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Yeah, I thought of that, too, although the full implications did not strike me at the time. It's too bad. I think the creator should have stipulated that all Hunter abilities only activated when in another dimension: i.e. in a dungeon. Otherwise we are left wondering just what the heck these super powered peeps are doing in the "real" world.

Making big stacks of cash mostly, it also makes sense for them to focus their abilities on making the most of the dungeons given how lucrative it is and necessary for society as a whole. The thing I wonder about most is how criminal adventurers are dealth with. A rowdy S rank adventurer can only be dealt with by another S rank, so there has to be some kind of system in place.

I think that area of law enforcement kind of fell under the purview of the hunter association in the novel. Not that they were the law, but they were an official government agency and capturing and controlling criminal hunters was something they helped with.

It seems to me that there was also a thriving e-bay set up where hunters could buy and sell the magical resources and items that they came across in the portals. And a black market too. But I've read a couple of portal novels since first reading Solo Levelling, so I might be blurring and merging some novels together.

Hmmm, so we have a group of prisoners along with a shady looking supervisor and one of the survivors of the first dungeon of the show who is riddled with death flags being part of a dungeon raid....sounds like it will go great!

Otherwise lots of little updates on characters new and old. The knight guild wanting to reclaim that island of horrors is interesting and it is good to see the survivors of the first dungeon pick themselves up, some better than others.

Mmmn. Like I've said, I haven't read the Manhwa and it's been awhile since I read the web novel, but seems to me that they added a few things and moved a few things around involving the side S characters. I'm not doing that rabid fan thing and screaming that all change is bad though. I think it's working.

I thought it was good that we got so see cowardly scumbag san at home with his family. It's good to remember that humans are complex and not just one thing.

I also thought it was in keeping with that motif that the survivor who had the least reason to feel guilty - One Armed Song - was also the one who apologized vehemently, while the two who had the most to apologize for ignored Jin Woo entirely.

Good tee-up episode.

8:

How ironic.

Jin-Ho's father explained how the Gates have upended society since their appearance more than ten years ago. Yet, looking at where they all are now—Gates being monitored by a government body that oversees and contracts out to Guilds that basically function like conglomerates with a monopoly over the spoils of the Gates—huh, feels like modern society all over again. Has society really changed, if you think about it?

I wonder how this upcoming event is going to unfold. Jin-woo's secret is going to spill out one way or another, and with three whackjobs and a suspecting Taeshik, aka not-Fushiguro, this is going to get messy.

Yup, that went about as well as one would have expected. Given that a lot of people have gotten enhanced abilities and special skills it makes sense that there would be a lot of powerful nutjobs out there. Spiky hair was one of said nutjobs, the class asassin truly fit him and his interests. Family man also met his end, though with all the death flags from last week it should not be a surprise.

As for Jin, seems like his humanity meter is slowly going down.

Episode 9

Poor old Jinwoo is not having the greatest luck with dungeon companions lately. He seems to have a knack for getting involved with homicidal maniacs. I certainly hope the female healer intends to "thank" him to the best of her "abilities."

...

You guys get where I'm going with that, right? I worry sometimes that I'm just too dang subtle.

9:

Wait, aura? There's an ability to tell a person's ranking just by looking?? What a game changer this turned out to be; I thought a ranking was determined only by some tests! I'm half-serious, though; sizing someone up is part of a battle, if Jin-woo can guess someone's ranking, he is really ahead of the game. But hey, even Song can tell so I guess it's an innate ability all Hunters have. But if it's a Perception ability that Jin-woo can upgrade, then man, what an ability!

I will admit: I had a bit of mixed feelings for Kang i.e. not-Fushiguro. When we learned his backstory, part of me wanted him to be one of the "good guys": killing the prisoners for social justice. So imagine how I felt when the show just went from 1 to a 100 with his "look at me, I kill people not even for money; I'm evil as sh*t, survival of the fittest, baby!".

But given how fast-paced the show is (for the better, I say), my disappointment didn't last too long. The next feeling I had, surprisingly, was the sense of nostalgia. Jin-woo's need to keep his ranking a secret feels so much like Spider-man's need to keep his identity a secret, and the fact that Song will keep his identit-, I mean rank, a secret feels like something out of a Marvel comic story. I don't mean this in a bad way; like I said, it just feels nostalgic.

Although I have to say, Jin-Chul learning about Kang's evil ways feels a bit of a cop-out. Since Song claimed his death (out of self-defense) and the briber admitted to his proposition, Kang's death is a case that is neatly closed. A bit convenient, I must say.

In overall, I love this episode. Not just for the huge plot twist, but also how the story makes use of the dungeon being a no man's land: anything can happen there, and what happens there stays there. This plot device makes things unpredictable, and therefore intriguing. We know where this is going; Jin-woo can only keep his secret for so long, and when actions have consequences, his killings, even if justified, will attract even stronger opponents. How far will this go? We will find out.

(It was mentioned before, but man, this show would be so much better if it had been 24-26 episodes long).

Edited to add this observation: The psychokiller was pretty unsubtle, but I thought the "With great power comes great temptation to be a huge #%&@head "was pretty apt.

The thing about keeping his ability a secret is that Jin Woo gets a get out of jail free card in this "Second Awakening" excuse. The problem is, it's a one-time excuse, so if he uses it at his current B-rank level, he'll be $#!+ out of luck when he gets caught being A level. Then it's either off to the lab to be studied, or everyone's going to be playing "Let's kidnap Jin Woo's sister" to make him sign a guild contract or "What, he's in an opposing guild, I'd better kill him now while I still can" etc.

Song is officially one of the coolest characters around.

Last edited by Tony K. on Thu Mar 14, 2024 5:39 pm; edited 1 time in total

Got a bunch of deadlines at work this and next month, so I haven't had lot of time to post. But I had a thought over the weekend after the most recent episode, and I'm just gonna' throw a wild idea out there, while it's still fresh in my mind.

What if The System and all this corporate stuff is supposed to be an allegory about the downsides of capitalism (and the societies that embrace it)? The whole Hunter hierarchy starts with you being born with abilities, but not allowing any kind of growth. Jin-woo just wants to find a way to help his mother, but the way things were working wasn't really getting him anywhere.

Cue the Second Awakening and the emergence of The System, and now Jin-woo can finally make some gains for power or money, but at the growing expense of his humanity. He's getting stronger and is retaining just enough of a moral code, but how long will that last until he becomes really disillusioned or some kind of anti-hero?

I feel the show's got a compelling dynamic between action-fantasy elements, whilst also questioning moral ambiguity. It started out as a meager guy wanting to take care of his sick mother, but now he's developed all these crazy abilities and had to murder some bad people along the way. Then, there are all these other people and groups trying to do shady things in-between. I wonder if it'll lead to some larger-than-life thing and also what kind of person Jin-woo will be by the end of it.

EDIT: Grammar.

I think the structure of the guilds and the "Free Agent" pro athlete vibe that a lot of hunters give off and the regarding of dungeons as a source of precious resources are all comments on capitalism.

I'm not so sure the system's significance in that regard is intentional. It's a direct attempt to play off video game structure for an audience that loves video games, and the video games that the system is based on have a capitalist element.

Come to think of it, video games have been transformed by capitalism too. The guild structure. The players who sell their services for money. The gold farmers and information sellers and video makers...

Edjwald wrote:

I'm not so sure the system's significance in that regard is intentional. It's a direct attempt to play off video game structure for an audience that loves video games, and the video games that the system is based on have a capitalist element.

I feel like there's gotta' be some kind of ulterior motive behind The System, though. Is there some kind of sentience in the form of a puppet master, A.I., or something else that controls it? And then, what if there are other hunters out there who've had their Second Awakenings?

Maybe The System is actually some kind of messed up experiment, and whoever manages to survive it became soul-less shells of their former selves. It could be an interesting kind of social commentary to show the lengths people would or have gone to already for achieving their goals.

But I do admit, the actual aesthetic of The System in Jin-woo's eyes is pretty neat. I find it a lot less hokey than other isekai titles where the protagonists can just see all of their stats and abilities laid out in an organized list out of nowhere.

Lots of grinding this week. Sung leveled up a lot so combined with a job change he might be strong enough to get into the infernal looking castle without getting chewed on. As for Joo-Hee, it is a pity, but I think she is indeed better of leaving the hunter business, especially if you consider getting very close to dying two times in a row. The episode also confirmed that the only ones who can deal with a S rank are others of the same ilk. If one goes nuts...good luck.

The thing about Joo-Hee is, I refuse to believe that - even in a fictional world - anyone who can heal people's near fatal wounds with a touch is ever going to starve.

The show continues its moral balancing act. Is Sung being a ruthless @$$hole or is he doing what he has to do to survive and protect his family? Slicing the rep's cheek while invisible and threatening to kill him (even if those words weren't directly uttered) could be seen as an arrogant dick move, but on the other hand, everything Sung has been afraid of has been playing out. Dungeoning with Pay-to-Win San really did draw guild attention. There's an S rank out to get him. And just to illustrate how out of whack society's priorities and mentality around hunters are, the guild rep's first reaction to getting sliced, threatened, and scammed into overpaying millions was :"Score! I got his contact info!" Would anything but an absolutely ruthless front really keep somebody like that from getting out of bounds? And those boundaries include Sung's sister

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