Forum - View topicSolo Leveling (TV).
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Tony K.
 SubscriberModerator  Posts: 11298 Location: Frisco, TX |
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Season 01: Solo Leveling (TV) Season 02: Solo Leveling Season 2 -Arise from the Shadow- (TV) Source: South Korean Web Novel (completed @ 14 volumes, by Chugong) Demographic: Seinen Animation Studio: A-1 Pictures Genres: action, adventure, drama, fantasy, psychological Themes: alternate dimension, conspiracy, corporations, factions, gore, isekai, monsters, sorcery, superpowers Plot Summary: It's been over a decade since the sudden appearance of the "gates"—the paths that connect our world with a different dimension. Since then, certain humans have awakened to supernatural powers. We call these individuals "hunters." Hunters make their living by using their powers to conquer dungeons inside the gates. In this world of tough customers, the low-ranked hunter Jinwoo Sung is known as "the weakest hunter of all mankind." One day, Jinwoo gets fatally injured when he runs into high-rank double dungeons hidden within a low-rank dungeon. Just then, a mysterious quest window appears in front of him. On the verge of death, Jinwoo decides to accept the quest and starts leveling up... while the others aren't. Air Date & Platform: Season 01: January 6, 2024 (Saturday) Available on: Crunchyroll Season 02: Pending Available on: Crunchyroll Episode Count / Runtime: Season 01: 12 episodes Season 02: Pending Total: 12 episodes ---------------------------------- A-1 Pictures animating with Hiroyuki Sawano composing; already a formula for epic-ness. Will definitely try it out. Last edited by Tony K. on Thu Apr 11, 2024 9:23 am; edited 4 times in total |
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Edjwald
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They wrote in at least 3 new, fairly significant scenes unless I'm remembering the source material wrong, and I was happy for it. The scenes gave the world background texture that would have required a lot of exposition otherwise, and they also gave web novel readers like me a little bit of pepper for the stew, so to speak.
This show is supposed to be the season's new big thing, so I looked at it through a different lens than I did the other anime I watched today. The show wasn't pure animated fire like Zom 100 or Shangri-La Frontier, and it wasn't beautifully drawn like Frieren, but from the first moment, the art felt like an upgrade from the same old same old. It was more than just competent - I admired the way the animation used vertical action in some unusual ways to liven things up, and there was some creative work with backgrounds too. I think a lot of thought and talent went into using the art budget and time frame they had to work with to the fullest, and it paid off. I thought the show delivered the underdog premise well, and I thought it did a good job of building suspense. I would have gladly welcomed an extended episode or extra episode, even if it meant I had to put up with the tantrums of Bloo--(kaff)--dy Posters who complain about too much of a good thing 
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smurky turkey
Posts: 1915 |
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Yeah, that was a great episode to get a solid picture of the setting and the mc without it feeling like a loredump (too much anyway). You understand how the dungeon situation came to be, how the world changed and how it is now basically a new line of work with lots of money to be made. While weak the mc shows his grit (or maybe more like stubborn foolishness) in not giving up and having an eye for small details.
As for the animation, I like it a lot. It is indeed not on the level of Frieren or Zom 100/Shangri-La, but expecting every big new show to look like that is probably a bad idea. It looks and sounds good and they are a bit creative here and there. The episode also reminded how creepy the statues are and remembering correctly next week should up that. |
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Blood-
 Bargain Hunter Posts: 23773 |
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Episode 1
Sweetness. Another new show that I can like unreservedly without having to apologetically note that I'm feeling super tolerant these days. Not a whiff of the slow pace/tedium that I found in shows like Delicious in Dungeon and Unwanted Undead. I really like the modern world /dungeon raid premise, too. This is feeling like a keeper to me. |
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ACｘS
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1:
"You know, isekai is done to death. Why not, instead of the guy being transported to a different world, we bring the different world to ours!" I have to admit: the setting amused me a bit at first. Military weapons—guns, tanks, heck, even battleships—all useless? What works, instead? Swords and magic. Me: "So, the world's gone backwards now?" You know that saying, "bringing a knife to a gun fight"? Well, guess who's winning the fight. But it is interesting. The world has known turned into a fantasy warzone, people are born with "permanent" rankings, and best of all, countries fighting over mana essence stones and mana crystals. GLOBAL ENERGY ARMS RACE! Big companies scouting for S-rank Hunters like a job-hunting field day, and then we have Jin-woo, the weakest of the bunch who finds a way to do what no one else can: level up. The show itself is definitely entertaining, but the production novelty is also interesting. I can't remember the last time I watch an anime set in South Korea, with all Korean characters, and it's by A1, which is a pretty solid production studio. Plus, even before the season started, there was so much hype surrounding this title and I didn't even know why. Definitely sticking around. |
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smurky turkey
Posts: 1915 |
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They really should have gone with an extra long first episode. The first two episodes make for one hell of an exciting start while doing a good job of setting up the world. The first episode does a lot of world building and starts the quest while the second goes into the bloody meat of said quest. It was nice to see mr smiley in animated form, I got chills seeing him, the same chills I for when first reading the manhwa.
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Edjwald
Posts: 1122 |
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Agreed, but I don't have any real complaints about how the anime is working out. The tension played pretty grippingly just the same, and I don't think the anime lost anything from the web novel. Great stuff IMHO. |
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ACｘS
Posts: 881 |
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2:
Agreed too. But I have to admit: A1 is doing a very good job. Things are becoming a lot more riveting now. I can see why the series (both the manhwa and now the anime) is hyped up: the plot build-up doesn't let up, the world-building is enough to keep me interested, and there is a bit of social commentary on the side (Capitalism? Arms race? Desperation turning noble people into not-so-noble people? Sign me up!). Most of all, we have the weakest player getting the chance of a lifetime because he had the courage that no one else in the team had. I think a lot of people were disappointed when the show turned out to be only 12 episodes long instead of a fuller 24 episodes. I understand the sentiment, although I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing. Imagine the sheer anticipation for the second season (which we know there will be one). |
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Edjwald
Posts: 1122 |
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Welp, I think the one armed team leader really would have stayed behind. He just thought that if he stayed, the other two would die as well, and that he was the only one who could save the healer. I did find myself wondering...if all of them had stayed in the circle and waited for the blue flames to go out, would there have been six S-rank powerhouses running around Korea? |
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smurky turkey
Posts: 1915 |
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I am unsure about that, it might depend on how each person dealt with the 3 commandments as a whole, thus staying and having fumbled what came before might have doomed you. |
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter Posts: 23773 |
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Some people in the Winter Preview thread are likening this to Gantz which I get (loved Gantz by the way). Jinwoo certainly showed some smarts in deciphering the commandments. Really eager to see where this goes.
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ACｘS
Posts: 881 |
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The leader would have stayed, I was sure of that. Just based on the situation that Jinwoo was the incapacitated one, his staying behind instead was the logic solution.
If all of them stayed in the circle and survive the onslaught. I don't think Jinwoo would have won if he had died before the blue flame went out. He did survive by the skin of his teeth... 0.02 seconds to be exact (god, "close" is an understatement). And I haven't watched Gantz yet. Dammit. |
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Edjwald
Posts: 1122 |
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I, for one, am loving the pace with which this show is developing the web novel.
I'm also enjoying the fact that they are giving Cha Hae-In a significant role earlier than I remembered, though I may be misremembering. I also haven't read the Manhwa, and it may be there are significant differences between the web novel and the web toon. Anyway, I'm glad to see her showing up and playing a role this soon. I've gone from liking to loving this anime. The only thing I'm not loving is that it's only got a 12 episode run. |
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter Posts: 23773 |
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Episode 3
Man, this title is the exact opposite of an OP show. In fact, I'm getting Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash vibes from this in that it's taking a "realistic" view of what fighting monsters really would be like. Notice how the three goblins attacked in a co-ordinated way rather than two standing around to helpfully intervene only when one of their number is dispatched? It definitely makes the battles tense. Cool show, bro. |
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ACｘS
Posts: 881 |
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3:
This is basically Jin having his Midoriya moment from My Hero Academia after getting the chance of a lifetime. Newsflash, Jin: "Strength" isn't everything in an RPG, bruh! |
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