to have high expectations like a lot of other users. So, especially since they didn’t rush the release of the animated series, I was hoping to see something amazing. And I got just that!
This episode was a great introduction to the series as well as the main character and his situation and gave a nice outlook for the rest of the series. It was full of action, had a deep story to start off the series, and realistically paced some conflict.
According to Crunchyroll, the synopsis of the show was the following:
“They say whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, but that’s not the case for the world’s weakest hunter Sung Jinwoo. After being brutally slaughtered by monsters in a high-ranking dungeon, Jinwoo came back with the System, a program only he could see, that’s leveling him up in every way. Now, he’s inspired to discover the secrets behind his powers and the dungeon that spawned them.”
Without further ado, let’s dive into episode one.
Episode Summary
Solo Leveling episode 1 begins with a clip from three years before the main storyline, in which we learn that monsters are attacking and the only people who can take them down are called ‘Hunters.’ The scene switches to a group of hunters attacking the giant monster ants who eventually get knocked down and nearly killed.
A few other hunters come in to save them, and they are introduced as S-rank hunters who can defeat the monsters. We then meet a character named Guildmaster Choi, who’s leading other hunters to defeat a horde attacking their city.
The story then switches to ten years ago, where we learn the reason behind the appearance of the monsters. These monsters started showing up when mysterious gates to another dimension opened, in which the magic beasts that were immune to human weaponry were behind each one. The people who can fight them though have to have awakened magical powers. These are the people called hunters.
Hunters are ranked from S to A, B, C, D, or E-Rank with S being the highest and E being the lowest. We learn that our protagonist is of E-rank and that, when people awaken, they can do nothing to heighten their ranking.
In the present day, we’re introduced to Kim and Park, hunters looking to make money for their own reasons. The main character, who we learn is Jinwoo Sung (but referred to by his last name of Sung because of cultural reasons), shows up with bandages all over his body. He works with Kim and Park, and we learn his nickname is “The Weakest Hunter of all Mankind” (I was already feeling bad for the MC).
We get introduced to Joohee who asks about his bandages. She asks if there was a healer on the quest he went on, and he says no since everyone else was higher ranking and didn’t worry about getting injured. He then says he’s used to being the weakest. Sung and the others go inside a gate. We learn he owns a knife with barely any magic power, which means it’ll be weak.
The scene switches to a man named Chairman Go. He introduces the concept of essence stones, which are dropped from monsters killed in dungeons and are valuable resources.
Back to Sung, we see he has a much smaller essence stone. Sung gets attacked by a goblin as he’s inspecting the stone which makes his knife break almost immediately as he attempts to retaliate. The goblin stobs him in his side. He gets saved by someone else, and we see Joohee use her healing powers to help his deep wounds. He sees the rest of the higher-ranking hunters beating down the monsters easily.
Back with the chairman, he continues talking about essence stones. Essence stones are apparently used to craft powerful weapons to fight higher-ranking and more difficult monsters. There are also mana crystals, which are less potent. It turns out the government hopes to use essence stones as a risk-free and environmentally safe power source.
In the dungeon with Sung, the others have defeated the dungeon boss. Joohee asks him if the reason why he keeps going to dungeons is because he’s stubborn. He says sorry but nothing else, reflecting on how he nearly died for an E-ranking essence stone.
One of the hunters finds a tunnel deeper in which they deduce to be a double dungeon with more loot. The group argues whether to go in or not, and the deciding vote ends up being Sung who chooses to go inside the tunnel despite the injuries Joohee just healed. We learn that the reason Sung works as a hunter is to support his family since his dad recently went missing, he’s the only one able to provide for his sick mother and her treatments while still being able to send his sister to school.
The scene changes to some sort of clinic, in which people are testing the rank of their awakened powers and finding labour contracts based on their ranking.
It turns to a shot of Guildmaster Choi, where he speaks on recruiting anyone with skill, noting that there will be no one comparable to someone named Cha Hae-in.
The shot turns to Cha Hae-in where she effortlessly stops robbers from escaping with a woman’s purse using her powers.
It seems like she is a celebrity, so people crowd around her and she escapes quickly, seemingly not liking the attention.
Back to Sung and his companions in the dungeon, they calculate they have 20 minutes to explore the dungeon. Sung apologizes to Joohee who gets mad at him for being so hasty, reminding him that he was inches away from death.
Joohee asks him if he understands then blushes, looking away and telling him to treat her somewhere as a show of gratitude. Their conversation stops as they reach the boss’s chamber with a huge regal door (they should’ve just turned away at this point). Of course, they decide to go into the intimidating door.
There’s a little foreshadowing as we return to the clinic, seeing a program projecting for newly awakened individuals to watch where Chairman Go tells them to be afraid and cautious, whether or not they are hunters.
Sung and the crew open the door as torches with blue fire greet them. There are statues everywhere in the circular room holding instruments as well as two large guard statues stationed at the door.
Sung notices the biggest of them all, the iconic statue from all the edits (I got toooo excited here!!)
The crew notices that they don’t see any beasts or loot but their leader, Song, notices a magic circle in the middle. The others call him away from the circle though to read something in the ancient script. The script talks about “The Commandments of the Cartenon Temple.” They speak about revering and respecting God.
Joohee grabs Sung, telling him she saw the eyes of the large statue move. Sung doesn’t believe her at first. At the same time, Song reads the commandment that states that those who do not follow the rules listed will not leave the area alive. Right after he finishes, the door they entered from closes. One of the members of the group panics and tries to leave, but gets the upper part of his body sliced off by the guards at the door.
Sung, seeing this, begins to panic as well, recognizing his ranking and how little strength he has. He notes that if the statues are moving, then the eyes of the large one may have moved as well.
Which they end up doing (this scene was very intense).
Sung remembers how many times he had been near death on his quests and the intuition that provided him with, making him prepared to jump out of the way with Joohee as the platform beneath him split in half with molten lava being revealed. The episode ends there, with Sung coming to the conclusion that they would all die.
Solo Leveling Episode 1 Review
Wow, I have heard a LOT about Solo Leveling, but I wasn’t expecting it to be this good. Solo Leveling episode 1 was thrilling, impactful, revealing, and kept me hooked the entire time. Though I believe Sung to be a little reckless as a character, the motivation provided by his familial situation as well as the fact that he is still young makes his decisions realistic. At the end of the day, I also liked his perseverance as a character, despite consistently being beaten down.
The action scene in the beginning of the episode with the flashback really had me immersed immediately, and I liked how the magic system was made clear from the start so the rest of the show wouldn’t be confusing. I also liked how the magic was integrated into a modern setting which is a nice change from the usual Medieval Europe and magic trope (though I still love that one).
Animation
The animation was great and I liked the expression evident on the characters’ faces, especially at the end when their fear was displayed. Their emotions felt mostly natural and each character had their own personality, with it being made clear that a person like Cha Hae-in is shy and reserved while Joohee is outgoing.
While the animation was great though, I felt that there were way too many cuts in the episode. My train of thought was constantly being sent somewhere else and the scene with Cha Hae-in just ended up feeling super unnatural in that spot in the episode. That affected the pacing, but other than the amount of cuts, I felt the episode progressed fine.
Dialogue
The dialogue in the episode also felt pretty unnatural, with some lines feeling as if they were being spoken as merely exposition, in a way telling the viewer exactly what to know about the magic system for example, rather than showing them. At the same time, characters like Joohee felt a little generic with their dialogue, as Joohee for instance seemed like the stereotypical always hyper character. Other dialogues felt a little dry and unnatural, like when the two men were talking about Sung at the beginning of the episode and then hoped he hadn’t heard them. I thought that was a bit strange since he was really only a few steps away from them. The dialogue removed slightly from the immersive feel of the episode and made it feel too much like a show, if you know what I mean.
Overall Thoughts
That being said, Solo Leveling episode 1 was nice and I love the plot so far, and am super excited to see where Sung and the other characters go next! I am especially waiting and excited to see how they will animate the smile (I’m really hoping it’s in the next episode on the 13th) as well as how Sung will escape this situation. The fact that the show is titled Solo Leveling is making me a little afraid something will happen to the other characters he is left with.
Overall, Solo Leveling episode 1 was a really nice episode and a great way to start the show! It conveyed a lot of information, conflict, and kept me guessing what would be coming next the entire time. I feel like the dialogue and pacing could’ve used some fixing, but other than that, this episode was great and an enjoyment to watch!
Rating: 7/10
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