Warning: Spoilers Ahead for Solo Leveling and Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint!

I've enjoyed Solo Leveling since it was introduced to me, just as the series ramped up for its anime adaptation. I was swayed by the gorgeous visuals thanks to Dubu and REDICE Studio's signature artwork and Chugong's visionary output, first as a novel and then to webtoon and manhwa. Solo Leveling is an institution, but in a market hungry for the latest hot manhwa to consume, there's always a potential successor, and for me, that was Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint, known originally and colloquially as Omniscient Reader.

Each series is reasonably different enough so that Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint does not feel derivative of Solo Leveling. However, it's easy to transition between the two thanks to overlapping qualities such as REDICE Studio's artwork and RPG overlays influencing much of the narrative and manhwa presentation.

These similarities become more superficial and lack substance when their stories, as a whole, are laid out for the reader to see, with Omniscient Reader being a worthy successor to mainstream popularity as a manhwa icon.

Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint's Power Fantasy Differs from Solo Leveling

The Enlightenment Fantasy Is Focused on Knowledge Rather Than Strength

Solo Leveling crafts its narrative strategically to get its readers hooked, generating hype and exciting water-cooler discussion of the series. It means the anime adaptation is a natural step, and a major appeal for the series as it addresses an unfolding power fantasy in which a meek protagonist attains untold power thanks to a nebulous "system" looking out for him.

This has Solo Leveling exemplifying a typical shonen power fantasy, but Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint, as the title suggests, empowers its protagonist, Dokja Kim, based on the knowledge gained from reading an obscure webnovel.

Dokja is a dork with unbelievable potential due to his obsessive reading habits of an obscure series, making this manhwa far more relatable as a fellow dork.

This was the type of power fantasy I craved in a manhwa, where a character demonstrably exercises cunning and expertise, as Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint conveys an enlightenment fantasy to its readers. Dokja builds up his abilities at a reasonable pace and finds himself threatened by other people who appear from the mysterious novel, Three Ways to Survive the Apocalypse (TWSA). Essentially, Dokja is a dork with unbelievable potential due to his obsessive reading habits of an obscure series, making this manhwa far more relatable as a fellow dork.

Dokja Kim Makes a More Compelling Protagonist Than Jinwoo Sung

The Reader vs. the Player

Comparing Dokja to Jinwoo is inherently more subtle and tougher to argue if you've only watched the Solo Leveling anime. Still, Jinwoo's personality quickly becomes less interesting as Solo Leveling continues compared to Omniscient Reader. Jinwoo's reaction to his resurrection from his death as the weakest, most infamous hunter alive to become "the one who overcame adversity" sadly feels more one-note, which is predictable for a power fantasy. There is practically no shred left of Jinwoo's meek former self, seemingly as though there is no memory of the adversity he encountered.

Jinwoo quickly makes up for lost time, which is entertaining, as he becomes a superior fighter, works his body to peak condition as a total thirst trap, and his immense range of abilities quickly topples any adversity or challenges he encounters. By the middle point of the story, not even S-Rank hunters can compare to Jinwoo, and the power fantasy falls flat beyond the Jeju Island Raid Arc. Jinwoo feels, aptly, like any gamer would feel after completing a modern open-world power fantasy game, getting all the abilities and power-ups, and with no craving to return to that world.

Dokja, meanwhile, is aware of his metastory, the TWSA novel, which suddenly becomes the plot of the world around him. He's not a player protected by the system. Instead, he's the reader who defies it and manipulates it. You soon see how the events of his world are essentially streamed by goblins to higher beings or "Constellations" bearing global mythological names and different stakes in this apocalyptic world.

Thanks to his obsessive knowledge of the novel, Dokja shrewdly manipulates his circumstances, knows when to empower his allies, and does this all within the first arc and beyond, making the Omniscient Reader anime adaptation an enticing prospect.

Much of the plot of Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint does a better job of reincorporating story elements and clues than Solo Leveling, with Dokja making choices and interacting with the Constellations. While Jinwoo becomes the power gamer who upstages everyone around him, Dokja is quite likable, a pleasant personality who unites fellow survivors in increasingly elaborate, dangerous scenarios of the apocalypse. Dokja's understanding of the TWSA plot allows him to become the most likable rules lawyer, from crushing insect eggs instead of taking human lives, to bargaining with gods.

Omniscient Reader Has Better ing Characters Than Solo Leveling

Allies Over Fodder for Power-Scaling

One of my biggest complaints about Solo Leveling is how often it introduces fascinating characters like Jong-in Choi or Hae-in Cha, only to be nearly annihilated soon after their introduction, lacking the comparable charm of how One-Punch Man handles its side cast. B-Rank Joohee acts as a protector to Jinwoo at the beginning, but once he starts leveling up, Joohee's role disappears as she fades into the background. But it's not just allies that are frustrating to watch in Solo Leveling.

Solo Leveling often discards or debuffs allies and enemies, while Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint incorporates them throughout its story.

Solo Leveling introduces multiple human adversaries to Jinwoo, such as Taeshik Kang or Dongsoo Hwang. These adversaries are compelling and dangerous, yet they always fall far short of Jinwoo's power. Solo Leveling often discards or debuffs allies and enemies, while Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint incorporates them throughout its story.

Omniscient Reader has interesting cases for enemies compared to Solo Leveling in that, unlike how Jinwoo resurrects former adversaries as obedient soldiers, Dokja plays on the desperation of the patron Constellations watching the Star Stream feeds. This allows him to avoid killing adversaries like the oppressive landlord Pildu Gong, placing him instead in his service by appealing to the Constellations' instinct for self-preservation. But this manipulation is only for enemies, as Dokja is far kinder to his ers in Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint.

I could do everything alone, survive alone...and make a cozy living for myself. That would certainly be easier, but I once read a novel that flopped because the main character did just that.

-Dokja Kim, Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint Volume #4

Dokja Kim's role as the reader in ORV means that he is, by definition, not the main character of TWSA but a ing character at best when encountering the intended hero, Junghyeok Yu. It feels appropriate that Dokja can function well with his allies as ORV introduces a much more complicated RPG mechanic, let alone Dokja's "Fourth Wall" abilities, where each character has a distinct role while being drawn to Dokja. Hyeonseong is a lovable tank and "himbo," Gilyeong has a fantastic dynamic as Dokja's surrogate son, and Huiwon emerges as an incredible warrior; nobody is fodder.

Other Would-Be Solo Leveling Successors Imitate, Omniscient Reader Innovates

Few Manhwa Come Close

Each story is well-received but merely scratches Solo Leveling's itch; Omniscient Reader remixes the formula.

Part of the prevailing issue with other Solo Leveling successors, when weighed against Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint, is that they're arguably too much like SL. Successor candidates include The Beginning After the End and SSS-Class Revival Hunter, with readers in Japan also latching onto Savior of Divine Blood.

Arthur from TBATE has shades of Jinwoo's character, but as a mage; Confucius Kim from SSS-Class was an F-Class hunter; Subaru from Savior of Divine Blood becomes a player like Jinwoo to escape his former life. Each story is well-received but merely scratches Solo Leveling's itch; Omniscient Reader remixes the formula.

I still quite enjoy myself whenever I read Solo Leveling. Dubu's art and the REDICE style made a good reading experience. But seeing Solo Leveling's various flaws, such as how it treats ing characters, how it paces its power fantasy, and the somewhat flat personality of Jinwoo, I can't help but notice that Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint corrects these. Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint has traces of the Solo Leveling formula, refining it to a much greater state and becoming fresher, by comparison, as the true successor for Western readers.