Warning: The following contains spoilers for Solo Leveling Season 2, Episode 10!!

entered the Jeju Island Arc with episode #10, titled “We Need a Hero”, and is rushing up the story by skipping content from the source material to fully cover the greatest moments in this installment. Because of this, even though fans are aware that it's impossible to adapt every of the manhwa due to time constraints, some changes in Solo Leveling Season 2 have taken away part of what makes the story so exciting.

Although the run-up to the Jeju Island Raid was mostly well-adapted in Solo Leveling Season 2, creating anticipation about the impending threat of the magic beasts and the collaboration between Korean and Japanese S-Rank hunters, the anime chose to overlook some key scenes that represent some of the most interesting aspects of Jinwoo’s character.

Solo Leveling Season 2 Keeps Favoring Japanese S-Rank Hunters

Solo Leveling Season 2 Skips a Scene About the System to Tone Down Ryuji Goto’s Character

In Solo Leveling Season 2, episode 10, the adaptation massively toned down Jinwoo’s sparring session with Ryuji Goto. In the anime, Ryuji Goto only says he is going to “crush” Jinwoo before both are separated by the other S-Rank hunters. However, in the manhwa, not only is the Draw Sword Guild Master more disrespectful by first saying that Jinwoo would need to be cured by a Japanese S-Rank Healer, but Ryuji Goto straight up changes his mind and decides to kill Jinwoo, to the point the system shows an alert about an imminent murderous intent.

This notification is the reason why Jinwoo starts to get serious in the fight, since Ryuji’s bloodlust could have sparked an urgent quest where he won’t have another option but to kill him, like in Solo Leveling Season 1 with Hwang Dongsuk and Kang Taeshik. This proves the anime keeps favoring Japanese hunters by toning down their most questionable behaviors and painting them in a positive light, which wasn’t the intention of the manhwa, as Solo Leveling has a very marked nationalism.

Moreover, skipping the scene changes Jinwoo’s characterization, as he doesn’t go all out after being provoked, but because he quickly assesses the situation based on what he has learned about the system and calculates a fitting action. It also removes another vital reminder to the viewers about Jinwoo's nature as a player, as the scene serves to highlight how the system continues to lead him up but foremost strives to preserve his life.

Solo Leveling Season 2 Made Sung Jinwoo and Ryuji Goto Equally Strong

The Anime Decision to Skip a Significant of Ryuji Goto Is Divisive Among Viewers

In Solo Leveling Season 2, episode 10, the adaptation cut a of the manhwa in chapter #93 where Ryuji Goto made a terrified expression after his fight against Jinwoo. Likewise, the anime also omitted a scene in chapter #95 where Goto recalls the moment and explains that he thought of the word death at the time. This change had a mixed reception because while manhwa readers were expecting the moment because it demonstrated Jinwoo’s current power level, many viewers believed it was a wise decision to skip it because it damaged Goto’s image as the strongest hunter in Japan.

This way, Solo Leveling’s anime decided on a different approach than the manhwa and web novel, and instead of pointing out that Ryuji Goto feared for his life, it made him look as strong as Jinwoo. This is also reinforced by the fact that in the anime, both Jinwoo and Goto are restrained by two hunters each, while in the manhwa, Goto is only held by one Japanese hunter to show a clear difference in power.

Solo Leveling’s Anime Adaptation Continues to Change Jinwoo’s Character

The Anime Removes Jinwoo’s Moments as a Vigilante

Similar to the change in the Red Gate Arc and during the Dungeon & Prisoners Arc in season 1, in Solo Leveling Episode 22, the anime cuts another morally questionable act of Jinwoo. In chapter #94, Jinwoo is alerted by one of his patrolling shadow soldiers about a serial killer threatening a woman in one of the alleys of his neighborhood. Jinwoo uses shadow exchange and threatens the man to surrender to the police before midnight, attaching a shadow soldier to him with the command to kill him if he doesn't comply.

This represents a cool moment in the manhwa and a major insight into Jinwoo's psyche, as he is now capable of killing delinquents without hesitation even outside the dungeons. Unfortunately, this was skipped in that anime, proving the adaptation is trying to make Jinwoo a less morally gray hunter than in the manhwa, which could be a great change for some viewers who aren’t fans of dark anime characters. However, this changes a relevant aspect of Jinwoo’s journey since, after his traumatic experiences and starting to level up, he slowly begins to lose parts of his humanity, which isn’t as noticeable in the anime adaptation.

This way, the anime doesn’t convey the duality of Jinwoo as much, as his kindness and his uncomionate personality to those who act wrong are part of what makes him a great antihero. Nevertheless, while viewers may argue that some of these changes were made due to the priority of adapting the most relevant moments of the story in the remaining episodes of the season, it's also evident that they are made to target a broader audience. Because of this, viewers who are interested in a deeper understanding of the characters and Solo Leveling’s world can always refer to its source material.