Saving Japan from total destruction at the hands of the King of Giants earns Jinwoo and Ahjin Guild world-wide recognition and a spot at the International Guild Conference. But heading to America means crossing paths with Dongsoo Hwang, who has a bone to pick with Jinwoo about the death of his brother―and isn’t above using Jinho as bait!
I hide the entire review because i think this Arc didn't get collected in English volume yet. Back to this manga new developments, its time for the jeju island raid. We get introduced to a bunch of S rank hunters from Japan, and sung jinwoo is not taking part in the raid, and he seems to be even more powerful than the most powerful hunter in japan. This Manga is called Solo Leveling for a reason, you think these guys are powerful? well all the Koreans will fail, and half the Japanese will be killed. Sung Jinwoo will always have to play the savior in this manga, its a solo affair. Now i don't mind that USA and Russia and China were able to complete S rank Gates, but how the fuck France with a population of 67 million, managed to become lucky enough and get Enough S rank hunters to complete an S rank gate? The Japanese Team manage to beat the Queen of the Ants, But there is an ultimate warrior of the Ants that had been born, he kills 5 of the Japanese, and then goes to the Koreans and kills the retired S rank hunter, and then goes back to the Japanese and kills one of Goto's entourage and then kills Goto himself. Now only bad thing about this Issue again the fighting scenes, you need to go over them twice to make sure you got who actually ended up dead and who didn't and how they were killed too
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Outstanding artwork, great and complex story. Loveable characters, all the freaking feels. If you're a manhwa reader, you can't skip this one.
It's over, and I don't know how exactly I will get over it, but it's definitely the best manhwa I've read.
However, I must admit that I'm not all that pleased with the turn it took by the end. But here is more about a personal preference, so do not consider it if you decide to give it a go <3.
The lore that was dropped in this volume was insane. THE S RANK GATE HAVING A MONARCH TRAPPED IN IT, THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PROPHECY, THE RULERS AND MONARCH WAR, THE GATES OPENING BEING THE RULERS DOING FOR PREP FOR ANOTHER WAR, THE MONSTERS BEING THE DENIZENS OF THE RULERS AND FOUR HUMANS BORROWING MAGICAL ENERGY FROM THE RULERS AND JINWOOS DAD POTENTIALLY BEING ONE OF THOSE HUMANS. INSANE. The greatest fragment of brilliant light was so unexpected too like an unknown National Rank hunter. The fact he was killed so easily😭😭. P. S. I take this back. He actually was just a fragment of 9 people 💀 Love how Jinwoo is just so OP, like he beat an s rank gate all on his own. Sixth National Rank Hunter has a nice ring to it😍😍😍. That dragon shadow was so cute. I wish it could’ve served Jinwoo as one of his servants😭😭😭 Also FUCK HWANG DONGSU. I HOPE THAT MF DIES NEXT VOLUME FOR HURTING INNOCENT JINHO!!! P. S. I FUCKING MISSED TWO CHAPTERS IN THIS VOLUME BUT HOLY FUCK. THAT BITCH HWANG DONGSU ISNT DEAD. BUT THE NATION LEVEL HUNTERS BEING THE HUNTERS THAT BORROWED POWERS FROM THE RULERS OMG OMG. SUNG JINWOO PLEASE DONT DIE😭😭
Third re-read of the series, and I am enjoying the journey, so let's go on and continue the next one.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh Mannnn!!!!!!! What an end! I have been saying again and again that I read this in March this year, and reading it again. The thing is till then only the 9th Volume was published in English. So volume I am reading it for the first time but the series I have finished in my first time and will do the same now as well so let's Keep on Reading.
I have always loved comics, and I have I can. I love comics to bits, may the comics never leave my side. I loved reading this and love reading more, you should also read what you love and hope always to love them. Even though I grew up reading local Indian comics like Raj Comics, Diamond Comics, or even Manoj Comics, now's the time to catch up on international and classic comics and Graphic novels. I am on my quest to read as many comics as I just want to Keep on Reading.
The National Level Hunter arc is one of my favorites in this whole story. Now that Jinwoo is tapping into his full powers everyone is starting to make things happen between the Rulers and the Monarchs. I can’t wait. For the next volume!
4.5 WHAT JUST HAPPENED NO WHAT, AND THE END!? I CANT WAITT
“They are preparing for a war”.
“A rematch between the monarchs and the rulers”.
“The power you possess isn’t actually yours. But that you now wield it is evidence that the original owner betrayed the other monarchs. You’ve become the enemy of both monarchs and the rulers”.
“It appears we’ve met a little too late”.
“Four people had borrowed the rulers’ powers. Perhaps those five hunters who survived kamish’s raid in other words, the four remaining national level hunters might be the ones who did”
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
I understand due to life circumstances but I have to say it,,,the ending was a remarkable letdown - there are hours, 178 chapters or so, of amazing buildup only to get one chapter of an abrupt and unnecessary reversal of the previous 178 chapters in 2 minutes. The ending completely removes the meaning from the sacrifices made and the time painstakingly put into world building and character development. Just stop reading at like chapter 177, and you’ll have a really addicting A possible S-tier manhwa - the ending really just leaves an unsatisfying aftertaste, unfortunately.
Seeing Beru trying to be the only one who gets the closest spot to his king is just adorable!! The way he was calling Jinwoo's mom Queen Mother awwwn!!
This manhwa just keeps getting better and better. That boss (monarch) was a simple kill but imagine if it was someone else, reviving that message saying we cant lie to each other, PERIOD. a lot of people would unchain him and probably die (or almost at least) but anyone with some type of brain would know even with that alliance (message) you can ask all the questions you want and they won’t be lying but if it’s something like this, you’re not asking the right questions. The reason he earned so much exp from a simple fight is cause through all that, he was able to not only get useful info that wars him about the future, but he was also able to see deception and not bite the apple.
Awwe Jinwoo's so soft for jinho, I love him. I pray that their friendship will remain strong as this manhwa progresses. His birthday gift to jinho was his father's life.
If you ever feel useless, just remember Mr Woo was sent as Jinwoo's bodyguard. He himself was questioning his life!!
The reason I hate Hwang the most is the that Jinwoo's dad is a wanted criminal because Hwang fought him and got his ass kicked! He's a fool to mess with jinwoo. If you really wanna court death, this is how you do it. Hwang Dong-Soo, you... you ought to know how to pick a better time to fight and who you fight... WELP RIP no one's going to miss you!!
I'm kinda same upset as jinwoo cause he couldn't get Kamish's shadow because then his power would've been much more higher I'll miss him kinda.
Let's see what'll happen to Thomas now.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
The hits don't stop! But... the politics increase.... Highlights: - Jinwoo is able to defeat a majority of the giants in Shinjuku, as well as their leader, but then when he goes through the gate they came out of, he meets Regia, Monarch of the Beginning. A deal is almost made, but then Jinwoo annihilates him. - We are introduced to the concept of "National Level Hunter", which is above S Rank. We meet Christopher Reed, but he is soon killed. Jinwoo's Father is the prime suspect. - Jinwoo and Jinho represent Korea as Ahjin Guild at the International Guild Conference. Tensions are definitely there. - Jinwoo is taken to the remains of Kamish, a dragon who caused massive amounts of damage in America when he came out of a gate years ago. Jinwoo tries to extract his shadow, and succeeds, but it is short lived, as he had been dead too long. - Dongsoo Hwang, brother of Dongsuk Hwang (who died in a much earlier dungeon back when Jinwoo was an E Rank Hunter) takes Jinho and holds him hostage. Jinwoo rescues him and totally defeats Dongsoo. - Thomas Andre, the highest ranking hunter in the world, tries to stop Jinwoo from destroying Dongsoo. Let the battle begin.... Shadow vs Light!
Going on to the next Volume! This is so great! High recommend.
After battling giants in Japan and getting some key information about the mythology, Jin suddenly has to go all Neeson on some fools.
"I don’t know who you are. I don’t know what you want. If you are looking for ransom I can tell you I don’t have money, but what I do have are a very particular set of skills. Skills I have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you. If you let my [partner] go now that’ll be the end of it. I will not look for you, I will not pursue you, but if you don’t, I will look for you, I will find you and I will kill you."
OMG! There's a huge cliffhanger and my local library doesn't have the next volume already?!?! Must place order request!
FOR REFERENCE:
Contents [print edition, 304 pp.]: Chapter 28. The King of Giants -- Chapter 29. Heading to America -- Chapter 30. National-Level Hunter
Re-read. The final day of the year was spent binge reading SA, then watching the anime, whilst playing the game. This time read on the desktop. Some of these are cool to read double spread, there's minimum white space and the art is beautiful. I didn't notice on the kindle. Others are done as manga, which is a pain to read on the desktop since they don't line up. Still a great series.
November 2024 Kindle edition
Didn't bother with a recap because I'll probably do a re-read when Reawakening releases. Starts off with the monarch of giants going down, a favour for a friend waking the dad from the final stages of rest, and ends with a clash between Thomas and Jinwoo, thanks to a brother's revenge. Love the Beru moments. Next one is going to be chaos.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Jinwoo is in America to attend the International Guild Conference, hoping to learn more about what is behind the sudden sightings of his father - but when Jinho vanishes, he faces not only the brute force of Hwang Dongsoo, but the untamable pride of his leader, National Rank Thomas Andre! Chugong will keep readers glued to every tense and action-packed panel of this exhilarating entry, another top tier feast for the eyes. Pity to anyone that stands between Jinwoo and his comrades...
I'm only still rating this as highly as I am because maybe it's wrapping up soon, so things are starting to fall into place. The single brain cell of Jinwoo's that's egging him on to be the World's Strongest is starting to sound sane, since "YOU KILLED MY BROTHAH!!1" Hunter Hwang is STILL on Jinwoo's case with the lack of imagination to believe that his brother was the one who started it, and Jinwoo just acted in self-defence, besides all of the threats and his desire to not be threatened (or have his family/friends threatened).
I mean, I guess *I* wouldn't believe it either, given that Jinwoo's abilities are absolutely absurd. Point is, this is the supposed justification for Jinwoo's heart turning to stone and on the face of it having no mind for anything other than Get Stronger. I don't love it, but I also can't expect much else from "shounen"* titles—this honestly should not surprise me.
Anyway, vague points for explaining things, I guess, though it will probably be better seeing the anime to be able to parse some of the action scenes. Not that I prefer it (other than for Jinwoo's voice actor, woof!), since really the only improvement is the "animated" part—going still-by-still, the manhwa is much better art quality. (I'm also severely disappointed by the current season's ending theme, yikes.)
*I know this is a Korean title, but the whole action-oriented storyline exaggerated to beyond absurd "power levels" thing, where the characters become so unfathomably strong that they *flex* and some random bystander goes into a coma or whatever.
Hmm. This one was a bit much on the testosterone scale, like someone spilled a protein shake all over the script and called it plot.
We’re still neck-deep in dungeon chaos, with Jinwoo still in Japan to swat giants like a mythological exterminator. The revelations tucked in here were tasty, though finally, some breadcrumbs about the big, bad, looming threats we haven’t seen yet.
And Beru. Sweet, dramatic, loyal Beru. Absolute gem. I love how he’s gone full historical drama sidekick, protecting his king’s honor like he’s auditioning for a K-drama reboot of The Three Musketeers. Ten out of ten would follow into battle and a costume ball.
But the rest of the cast is starting to feel like set dressing. Everyone’s either fawning over Jinwoo or grumbling in his shadow, and it’s getting old. I get it; he’s powerful. World-shaking. Probably glows in the dark. But could we not let the supporting characters support something other than his ego?
Also, the showdown here is entirely avoidable. Less of a plot development, more of a chest-thumping power exhibition. Could’ve been solved with a nice cup of tea and a chat. Instead, we got the magical equivalent of boys in a parking lot revving their engines.