Solo Leveling has without question created one of the most satisfying ends to a season of shonen anime that I’ve ever seen. Last week, we were all absolutely blessed with god tier animation, fantastic art, beautiful musical composition, and the introduction of Jinwoo’s strongest and most impressive foe to date. The job change quest is important not only because it allows Jinwoo to advance, but also because challenges like defeating Igris force him to re-examine every part of his journey and use what he’s built up in order to move forward. This week’s episode, perhaps more directly than last week, focused on Jinwoo conquering his internal weakness while also battling enemies in real time. It made for a satisfying narrative close to the season. And, on top of that, the animation was incredible, even if not as edge-of-your-seat incredible as last week.
Birth of the Shadow Monarch
This episode went by quite fast for me and that’s always a personal good sign. When the episode is closing out and I find myself wondering how 20 minutes have already passed, I know it’s good. In this case, the front half of the episode impressed me with its use of sound and direction. The combat in this section was fine too, but the fact that Solo Leveling episode 11 was so great makes it hard to compare even above-par action sequences to it. Sound though was unique; the voices in Jinwoo’s head were layered such that they had an outerversal, otherworldly quality to them. The battle flickering in and out of existence as he focused on his own thoughts rather than the fight was a nice touch. It felt very satisfying to watch Jinwoo be forced to tackle his internal insecurities as well.
His brief escape from the quest, while a bit unsatisfying, also fits into this category of narrative and growth. Recall the first time Jinwoo ignored his daily quest. Surviving for four hours seemed impossible to him back then and all he could manage to do was run for his life. This time, the enemies have orange colored names (are near his level) and served as levelling fodder. He knew he was capable of taking them out and made use of his lucky opportunity the moment he recognized it. While the luck may seem like plot armor, I think it’s more an example of how Jinwoo takes initiative when he can and isn’t purely overpowered. He becomes overpowered because he takes advantage of his circumstances and forces himself to survive. A more timid hunter very well might have reached a couple ranks higher before coasting, or even died during one of the harder instance dungeons. Solo Leveling isn’t quite so brave as to make the protagonist persistently weak, but at least he has to work for what he’s got.
The final section of combat, where Jinwoo needs to ignore the mass of formless enemies in front of him to dispel the real threat, feels quite in line with a lot of the combat in shows like this. This is especially true now that we know that a lot of the threats Jinwoo needs to be wary of exist within the otherwise respected sides of Hunter society. I don’t have too much else to add about the combat of this section. Like the sections before it, combat was excellent and actually felt improved here, with the enemy movements using less CGI. The golem fight felt like a proper boss battle, especially with the swelling music in the background leading up to Jinwoo’s victory.
Finally, the episode ended with a moment I’ve been waiting weeks for. Jinwoo’s first “arise” was absolutely perfect and sounded fantastic in headphones. I appreciate how faithful to the original comic art style the shadow soldiers are as well; they look amazing. Anime like this which have a lot of aura and energy have to be careful to show off lighting effects without doing it too much, and Solo Leveling struck that tenuous balance well. I felt more than satisfied seeing the quest wrap up, especially with the tease of evolving monsters on Jeju Island and a looming S-rank threat.
Looking Forward to Season 2 of Solo Leveling
Season 2 has already been announced (predictably) and while I’m sad we aren’t getting a quick second cour instead, I’m even more satisfied that the announcement and confirmation about an assumed second season came fast. Having picked up the comic early on this season, I can say that it definitely doesn’t disappoint. There are a few subtle changes that the anime made throughout the episodes it covered, but the art from DUBU is better than most visual media out there. In any case, I’m looking forward to what’s to come for this anime.
Again, if you don’t vote for Solo Leveling in our weekly poll then you’re lying to yourself.
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