Title: SSS-Class Suicide Hunter
Author: Shin Noah,신노아
Rating: M
Genre: LitRPG/Adventure/???
Status: In-Progress
Library Category:
Pairings: spoiler
Link for the webnovel: https://woopread.com/series/sss-class-suicide-hunter/
Link for the manwha: https://reaperscans.com/comics/335355-sss-class-suicide-hunter

Summary:

So this is the absolute rarest thing I've ever come across: a LitRPG story that is actually, unironically, fucking fantastic. @Mishie and probably @Meerkats will back me up here: this shit is amazing.

The premise is that one obsessed fan gets a skill thrown his way: when he dies, he gets a skill from whatever killed him. He remains dead, though. But the first person to kill him turns out to have a skill that sends him back 24 hours in the past. It's a pretty broken combination.

But more than being broken, it's actually used for the story in amazing ways. He has to go back more than 24 hours so he repeatedly kills himself. He clears a floor of the dungeon but too many people die, so he kills himself. The combination being so absolutely broken means that he can do absolutely mind-boggling schemes about dying repeatedly and learning from his failures each time.

In addition, the author uses the fact that there are multiple floors to the dungeon in amazing ways. It means that the first 19 floors are, mostly, LitRPG stuff, the 10th and 20th get genuinely satisfying conclusions, and from the 21st floor onwards the author throws his protagonist into different genres -- all of which just work. I cannot stress enough that the arc about the 25th floor is just mindbending in how all the puzzle pieces fit together.

A combination of intricate plots that at no moment feel contrived, good character work and convincing action make this my gold standard for LitRPGs, it's that simple.

I haven't read the comic, frankly, so I can't judge it one way or another. The webnovel, though, is a definite resolute 5/5.

 

I've read all the chapters of the comic that are out right now (he's still working on maxing out the 12th floor). I would say it's generally a good premise in the sense that the broken power the character receives is actually interesting, unlike with Solo Leveling, which is entertaining, but not because of the character's actual power, which is just getting stronger the more he fights. I can't help but look at that as a debuff for everyone else.
It's interesting to see the personality of the character adjust as he becomes more powerful and accomplished; he's walking the line of becoming what he always hated by indulging his pride. I suppose it's inevitable that this will be compared to Re:Zero, in which the main character has a slightly less convenient version of the same ability, but the setting is completely different, it's an isekai, and the main character basically has to learn that his circumstances aren't really the problem. The main character here seems to have started out as a pretty good guy and if he needs to learn a lesson, it's probably more one of remaining good rather than giving up being bad.

 

I've been following the manwha and this story is awesome. Heartily recommend.

Anywhere where it seems like your normal power fantasy OP skill story, it starts adding new layers and challenges to the mix. So far it's shaping up to be the most well-executed time travel story I've seen since MoL finished.

Might have to pick up the novel if you fuckers are reading it. Just be very careful on the spoilers. This one is precious to me so far.

 

I...yeah. Am I missing something? Like is this some sort of alternate writing style and im being dense (I say that not sarcastically, some of the comments make me think thats the case?)

I read the first few chapters and it felt like it was barely english. My reaction was "WTF". It read like some stream of conscious rambling jumping topics and barely in proper english. I have no idea what the setting is, the characters, or anything.

I mean the opening lines even...

Spoiler: spoiler

The Black Dragon Guild attempts to conquer the 40th floor of the Tower. Didn’t they confidently declare that they were going to finally show the might of the greatest guild? Unfortunately, they have returned empty-handed.

The Rank 1 Hunter! The Flame Emperor (炎帝) has single-handedly subjugated a Boss once again!

I envied him.

Thats how the story opens. And I almost don't even know what they are saying. Not in a "its complicated" sense but in a "this reads like a five year old wrote it" sense.

The whole thing reads like that.

I'm actually second guessing myself because I know all of you have great taste. Normally when I disagree I can still see where you are coming from. So I feel like i may just be dense here and its supposed to be this...childish? The prose so... choppy and all over the place? The story so... not flowing? And simplistic? And disjointed in the writing?

 

Are you reading the webnovel? It's pretty bad.

The manwha, I think, is what everyone here is looking at. It makes way more sense. Pictures help!

 

Yeah I was reading the web novel. It was as you noted awful. I assume a Manwha (never heard the term) is some sort of comic book version? Maybe that works better with that writing style. Im not really a comicbook person but that's a taste thing. It might be a very fine comic book... but the authors decision to make a webnovel without fixing the content is horrible!

The comic format might account for the horrible and disjointed writing style of the webnovel.

The original post though specifically draws emphasis to the web novel as what they read and recommended, so that's what I looked at.

And *that* reads like a five year old wrote it, i'm sorry.

 

Honestly, I actually read the webnovel. I'll agree that the writing style at the beginning isn't exactly great, and it's not helped by there being four or so translators in fairly quick sequence, all of which find new and interesting ways to suck. I'm used to webnovels, though, so this kind of simple style isn't exactly intolerable to me.

Maybe start with the manga and, once you've run out of chapters there, switch back over to the webnovel. By then the definitive translator should have settled in and it becomes a lot smoother.

 

... omfg BTT you gave the web novel 5/5?

I’m shocked to my core. The trash channel needs an intervention, this is simply too far.

I’d rate it a 1/5. The manwha is 4.5/5 easy though.

 

The web novel is poorly translated Korean. Best in the litRPG genre but litRPG's have been categorically shit for a long time. I've just binged ~80 chapters and it's fine. The lack of basic grammar and formatting in many sections is killing the story. Read it if you're a weeb I guess, don't piss on it's napalmed corpse if not.

Webnovel is 3/5.

No opinion on the manwha.

 

Well the comic is better. Ironically they use more proper grammar there than the webnovel.

Webnovel is a HARD 1/5 for me and i dont know that i've ever given a 1/5. The comic book seems decent but since its not my medium i may not rate that

 

Honestly at this point I feel like I've stopped judging webnovels for the quality of the writing/translation/whatever, and purely judge them based on the story and characterization. So the way I've been viewing rating the story would be "The manhwa is the best version of the story that I'm going to rate, the webnovel is just a way to get a sneak peak at the future story", which is why I'm currently rating it so highly, because the manhwa itself is very well done, and the webnovel shows that the story is only going to get significantly better.

 

I agree the webnovel is bad probably to the tune of 2/5. But the manhwa has redeeming characteristics, with good art, worldbuilding. and interesting mechanics. However, the characters while initially having potential failed to live up to them. They were interesting but the the author never managed to build upon that into good characters.

I can give the manhwa no better then a 3.5/5, and I would probably more likely round down then up.

 

It's a fine and enjoyable manwha? Pacing is a bit weird and the side characters haven't had a chance to be more than cutout + weird gimmick, but it's worth reading.

 

The tldr here seems to be that the manga is excellent, while the novel (translated from Korean) has all the flow and poise of the twitter thread of an ESL learner?

 

The general consensus seems to be that translated web novels suck. I haven't actually read any, because I never got past the first paragraph of any I've tried. I don't understand how, but there's also machine translated novels. For when you really hate your eyeballs.

I think people can sort of train themselves into ignoring bad prose? That's cool, if you can. I imagine you guys all transcend to a state where you don't even register words anymore to read, but rather absorb stories via osmosis directly from the page.

 

You just need to practice your cultivation more. Before enlightenment, read poorly translated novels, after enlightenment, read poorly translated novels, and enjoy it.

Caught up to what was available on the webnovel, even in the better spots the translation can be quite rough, but the story and intent behind it shone through and kept me reading. The most recent floor of the tower was

Spoiler: Floor theme

Otome themed

and quite fun. I won't be devouring it as each chapter is released, but I'll definitely check back in monthly.

Overall a 2-3/5 due to the quality of the translation.

 

This is pretty much it, yeah. You go in and suffer for a while, but eventually you (or at least, I did) learn to functionally complete the translation on the fly, fixing up the most glaring issues as you read, and ignore the rest of them. It makes it fairly readable, but it can definitely be a slog sometimes. I can only really do it in short spurts, but enough of those together leads to a finished thing.