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Title: SSS-Class Sucide Hunter (a.ka. SSS 級自殺 Hunter, SSS-Class Hunter That Needs To Die To Live, SSS-Class Suicide Hunter, SSSCSH, SSS級死而復生的獵人, SSS级重生猎人, SSS급 자살헌터, SSS급 죽어야 사는 헌터, شکارچی با مهارت خودکشی سطح SSS, นักล่าพลีชีพ ระดับ SSS, 死して生きるSSS級ハンター)
Genres: Manhwa, webtoon, action, adventure, science fantasy, drama
Author: Adapted by Neida from Sinnoa's (a.k.a. SHIN Noah) web novel of the same name.
Artist: Bill K
Publication: Daum, Fansia, Kakao; serialized in Kakaopage (Kakao), Kakao Webtoon (Daum).
Start Date: 2020
End Date: Ongoing
Number of chapters at review: 85
Number of chapters read by reviewer: 85
General Overview:
Kim Gong-Ja is a pathetic F-ranked hunter who never received any skills from the Tower. He obsesses on wanting to become like the legendary hunter Flame Emperor or at the very least, having his Flame Emperor's skills. Kim Gong-Ja throws a pitiful fit and the Tower, out of astonishment of his envy, gifted him a S+ ranked homicide victim skill. Whenever he get's killed, he can acquire one of his murderer's skill cards. As fate would have it , he got murdered and gained another card that stacked with the S+ ranked homicide victim skill. Now, Kim Gong-Ja's grows stronger through suicide.
Category Ratings: (1-10 scale)
Art: 9
Bill K's work is largely very good. The characters are for the most part well drawn. I don't really like how he draws the toes not saying I have a foot fetish. Sometimes, artists draw very elongated toes which is not physically proportionate. That's just a personal pet peeve of mine. Bill K's artwork has been consistent from chapter 1 through the latest chapter at the time of writing this review. He outlines many objects in a panel which makes it easy to distinguish objects and characters quickly. For characters, he has deploys a combination of tints, tones, and shades. What's remarkable is that Bill K use hard shadows and soft/smoother shadows to define objects and characters. We can see smooth shadows to highlight such things like collar bones, surface folds on clothing, and etc. His level of detail for characters amazes me. Of course with digital artwork, he also utilize 3D assets. But sometimes the 3D assets are not correct. For instance, in chapter 10, there is a potion bottle with pink liquid in it that's lying on its side. The liquid in the bottle is in the wrong position; that's the issue of using 3D items. But these 3D object issues are just nuances that are easily looked over. I will say that Bill K keeps the art simple say compared to someone like the mangaka Oh! Great. Oh! Great is a fantastic artist creating super detailed spreads. The issue with Oh! Great is sometimes the scene he creates is absurdly too details that it's not easy to understand what's going on. You'll noticed that Bill K will sometimes use as simple one color background and that's good enough for that panel.
Plot:
I noticed there's an uptick on MC starting out extremely pitiful and down right pathetic. And suddenly their fate changes and the MC gain an OP skill. This trend is more apparent in manhwa and manhua. Haven't quite seen this as prevalent in manga.
What I appreciate about how Neida develops the story, (though I am not familiar the original web novel), Kim Gong Ja doesn't become more efficient at killing. I'm going to compare SSSCSH to Solo Leveling. Both MC's grow strong from pathetic versions of themselves, but Sung Jinwoo of Solo Leveling grows more proficient at killing. Jinwoo's personality gets darker and more burdensome. Kim Gong-Ja develops a bright optimism to him. Unlike Solo Leveing, the world in SSSCSH is not under threat of destruction (so far). There isn't an urgency to survive. SSSCSH presents a world where hunters climb up to tower together similar to Tower of God (ToG).
Regressor themed works have appeared with the regression appearing early in the plot. Some writers make use of regression well such as Skeleton Who Couldn't Protect the Dungeon. A few plots like Sister, I'm the Queen in this Life could forego regression. Omin and Refalzimp could write a plot without regression. The story already has enough drama and interaction to create a very entertaining story. IN SSSCSH, regression serves as a beginning plot device to develop the narrative. The plot isn't driven like in Skeleton Soldier who Couldn't Protect the Dungeon by Sosori where regressions are used as a launching point for another narrative to explore the world. SSSCSH uses regression as trial-and-error to complete the challenge before him.
The plot can get very emotional and touching. Another story telling element is telling the villain's perspective. I think ToG over rely on this plot device, there is good balance particularly for the main villains. Even this ties nicely in with Kim Gong-ja's abilities.
I am not sure how much it differs from the web novel but there are always different subtleties between the adaptation and the original web novel.
Characters:
By far, the MC Kim Gong-Ja has the most simplest design compared to other characters. He is a pretty straight forward guy and his visual design is plain and simple. But I do like his character.
Kim Gong-Ja is soon joined by a diverse cast who are all guild leaders or guild leaders in the future. You have the venerable Sword Saint, the stoic Black Dragon Witch, the righteous Paladin, the martial Viper, the sociopath Heresy Inquisitor, and the rich Countess. Not the least, there is also the grandiose Sword Emperor. Among the cast, Sword Emperor is the most powerful and knowledgeable of the Tower; but he's also the easily most pitiful also. The cast makes for a very entertaining story.
Theme:
The title is misleading because it is not a fair descriptor of the webtoon. It's more marketing to shock and awe to create curiosity. Perhaps a more fitting name would be The Promotion of a Background Character to the MC. I was thinking Cheat Skill MC as a title but there's a lot of MC with cheat skills. (Seriously, what's up with all these cheat skill MC's?) A suitable title might be Where a "Garbage Can, not Garbage Cannot".
What we have here in SSSS-Class Suicide Hunter is another work where a tower exists on an alternative Earth. This tower doesn't have a negative global effect like extreme cold like Return of the Frozen Player. But it does have a neutral global effect where the tower is visible anywhere from Earth. Interestingly enough, the time period includes the first generation hunters who came to the tower. In this tower, monsters spawn obviously. But what's interesting is how, akin to ToG, each floor host a different world or vast amount of land. But unlike ToG, and this is the interesting part, each decafloor (10-flors) share a theme. Just a slight segue, works that features towers usually connect them to a hyper-dimension but the writers have not expanded on that. This creates a potential for deeper backstory lore which doesn't obligate the writers to fill in.
Another aspect that I appreciate is how the writers preserve a sense of humanity. In many manga, manhwa and manhua, action-adventure themed works have the MC cut down everything in front of him/her.
I covered the regressor theme in my plot analysis. SSSCSH is one among many regressor theme work. The MC can utilize regression very much Skeleton Soldier who Couldn't Protect the Dungeon.
Originality: 8
The suicide device is sure an novel and original piece. I can't recall another work that implements suicide as a plot device to advance the story. SSSCSH also relies on a world tower troupe as a backdrop for the narrative. RPG game elements are utilized to enhance the story telling.
The use of regression isn't very novel or original. The regression in SSSCSH is much more similar to how a player plays a video game. A player plays the game and dies. Now the player gain experience and respawns at the last save or a check point. The player can continue the game and repeat the process.
The level 10 boss fight left an extremely strong impression. It was very telling of both the best and the worst about humanity. This is one of the main reason my I appreciate Kim Gong-Ja and the writers.
Overall:
I recommend this webtoon for those that enjoy action-adventure with a very straight forward MC. The MC is really a good guy with an entertaining story. It's a heart felt webtoon even though the MC may have OP abilities, Gong-Ja still puts in effort.
Genres: Manhwa, webtoon, action, adventure, science fantasy, drama
Author: Adapted by Neida from Sinnoa's (a.k.a. SHIN Noah) web novel of the same name.
Artist: Bill K
Publication: Daum, Fansia, Kakao; serialized in Kakaopage (Kakao), Kakao Webtoon (Daum).
Start Date: 2020
End Date: Ongoing
Number of chapters at review: 85
Number of chapters read by reviewer: 85
General Overview:
Kim Gong-Ja is a pathetic F-ranked hunter who never received any skills from the Tower. He obsesses on wanting to become like the legendary hunter Flame Emperor or at the very least, having his Flame Emperor's skills. Kim Gong-Ja throws a pitiful fit and the Tower, out of astonishment of his envy, gifted him a S+ ranked homicide victim skill. Whenever he get's killed, he can acquire one of his murderer's skill cards. As fate would have it , he got murdered and gained another card that stacked with the S+ ranked homicide victim skill. Now, Kim Gong-Ja's grows stronger through suicide.
Category Ratings: (1-10 scale)
Art: 9
Bill K's work is largely very good. The characters are for the most part well drawn. I don't really like how he draws the toes not saying I have a foot fetish. Sometimes, artists draw very elongated toes which is not physically proportionate. That's just a personal pet peeve of mine. Bill K's artwork has been consistent from chapter 1 through the latest chapter at the time of writing this review. He outlines many objects in a panel which makes it easy to distinguish objects and characters quickly. For characters, he has deploys a combination of tints, tones, and shades. What's remarkable is that Bill K use hard shadows and soft/smoother shadows to define objects and characters. We can see smooth shadows to highlight such things like collar bones, surface folds on clothing, and etc. His level of detail for characters amazes me. Of course with digital artwork, he also utilize 3D assets. But sometimes the 3D assets are not correct. For instance, in chapter 10, there is a potion bottle with pink liquid in it that's lying on its side. The liquid in the bottle is in the wrong position; that's the issue of using 3D items. But these 3D object issues are just nuances that are easily looked over. I will say that Bill K keeps the art simple say compared to someone like the mangaka Oh! Great. Oh! Great is a fantastic artist creating super detailed spreads. The issue with Oh! Great is sometimes the scene he creates is absurdly too details that it's not easy to understand what's going on. You'll noticed that Bill K will sometimes use as simple one color background and that's good enough for that panel.
Plot:
I noticed there's an uptick on MC starting out extremely pitiful and down right pathetic. And suddenly their fate changes and the MC gain an OP skill. This trend is more apparent in manhwa and manhua. Haven't quite seen this as prevalent in manga.
What I appreciate about how Neida develops the story, (though I am not familiar the original web novel), Kim Gong Ja doesn't become more efficient at killing. I'm going to compare SSSCSH to Solo Leveling. Both MC's grow strong from pathetic versions of themselves, but Sung Jinwoo of Solo Leveling grows more proficient at killing. Jinwoo's personality gets darker and more burdensome. Kim Gong-Ja develops a bright optimism to him. Unlike Solo Leveing, the world in SSSCSH is not under threat of destruction (so far). There isn't an urgency to survive. SSSCSH presents a world where hunters climb up to tower together similar to Tower of God (ToG).
Regressor themed works have appeared with the regression appearing early in the plot. Some writers make use of regression well such as Skeleton Who Couldn't Protect the Dungeon. A few plots like Sister, I'm the Queen in this Life could forego regression. Omin and Refalzimp could write a plot without regression. The story already has enough drama and interaction to create a very entertaining story. IN SSSCSH, regression serves as a beginning plot device to develop the narrative. The plot isn't driven like in Skeleton Soldier who Couldn't Protect the Dungeon by Sosori where regressions are used as a launching point for another narrative to explore the world. SSSCSH uses regression as trial-and-error to complete the challenge before him.
The plot can get very emotional and touching. Another story telling element is telling the villain's perspective. I think ToG over rely on this plot device, there is good balance particularly for the main villains. Even this ties nicely in with Kim Gong-ja's abilities.
I am not sure how much it differs from the web novel but there are always different subtleties between the adaptation and the original web novel.
Characters:
By far, the MC Kim Gong-Ja has the most simplest design compared to other characters. He is a pretty straight forward guy and his visual design is plain and simple. But I do like his character.
Kim Gong-Ja is soon joined by a diverse cast who are all guild leaders or guild leaders in the future. You have the venerable Sword Saint, the stoic Black Dragon Witch, the righteous Paladin, the martial Viper, the sociopath Heresy Inquisitor, and the rich Countess. Not the least, there is also the grandiose Sword Emperor. Among the cast, Sword Emperor is the most powerful and knowledgeable of the Tower; but he's also the easily most pitiful also. The cast makes for a very entertaining story.
Theme:
The title is misleading because it is not a fair descriptor of the webtoon. It's more marketing to shock and awe to create curiosity. Perhaps a more fitting name would be The Promotion of a Background Character to the MC. I was thinking Cheat Skill MC as a title but there's a lot of MC with cheat skills. (Seriously, what's up with all these cheat skill MC's?) A suitable title might be Where a "Garbage Can, not Garbage Cannot".
What we have here in SSSS-Class Suicide Hunter is another work where a tower exists on an alternative Earth. This tower doesn't have a negative global effect like extreme cold like Return of the Frozen Player. But it does have a neutral global effect where the tower is visible anywhere from Earth. Interestingly enough, the time period includes the first generation hunters who came to the tower. In this tower, monsters spawn obviously. But what's interesting is how, akin to ToG, each floor host a different world or vast amount of land. But unlike ToG, and this is the interesting part, each decafloor (10-flors) share a theme. Just a slight segue, works that features towers usually connect them to a hyper-dimension but the writers have not expanded on that. This creates a potential for deeper backstory lore which doesn't obligate the writers to fill in.
Another aspect that I appreciate is how the writers preserve a sense of humanity. In many manga, manhwa and manhua, action-adventure themed works have the MC cut down everything in front of him/her.
I covered the regressor theme in my plot analysis. SSSCSH is one among many regressor theme work. The MC can utilize regression very much Skeleton Soldier who Couldn't Protect the Dungeon.
Originality: 8
The suicide device is sure an novel and original piece. I can't recall another work that implements suicide as a plot device to advance the story. SSSCSH also relies on a world tower troupe as a backdrop for the narrative. RPG game elements are utilized to enhance the story telling.
The use of regression isn't very novel or original. The regression in SSSCSH is much more similar to how a player plays a video game. A player plays the game and dies. Now the player gain experience and respawns at the last save or a check point. The player can continue the game and repeat the process.
The level 10 boss fight left an extremely strong impression. It was very telling of both the best and the worst about humanity. This is one of the main reason my I appreciate Kim Gong-Ja and the writers.
Overall:
I recommend this webtoon for those that enjoy action-adventure with a very straight forward MC. The MC is really a good guy with an entertaining story. It's a heart felt webtoon even though the MC may have OP abilities, Gong-Ja still puts in effort.
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