Current Events > is solo leveling like sword art online but cooler?

(+) Yeah! (+)

i loved the first part of sao when kirito was all alone but is op af.

SA:O would be an S-tier anime if Kirito weren't a Marty-Stu all the time, because there is some really good writing, interesting sci-fi elements, and some very intense character moments. Just tone down how great he is at everything and how when Kirito is not on screen everyone should be asking "where is Kirito" - and the show goes from A to S tier.

It more makes me question why arent they using guns that shoot bullets made by the materials gathered. Because they show us that modern weapons cant do shit but all this material based weapons work but like why are you going to bother crafting swords and hammers and shit when you could smelt them down to bullets?

How is it comparable to .Hack?

wasn't sao the show that started the MMO isekai craze

I'm intrigued so I'm gonna watch an episode and find out. See you all in 20 minutes.

Kaiganeer posted...

wasn't sao the show that started the MMO isekai craze

Probably for the more modern take maybe but thats kind of the big problem and why it probably tanked later seasons because it makes Kirito into Joe Schmoe McAnime and where viewers can imagine themselves being him.

Even though in reality most people like him are like bottom of the barrel people with social skills or are more a team effort of people to fit that one role.

Honestly, it's not the worst comparison. The MC in Solo is both constantly struggling and effortlessly wrecking shit at the same time. He also has more edgelord moments going on.

None of that matters though. Youre just there to watch him fight shit. The plot is unnecessary.

pinky0926 posted...

I'm intrigued so I'm gonna watch an episode and find out. See you all in 20 minutes.

The pacing sucks. You'd need to watch like 4 before it gets into anything

The 1st 3 episodes of SAO will always stick to me, almost perfect.

That was around the time I got back into Toonami, so having the new hot show pop off was amazing

Kaiganeer posted...

wasn't sao the show that started the MMO isekai craze

Didn't .hack do it before that

Smackems posted...

Didn't .hack do it before that

Biggest diff I remember about .hack was there was never any harems, the signature isekai move, esp in sign since main char was a girl

Ok, took a bit longer because I got distracted. Thoughts:

Pretty strong start. The characters are entirely forgettable so far but we'll give it room to breath. Somehow it's a bit jarring seeing korean names, even more than when it's german names or whatever. But it's kinda cool.

One thing that I like more than sword art online is that the RPG elements have been baked into the real world, rather than people being transported into a fantasy world like in a traditional isekai. It's cool that they came up with reasons for why they need to use fantasy stuff to beat the enemies, and that the world is still pretty normal otherwise.

I also like that the main character is really pathetic and the stakes really high from the start. No fake in-game death.

We'll see how this goes. Episode 2.

Solo leveling is one of the worst anime I've had the displeasure of watching. Every character is one note or just non-existent the moment they're not even on screen. The animation is nice but that alone doesn't save it from the story and setting being so damn boring.

Torgo posted...

SA:O would be an S-tier anime if Kirito weren't a Marty-Stu all the time, because there is some really good writing, interesting sci-fi elements, and some very intense character moments. Just tone down how great he is at everything and how when Kirito is not on screen everyone should be asking "where is Kirito" - and the show goes from A to S tier.

I don't think it's an accident that Kirito is the least interesting thing in SAO. While there's a number of things Kirito did that were legitimately awesome that doesn't stop anyone else from doing something awesome and people will remember that because it wasn't Kirito.

Ok, the protagonist had a full body, face and personality transplant at like episode 5 and that was tonally very weird. I get that this is a power fantasy anime but that was a pretty jarringly fast transition from dweeb to chad.

No not at all and I say that as someone who greatly enjoys both.

pinky0926 posted...

Ok, the protagonist had a full body, face and personality transplant at like episode 5 and that was tonally very weird. I get that this is a power fantasy anime but that was a pretty jarringly fast transition from dweeb to chad.

It's because he's leveling up and because he initially invests so heavily into strength you see that affect on him the most. An important part about this story is that he's the only one leveling up, which is why his change within a few months freaks out others who knew him before. Nobody else can do what he does.

Kradek posted...

It's because he's leveling up and because he initially invests so heavily into strength you see that affect on him the most. An important part about this story is that he's the only one leveling up, which is why his change within a few months freaks out others who knew him before. Nobody else can do what he does.

I get that conceptually, it's just that there was no gradual change at all. He went from nervous dweeb in episode 4 to gigachad k-pop hearthrob in episode 5, with no transition in between. I just found that a bit jarring, like the protagonist was literally replaced.

power trips are boring af to watch. both are meh.

pinky0926 posted...

I get that conceptually, it's just that there was no gradual change at all. He went from nervous dweeb in episode 4 to gigachad k-pop hearthrob in episode 5, with no transition in between. I just found that a bit jarring, like the protagonist was literally replaced.

I felt like it took at least 2 episodes, however I do agree that it happened abnormally quickly.

I dislike the hairstyle change, dude looked better with the shaggy hair

pinky0926 posted...

Ok, the protagonist had a full body, face and personality transplant at like episode 5 and that was tonally very weird. I get that this is a power fantasy anime but that was a pretty jarringly fast transition from dweeb to chad.

i suddenly just lost interest. taking this off from my watchlist.

weeb98 posted...

i suddenly just lost interest. taking this off from my watchlist.

Solo levelling is like Sao without a soul.

pinky0926 posted...

I get that conceptually, it's just that there was no gradual change at all. He went from nervous dweeb in episode 4 to gigachad k-pop hearthrob in episode 5, with no transition in between. I just found that a bit jarring, like the protagonist was literally replaced.

He also pretty much immediately understood his powers. This just feels like a shitty version of The Gamer.

Zwijn posted...

He also pretty much immediately understood his powers. This just feels like a shitty version of The Gamer.

Because he Level up his Int stats

I finished the season.

This is definitely a power fantasy in the same sort of realm as Overlord or reincarnated as a slime. The protagonist is just amazing at everything al the time, he barely struggles. He makes a token effort at struggling but always gets out of trouble pretty quickly.

So that's cool for a bit of light relief, but don't go in expecting a truly compelling narrative.

Solo Leveling was a fun watch. I liked how his progression was believable

pinky0926 posted...

The protagonist is just amazing at everything al the time, he barely struggles.

Huh? He's constantly on the verge of death. His health literally fell to like 6 if I'm not mistaken during the 5th episode or so and he only gained the power to level up because the timer ran out a second or 2 before he died.

He does get that ridiculous "I'm on the verge of death so let me find the strength I didn't know I had to win", however that trope is in like pretty much everything that's ever existed. Tired and played out? Sure, however hardly something unique to Solo Leveling.

Kradek posted...

Huh? He's constantly on the verge of death. His health literally fell to like 6 if I'm not mistaken during the 5th episode or so and he only gained the power to level up because the timer ran out a second or 2 before he died.

He does get that ridiculous "I'm on the verge of death so let me find the strength I didn't know I had to win", however that trope is in like pretty much everything that's ever existed. Tired and played out? Sure, however hardly something unique to Solo Leveling.

In anime terms something that is solved in the episode it is brought up it is not a struggle, and if it's solved in the next it's barely a struggle.

ellis123 posted...

In anime terms something that is solved in the episode it is brought up it is not a struggle, and if it's solved in the next it's barely a struggle.

That doesn't really jive when a lot of storylines use subplots or episodic formats. And especially not for the plot of SL which involves mostly dungeon-crawling. If it was one mega dungeon that is meant to represent the entirety of the season that's one thing, however that's clearly not the case. Also, he was literally on a timer with a lot of this stuff. Such as when he was in the room with the statues and when he had to spend 3 hours escaping that giant centipede for not doing his daily.

So, what, it becomes better if they take the DBZ route and have 3 episodes of him charging up against a foe?

I'm 8 episodes into Frieren and it's an "OP main character" series done right.

Kradek posted...

That doesn't really jive when a lot of storylines use subplots or episodic formats. And especially not for the plot of SL which involves mostly dungeon-crawling. If it was one mega dungeon that is meant to represent the entirety of the season that's one thing, however that's clearly not the case. Also, he was literally on a timer with a lot of this stuff. Such as when he was in the room with the statues and when he had to spend 3 hours escaping that giant centipede for not doing his daily.

So, what, it becomes better if they take the DBZ route and have 3 episodes of him charging up against a foe?

You appear to have a fundamental misunderstanding of what a struggle is. "Struggle" doesn't mean "fight", it means something that must be overcome through hardship. Yes a fight can be a struggle, but that is hardly ever the meaningful struggle in any type of media that isn't trash. In Solo Leveling terms you could talk about the MC's insecurity or him having to overcome himself, but neither exist in any meaningful sense. Similarly being episodic doesn't matter: good media relates everything to the protagonists and their struggles. Like, Cowboy Bebop has the characters' issues last from their introduction to the end of the season and the entire show is episodic. The fact that they can win in a fight in a single episode is entirely pointless as that isn't the point. On the flip side the fights are the point in Solo Leveling, so having all of them be largely zwee-fighting scenes that are resolved in an episode or two really fails to capture anything resembling struggle.

shit like this is just more proof that anime fans have no standards whatsoever

see also: oshi no ko

Honestly SAO was the most disappointing anime for me. The concept was really cool, but it just skipped past most of the game stuff. I think it would have benefited from actually spending a few seasons on building up that game world and the people in it, instead of blazing through that arc at mach speed.

Solo Leveling by comparison has been amazing. It's actually taking time to do world building and foreshadowing. Sure the characters aren't super complex, but that's not the focus of an action anime anyway. I'm looking forward to part 2 of the season later this year (Q4 2024)

Probably be Anime of the year

lol

ellis123 posted...

You appear to have a fundamental misunderstanding of what a struggle is. "Struggle" doesn't mean "fight", it means something that must be overcome through hardship. Yes a fight can be a struggle, but that is hardly ever the meaningful struggle in any type of media that isn't trash. In Solo Leveling terms you could talk about the MC's insecurity or him having to overcome himself, but neither exist in any meaningful sense. Similarly being episodic doesn't matter: good media relates everything to the protagonists and their struggles. Like, Cowboy Bebop has the characters' issues last from their introduction to the end of the season and the entire show is episodic. The fact that they can win in a fight in a single episode is entirely pointless as that isn't the point. On the flip side the fights are the point in Solo Leveling, so having all of them be largely zwee-fighting scenes that are resolved in an episode or two really fails to capture anything resembling struggle.

But his struggles are primarily based around fighting because he's spent his life as an adventurer as class E, constantly getting hurt & healed, being a laughingstock. His struggle is overcoming that and he spent the season doing it. No matter how much stronger he gets there's always stronger enemies he struggles with on a personal level as well as a battle.

We literally see his own internal narration show how surprised he is that his daily quest, primarily strength training, and dumping skill points into stats, has changed him from how he used to be.

I just don't think a 12 ep season benefits from spending every 3-4 episodes as mini-arcs, which is what I infer when people complain about "things getting resolved within one episode".

The plot of the season is him adjusting to being the only person in the world who is like he is (as far as we know) and him navigating through that adjustment, which ranges from doubt in himself to eventually overconfidence and being humbled.

But I still wouldn't say everything comes easily or that there is no struggle to someone who constantly almost dies, the only thing that comes easily is the "strength I didn't know I had" trope that a ton of anime used and while it is overplayed, I guess I've just come to expect it because it'd be weird for the mc to die in episode 3.

I liked the part where he said "I'm solo leveling..." then solo leveled all over those guys.

Kradek posted...

But his struggles are primarily based around fighting because he's spent his life as an adventurer as class E, constantly getting hurt & healed, being a laughingstock. His struggle is overcoming that and he spent the season doing it. No matter how much stronger he gets there's always stronger enemies he struggles with on a personal level as well as a battle.

We literally see his own internal narration show how surprised he is that his daily quest, primarily strength training, and dumping skill points into stats, has changed him from how he used to be.

Correct. That is the point: his struggles all happened in the past and now it's just him having minor flashbacks to it doesn't change the fact that nothing acts as a wall for him to overcome now that takes more than an episode. We see none of the "he has to overcome himself", we see the "he's an overpowered edgelord." The character growth is done, now we're watching the part where the MC gets to have the arbitrary numbers get big while the rest of the world acts smug before he crushes them under the weight of his OPness.

Kradek posted...

I just don't think a 12 ep season benefits from spending every 3-4 episodes as mini-arcs, which is what I infer when people complain about "things getting resolved within one episode".

Having a character arc isn't a "mini-arc", that's just what makes writing good. There is literally no piece of media that is worth experiencing that has characters that doesn't have character growth. And no, that isn't referring to getting to watch the character punch progressively bigger monsters.

Kradek posted...

But I still wouldn't say everything comes easily or that there is no struggle to someone who constantly almost dies, the only thing that comes easily is the "strength I didn't know I had" trope that a ton of anime used and while it is overplayed, I guess I've just come to expect it because it'd be weird for the mc to die in episode 3.

And I would say that the constant state of getting bodied -> having a super convenient "I win" moment being the sum total of his struggles as seen in the show isn't a good measure of anyone struggling. Especially not in battle shonen, where not only do all of the good ones have the characters actually have to overcome themselves but they also have multiple instances of the characters coming across opposition that isn't just immediately overcome.

The difference in SL anime is there is no harem or obvious waifu bait, so at least it has that going for it. So far at least.