Solo Leveling Season 1 is Incredible, But How Does It Compare to the Manhwa?

Summary Solo Leveling's anime stayed true to the manhwa but could benefit from taking more artistic liberties in terms of animation such as seen during Jinwoo's fight against Igris.

Solo Leveling's anime-only scenes disrupted the flow of fights, leaving fans wanting more.

Solo Leveling would have benefited from a longer run to fully explore Jinwoo's powers and set up future arcs.

Solo Leveling was one of the highly anticipated anime adaptations of 2024 with many lofty expectations to live up to owing to the manhwa's large fan base. With season 2 already on the way, a comprehensive overview of season 1 of Solo Leveling could reveal where exactly the series could hopefully improve for its eventual return.

In comparison to previous anime adaptations of manhwa, Solo Leveling is certainly among the best of the lot and mostly managed to live up to fans' expectations. Solo Leveling's first season surprised fans of the manhwa with its surprising loyalty to the source material and its stellar animation that lives up to the manhwa's stunning art.

That said, there are certainly areas where season 2 of Solo Leveling could improve, such as the direction and pacing of the fights and the anime's added original scenes which have turned out to be a double-edged sword. The anime could also benefit from experimenting more with its visuals, which could elevate the series' fights above the manhwa.

1:39 Related Fans Missing Solo Leveling Should Check Out Its Upcoming Sequel Fans of Solo Leveling need not fear as the series has the perfect sequel to fill the void left behind by the manhwa while waiting for season 2.

Solo Leveling's Anime Largely Stayed True to the Manhwa

Solo Leveling's Anime-only Scenes Work Both In and Against its Favor

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In terms of an adaptation of the manhwa, Solo Leveling mostly stays true to its source. Most episodes are almost scene-for-scene as seen in the manhwa. The first few chapters of the manhwa in particular are easily the most memorable and the anime managed to capture these scenes perfectly, leading to Solo Leveling's prologue being widely successful and drawing in new fans as well.

The anime did expand on some scenes from the manhwa which mostly enriched the story. An excellent example is Jinwoo's conversation with his sister which wasn't originally in the manhwa but added to Jinwoo's character and provided much-needed insight into his shifting mentality after the incident with Hwang Dongsuk's raid party.

The timing of these scenes often worked against the anime, especially when they interrupted the Solo Leveling's otherwise spectacular action sequences.

The anime also brought minor characters like Eunseok to life who otherwise had appeared only in name in the manhwa, and introduced major characters like the other S-rank hunters well in advance, which not only served to entice fans of the manhwa but also expanded Solo Leveling's world beyond just Jinwoo. That said, the timing of these scenes often worked against the anime, especially when they interrupted the Solo Leveling's otherwise spectacular action sequences.

Solo Leveling's Fights Left More To Be Desired

The Anime Often Disrupted the Flow of its Fights

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Admittedly, there are very few truly exciting fights among the first 45 chapters of the manhwa that Solo Leveling's first season covered. While these first few fights aren't boring by any means they are still only the very tip of the iceberg with much lower stakes and quicker resolutions as Jinwoo is still leveling up a quick pace.

It is only after Jinwoo gets the powers of the Shadow Monarch that the real fun begins. As such, Solo Leveling's fights may have appealed to those new to the series, but they left fans of the manhwa wanting more. Of course, this isn't the anime's fault but due to the inherent structure of the manhwa, which only gears up around a hundred chapters in.

However, one way the anime did botch Solo Leveling's fights is through the previously mentioned anime-only scenes which constantly cut away from the action. The most notable example is Jinwoo's fight against Igris, which should have been the big climactic fight of the series. While the animation and choreography delivered in every sense, the anime threw away the tension it had carefully built up by unnecessarily cutting away from Jinwoo and Igris to the S-rank hunters headed to Jeju and the Chairman of the Korean Hunters Association.

These diversions from the action were present in nearly every fight in the series, even the crucial double dungeon scene at the very beginning, which arguably took away from the immersion in these otherwise charged scenes. As great as these added scenes were at setting up upcoming arcs and characters, they may have worked better as post-credit scenes or could have been inserted elsewhere in the anime so as to not disrupt the flow of the fights.

Solo Leveling Could Have Taken More Artistic Liberties

One of the anime's biggest challenges was to live up to the high bar set by Solo Leveling's vibrant art by Jang Sung-rak, which was largely responsible for the manhwa's global popularity. Safe to say the anime did not disappoint in terms of its visuals with the same vibrant color palette and incredibly accurate character designs that perfectly captured the manhwa's style.

That said, it would be nice to see Studio A-1 Pictures take more liberties with the series in terms of its visuals. Jinwoo's fight against Kang Tae-shik experimented a little with its color palette to depict Jinwoo's murderous intent and the result was quite stunning. Meanwhile, the fight against Igris included breathtaking impact frames that elevated the episode as a whole, which fans will hopefully be seeing more of in season 2 of Solo Leveling.

The anime is undoubtedly capable of much more, especially with Solo Leveling's magical setting full of different kinds of powers, unique fighting styles, and its wide variety of magic beasts that the anime could likely bring to life even better than the manhwa if given a little free rein.

Solo Leveling Would Have Benefited From A Longer Run

Overall, the most common complaints about Solo Leveling mostly stem from its short run. Many fans expected the anime to be slotted for at least 24 episodes, which would see Jinwoo not only get his necromancer powers but also use them. The latter half of the story would have also set up the intrigue surrounding the origins of Jinwoo's powers and better paved the way for the Jeju Island Raid, which is unquestionably the best arc of the series and might not even make it into season 2.

Overall, despite its poor sales Solo Leveling's anime was quite a hit and its addictive, engaging storyline speaks for itself. Season 2 has the opportunity to be even better as the plot finally kicks into high gear and Jinwoo's new shadow powers are finally put to use. Fans can only hope that season 2 of Solo Leveling builds on the first season's strengths and avoids its pitfalls, as the expectations are going to be even higher especially from fans of the manhwa.

Solo Leveling is available from Crunchyroll.