This review contains minor spoilers .

If manga is fine french cuisine then manhwa is fast food that you can't stop eating. And Solo leveling is one of them. Not just one of them, it's one of the best manhwa.

It's set in an urban fantasy setting. Ten years ago, "the Gate" appeared and connected the real world with the realm of magic and monsters. To combat these vile beasts, ordinary people received superhuman powers and became known as "Hunters."

Many story shoehorns fantasy in a setting and don't count for the consequences. But this manga does a good job at showing a society with access to magic and dungeons.

We follow Sung Jin-Woo, a 20 year old hunter trying to make money for his mother's treatment. One day, after a brutal encounter in an overpowered dungeon wipes out his party and threatens to end his life, a mysterious System chooses him as its sole player. Now he has the power to level up his powers like an RPG character.

It's an underdog story with a good protagonist. We see Sung go through a lot. He goes from a wimp to a badass at the end of the seasons and it's super satisfying. He fights various monsters and levels up. But no matter how strong he gets, the fights still stay entertaining throughout the manga.

Sung is a very likeable protagonist. Even though he becomes super OP the manga doesn't become boring to read. Because not only he becomes strong but also he develops as a character. Sadly the side characters aren't as well explored as Sung. They don't get enough time and they are not as interesting as our protagonist. It would have been nice to see through another character's eyes.

(spoiler) [Skip this paragraph if you want to avoid spoiler]
Sung has a reason to become a hunter. He needs money for his mother's treatment. And there is a possibility that he might find a cure in a dungeon. He finds a cure and heals his mother and he tries to drop down from being a hunter. That's what i call good character writing. Many fictional settings don't tackle necromancers. If they do, most of them are evil by nature. Sung is a necromancer and the show nicely does the subject, It may be brief but it shows what the other characters think of him. Also for a brief moment the manga shows the problems of being one of the strongest humans and his public perception.
(End of spoiler)

The art is amazing in this manga. It's fully colored. The background art is breathtaking. It's very detailed and overall nice to look. The character designs are amazing and fit their character well. You can take any page and turn them into a wallpaper or a poster.

Summary
Solo leveling is a good manga with an amazing protagonist and thrilling fight scenes.