Winter 2024 Preview: Solo Leveling

Korean webcomics (manhwa) have been all the rage for years, with many of the biggest successes having been adapted to animation by top studios across Asia – shows like Lookism or Tower of God. Now, to kick off the new year, A1 Pictures is adapting Solo Leveling, by far one of the most popular manhwa out there, if not the most, and they seem to be pulling out all the stops.

Solo Leveling started as a web novel published in 2016 before being serialized as a comic in March 2018 by KakaoPage, where it ran for 179 chapters across two seasons. It only received an official English translation in 2020, just as the second season was starting, but by then, the spread of fan translations had practically turned the series into a worldwide sensation.

What is Solo Leveling?

From the outside looking in, the success of this series through sheer word of mouth alone makes the work particularly fascinating. Even if someone has never read it, they’ve likely seen it posted online or adorning wallpapers and profile pictures. The striking artwork of the late Jang Sung-rak leaves a lasting impression. For many, it’s the only impression that seems to be needed.

For everyone else, deciphering why this series is so popular takes time to understand, because the logline doesn’t quite answer the mystery. In a world where gates to another realm open, through which monsters can wreak havoc, superhumans named hunters enter these gates and slay the monsters in their dungeons before they have time to emerge themselves.

Sung Jin-woo is an E-Rank hunter, nicknamed “the weakest hunter of humankind.” Either through incompetence or an endless stream of bad luck, he just can’t seem to rise the ranks or make that much money. However, with his family depending on him financially, he can’t afford to stop, and this pushes him to take even greater risks.

After a dungeon nearly kills everyone in his party, Jinwoo miraculously survives, though now he sees a mysterious menu in front of him, giving him objectives, and recognizing him as a “player.” If he doesn’t complete the objectives and level up, he will be punished, as he quickly learns the hard way. But as he completes the objectives, he finds within himself the ability to grow stronger at a staggering pace.

Why The Hype?

Solo Leveling isn’t the first anime to use game-like mechanics to structure its plot and give the protagonist a clear path of progression. It’s not even the first to do so without explicitly setting the story within a video game. For those coming into this new anime adaptation blind, one could be forgiven for thinking it looks slightly generic in this sense, and it doesn’t help that the trailers thus far have been burying the lede somewhat.

This series is an underdog story in its rawest form, using the game-like framing as a vehicle to capitalize on the best part of an underdog story: seeing the hero overcome the odds. The straightforward nature of the story and its consistent escalation is a huge part of the charm. People read this story to see how Jinwoo goes from a scrawny E-rank hunter to the guy from all the panels that made them read the series in the first place.

This anime’s marketing feels very intentional in that regard, though it could stand to tease Jinwoo’s transformation a bit more. Perhaps a final trailer before the premiere could do the trick, but even without it, word of mouth would likely be a blessing for the series much the same as it was for the manhwa. All the animation needs to do is live up to the standard set by the source material, which, considering how much weight that art carries, is a big deal.

The Staff of Solo Leveling

For those who have observed the anime industry’s trends through the 2010s, Solo Leveling feels like the perfect anime for A1 Pictures to adapt to animation – for reasons good and bad. For all the good work they’ve produced, there have been a lot of mediocre adaptations by them in the last decade. With that said, given the studio’s output in recent years, especially post-Sword Art Online: Ordinal Scale, it’s not foolhardy to expect more good than bad.

The series is being directed by Shunsuke Nakashige, who will undoubtedly be something of a fresh face to many viewers. His only previous time directing a series was in 2021’s Mother of the Goddess’ Dormitory, but he’s an experienced animator besides, having worked on Attack on Titan, The Monogatari Series, Bungo Stray Dogs, and more.

While this is only his second time as a series director, he’s been credited as an episode director numerous times. He captained several episodes of Sword Art Online: Alicization, a series which, increasingly each year, has proven to be a hotbed of A1 Pictures’ best talent. While a fresh face can be alarming for a project with such high expectations, it’s also an exciting chance for a director to make a name for themself like never before.

Noboru Kimura is in charge of the series composition, having previously written for Gundam Build Divers, Kemono Jihen, and the Princess Principal: Crown Handler films, to name a few. The character designs are by Tomoko Sudo, who is more known as an animator than as a designer, but has quite a portfolio, from Blue Exorcist and SAO to, more recently, Spy x Family. Naomi Nakano (Chainsaw Man, SAO, Buddy Daddies) is in charge of color design.

Finally, a preview of the individuals behind this project would feel naked without mention of the hype master himself, composer Hiroyuki Sawano. His involvement feels incredibly fitting yet almost like a very transparent marketing strategy. By this point, Sawano’s sound is so distinct that all it takes is a few notes for people to instantly decide they’re watching a show on day one. It’s no surprise the announcement of the World Premiere events was centered around his music.

As coy as the previews have been so as not to spoil the fun to come, the smallest samples of Sawano’s score compensate for this almost too well. The hype is real. Solo Leveling has a big reputation to live up to and could end up being the most talked-about series come the new year. With any luck, that discourse will be one of praise and not disappointment.

Solo Leveling premieres in January 2024 and will be streaming on Crunchyroll.

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