Like a beast striking from the shadows, Solo Leveling has seized the anime community. With the release of the long-running power fantasy’s animated adaptation on the immediate horizon, curious fans are dying to know where they can read the original Solo Leveling manhwa.
Since Solo Leveling is a manhwa, not a manga, it can’t be read through the same channels as One Piece or Jujutsu Kaisen. With that important distinction out of the way, here’s where you can read Solo Leveling online.
Is Solo Leveling Available on WEBTOONS?
Manhwa, shorthand for South Korean webcomics that closely resemble Japanese manga, has become quite popular within the Otaku landscape in recent years. One of the most reliable platforms for manhwa is WEBTOON, a mobile-friendly website that hosts thousands of digital webcomics produced in South Korea.
Related: Solo Leveling Anime Season 1: Episode 1 Release Date
Unfortunately, unlike many other popular manhwa, Solo Leveling is not on WEBTOON. Solo Leveling’s publisher, KakaoPage, is one of WEBTOON’s primary rivals within the manhwa publication sphere. As a result, the adventures of Sung Jin-woo never have, and likely never will, appear on WEBTOON’s homepage.
Where Can You Read Solo Leveling?
While Solo Leveling isn’t on WEBTOONS, it is available on many other websites that host webcomics. The original, non-translated version of Solo Leveling is available on Kakao’s online website. Still, since I’m not fluent in South Korean, I cannot attest to the website’s quality.
Fortunately, non-South-Korean speakers can read Solo Leveling on various websites. Tapas, Pocket Comics, Webnovel, and TappyToon are some of the more popular manhwa platforms out there, and all of them can be downloaded for free on IOS and the Google Play Store.
Related: Every Solo Leveling Character You Need to Know for Season 1
However, there is one unfortunate reality to reading Solo-Leveling on these websites. Unlike Shonen Jump’s online platform, Tapas and the other websites listed above don’t follow a monthly subscription model. Instead, you have to either pay to read every chapter of Solo Leveling individually or spend up to $60 to purchase the long-running power-fantasy epic in its entirety.
One of the biggest hurdles new manhwa readers must overcome is the unfortunate but inescapable fact that manhwa isn’t nearly as accessible as manga. The massive cost of reading manhwa like Solo Leveling through legitimate sources has birthed countless unofficial manhwa websites that post unofficial translations of manhwa featured on Tapas and other legitimate websites.
Sadly, many of the webcomic translations featured on these “underground” websites are of inferior quality to the ones on official websites. Some of these translations are so bad that they get essential information about the world and characters wrong, making them almost impossible to read.
Sad as it is to say, the best way to read Solo-Leveling is through websites like Tapas and pay the chapter-by-chapter fees. However, if the first season of the Solo Leveling anime resonates with audiences well enough, its publisher may commit to making the series available through more accessible channels.
