Runner ups for me I'd say is, Mushoku and DXD (yes someone tried to say DXD was deep bc apparently issei has 'trauma'.)
So, I read solo leveling when it was still pretty unknown, and I didn't really give it the time of day. It was just another webtoon with some system, rinse and repeat for manhwas imo. But I notice how it got AOTY and it annoyed me a bit.
So, here, I will respectfully go over why I believe Solo leveling is overrated
1. Rinse and Repeat story
The entire plot is just endless and on loop:
Jinwoo finds a dungeon.
Jinwoo struggles for 5 minutes.
Jinwoo gets a massive, unearned power-up.
Jinwoo completely obliterates the enemies while looking edgy in all-black, with that semen eye thing.
Side characters stand around with their mouths open, doing nothing but hyping him up.
Repeat.
There is zero tension because Jinwoo is never in any real danger after the first few chapters. He doesn't have a character arc; he just has a power-scaling arc, which is what I think it is for characters like him.
2. Side characters literally do not exist
Personally, I believe a good story needs a strong supporting cast. In Solo Leveling, every single side character, including the S-rank hunters and the love interest, exists solely to look weak so Jinwoo can look cool. They have no agency, no development, and are completely discarded the moment Jinwoo steps into the room. It’s pure, unfiltered self-insert wish fulfillment that got incredibly lucky with its art team.. I hate saying self-insert, but isn't that the point of mcs who are just fair-skinned and blackhaired? Something about the average Japanese viewer or sum?
3. There are dozens of manhwas doing this exact story, some good, some bad.
People act like Solo Leveling invented something revolutionary. It didn't. The "System" trope/"power system" is the most oversaturated genre in Korean webtoons. Here are some others that do almost the same? (but a bit better IMO)
-Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint
-The S-Classes That I Raised
-Doom Breaker (To Not Die/Reincarnation of the Suicidal Battle God)
Btw, do not be in the comments going "UGH, YOU DON'T HAVE TO WATCH IT!!!" or "UUGGGHHHHHHHH LET PEOPLE ENJOY THINGS!!!!" or, my least favorite "Dude, it's just turn your brain off fun". Like dude, I don't care whether or not you like or watch it. Just accept the critique or.. stop reading it lol
In all seriousness, idc if you like SL or not.. This is my opinion. So, if you come here trying to be a dick, i'm not gonna take you to seriously.
These anime are some of the cringiest and most disgusting things I've ever had the displeasure of watching. Each anime listed has moments that genuinely make you wonder
"How and why was this made?"
To make it clear, the scenes I am going to list here are going to hold the same issue. "Something extremely disgusting played off as a joke or is meant to be taken seriously". So, try not to die like I did. It'll be 5 for each :D
Meliodas and Elizabeth: In the very FIRST FUCKING episode (and my biggest red flag), when Elizabeth collapses from exhaustion, Meliodas immediately begins groping her chest and checking her underwear under the excuse of "checking her heartbeat." He does this almost every episode iirc, the groping thing I mean lmao
"My Woman.": In a season 2 flashback, after the destruction of Danafor, Meliodas is shown holding Elizabeth when she is a literal newborn infant. He aggressively yells at guards to "keep your hands off my woman," this is supposed to be taken seriously.
King and Diane: When the fairy King first meets the giant Diane, she is physically and mentally a young child living alone. King lives with her, watches her grow up, raised, and develops romantic feelings for her while she is still a child. He then erases her memories before leaving.
The biggest elephant in the room: While Elaine is technically hundreds of years old as a fairy, her physical form is explicitly drawn as an elementary school-aged child. The series treats her relationship with the adult Ban as a tragic, sweeping romance, and even features scenes of them sleeping together. A reminder that Elaine HAS an adult form that she can access with 0 issue, but the author and in turn herself.. CHOOSE to have her look like a little kid.
Merlin’s True Form Reveal: For a good chunk of the series, Merlin appears as a mature woman. However, the moment you think 2 characters are going to have a normal romantic relationship, it is eventually revealed that her true form is that of a small child who paused her own aging thousands of years prior.
Mushoku Tensei explicitly deals with a 34-year-old shut-in retaining his adult consciousness inside a growing body, leading to heavily criticized instances of grooming and predatory behavior. Do not let anyone who is a fan of this anime tell you otherwise. He is an adult in mind, memory, and consciousness.
Roxy’s Underwear: As a literal toddler, with the mind of a 34-year-old man, Rudeus steals his magic tutor Roxy's panties. He constructs a literal shrine to them in his room, treats them like a religious relic, and uses them for self-gratification throughout his childhood. A reminder this anime is supposed to be about "redemption"
Groping Sylphiette: When Rudeus is a young boy, he strips a crying Sylphiette down in a bath, realizing only then that she is a girl. Instead of apologizing and giving her privacy, his adult consciousness takes over, and he uses the opportunity to fondle her against her will.
Grooming of Eris: When hired as Eris's tutor, Rudeus openly acknowledges in his inner monologue that she is a wealthy, beautiful young girl (around 7-9 years old?). He explicitly states his intent to "cultivate" and groom her so that she will sleep with him when she gets older.
Purchasing a Child Slave: In the University arc, Rudeus and his friend Zanoba purchase a young dwarf child named Julie from a slave market. While they treat her relatively well by providing education, the issue of someone who is supposed to be a redeemed hero helping a market that enslaves instead of ending it is disgusting.
The Niece: Before his reincarnation, the protagonist, Rudeus, was evicted because he chose to stay in his room, engaging in self-gratification to videos of his underage niece being secretly recorded in the shower, rather than attending his parents' funeral. Iirc, this was in the LN, which isn't canon, still gross tho. Btw, this is not a joke. This is real
This one is just a painful ass watch. To make things easy, gonna list each series the scene in question is from :D
Hachikuji assaults (Bakemonogatari): Araragi’s recurring "running gag" upon encountering Mayoi Hachikuji, a ghost who died at age 10, is to tackle her to the ground and aggressively grope, bite, and sexually harass her. The anime plays this for laughs, bc "HAHAHAHA SEXUAL ASSAULT AGAINST KIDS".. sooooo funnnyyyy
Shinobu’s Bath Scene (Nisemonogatari/Monogatari): While Kizu sets up her vampire origin, the series always has Shinobu in her loli form (looking roughly 8 years old). Araragi constantly engages in highly sexualized banter with her, resulting in an infamous, prolonged shared bath scene filled with explicit framing.
Nadeko Sengoku: Nadeko is a middle-schooler classmate of Araragi's sister. The camera angles usually sexualize her, ending in scenes where she strips down to her underwear in front of Araragi, who is older.
The Toothbrush Scene: Araragi subjects his younger, middle-school-aged sister Tsukihi with a confuisngly sexualized and aggressive encounter involving a toothbrush, which serves zero plot purpose other than shock-value fetishization.. and was a "meme" in the 2000's era of anime.
And here is where I will just throw in that, throughout his internal monologues across Bakemonogatari and its prequels, Araragi frequently admits to having a physical attraction to children. He openly jokes about his own degeneracy and predatory urges toward the younger female cast, hiding behind the excuse of his vampiric impulses.