I saw comments on the novel about how it wasn't good compared to the manhwa and thought to myself why?

Based on what you said it seems like Solo Levelling originally got popular for the manhwa, so that clears a bunch of things up for me.
I was looking for an action heavy translated novel and this one caught my eye. For a weak to strong novel that doesn't have more than 300 chapters, I'd say that it is very good.

After finishing the novel I read the manhwa and other than the art style and character design being amazing, it was very bland. Like majority of the plot and characters didn't get a chance to develop properly.

For me the manhwa is average in terms of plot, but I loved the novel. Maybe I'm being biased because I read the novel first and if I had gone the other way I'd think of the manhwa as lacking and the novel as mediocre but I went the way I went. And I like the novel cause its good.

    Nah, Even though i read the raws first then the novel to the manwha it literally still retain that same generic boredom. Dungeon type and the like are pretty common nowadays. Just the first impression was the catch honestly.

      Sollkiri for full context at that time I hadn't read a single dungeoning novel. And even now I don't think I've fully read any other dungeoning novel, so maybe thats why I find this one so good.

          solo leveling good or bad? I think it depends on each reader taste and what do they like.
          For me, I already reads the complete novel and I like it.
          I also already read the first season of its comic, and I like it too.
          I tend to enjoy what I read and if I did not like what I read, I usually did not complain about it and just look for other story to read to make me happy. 😆

          TheGentlemenWorld
          Well, simple and bland stories getting popular is nothing new.
          I went into the manhwa expecting to have fun and nothing more and I had fun. If I thought it would be a masterpiece then yeah, I'd be disappointed af.

            I haven't read the novel. I don't want to actually. I haven't finished the Omniscient reader yet( because I am kinda bored?). Solo leveling is the first fantasy 'video game' manhwa I read and I can really tell what ppl actually liked— Jinwoo's face, that he is a badass, that he is stronger than anybody else at the moment and Jinwoo's face. But I must say the artwork is hella dope. Some people liked the plot even though for me it is um...I can not tell since I haven't read the novel. His first goal was to save his mother which is ordinary because it is everywhere.

            2 months later

            I created this account only to complain:

            I just finished the Light Novel, and I'll drop the Manhua, it's not worth it. The fact that it is 6.5/10 should tell you a lot. At first I was confused: "How can it be 6.5? The Manhua is amazing! Some problems, but it is worth at least a 7.5 - 8!" But after finishing the light novel: yeah, 6.5 is pretty there.

            There were so many plot holes... I Had a shower before this comment, and I started thinking about all that's wrong in the story. 40minutes of showering and I still wasn't done.

            Without giving spoilers:
            As all said: the personality change.
            The appearance.
            The fact that he added a human to his shadows, and not only added that human, but he killed that human, without a special quest. (Yeah, they forgot about it in Manhua, and they continued to forget about it in the light novel)
            His relationship with Cha Hae-In (you will see).
            His OP existence in a world that was meant to be fair.

            And there are dozens more in the current Manhua, but I will need to share spoilers for you to understand.

            If somebody is interested in spoilers, write me.

            Overall, boring light novel that does its best to make no sense... Time not well spent.

              3 months later
              16 days later
              12 days later

              itsmeTuba it's an amazing light novel. It's absolutely amazing. The character is badass af and the growth is astonishing. This man became a "player" of some sorts and was able to become powerful as hell. It was the right kind of OP too. He is OP, but even then, the author states through Sung Jinwoo that there are even stronger beings. So he's not OP right off the bat. So that was great. His emotional and mental sets changed to accommodate his growth and change into the Monarch of Shadows but he still had a good side to him. Nice and badass. His shadow soldiers even have their own personality which adds for some funny parts and even seeing that even though they are commanded by Sung, they still have their own little camaraderie going on. That right there is also amazing. And then Sung'a quest to find out what the system is adds more to a reader's yearning or should at least. And then the whole setting. Modern world mashed with a fantasy world that had a realistic feel to it because lets be honest, if this was our world, we would also try to monopolize the dungeons and invade then for fun even. Like it captures everything. But the mash up works even better because the dungeon side also is connected to a complete dimension that affects the entire world. From the Monarchs and Rulers to the lowest ranking goblin. A whole thing. It adds so much. And you can argue that the characters didnt have any growth but I say I disagree. Because when all these characters were introduced, they were already super strong and had been basically set in stone. Characters like Choi and Cha and Thomas etc were already at their power limits when Sung climbed to their level and further beyond. Their strength may have not drastically changed, but their minds and emotions did. Once proud and even arrogant hunters, to humbled and even motivated. The author set up a rivalry yet also a friendship as these S-rank hunters who thought they had it all quickly realized there is so much more to it than they thought. The struggles of every country and even including so many countries and show how each of them are impacted by certain scenarios makes it so much better. And you can't help but root for Sung when he goes badads or does something. Even says something. It's an amazing light novel and if you have failed to actually look into it deeper and not notice anything other than the main character himself, then no wonder you found it so bad. Sure it has a few cheesy moments but every book and comic and novel even movies have that. I honestly recommend re-reading it and actually take your time to notice. Dont just blow through it because it's a "light novel". It is still a story and stories deserve your time and full undivided attention.

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