Solo Leveling Premiere Review

A promising start for a legendary manhwa

Posted:

Jan 6, 2024 4:00 pm

A-1 Pictures’ highly anticipated adaptation of Solo Leveling is finally here, and it’s a promising start to what could be a fantastic series. Based on the blockbuster manhwa of the same name, it’s essentially Fantasy MMORPG: The Anime – not exactly set in a video game like past A-1 hit Sword Art Online, but taking place in a world that makes video games reality. Solo Leveling is not at all subtle about its gaming influences: Guilds, raids, and loot are all the stuff of day-to-day life for the show’s supernaturally powered warriors, who take up arms against interdimensional monsters that threaten humanity’s existence – and explode into magical crystals when defeated.

The first two episodes do a good job of conveying how mundane this has all become in the decade since the monsters and their fantasy realm first made themselves known. People like protagonist Sung Jin-woo have the choice of getting a normal desk job and using their paychecks on video games and clothes or earning a living as a “hunter,” gathering loot with their fellow guild members and putting it toward better weapons and gear for their next dungeon melee. What makes Solo Leveling more than just a power fantasy is that hunters remain only as mighty as they are the moment their abilities first awaken – which is unfortunate for Jin-woo, who’s considered the weakest hunter alive.

The characters are not risking their lives unnecessarily, or living with constant despair and hopelessness like in, say, Attack on Titan. But Solo Leveling still evokes that iconic series with its abrupt turn into epic carnage and savagery and a rousing score by AoT composer Hiroyuki Sawano. It’s a huge shock when things go wrong and hunters actually start getting killed; at the same time, the premiere stands out for its focus on the economic aspect of dungeoning and Jin-woo’s dependance on the work to support his mother and sister. It’s refreshing to watch an anime premiere where the young protagonist just cares about making sure he gets paid on time – even if it means fighting goblins with nothing but a chipped dagger.

With Shunsuke Nakashige directing and illustrations by Jang Sung-rak aka Dubu, Solo Leveling looks unlike most other anime, at least when it comes to the design of its world and characters. It’s a marriage of Korean aesthetics and Western fantasy imagery: A monster in the premiere looks a lot like the portrayal of Sauron in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy. A vibrant color palette sells both the allure and the danger of the dungeons, and kinetic camera movements translate the beautiful art from the manhwa by leaning into the fluidity of A-1 Pictures’ typically great action scenes.

Verdict

Through a combination of dynamic action, a unique visual style, and an intriguing world inspired by fantasy and video games, the premiere of Solo Leveling promises a great anime worthy of its blockbuster source material.