Review Detail of ExArgentum in Solo Leveling: The Thunder Monarch

There’s a lacking number of critical reviews for this novel. Therefore, I decided to write about the plot, what I liked, and what I didn’t. However, to save time for those that don’t want to read everything, I didn’t enjoy this novel. The main character is as arrogant as Chinese protagonists, and as weak-minded as those characters who are failures before receiving their systems. Novel’s Plot: The novel’s plot revolves around a clan member of the Ryuji clan. The clan that Goto Ryuji, the Japanese S-Rank hunter, belongs to. On a day like any other, goblins flood out of an unnoticed gate, causing death and chaos. Coincidentally, the protagonist is amidst the panicking civilians running from the scene, only to look back at a goblin chasing him and trip, twisting his ankle. Following a unnecessary existential crisis and a cry for life, his system awakens, granting him magical powers of thunder, allowing him to eliminate the goblin. Things I liked: I liked the concept of the novel, where it was introduced that the rulers had constantly failed to save humanity with a device that allowed them to reverse time. On their last attempt, an error occurred unnoticed by the rulers, causing the protagonist to gain his system. Things I disliked: There’s a lot to dislike about the novel. Quite frankly, the protagonist is the weakest link of the story. Generalizing the flaws, it turns out as this: - Chinese Protagonist Mentality - Arrogant - Randomly instigating his “evil” brother with no power to back him up - Confidence about how potential, which he hasn’t attain yet - Weak-minded - Upon threats from his brother, immediately folds and joins his brother’s guild - Lacking intelligence - Behavior leaves much to be desired - Making assumptions about his system every 5 minutes - At one point, somehow determined that his system inventory can’t store conscious beings and has time-stop capabilities within a few seconds with no testing - Doesn’t act like his background suggests - Supposedly was trained in the sword, yet fell over and twisted his ankle in front of a goblin - Constantly talks about his “trained body,” yet the above still happened - His clan is supposedly famous and admired, yet the protagonist seems like a common foolish individual. - Makes attempts to be humble and treat servants like peers when the clan is first introduced, but makes no sense considering he’s been in the clan for at least a decade - Rather, he looks naive and ignorant of the world Overall, I did not enjoy the novel. It is hard to like the protagonist when he acts all arrogant and so sure of himself. Perhaps, the author didn’t intend to make the protagonist seem like this, but that was how I read it. This points towards a necessary improvement in writing skills. Pointing out the limitations of this review, I did not read past the first dozen chapters. There could be some magical change in the personality in the future chapters. Another limitation is my bias against the protagonist once I realized his arrogance. The story could actually be pretty decent, ignoring the protagonist.