This thing sucks

I agree it was an underwhelming anime for what seems to be a well crafted story. But people like me who hadn’t read the source material got introduced to the story through that poor production and a lot will have bought the novels which is what the anime was made to promote. Still I don’t get the point of S2 at this point.

Gonna have to disagree. I don't think TBATE amounts to much more than a decent, if not good, trashy isekai.

I particularly disagree with the idea that it deserves more than Solo Leveling. I'd say it's the other way around. Solo Leveling absolutely deserved the adaptation it got. It's a crazy fun and wonderful power fantasy.

Granted I read the web novel of TBATE while I read the manhwa for Solo Leveling, so it would make sense that, as one who dislikes reading, I would favor the latter.

Js mad cuz Solo Leveling better😭😭. The manhwas are both formulaic anyways and TBATE hasnt reached the point where it branches into the 'materpiece' everyone glazes it to be. So ts that "TBATE deserved it more" no it doesnt. Its was not more popular as a story/manhwa, its was not more revolutionary for the manhwa medium, and its not even really better than Solo Leveling writing wise, they both use and incorporate generic elements in their story—and again, TBATE hasnt reached the part in the manhwa where it becomes and evolves into its own story really.

I’m just going to leave this here… Not every good anime packs its entire budget on Flashy fight scenes. With any good story, you need adequate world building. I heard the same complaints over “That time I got reincarnated as a slime” Season 3, and “Tower of God” season 2 part 2. To get to the dopamine hit you need appropriate buildup.

More people would buy the novels after seeing this poor adaptation than would if they hadn’t, if only a small percent. It’s not rocket science.

@TVofWizdom Solo Leveling is just a generic power fantasy with no writing about the plot or characters... basically what any thirteen-year-old can do on Wattpad, "tbate" does have some writing, although it's not excellent, not recognizing this is really worrying...

@Leon888 Yes, Solo Leveling IS a generic power fantasy... but done SUPERBLY. In an ocean of formulaic monotony, Solo Leveling distinguishes itself by nailing every part of the power fantasy formula, consistently, over and over again.

I do not fail to recognize that TBATE is at least decently written or whatever you say, only that it wasn't nearly as fun a power fantasy as Solo Leveling. Plus it's about twice as long and drops off much quicker. Then you have the chapters that go on and on, regularly reaching thirty to forty minutes per, routinely switching perspectives to characters you won't care about for chapters on end, and dragging on boring arcs for far too long. It might do a couple things better than Solo Leveling, but only hardly and with a significantly longer time investment behind it.

Meanwhile, you criticize Solo Leveling for being exactly what it is. Solo Leveling was never meant to be the next Hobbit, Lord of the Rings, or whatever work of highly-acclaimed literature you would mention. It's meant to be a power fantasy, plain and simple. And it does that, again, wonderfully. I don't think it makes a substantive critique to say that a work of fiction did exactly what it meant to do. If you don't like it, it's probably because it wasn't meant for you.

You don't, after all, go to a fast food joint and complain there's no high-class, Michelin-starred cuisine offered. Doing so would only be your own fault for having the wrong expectations.

I enjoyed it and I'm sure I'll enjoy the 2nd season. I'm all about the story, I don't care about animation.

@TVofWizdom These arguments are so lazy and weak that they take things I've never said in any context... I certainly wasn't expecting a masterpiece from a title like Solo Leveling, but at least it had a minimum of writing and construction... but no, it doesn't do anything of the sort, and the worst thing is that Solo Leveling itself introduces concepts that it then doesn't even explore for some unknown reason. How come we only know Thomas Andre of the 5 national hunters while the other 4 were thrown to the wind, 2 of which we don't even know the abilities of? Just to give an example of the poor writing of Solo Leveling, which does nothing but repeat the same formula over and over again: Jinwoo defeats the enemy while everyone else is useless... as well as the plot, how the hell do you have a simple plot and have millions of plot holes at the same time? Or the power system which is not at all coherent as you say, how is it possible that nothing is explained to us about the powers of the other enemies or hunters, nor about the various classes that exist, etc...? I could go on for hours about how Solo leveling sucks, and it's not even a question of expectations. To put it bluntly, Record of Ragnarok is a valid alternative, more fun to watch, does what it sets out to do, and even provides a modicum of context for the powers or characters as they fight. Solo Leveling, on the other hand, is absolutely crap in every way.

I dont get it cuz while I am exaggerating, TBATE's story in the manhwa is genuinely not anything special. Aforementioned, we havent reached the point where TBATE ahould genuinely be considered really good unless u enjoy it. It really is formulaic and about 4/5ths of its arcs are literally generic arcs that have been done before in a fantasy setting, plus it also js has generic elements typically seen in fantasy(specifically power ones).

It copied Mushoku Tensei for its beginning, generic adventurer arc, OP protag who can do anything, OP/special mythical creature, all the girls are in love with protag, generic magical school arc etc and much more. The only unique thing about the TBATE manhwa is the power system. I enjoyed TBATE and its acc one of my favourite manwha, prob top 5, but u argue SL is generic, well the same argument can be made for the TBATE manhwa. Only recently has TBATE started to really become its own story, and when then happens fully, I'll retract my statements. But lets not act that a large portion of SL and TBATE dont share a lot of qualities, especially a lot of qualities as a power fantasy.

@Leon888 I don't disagree with your complaints about the characters, world building, story, etc etc. What I disagree with is the conclusion you made; that based upon these considerably irrelevant points, the whole work is crap. I do say that even bearing in mind such pitfalls, Solo Leveling is extremely fun as a generic power fantasy and that's what matters most, because it is a generic power fantasy.

Back on topic, how you could have such vastly different opinions about TBATE and Solo Leveling, considering what you have to say about the latter, is beyond me. I would imagine you would hate the former too if that's how you look at things.

I dont get it cuz while I am exaggerating, TBATE's story in the manhwa is genuinely not anything special. Aforementioned, we havent reached the point where TBATE ahould genuinely be considered really good unless u enjoy it. It really is formulaic and about 4/5ths of its arcs are literally generic arcs that have been done before in a fantasy setting, plus it also js has generic elements typically seen in fantasy(specifically power ones).

It copied Mushoku Tensei for its beginning, generic adventurer arc, OP protag who can do anything, OP/special mythical creature, all the girls are in love with protag, generic magical school arc etc and much more. The only unique thing about the TBATE manhwa is the power system. I enjoyed TBATE and its acc one of my favourite manwha, prob top 5, but u argue SL is generic, well the same argument can be made for the TBATE manhwa. Only recently has TBATE started to really become its own story, and when then happens fully, I'll retract my statements. But lets not act that a large portion of SL and TBATE dont share a lot of qualities, especially a lot of qualities as a power fantasy.

@TVofWizdom If you need generic power fantasy, the manhwa world is full of it, as is the anime world... Leveling alone is nothing special in any way.

Tbate simply had something worth watching. It's not the best in terms of writing, but there are many characters, plot twists, or moments that are worth watching. Seeing how they massacred it is like watching a prison sentence.