Crunchyroll worked hard to hype up the release of the first-ever anime adaptation of Solo Leveling. Starting in 2016 as a digital comic, the South Korean web novel was a massive success, thanks to its interesting storyline, incredible art, and spectacular action-packed scenes. Fortunately, this success parlays into anime, paying off the streamer’s hard work and becoming one of the biggest anime series of today. So, to take a look back at how it all began, Crunchyroll CEO Rahul Purini revealed how they decided to adapt the manhwa into anime.
In an interview with The Verge about how anime started dominating the world, Purini was asked about a project he did that he knew was worth it and would have an audience outside Japan. Among the many series that are known to be under Crunchyroll, he mentioned Solo Leveling.
After their team read the manhwa, the company president decided to introduce it to its sister company, Aniplex, and co-produced the show with them. From there, the decision to take Sung Jinwoo’s story to the small screen began.
The anime adaptation of Solo Leveling was officially announced at Anime Expo 2022 and was eventually released on January 7, 2024. But aside from knowing its engaging storyline, Purini added that what they heard from their fans was what incited them to do the series.
It’s been really well received by fans across the world. And so that’s one example where we co-produced a show that we brought to the table based on what we were hearing from our fans.
How successful is Solo Leveling anime?
Since its release, Solo Leveling has become one of the biggest anime of the season. As of this writing, it’s now the sixth most popular series on MyAnimeList with an 8.68 score, ranking at 58. It’s also the most popular anime on Crunchyroll, followed by Jujutsu Kaisen, One Piece, Classroom of the Elite, and Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End.
It has also made its way to IMDb’s 100 most popular TV shows, ranking at 95 and defeating the likes of The Good Doctor, Seinfeld, and This Is Us with its 8.5% overall rating. In addition, as of February 19-25, it became a part of Netflix’s Global Top 10 TV Shows (Non-English), sitting at No. 5. It was part of the Top 10 TV shows in 10 countries, such as Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, Maldives, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.
What is Solo Leveling about?
Solo Leveling follows the story of Sung Jinwoo, an infamous E-Rank Hunter and a member of the Hunter Association, full of hunters and human warriors with great supernatural abilities. A life-changing event happens when he joins other higher-ranking hunters’ raid of a mysterious double dungeon, where he sacrifices himself to save others and gets chosen to be the sole player of the System. The System provides training courses that help him improve his abilities and skills and become the world’s greatest hunter.
You can read the synopsis below:
More than ten years after the sudden appearance of a ‘gate’ that connects another dimension and the present world, humans called ‘hunters’ who have awakened to superhuman powers appear in the world. Hunters make a living by conquering the dungeons inside the gates and getting paid for it, but among these strong hunters, Shun Mizushino lived as a low-rank hunter known as humanity's weakest weapon. One day, a mysterious quest window appears in front of Shun, who encounters a high-rank double dungeon hidden in a low-rank dungeon and is mortally injured. On the verge of death, Shun decides to accept the quest and becomes the only one who can ‘level up.’
The anime is based on the South Korean web novel of the same title by Chugong. First serialized in KakaoPage in 2016, it was later published in print by D&C Media’s Papyrus label in November 2017, licensed by Yen Press in English. It was also adapted into a webtoon with illustrations by Jang Sung-rak (Dubu), published in March 2019. It then received a second season in August 2020 and ended in December 2021, collecting nine volumes published by D&C Media. Yen Press also licensed the webtoon in English.
In January 2024, it was adapted into anime by A-1 Pictures, releasing seven episodes and a recap episode so far. A K-drama adaptation and a role-playing video game by Netmarble are in development, while a spin-off, Solo Leveling: Ragranok, is scheduled for release in 2024.
New episodes of Solo Leveling are released every Saturday in Japan and on Crunchyroll. With Episode 8 coming, fans can expect more action-packed scenes and revelations as Jinwoo is now on his way to becoming the most powerful hunter.
