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The first two episodes of Solo Leveling Season 2 are streaming on Crunchyroll.
Much like the video games it emulates, the Solo Leveling anime series often forces its protagonist to drift away from boredom in order to gain experience and level up – a gift unique to Sung Jinwoo in this universe of invading monsters and the magical “hunters” who maintain them. beside them. But after a big, hyper-intense, awesome fight to that replay, it justifies the whole thing. This is almost a show against critics: when Solo Leveling seems to be wasting the audience’s time with a subplot that goes nowhere or side characters that threaten to take our attention away from Jinwoo’s feats of strength, it throws in a dozen visuals. amazing and amazing things on screen. There isn’t much substance to the single-player levels beyond their exciting battles, but the start of Season 2 is still a wonderful moment.
Thanks to the bright one Animated by A-1 Pictures and evocative music by Hiroyuki Sawano, the impressive artwork of the original Solo Leveling webtoon already becomes a season two premiere, complete with severed limbs, smashed skulls and buckets of blood. The first season saw Jinwoo acquire a superpower that allows him to resurrect dead enemies and add them to his army; The first two episodes of season 2 are basically about testing these necromancy skills, with dozens of new faces afraid to sell Jinwoo’s superior skills. Is there anything better than fighting in the premiere and the wish fulfillment of a weak, forgettable guy who becomes the most dominant guy in the world? Yes! And besides, not really.
In these two episodes, Jinwoo continues to veer towards anti-heroism (and sometimes outright villainy). They also raise some interesting questions about the corruption of Jinwoo’s powers and suggest that he is becoming more like the monsters he fights in the dungeons. However, all of this is quickly dismissed in favor of developments such as the arrival of the vicious assassin Hwang Dung-soo, who is looking for Jinwoo to avenge his brother’s death. He’d be a terrifying presence if Solo Leveling had any stakes, but we all know there’s no way this guy is going to be a threat to Jinwoo.
We also get the White Tiger Guild leader’s interest in Jinwoo and whether or not it’s rekindled, an interesting mystery that could have big ramifications for the wider world of Solo Leveling. But that story is moving at a snail’s pace and it’s hard to remember that people discovering Jinwoo’s big stupid power surge is supposed to matter. And of course there’s the mystery of the program that allows Jinwoo to be promoted, the show’s most compelling storyline, but that’s a whole other pot that seems to be simmering in the background.
So there is More than Solo Leveling action, but in the early stages of Season 2, the show seems to be interested in nothing but Jinwoo’s achievements in battle. After these stories progress, maybe the anime will get some real substance. But for now it doesn’t matter. It’s all secondary to the intensity of the fight scenes and the sheer number of “hell yeahs” they generate.
And you know what? It works. It’s not a show I watch for complex characterizations, nuanced moral debates, intricate world-building, or even memorable characters. I stick with Solo Leveling for the same reason I see Players doing awesome things in Elden Ring or playing a game using every cheat code and mod available. This is where Solo Leveling becomes a distinctively exciting visual experience.
