Ore dake Level Up na Ken

Humanity was caught at a precipice a decade ago when the first gates—portals linked with other dimensions that harbor monsters immune to conventional weaponry—emerged around the world. Alongside the appearance of the gates, various humans were transformed into hunters and bestowed superhuman abilities. Responsible for entering the gates and clearing the dungeons within, many hunters chose to form guilds to secure their livelihoods.

Sung Jin-Woo is an E-rank hunter dubbed as the weakest hunter of all mankind. While exploring a supposedly safe dungeon, he and his party encounter an unusual tunnel leading to a deeper area. Enticed by the prospect of treasure, the group presses forward, only to be confronted with horrors beyond their imagination. Miraculously, Jin-Woo survives the incident and soon finds that he now has access to an interface visible only to him. This mysterious system promises him the power he has long dreamed of—but everything comes at a price.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Sung, Jin-Woo Main

Ban, Taito Japanese

Cha, Hae-In Supporting

Ueda, Reina Japanese

Igris Supporting

Sung, Jin-Ah Supporting

Mikawa, Haruna Japanese

Go, Gun-Hee Supporting

Ginga, Banjou Japanese

Lee, Joo-Hee Supporting

Honizumi, Rina Japanese

Yoo, Jin-Ho Supporting

Nakamura, Genta Japanese

Choi, Jong-In Supporting

Hirakawa, Daisuke Japanese

Baek, Yoon-Ho Supporting

Touchi, Hiroki Japanese

Woo, Jin-Chul Supporting

Furukawa, Makoto Japanese

Takahashi, Kanako Producer

Kaneko, Atsushi Producer

Furuhashi, Souta Producer

Kim, Ayoung Producer

Reviews

Jan 17, 2025

ichin

Recommended

TLDR
This show is like Attack on Titan. Edgy mc, lots of gore and no weird fanservice, can be recommended to your normie friends.

-

I walked into this thinking it was gonna be the usual uber popular anime for guys that's 50% action 50% sausage fest littered with aberrant fetishes (imoutos, little girls, furries, you know the shows) but it wasn't, and that's probably why I could enjoy it so much. The most embarrassing scene is the nurses getting worked up about his sculpted abs, which makes for an interesting subversion of typical fan service. There was so little of it that the anime community complained about ... the brother-sister relationship being "too normal", go figure.

The first episode was atypical in that it ended on a cliffhanger, which feels like a slightly sneaky thing to do, since the audience will continue watching mostly just to see the settling of the crisis and not because they genuinely think the show looks interesting.

I was also surprised by the underdog meek guy harboring so much hatred and spitting insults to everyone before the pivotal moment happened. It was quite weird but also refreshing because not many "heroes" are shown having dark and mean emotions. This bottled up resentment comes up often and is probably supposed to depict an edgy and cold mc, but sometimes it felt childish and almost comical. The guy is a chill dude and usually acts/thinks normally though, so I never really disliked him.

There was a switch between two episodes that was unrealistic and ridiculous: dude rolls in a scrawny boy and emerges a tall, jacked gigachad that only speaks in baritone and makes even that dorky hoodie look like fashion. All in a matter of a few days spent doing rehab at a hospital, where he also got a haircut somehow.

Of course this also happened because he took advantage of the "game system" for recovery, and speaking of, I quite enjoyed the streamlined design of it (all written in great english) and the quests being complex and immersive.
Plot wise I did not like the overused "trope" that the more unassuming the dungeon looks the more it will turn out to be a hellhole full of psychopaths.
On the other side, I enjoyed the "business" arc where he and rich kid work and manage issues in an organic and gradual way.
If anything, events happened pretty fast, first season felt really like the story is barely accelerating from the starting line and makes me hope for more developments.
Storytelling is nothing great and there's some goofy handling here or there, but is good enough for casual watching when relaxing.

I forgot to mention the impressive quality of animation and production which was another factor that convinced me to keep on watching. Fight scenes were well choreographed and with an abundance of details (especially for the gore), but also great at depicting haunting atmospheres and menacing bosses.
Sound design was also great, with innovative "background noises" like a muted laughter while a character was thinking. Soundtrack also well developed and very good at increasing the hype of fight scenes or the depth of dramatic moments.
OP and EP were sleek and inviting, especially ED.

Overall an enjoyable action/dark/supernatural show with great production and an interesting enough story that you could recommend to your normie friends without fear of being called a creep that drools over anime girls lol.

Reviewer’s Rating: 8

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Jan 21, 2025

guldanil

Mixed Feelings

Well, the best thing about Solo Leveling is the Art, it's just wonderful, especially if you haven't read comics much and for you, scrolling through this manhwa on your phone is an unusual experience of absorbing content. The story fits on one sheet of paper, well-written characters and their development are absent. In fact, the show is an endless repetition of cringe comments "OH HE'S SO STRONG! WOW", "I DIDN'T EVEN THINK THAT HE WAS SO STRONG" mixed with empty battles for any development. After the first 2-3 battles of Son, everything that happens next is literally: "hmm strong enemy... BOOM-BIM-BAM-BAM... rise up.. I have ... a new unit".

In summary: without the author's signature style (rip), without atmosphere and detailing, this is simply a passable 6 out of 10 after a hard day at work with a beer you can watch, Sakuga didn't make it to the top level. There is no feeling that now you will take an iPad and watch a couple of chapters of incredibly drawn art with pathos on pathos.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Jan 20, 2025

real1010101010

Not Recommended

Honestly mid, no real plot when you think about it, no character development at all besides Sung getting stronger.
Characters (development) : really bad honestly, nothing besides sung jin woo badass!!!! 1/10
Plot: The plot legit only exists for the sake of making jinwoo stronger also 1/10. Unfortunately not unique at all.
Art: The art is pretty good honestly, id say definitely 9/10
It's basically just about hype honestly, if thats what youre into then go ahead.

tl;dr: If you like series that are plot based then do not watch it, if you like animes with hype and aura then watch it.

Reviewer’s Rating: 2

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	Poll: Ore dake Level Up na Ken Episode 12 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page ) Yuyuichi - Mar 30, 2024	473 replies	by HeyyitsSuzu »» 9 hours ago
	Poll: Ore dake Level Up na Ken Episode 4 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page ) Stark700 - Jan 27, 2024	381 replies	by FiddlePie »» Yesterday, 7:44 PM
	Poll: Ore dake Level Up na Ken Episode 3 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page ) Stark700 - Jan 20, 2024	355 replies	by FiddlePie »» Yesterday, 7:13 PM
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