Solo Leveling Season 2: Jinwoo's Epic Rise

Solo Leveling

“Season 2”

How many anime can you name that have caused such a vast clash in opinions? While both sides have watched the show for one reason or another, their final verdicts are polar opposites and have sparked much debate in person and online. Even if the vast majority consider a show a shining gem among countless lazy titles, others may see it as a shallow work lacking in many core departments if you analyze it critically enough. But it all boils down to what each person enjoys most, and loving shows that cater to one’s tastes are always the best.

“Solo Leveling Season 2: Arise from the Shadow,” also known as “Ore dake Level Up na Ken Season 2: Arise from the Shadow,” is a 13-episode TV anime series that aired from the 5th of January until the 30th of March in Winter 2025. It was produced by Aniplex, Crunchyroll, Sonilude, Netmarble, Kakao piccoma, and D&C Media and brought to life by Studio A-1 Pictures. Its main staff as producers included Takahashi Kanako, Kaneko Atsushi, Choi Jinkeun, and Furuhashi Souta. Featuring the genres of action, adventure, and fantasy, alongside the themes of adult cast and urban fantasy, each episode has a runtime of 23 minutes and earned a rating of R-17+ for adult audiences due to its violence and profanity.

The series is based on the manhwa of the same title, also known as “Na Honjaman Level Up” or “I Level Up Alone,” which ran for 201 chapters from the 4th of March 2018 until the 31st of May 2023. Serialized in KakaoPage, it is the work of author Chugong and artists Jang Sung-rak and Disciples. It began as a webtoon series, which was later officially published in book format via D&C Media on the 26th of September 2019. While the original run ended at 179 chapters on the 19th of December 2021, side stories were later serialized on the 20th of January 2023. It’s important to note that Disciples only took over the art department following the death of Sung-rak Jang. The series's success led it to be published digitally in English via Tappytoon since the 4th of June 2020 and in printed format via Yen Press since the 2nd of March 2021.

The first season of the anime “Solo Leveling” was also released as a 12-episode series in winter 2024 by the same studio. It was progressively released on Blu-ray & DVD in four volumes from the 27th of March until the 26th of June, 2024.

Continuing from the prequel, Sung Jin-Woo, the protagonist, continues to be viewed by the public as the "weakest hunter of all mankind." However, he gains new and almost game-like supernatural powers daily, which he acquired during the double-dungeon incident. As he continues to level solo, it becomes more challenging to keep his OP abilities a secret because unorthodox dungeon-related incidents seem to be attracted to him, and he ends up dealing with so many within a short time. As he overcame seemingly insurmountable challenges, the largest Hunter Guilds in the nation began to show heightened interest in him. Meanwhile, a Hunter with exceptional qualities, absent for ten years, has returned to humanity, bearing a dire warning of an imminent catastrophic event that demands immediate intervention. As this calamity draws nearer to humanity, Jin-Woo's sole objective is to relentlessly enhance his skills until he becomes an unbeatable force in combat, with the ultimate goal of saving his mother's life.

Let me start this review by saying I am not someone who thinks Solo Leveling is a masterpiece. While Solo Leveling has its merits and could easily appeal to most audiences, it falls short of what I consider a timeless piece that surpasses all its surrounding works. So starting with the story department, I would call it a fragile element because there isn’t much of a proper tale here, YET. The premise is a generic tale about a weak MC becoming unimaginably strong thanks to his hard work and sacrifices, while many other forces surround him. However, the plotline of Season 2 is much better than its predecessor because we are finally seeing the inkling of a larger and more intriguing narrative on the horizon, with small details helping build up the tension here and there. Season 2 undoubtedly puts the MC in a unique position. Still, this series will always introduce bigger and badder opponents that “threaten” his OP status or cause him trouble in non-combat situations. What makes this series good is the fights; each battle is more intense and enjoyable to watch than the previous, and this series excels at that.

Granted, some foes went down way faster than they should have. I honestly felt like they were beaten down by the sheer strength of the MC’s awesomeness and his unmatched aura farming, but it is gratifying to watch unfold nonetheless. The story progresses slowly, with no significant twists to keep you captivated. Still, at least we have something to call a narrative now, and I hope they build on it from Season 3 onward because every problem here can be easily fixed by throwing hands while looking awesome right now.

The character department has two sides: these people are enjoyable to watch on screen, but none are well-written or complex. Sung Jin-Woo is Mr.Perfect; he is kindhearted, sincere, modest, selfless, attractive, OP, and farms aura like nobody’s business. To complement it all, he is utterly oblivious to how other people see him and focuses mainly on his family as a character. Is he someone with a unique personality and layers of complex development? No. Is he charming and likable nonetheless? Yes. This man is mainly carried by his non-stop aura farming and OP-ness, and you’d be itching to see him enter a fight in every episode.

Cha Hae-In is the series’ Miss Perfect, who is tailor-made to be the MC’s strong and capable sweetheart someday, but thankfully, she is not irritating at all. She is well aware of her shortcomings, doesn’t pretend to be something she isn’t, and works hard to be better for everyone’s sake, alongside a growing crush on Sung Jin-Woo. Once again, not an ounce of complexity or development YET, but still endearing and likable. Honestly, my favorite characters in this show are the Shadows themselves, who, in my eyes, have more personality and individuality even without uttering a single word. Ignis is loyal and refined, a knight of the highest caliber who farms more aura than his master by just standing there, and the way he conducts himself says more than words ever could. Tusk still has elements of vanity but knows exactly what he needs to do and when he needs to do it—a reliable backline. Iron is arrogant and wants to hog the glory but shrinks down like a puppy when confronted by his master and peers. I seriously love this guy.

Tank is that reliable hound you can always count on to jump into the fray. Last but not least, the big baddie of the season is Beru the Ant King, and I honestly felt like he was done a disservice despite all the buildup. He is voiced by the outstanding Ishida Akira-sama, who delivers a stellar performance with the material available. Still, he went down too easily against Sung Jin-Woo, and the casualties and collateral along the way only felt his true impact. As an honorable mention, I enjoyed Radiru Esil’s character quite a bit because this girl is just oozing personality, and I hope we see more of her going forward.

The art and animation department is stellar, and I call it one of the show's biggest strengths. I am not a massive fan of the character designs with the elongated and pointy-chinned faces for nearly everyone, but they all look attractive and unique in their own ways. The Shadow and Monster designs are amazing, though. They do so much with a limited color palette and line details and look badass as fudge both in and out of fights. The backgrounds and scenery are decent and straightforward, often overshadowed by the characters or events on screen, and the result isn’t necessarily bad. The animation is truly a masterclass in creating combat-focused anime because this show undoubtedly had some of the best battle sequences I have ever seen; the transitions, camera angles, color and style shifts in the heat of battle, and flawless movements give your eyes a rollercoaster of visuals that make every other con in the series irrelevant. Indeed, the action is so exceptional that I believe it alone justifies watching this anime.

Sounds and music are perfectly on par with the visuals. The battle sounds are impactful, spot-on, and crisp, relaying to our ears every single movement and action that took place in perfect clarity and driving home the intensity of each clash. Voice acting is decent across the board, with the only performance that stood out to me being Ishida Akira-sama; his interactions are one-directional at first but become multi-faceted and interesting following his battle with the MC. I am thrilled they did not hire such a god-tier VA to voice just another villain-of-the-week character. The opening theme is "ReawakeR” by LiSA featuring Felix of Stray Kids, an absolute banger I added to my playlist immediately after a few listens. It conveys the vibe of the show perfectly and is accompanied by heated visuals that reflect the strongest element of the show: the action. The ending theme, titled "UN-APEX" by TK from Ling tosite sigure, is a decent piece that captures the artist's signature style and effectively conveys the twisted nature of the main character’s powers. But because Solo Leveling has a terrible habit of ending episodes on major cliffhangers every single time, people have come to detest this sequence unfairly. The OSTs are perfect for an action series like this and do their part to enhance the moments, but are often overlooked because of the stellar visuals.

Overall, “Solo Leveling Season 2: Arise from the Shadow” is good, but it was not my number 1 in winter 2025. Personally, I enjoyed “Sakamoto Days,” “The Apothecary Diaries Season 2,” and “Dr. Stone: Science Future” more because they stayed far stronger in the story and character writing departments. Still, Solo Leveling manages to come close owing to its visuals and awesome action alone. I recommend it purely for the over-the-top action, mind-blowing visuals, and the Shadows that possess more personality than the cardboard cutout characters. However, if you are looking for well-written and complex stories and characters that stir the mind, you’d find this a brain-dead show carried by its action and see more faults than good.