{"id":93058,"date":"2024-02-16T15:57:27","date_gmt":"2024-02-16T15:57:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wrongeverytime.com\/?p=39236"},"modified":"2024-02-16T15:57:27","modified_gmt":"2024-02-16T15:57:27","slug":"solo-leveling-episode-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gamefootballmobileanimeiphone.com\/index.php\/2024\/02\/16\/solo-leveling-episode-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Solo Leveling \u2013 Episode 1"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we\u2019re checking out a new property I was recently commissioned, as we explore the first episode of the currently airing Solo Leveling. To be perfectly honest, I\u2019m not entirely sure what to expect from this one, or how exactly it might be my sort of thing; the synopsis seems to indicate it\u2019s basically a post-Sword Art Online riff on similar concepts, and I didn\u2019t really have anything positive to say about the original Sword Art Online. \u201cWe\u2019re growing stronger in a world that\u2019s essentially a videogame\u201d is a concept that has very little appeal to me; I prefer my fantasy worlds to be realized as genuine places, and am of the wrong generation to get a thrill out of watching someone else be excellent at a videogame.<\/span><\/p>\n

In general, I see these works as the consequence of fans not reading broadly, or really at all; if you only consume videogames and light novels, you are almost categorically incapable of writing something rich enough to keep my interest. As for the staff, neither director nor art director nor series composer have any noteworthy credits to their names, but I imagine we\u2019re in for some bombastic musical cues courtesy of the ever-excessive Hiroyuki Sawano. With almost no idea of what we\u2019re getting into, let\u2019s check out the first episode of Solo Leveling!<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

Episode 1<\/b><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201c3 Years Ago.\u201d It seems this quasi-isekai falls into the \u201cportals to another world suddenly opened in our own\u201d category, like GATE. Hopefully this show\u2019s a lot better than that one!<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s funny, it wasn\u2019t actually the onslaught of lousy isekai that eventually broke the camel\u2019s back as far as formal reviews went; it was Don\u2019t Toy With Me, Miss Nagatoro. The show isn\u2019t exceptionally bad or anything, but I can still vividly recall watching it for a series review and thinking \u201cI cannot waste another moment of my life cataloging the aesthetic qualities of someone else\u2019s fetish material.\u201d Couldn\u2019t do it! Had to stop watching random stuff just because I was paid to review it, or risk burning myself out on anime altogether<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Granted, it could have just as easily been an isekai. There isn\u2019t a single show in this current wave I\u2019d consider a meaningful addition to the medium\u2019s canon – and having gotten more deeply into \u201870s and \u201880s anime, I can\u2019t even say that\u2019s just the natural result of only the top five percent of anything being good. The medium is absolutely suffering through a uniquely artless cultural moment<\/span><\/p>\n

Anyway, Solo Leveling. There\u2019s some battle going on on an island, and a nearby battleship\u2019s commander is lamenting that \u201cnone of our weapons can do any damage to those things.\u201d A preemptive answer to a common question in stories like this, emphasizing why this particular show\u2019s form of weaponry is preferable to traditional firepower. The proud tradition of Minovsky Particles lives on<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got no choice but to leave this to the hunters.\u201d Of course, that explanation chafes a bit as a reason why folks are wandering around the island in straight-up medieval getups, complete with swords and wizard staves. Isekai writers like European or Dragon Quest-esque fantasy worlds, but they don\u2019t tend to like thinking about them very much; \u201cwe\u2019re all fans of these games\u201d is generally the underlying justification for their presence, which doesn\u2019t lead to the most textured or thematically purposeful settings. Every stone in Lord of the Rings has a history and context; in modern anime, “that’s how it is in my favorite gatcha game” is considered context enough<\/span><\/p>\n

The hunters are fighting some giant ants. It doesn\u2019t go well for them!<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s no good! We\u2019re too low-ranked to stand a chance!\u201d Yeah, this whole system of being self-conscious of your game stats just never works dramatically. It feels wildly artificial, and also just plain boring. If the author didn\u2019t bother caring about the substance of their world, why should I? There are infinite realms of fantasy with rich worlds that actually reward further investigation, and whose specific worldbuilding choices neatly echo their stories\u2019 larger ideas – I\u2019m not gonna be reading \u201cwhat if I was the best in the world at World of Warcraft\u201d when I could be reading Ray Bradbury or Terry Pratchett<\/span><\/p>\n

Suddenly, a high level cleric appears and saves them!<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cAmazing, he healed me in an instant.\u201d <\/span>Is<\/span><\/i> that amazing? That\u2019s another thing about this sort of worldbuilding – nothing really feels substantive, because it\u2019s all based on arbitrary background numbers rather than tactics or emotional journeys. I wouldn\u2019t call Robert Jordan a great writer or anything, but at least The Wheel of Time understood how to establish stakes and seed character growth<\/span><\/p>\n

Apparently he\u2019s an S-rank hunter, accompanied by two others. Then a giant white ant appears!<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think that\u2019s the boss.\u201d I suppose it is what it is. The next generation of anime fans respond positively to stories about playing videogames, so that\u2019s probably what we\u2019re getting from here out, but that doesn\u2019t mean the classics don\u2019t still exist, or that artists of genuine vision and skill aren\u2019t out there sculpting Sonny Boys and Heike Stories<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Some nice cuts as they defeat this monster – very aggressive distortions of form accompanied by a low drawing count, creating a sort of Kaneda-style sense of speed and impact<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cGuildmaster Choi, whenever you\u2019re ready!\u201d It\u2019s certainly a funny thing to have arrived at this point where so many arbitrary genre tropes are just taken for granted. No logical reason for soldiers to have formed into \u201cguilds\u201d here, that\u2019s just how it is in MMOs. They\u2019re not even riffing on medieval worldbuilding – they\u2019re riffing on videogames\u2019 riffs on medieval worldbuilding, wherein the generally craft-based system of guild artisans is reframed as independent alliances of players<\/span><\/p>\n

Oh no, even more ants!<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Apparently these gates appeared over <\/span>ten<\/span><\/i> years ago, in fact<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe other side of each gate teemed with creatures called \u201cmagic beasts,\u201d who were immune to conventional weaponry.\u201d I was clearly born in the wrong era – I was writing this sort of hack \u201cthen my guys fight the monster guys\u201d stuff in middle school, I just wasn\u2019t posting it online. Granted, even then I was probably too focused on character drama to really captivate this \u201cI want to be the strongest hero who beats up all the monsters\u201d crowd, nor was my work so creatively barren as to rely on videogame worldbuilding<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOnce these powers have awakened, no amount of effort can ever result in greater strength.\u201d A system that speaks to the anxieties underlying this whole genre wave, a fear of being left behind and unable to compete in an arbitrary modern world. Given that, the allure of escaping to a videogame world where clear efforts earn clear dividends is naturally compelling – and given our protagonist\u2019s current status at the bottom, it\u2019s clear his superpower will be his ability to rise through these ranks, conveying the fantasy of overcoming society\u2019s judgment and succeeding on your own merits. Like Chainsaw Man and many other stories, the impoverished nature of this fantasy really speaks to how fully the real world has ground us down, to the point where our most lofty fantasies are things like \u201cthe effort I put in at work gets appreciated\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

We then jump to the present day, wherein folks are gearing up for the day\u2019s raid. Not really sure why we did that whole \u201cthree years earlier\u201d cut in the first place, given it was just a random battle starring characters we don\u2019t know. I suppose just to get some action in early, but beating up giant ants isn\u2019t exactly my idea of thrilling conflict<\/span><\/p>\n

One guy just got back into raiding due to his wife\u2019s pregnancy, and wonders if he\u2019s still in shape. Sorry dude, you\u2019re definitely dying today<\/span><\/p>\n

Our hero Sung arrives, looking much like every other Kirito replica. His nickname is \u201cThe Weakest Hunter of All Mankind,\u201d which seems a little mean<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

His name is Jinwoo, and apparently a girl named Joohee is worried about him. Guessing she\u2019s dead too, which will precipitate some sort of reflection from our hero on how it sucks to be powerless, which will in turn precipitate him awakening to his powers. Not particularly hard to write one of these things<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s my fault for being so weak.\u201d Having your strength be tied to some arbitrary number just seems fundamentally antithetical to interesting conflict. No strategy, no outwitting your opponent, no clash of uniquely defined abilities, just \u201cis my number big enough to beat your number.\u201d They have adapted what is most boring and formulaic about games back into a medium that was itself dumbed down and formalized in order to originally work as game design, losing what is genuinely fantastical about fantasy in the process. Gandalf\u2019s powers being ill-defined isn\u2019t a failing, it is a <\/span>strength<\/span><\/i> of the written word, allowing magic to truly feel eerie and limitless. You don\u2019t have to use numbers when you\u2019re writing prose, but so many of these writers only understand numbers, not prose or imagination<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Elsewhere, some corporate head of a hunter association is musing on the \u201cessence stones\u201d collected from magical beasts<\/span><\/p>\n

Some solid character choreography as Jinwoo gets absolutely wrecked by a goblin<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe essence stones collected from these beasts can be turned into powerful weapons and gear for fighting other beasts.\u201d It appears our author has played Monster Hunter<\/span><\/p>\n

But apparently the government\u2019s interested in them as a clean energy source! Alright, now I\u2019m sitting up, there might be a theme approaching here<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cI guess it\u2019s over. And all I have to show for it is an E-rank essence stone. Hardly worth dying over.\u201d Another beat that\u2019s gilded with a touch of thematic heft, reflecting the cruel bargain of modern society<\/span><\/p>\n

They find another dungeon attached to their own. The leader advises caution, but the group want to progress – again, I like how \u201che\u2019s got another kid on the way\u201d is such a grounded cause for recklessness, tethering these isekai themes directly back to their real-world analogues<\/span><\/p>\n

And of course, Sung casts the deciding vote for exploring this annex, which will ultimately make him feel responsible for all their deaths<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cNow that Dad\u2019s gone missing, I\u2019m the only one who can provide for my family.\u201d Like the other guy with his kid on the way, the financial constraints of modern society are what is truly oppressing Sung, and forcing him into these reckless pursuits of glory<\/span><\/p>\n

Elsewhere, hunters are being asked to touch The Orb, while other recruiters attempt to sign contracts with B- and C-rank hunters. Making isekai\u2019s underlying capitalist metaphor explicit continues to be this show\u2019s cleverest trick<\/span><\/p>\n

Apparently \u201cGuildmaster Choi\u201d from that initial flashback now controls a massive hunter organization<\/span><\/p>\n

Meanwhile, cool beauty and expert hunter Cha Hae-in effortlessly dispatches some purse snatchers<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

But she\u2019s so flustere<\/span>d! Could we know a man sensitive enough to disarm her anxious personality? I think we just might!<\/span><\/p>\n

Back in the dungeon, Joohee reprimands Sung for his reckless choice to continue the dungeon crawl<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWell in that case, maybe you should treat me to show your gratitude.\u201d Oh no, she\u2019s asking him out! It\u2019s her last day on the force! She\u2019s three days away from retirement! Anyway yeah, classic trick for ratcheting up the sense of tragedy or missed opportunity right before you kill someone<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf you want to survive, this advice will serve you above all else: please, be afraid.\u201d Nice contrast of the president\u2019s speech and this fateful door opening<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

I swear to god it better not be ants behind that door<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s not ants, whew. It\u2019s a chamber lined with massive statues and inscriptions of laws that intruders must follow. I like the implication of some grand alternate theology existing within these portal worlds – that\u2019s genuine fantasy, not just game variables<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMost hunters buy powerful gear with the treasure they find. But this cheap knife is all I can afford. If it breaks, I have to fight empty-handed.\u201d This is one point where the fantasy tends to lose me – it\u2019s a personal escape based on personal grievance, not a call to solidarity. Your peers are frequently framed as opponents who are getting unfair advantages, rather than fellow victims of capitalism; it\u2019s a flattering but ultimately insular and self-defeating perspective<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

And Done<\/b><\/p>\n

Welp, that was Solo Leveling! Pretty much what I expected – a standard isekai with reasonably impressive production values, alongside all of the narrative tropes that tend to make me uninterested in the larger genre. The drama was too gamified and predictable to really engage me, but I certainly didn\u2019t find it to be an unpleasant watch or anything, just not a particularly compelling one. When a fantasy story\u2019s worldbuilding is this underwritten, it falls to the characters to carry the drama, but Song unfortunately doesn\u2019t feel any different from the standard underdog protagonist you tend to see in these features. A perfectly reasonable iteration of this story for its intended audience, but nothing that someone outside of that crowd needs to bother with.<\/span><\/p>\n

This\u00a0article\u00a0was\u00a0mad<\/a><\/em>e possible by reader support<\/a>. Thank you all for\u00a0all that you do.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n

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SalesExecutive@ITSec.vip<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we\u2019re checking out a new property I was recently commissioned, as we explore the first episode of the currently airing Solo Leveling. To be perfectly honest, I\u2019m not entirely sure \u2026 Continue reading \u2192<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":65,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"site-container-style":"default","site-container-layout":"default","site-sidebar-layout":"default","disable-article-header":"default","disable-site-header":"default","disable-site-footer":"default","disable-content-area-spacing":"default","footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[61,122,127,129,124,128,125,132,131,133,126,130,123,66,94,88,97,56,64,65,60,112,40,75,95,104,33,120,105,101,98,115,30,29,41,86,70,69,68,72,71,26,118,108,87,46,55,48,52,54,51,50,83,62,58,57,109,35,59,63,85,79,82,96,80,27,81,114,44,42,43,45,38,39,110,117,100,111,116,73,89,90,92,91,93,84,78,37,102,34,36,77,67,74,99,113,119,28,121,32,47,49,53,103,31,76],"class_list":["post-93058","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-anime","tag-airpods","tag-anime","tag-anime-characters","tag-anime-cosplay","tag-anime-edits","tag-anime-merchandise","tag-anime-movies","tag-anime-news","tag-anime-recommendations","tag-anime-reviews","tag-anime-series","tag-anime-streaming","tag-animes","tag-app-store","tag-app-store-samsung","tag-appgallery","tag-appgallery-oneplus","tag-apple","tag-apple-music","tag-apple-tv","tag-apple-watch","tag-bbc-sport","tag-best-mobile-games","tag-bixby","tag-bixby-xiaomi","tag-champions-league","tag-cyberpunk","tag-cyberpunk-2077","tag-fantasy-football","tag-fifa","tag-football","tag-formula-1","tag-fortnite","tag-free-fire","tag-free-mobile-games","tag-freebuds-pro","tag-galaxy-a52","tag-galaxy-note-20","tag-galaxy-s21","tag-galaxy-watch-4","tag-galaxy-z-fold-3","tag-game","tag-games","tag-golf","tag-harmonyos","tag-how-to-backup-iphone","tag-how-to-factory-reset-iphone","tag-how-to-reset-iphone","tag-how-to-restore-iphone","tag-how-to-unlock-iphone","tag-how-to-unlock-iphone-5","tag-how-to-unlock-iphone-6","tag-huawei","tag-ios","tag-ipad","tag-iphone","tag-live-soccer","tag-lol","tag-macbook","tag-macos","tag-mate-40-pro","tag-mi-11-lite","tag-mi-home-security-camera-basic-1080p","tag-mi-home-security-camera-basic-1080p-huawei","tag-mi-smart-band-6","tag-minecraft","tag-miui","tag-mlb-scores","tag-mobile-game-design","tag-mobile-game-development","tag-mobile-game-marketing","tag-mobile-game-monetization","tag-mobile-games","tag-mobile-gaming","tag-nba-scores","tag-nba-standings","tag-nfl","tag-nfl-scores","tag-nhl-scores","tag-one-ui","tag-oneplus","tag-oneplus-9-pro","tag-oneplus-buds-pro","tag-oneplus-nord-ce-5g","tag-oxygenos","tag-p40-pro-plus","tag-poco-x3-pro","tag-pokemon","tag-premier-league","tag-pubg","tag-pubg-mobile","tag-redmi-note-10-pro","tag-samsung","tag-samsung-pay","tag-soccer","tag-sports","tag-steam","tag-steeam","tag-top-10-anime","tag-valorant","tag-when-do-the-iphone-7-come-out","tag-when-does-the-iphone-7-come-out","tag-when-is-the-iphone-7-coming-out","tag-world-cup","tag-xbox-series-x","tag-xiaomi"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gamefootballmobileanimeiphone.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93058","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gamefootballmobileanimeiphone.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gamefootballmobileanimeiphone.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gamefootballmobileanimeiphone.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/65"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gamefootballmobileanimeiphone.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=93058"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/gamefootballmobileanimeiphone.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93058\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":95525,"href":"https:\/\/gamefootballmobileanimeiphone.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93058\/revisions\/95525"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gamefootballmobileanimeiphone.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=93058"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gamefootballmobileanimeiphone.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=93058"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gamefootballmobileanimeiphone.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=93058"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}