Solo Leveling returned from a recap week with an episode of important exposition, broad character setup, and the beginning of a dungeon exploration re-uniting the surviving members of the double dungeon earlier this season. The recap episode, labeled 7.5 to denote it as such, was received incredibly poorly, especially with how action-packed episode 7 was. Multiple outlets reported on just how many negative reviews and thumbs down flooded the episode page. It was erroneously reported multiple times as the worst-rated episode on Crunchyroll due to the low ratio of likes to dislikes, which was 31.3K likes to 66.7K dislikes at the time of this article’s writing. There are actually other series that both have low overall ratings and worse like-to-dislike ratios for multiple episodes, High Guardian Spice immediately comes to mind. Somewhat in that case and definitely in this one, the reason was review bombing. Dislikes piled on within minutes of the episode going live, meaning many of those early clickers had barely seen past the opening scene.
Granted, this isn’t the first time Aniplex has released a recap very early in a series, but in this case, it’s likely there was a reason. The voice actor for Jinwoo, Taito Ban, confirmed a few weeks back that he had contracted Covid-19, and most everyone has heard by now about him performing with such vigor that he coughed up blood. He and all of the staff have worked incredibly hard to make this one of the best anime adaptations in years, adding more to the story and fleshing out the world of Solo Leveling even better than the webtoon. I think the number of fans willing to be salty and dislike the recap episode speaks to how beloved the series already is; it’s a shame to see people disrespect those who work on it like this.
In any case, this week’s episode was better received, though still received ample complaints (presumably because Jinwoo didn’t fight any three-headed demon beasts this week). Among the expository episodes though, I think it’s actually the best thus far. (Spoilers ahead for Solo Leveling episode 8: This Is Frustrating)
Jobs and Geopolitics
The very beginning of the episode did an excellent job setting up a longer-term goal for Jinwoo while also apprising the audience of his current strength. He obviously wants to gather the ingredients to cure his mother, but he also recognizes he lacks the strength to currently do so. Unlike his other recent desires for strength though, this one isn’t about him or making up for years of humiliation as the weakest hunter in existence. This is him setting aside some of his own desires and preferences in order to maximize the odds he saves his mother. This, of course, led to him accepting Jinho’s offer to work together, although with the condition that only they enter dungeons. I appreciated this little reversal of a few episodes back, with Jinwoo taking a technique from someone he’s defeated in order to grow stronger. It falls in line with him gaining weapons and items thematically similar to the bosses he’s taken down, which is quite nice.
The webtoon didn’t go nearly as in-depth with the Yoojin Construction company’s efforts to recruit S-rank hunters and destabilize the current balance of powers between guilds. I’m very glad they did though. Just a few weeks back we learned about hunters outside of Korea, one of whom of course wants to come after the hunters who killed his brother. It’s very helpful for audiences to understand how the Hunter’s Association functions as a public institution, with many of the extraction of resources and coordination of dungeon excursions falling to private companies. Hearing this adds a capitalist layer to an otherwise fantasy setup, something that isn’t done often with quite so much detail. With the revelation that powerful hunters have their eyes on Jeju island, the dangerous place we caught glimpses of earlier in the series, it’s all great information. Admittedly some of the conversations dragged on perhaps a hair longer than they needed to, but I found the dialogue engaging enough so as to not feel forced.
An Awkward Reunion in Solo Leveling
The second half of the episode follows an emergency request for nearby hunters from the Association. Along with it, we get a sort of status update on some of the folks from the double dungeon. Jinwoo, of course, we already know has undergone an incredible visual change, something others notice immediately. Mr. Song has lost an arm and no longer can fight with a sword like he used to, as he wasn’t able to be healed in time (a neat detail about healing magic). Joohee is still suffering from PTSD from the incident but seemingly was spurred on to participate by her parents’ implication that she was useless. Mr. Kim and Mr. Kang lost nothing but perhaps their shame. All of these people are important now in ways they weren’t before. They gave us a frame of reference for what kinds of hunters were out there, and how different kinds of hunters treated Jinwoo. Seeing them interact with him now will be a nice update on how those interactions come forth. Kang Taeshik and the prisoners are obviously quite suspicious, but the former being B-rank gives even more points of comparison for Jinwoo. We’ve seen him fight a lot against bosses and monsters in instance dungeons, but we don’t have a clear idea of what his in-practice rank is right now.
Next episode is shaping up to be a good one, with a lot of moving pieces coming together and a lot of suspicious characters showing up for the first time. Everyone going into this dungeon has some kind of personal agenda, and many of them are likely to clash with one another. Even if the episodes of the next few weeks aren’t incredibly action-heavy, I hope fans can get over themselves and take the time to enjoy it. Demanding constant content at impossible speeds is how we end up with authors suffering horrible chronic injuries so early into their lives and entire animation studios working people into the ground. Good art is worth waiting for and better working conditions are just good in general.
If you enjoyed Solo Leveling episode 8 then be sure to vote for it in our weekly poll! The series is streaming on Crunchyroll with new episodes airing on Saturday. As of January 20th, Crunchyroll is also streaming the English dub of the anime.
© Solo Leveling Animation Partners
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