“Solo Leveling”, the famous manhwa by Chugong and Dubu, has finally become an anime and promises to be one of the hits of 2024. The story mixes elements of RPG and isekai with a protagonist who evolves slowly, all in a setting of incredible art and fights. The premiere will take place on January 6, 2024, exclusively on Crunchyroll.
First impressions The first two episodes show the basic story, but already give a taste of what’s to come. We have a well-constructed world, full of mysteries, politics and fantasy action. Shunsuke Nakashige’s direction and Hiroyuki Sawano’s composition make every scene worthwhile.
The protagonist, Sung Jin-woo, starts out as the typical “weak” who wants to become strong for his family. The anime’s direction does a great job of making this journey interesting from the beginning. They promise that Jin-woo’s unique abilities will develop in exciting ways in the coming episodes.
A Rhythm That Confuses, But Promises If there’s anything to criticize, it’s the somewhat strange pacing. The episodes cut to other characters who, for now, don’t have much to do with Jin-woo’s main story. This may be confusing, but it seems like they want to develop these secondary characters more than in the original manhwa.
Conclusion Even with these pacing problems, “Solo Leveling” has everything to be one of the best anime of the year, if they manage to get these details right in the next episodes. The debut has already shown that it has a lot of potential, so we have to wait and see how it will unfold.
Solo Leveling is available at Crunchyroll.
