In terms of entertainment, Solo Leveling fulfilled its function as an anime. It was an anime that we looked forward to every Saturday simply for a weekly dose of action that didn't require wading through a vast lore before each fight. Frantic, fast-paced fights with good animation. It's an anime that knows how to provide small respites, whether comedic or dramatic, between arcs so we don't have an epileptic seizure after each fight. The protagonist carries everything there is to bear and takes responsibility for everything until the end.
It's an anime that fulfills its function of entertaining; talking about the story is a completely different matter. I could write paragraphs about the problems with Solo Leveling's story, but I'd like to assume that's something we're all aware of. So, on the negative side, I'd like to highlight the decision to adapt Jeju Island in so few episodes. This was supposed to be an important arc, but it felt like just another arc, where the rest of the characters were just cannon fodder while the protagonist entered the scene. The quality of the fights diminished as the story progressed. We went from having understandable choreography and movement in detailed environments to being treated to a light show with pointless stage destruction.
There are many good and bad things we could say, but I don't want to spend too much time on Solo Leveling. I'll just close by saying Solo Leveling was never an RPG; this was always a gacha because Powercreep is insane.
