Warning: The following contains spoilers for Solo Leveling Season 2 Episode #5!!
most popular anime airing in Winter 2025, but this doesn’t exempt the series from criticism. One of the most common criticisms of Solo Leveling is the dedication towards its main character—despite the series name—Sung Jinwoo, who is considered by many to be bland and one-dimensional. However, Solo Leveling Season 2 episode #5 has proven this criticism wrong with a significant scene that isn’t present in the manhwa.
Solo Leveling is a power-scaling story where Sung Jinwoo starts as the weakest hunter until he obtains a unique power that allows him, over time, to sur all others. Because of its heavy focus on action, viewers have criticized the series for not having enough emotional moments. However, it’s the origin of Jinwoo’s power that makes his journey in Solo Leveling so meaningful, and this was highlighted in episode #17 of the anime.
Solo Leveling Season 2 Original Anime Scene Gives More Depth to Sung Jinwoo
The Adaptation Included a Parallel to the Most Significant Moments of Jinwoo
In Solo Leveling Season 2 Episode #5, the anime adaptation included an original scene where Sung Jinwoo compares the Hunters Guild’s Strike Team B with the hunters who abandoned him during the Double Dungeon Incident. In the episode, although the Strike Team B knew they were all going to die by trying to face Kargalgan, they accepted their fate to fulfill their role as hunters and distract the boss long enough for Jinwoo to escape and get help, not only protecting the one who they believed was the weakest among them but also to avoid a dungeon break and save those outside the gate.
This way, the scene added in the anime serves to highlight the parallel between both moments, as here the Strike Team B, composed of capable and strong hunters, didn’t hesitate to die for the sake of others even though they were in a hopeless situation, while in the Double Dungeon incident the weak hunters were selfish and only thought about their own survival, threatening other teammates and leaving Jinwoo to his death.
Anime Can Be Edgy, But Solo Leveling Knows How to Do the Genre Right
Solo Leveling is one of the few anime series to get the edgy vibe done right through a couple of key components.
While this is a short moment of reflection from Jinwoo, it reminds viewers how the double dungeon is the pivotal experience that has shaped his current character and contributed to his desensitization to those who abandon others like Kim Chul in the Red Gate Arc. Moreover, even though the second season has emphasized how Jinwoo is losing part of his humanity—especially after becoming the Monarch of Shadows—the fact that the anime shows him with a hurtful expression while ing a sad memory, and that he can appreciate displays of heroism from others, gives another layer of depth to his character.
The Adaptation Is Fixing the Characters’ Inconsistencies from the Manhwa
Solo Leveling Season 2 Is Improving the Role of ing Characters
Despite the story being about Jinwoo steadily improving himself until suring everyone else, the series has often been criticized for not giving enough presence to other characters. However, one character who has been highly improved in Solo Leveling Season 2 is the leader of the Hunters Guild's Strike Team B, Son Kihoon, who went from a scared and helpless hunter who appeared to not be prepared yet to command a party in the manhwa to a model of leadership in the anime in Solo Leveling episode #18.
In chapter #71 of the manhwa, Kihoon was trembling with an expression of horror after the appearance of the high orcs, lamenting that neither Choi Jong-in nor Cha Hae-in was with them. However, in the anime, Kihoon walks with determination to the front, ready to protect his team, and while he still looks nervous, he maintains his composure as expected from an A-rank hunter who has fought numerous monsters in one of the top guilds of the country.
Solo Leveling Is Anime's Best Webtoon Title, And That Is All Because Of Some Very Strict Rules
Solo Leveling stands out as one of the best manhwa-to-anime adaptations due to its faithfulness to the original work and effective overseas promotions
Furthermore, instead of representing a character who lacks experience, which felt unnatural to someone being trained to lead the second-best squad and who is ready to die at any moment, he was changed to an incredible example of what a good A-rank leader should be. This also shows how unfitting Kim Chul was to be a leader in the Red Gate Arc, not protecting a single member of his team and later putting the blame on the other survivors instead of assuming responsibility. This way, these changes help viewers understand the characters better and the different responses that Jinwoo has to each of them.
Sung Jinwoo Is a More Complex Character Than Viewers Think
Jinwoo Is a Congruent Antihero
One of the biggest complaints of some viewers is that Jinwoo’s biggest appeal is his dark side.
What draws the most attention to Jinwoo is his dark side. Many people compare shōnen anime to Solo Leveling, but a shōnen would never introduce the story of someone who levels up by killing other people, besides monsters. - Sota Furuhashi.
Jinwoo’s duality as a character makes him interesting, as he doesn’t forgive those who take advantage of others, but will also save people in danger in front of him. Moreover, in episode #17, the anime showed Jinwoo ing his former teammates during his time as an E-rank—even Kim Sangshik, which means he forgave him for his actions in the Double Dungeon—when he was greeted by the mining team, and he values those who show genuine acts of kindness towards him. This way, the loss of identity that comes with increasing power along with his traumatic experiences as the weakest hunter plays an integral role in his evolution and gives the character depth and nuances typical of an antihero.
Solo Leveling is All About the Meaning of Power
The Anime Is a Fantasy About Infinite Potential for growth
Solo Leveling is about Jinwoo's direct and pronounced power escalation, which, like farming in a video game, gives viewers the gratification of watching a character progress. That means the series revels in being a power fantasy and does a great job highlighting the sacrifices that come along with strength.
Solo Leveling Turns Its Funniest Meme Into a Reality With Help From... AXE?
A genius Solo Leveling collaboration isn’t only hilarious but also caught fans by surprise by bringing to life one of the series' most popular memes.
The anime, beyond the incredible action, simply explores power and its implications and how human ethics transform according to the differences between one another. Jinwoo’s journey is ultimately about what someone will do if given the opportunity to become progressively and indefinitely more powerful, which will be answered as the plot progresses. Nevertheless, Solo Leveling season 2 stays true to Jinwoo’s character while making some changes that improve the story and only elevate the epic battles and intense developments.
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Solo Leveling
- Release Date
- 2024 - 2025-00-00
- Directors
- Shunsuke Nakashige
- Writers
- Noboru Kimura
Cast
Taito BanShun Mizushino (voice)-
Genta NakamuraKenta Morobishi (voice)
WHERE TO WATCH
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.
- Creator(s)
- Chugong
- Seasons
- 1
- Where To Watch
- Crunchyroll
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