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My first impression of Solo Leveling was that it was just another video game isekai similar to the anime series Sword Art Online, which told the story of a young man named Kirito who ends up trapped in a video game world. Since Kirito came across to me as a strong male anime hero who always wins, I was reluctant to watch or read similar works. Since I was mildly curious about Korean webtoons, I ended up giving Solo Leveling a chance.

Why Solo Leveling's Sung Jin-Woo isn't your standard Isekai hero

Although Sung Jin-Woo appeared to be similar to Kirito based on his appearance in the first collection of Solo Leveling, I would soon realize that these two characters are drastically different from each other. One way that they differ is how Sung Jin-Woo is considered  'the weakest hunter'  among his peers, while Kirito is admired for his strength. You see, Sung lives in a world where hunters manifested after mysterious dungeon portals opened up and humans gained magical abilities. Sung is classed as a low-rank hunter because he gained very little magic.

Another factor that ended up drawing me to Sung Jin Woo as a character was that he is reluctant to be a heroic hunter, whereas Kirito embraced his role as a budding and competent leader. As it turns out, the only reason that Sung participates in dangerous dungeon raids as a hunter is because of his personal circumstances. Sung's mother is sick and hospitalized, but working for the Hunter Association allows them to help cover her hospital bills. Not only that, but Sung's younger sister Jinah plans to go to college and Sung has no other skills that would let him take on less risky work. In short, Sung works as a hunter out of a sense of duty to provide for his family.

How my own life connected me to Solo Leveling

Since there were only three of us living together and my mother's health worsened after my father's passing, I was told by other family members, "Be strong for your mother." I took that to heart all too well, pushing aside my own grief and other emotional needs for 11 years to fulfill my duties as my mother's caregiver, get my bachelor's, and embark on my freelance writing career. 

Besides a shared sense of duty, another trait that I noticed Sung and I share is disregarding our own well-being for the sake of others. One page has Sung explaining to healer Joohee how he participated in a dungeon raid where he was the only one injured due to being in a party with high-rank hunters and no healer. When Joohee replies how the hunters were selfish, Sung just says, "It's not their fault I'm weak."

Back in 2023, I started to display tell-tale signs of caregiver burnout, including anger towards my mother, increased depression, and exhaustion that made it hard for me to work and sometimes do tasks like cleaning and cooking for myself. Yet all the while, I blamed myself for not being 'stronger', not willing to acknowledge that this thought was part of a racist stereotype of 'The Strong Black Woman', which has historically reduced Black women to caretakers of everyone but themselves. It didn't matter that I was genderqueer or a mixed-race Black-Asian caring for a Vietnamese mother. I still felt that my own emotional needs weren't as important as my mother's physical ones and it would cost me dearly. It would also do the same for Solo Leveling's Sung Jing Woo as he barely manages to scrape by with the help of healers, his speed, and his own resourcefulness.

The hero's journey of Solo Leveling (and me)

Of course, Sung eventually learns the hard way that he can't disregard his physical safety forever. At Volume 1's climax, he unwittingly completes a secret quest called 'Courage of The Weak' when he decides to sacrifice himself to let the other party members escape from a double dungeon. As a result, he is able to become a 'Player' in a video game only he is aware of and to avoid dying a grisly death. In exchange, he has to complete daily tasks in order to level up his stats or get a life-or-death penalty, hence the 'solo leveling'.

As with Sung, I learned that just because I am my mother's caregiver doesn't mean that I should ignore my own emotional needs. Since my emotional needs are tied to my mental and physical health, neglecting it would result in me having caregiver burnout and worsening the depression that I have battled since my teen years. In 2024, there came a day when I was so emotionally numb that I couldn't care about being a caregiver or myself. As a result, I decided to start therapy to manage caregiver stress and learn to acknowledge my emotional needs.

Although Sung was reluctant to be a hunter, he ended up being resourceful and loyal enough to surpass his status as the weakest and start valuing his own life to grow stronger. Sung's story affirmed that even though I am a family caregiver who often feels unappreciated, my life is not worthless and not solely defined by this role.

Here's how to watch the Solo Levelling anime in order.