News culture Is Solo Leveling set to be the best anime of 2024? My impressions after the first two episodes

Culture news Is Solo Leveling set to be the best anime of 2024? My impressions after the first two episodes

With 14 billion pages read, to say that Solo Leveling is a global hit is an understatement. Although it was initially a novel written by Chugong and illustrated by Dubu, it was mainly through its adaptation into manhwa (Korean comics) in webtoon format (i.e. published online) that the adventures of Sung Jinwoo were a great success. Necessarily, it was enough for Solo Leveling to be adapted once again, but this time into an anime by a Japanese animation studio. While the broadcast is scheduled for January 6, I was able to see the first two episodes during a preview organized at the Grand Rex and this is what I thought of it.

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A start that takes its time while innovating

If like me you had never read the webtoon before discovering the anime, here is a short summary of what Solo Leveling says. A day, Humanity has seen portals appear in the four corners of the world connected to dimensions, dungeons and other parallel worlds in which monsters are found. At the same time, people have developed supernatural abilities to deal with these threats and close these portals. Those who have received an awakening are called Hunters who are ranked by their power rank defined upon obtaining their power. In this world, we follow Sung Jingwoo, a weak Hunter at the bottom of the ladder who continues to participate in dungeon raids to make money. But one day, he and his group will come across a mysterious dungeon which will get the better of most of the members as well as Sung Jingwoo who will escape by miracle, which will give him a power as powerful as it is strange.

So, the first two episodes that I was able to see present the world of Solo Leveling and adapt all the events of the first dungeon which will turn Sung Jingwoo’s life upside down. And this is where you have to be careful with your expectations. While most anime use their first episode as a pilot, Solo Leveling’s is spread over two full episodes, which may surprise some. At the same time, in the original work, this first dungeon alone takes around ten chapters, which therefore explains its duration in the anime. However, However, this is not an adaptation in the strict sense since the anime adds elements compared to the webtoon. For example, the first two episodes do not take place only in the dungeon, because we are entitled to scenes outside which introduce us to characters who will be important later. A good way to energize the rhythm during this first sequence which does not contain as much action as in the rest of the work.

An effective animation expected at the turn

In these first two episodes, we are not yet treated to the big action scenes that have made the webtoon’s reputation since we are only at the beginning. This is where A-1 Pictures, the animation studio behind the project, is expected to turn the corner because this is where all the charm of Solo Leveling lies. But as for these firstfruits, we are entitled to a very clean rendering, with even some flashes in terms of animation and staging at times as we saw in the trailers. However, since this first dungeon is only a “psychological combat”, we will have to be a little patient before seeing what the studio actually has in store for us.

To get an idea of ​​what awaits us, we can look at the studio’s previous works. A-1 Pictures is renowned for being behind Sword Art Online, the first season of Seven Deadly Sins, Fairy Tail, Blue Exorcist and Kaguya-sama: Love is War. Shows which benefit from good animation therefore, even if we are still not at the level of Mappa (Jujutsu Kaisen, Chainsaw Man, Attack on Titan…) or ufotable (Demon Slayer, Fate. ..). However, given the hype around Solo Leveling, we imagine that the studio has put in the means to shine with an animation that should impress. In any case, response during the month of January, once the anime Solo Leveling will have started its broadcast from January 6 on Crunchyroll.