Solo Leveling
Warning: Contains very light spoilers for Solo LevelingSolo Levelinghas finally wrapped up what has been an unforgettable second season, which saw the series seemingly break just aboutevery anime record imaginablewhile continuing to attract hordes of new fans.
The season’s final episode #13, “On to the Next Target”, offered a bit of a breather following the previous episode’s climactic battle between Jinwoo and Beru,yet despite a lack of action, it had quite a bit going on.
Opening with Sung Jinwoo coming in for the save on Cha Hae-In, the finale brings the Jeju Island arc to a definitive close.
The aftermath was bloody and the series' protagonist expressed guilt for not arriving on the battlefield sooner, though without him the outcome would have been much worse.
Set-up forthe all-but-confirmed third seasontook up the majority of the episode’s runtime, but one scene towards the closing minutes had major implications for the future of the series, introducing two villains Sung Jinwoo can’t even compare to at the current moment.
Solo Leveling Introduced Major Villains Just Before Season 2 Ended
The Beast Monarch and the Frost Monarch Have Made Their Entrances
In the aftermath of the Jeju Island raid, a strike team of sorts was sent to clean up any remaining ants and confirm it was safe.
Custom Image By Vanessa Piña
As they roamed, however, a mysterious being clad in animalistic warrior armor emerged, followed by another pale blue intimidating figure.
With a wave of a frosty hand, the hunters sent to clean up the island collapsed.The first is Rakan, or the Beast Monarch, and the second, icier monster, is Sillad, or the Frost Monarch.
Rather than having come to the island to assist in the battle, it seemed as though they were more interested in what exactly happened there.
Based on a webtoon series, Solo Leveling is an action-adventure fantasy anime originally created by Chugong. When Sung Jinwoo is slain in the depths of a high-level dungeon, he is reborn, intending to use his newfound strength to reach the heart of the dungeon and uncover its secrets.
The seemingly non-lethal take-down of the hunters shows there was little aggression in their agenda,and instead the two monarchs speak about traces of “his” power.The power in question undoubtedly belongs to Sung Jinwoo, but Sillad’s comment following confirmation of Jinwoo’s power is notable.
Solo Leveling season 2 was a smash hit, and even with all the success, the series made a significant amount of changes from the source material.
The Monarch showed genuine surprise at the fact that he used his abilities to help humans,which suggests the two weren’t actually talking about Jinwoo after all.
This tracks, however, given that the series' protagonist had just hit level 100 during the battle, which fans ofSolo Leveling’s source material will know, marks an important step toward what’s to come later in the story.
As the anime has revealed already, the System granted Jinwoo the title of Shadow Monarch, connecting him in some way to the two monstrously powerful beings.
The Introduction of the Monarchs Marks the Start of Major Developments
Solo Leveling Is About to Drastically Change
The two villainous Monarchsweren’t the only ones, aside from the team of hunters, on the island.
And as they left, the shot panned up to Sung Jinwoo’s father hidden away, looking down and watching them.
The introduction of these charactersmarks the beginning of a major shift forSolo Leveling, and the inevitable upcoming Season Three will begin to finally dive into the secrets of its world.
Beings such as the Monarchs, Rulers, and “The Absolute Being” are set to take shape just around the corner.
Further expansion ofSolo Leveling’s setting and narrative is needed, and something theoriginal source material struggled with in its earlier sections.
Power Fantasy is incredibly popular, but it’s a dangerous game when there are little to no stakes involved in a series.
From the moment Jinwoo defeated Igris and extracted his shadow, he hasn’t had much trouble in combat,which only works well for so long until the story needs to progress elsewhere.
Fortunately, for any anime viewers who might have felt the series was becoming stagnant, major development is just ahead.
The arrival of Rakan and Sillad, two major villains who are far out of the protagonist’s league, is just the start of what’s to come forSolo Levelingin the likely near future.
With two Monarchs capable of posing a real threat to Sung Jinwoo,the stakes the series has often lacked are ready to rise through the roof.
Though the winter anime season has just come to its conclusion, the latest hit series has put in a serious bid for anime of the year, and other shows will have to give their all to matchSolo Leveling’s second season.
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Based on a webtoon series, Solo Leveling is an action-adventure fantasy anime originally created by Chugong.
When Sung Jinwoo is slain in the depths of a high-level dungeon, he is reborn, intending to use his newfound strength to reach the heart of the dungeon and uncover its secrets.
