Sung Jinwoo’s story is just starting, and he’s about to unleash his real strength and ability in Solo Leveling anime. While doing so, the character’s voice actor, Taito Ban, feels the intensity of this major change and ensures he only delivers the best acting by releasing an incredible amount of energy to the point that he has already coughed up blood.
Ban has been going to great lengths while serving as the voice of Jinwoo in Solo Leveling. Talking about his role, he told Moca News (as translated by Anime Corner) that he even felt like collapsing during the recording while giving his all, not minding to put his life on the line.
“I have put my heart and soul into this work to the extent that I coughed up blood at the end of one recording session,” he revealed.
The 31-year-old even admitted that he’s doing Solo Leveling with so much passion and acting with all his heart, having so much belief in this work. As he’s confident that this series can move the world, he wants to work with everyone to make this project more exciting.
Anyhow, fans don’t have to worry about Ban’s health. The blood doesn’t pose any serious health issues, and it’s probably just because of his intense scene in the series. In a thread on Reddit, it said to happen after he screamed at the end of Episode 2 when the Statue of God was about to hit him, and he declared he wanted to return home alive, too. There are also suggestions that it happened in Episode 4 when Jinwoo’s emotions were on full display while facing King of the Swamp – Blue Venom-Fanged Kasaka.
Taito Ban is a Japanese voice actor from Fukuoka Prefecture and affiliated with Office Osawa. He’s known for his voice acting as Ayumu Tachibana in Vazzrock the Animation, Suzaki Ban in Shinobi no Ittoki, and Amane Fujimiya in The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten.
What is Solo Leveling about?
Solo Leveling follows the story of Sung Jinwoo, a weak hunter trying his best to stay alive amid the fights. But everything changes after he survives a powerful double dungeon alone, ending up being chosen as the sole -player of a program called System. While undergoing training, he develops an extremely rare ability that helps boost his strength, making him humanity’s greatest hunter. From there, he goes on a journey to know the secrets behind the dungeons and find the real source of his powers.
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 name by Chugong. It was first serialized in KakaoPage in July 2016 and was published in full under D&C Media’s Papyrus label in November of the same year. It was licensed in English by Yen Press. A webtoon adaptation illustrated by the Redice Studio CEO Jang Sung-rak, aka Dubu, was published in KakaoPage in March 2018, with the second season released in August 2020. It ended in December 2021 with 179 chapters. It was also licensed in English by Yen Press.
In addition, a role-playing video game based on the series is now in the works at Netmarble, while a K-drama adaptation is also in development. A webtoon spin-off titled Solo Leveling: Ragnarok is scheduled to premiere this year. It was also adapted into anime by A-1 Pictures, premiering on January 6, 2024, with four episodes already released.
Solo Leveling airs every Saturday in Japan and can be streamed internationally on Crunchyroll. Four episodes into the series, the anime already features an intense turn of events as Jinwoo is now boosting his strength and powers. With 12 episodes in tow, fans can expect to see more action-packed scenes as Jinwoo is now on his way to becoming one of the best hunters.
