#chugong

[going-into-overtime]

ONE OF THE BEST JINCHUL SCENES!

MANHWA:

ANIME:

[keepmypeace]

[animefeminist]

Solo Leveling’s Adaptation and the Echoes of Anti-Korean Sentiment and Japanese Imperialism

Content Warning: Imperialism, racism, cultural erasure

Spoilers: For the Solo Leveling manhwa and anime through Jeju Island Arc

This past May, Solo Leveling made anime history as the first adaptation of a Korean work to be nominated and awarded “Anime of the Year” at the annual Crunchyroll Awards. The award is just the latest addition to a growing list of accomplishments for the series. In fact, Solo Leveling was the most-watched anime of 2024 on Crunchyroll after its Season 1 debut and is the platform’s most-rated title at 610,000 reviews with an average of 4.9 stars, according to online news site CBR. Given that non-Japanese works are the exception within the anime industry, this is quite the feat. It signals not only the growing diversity of anime, but the rising cultural and commercial success of Korean media.

This comes as no surprise. In recent decades, global reception of Korean entertainment has experienced a meteoric growth—in music, film, television, and of course, comics. This phenomenon, known as Hallyu or the Korean Wave, is often seen as a source of patriotic pride for Korean people, since cultural exports allow their rather small nation to cultivate a positive global reputation. Solo Leveling is the latest addition to an influx of Korean media to achieve worldwide viewership and acclaim. 

But despite Solo Leveling originally being published in Korea, the anime itself was produced by Japanese studio A-1 Pictures. This is par for the course for most webtoons-turned-anime, since Japanese studios have far more resources and esteem than their Korean counterparts. Notable examples include Tower of God (Telecom Animation Film, The Answer Studio), The God of High School (MAPPA), and A Returner’s Magic Should be Special (Arvo Animation). Usually, this means the script is written in Japanese and subsequently voiced by an all-Japanese cast. 

When the novel was released in Japan, it removed all references to Korea, and this decision was carried over for Solo Leveling’s original broadcast in Japan. All Korean locations have been changed to Japanese alternatives, with the story taking place in Tokyo instead of Seoul. Additionally, all Korean characters have been given Japanese names: for example, Jin-woo Sung is now Shun Mizushino.

Read it at Anime Feminist!

[hatsumishinogu]

Solo Leveling Vol.25

[mechaagorjiraa]

Solo Leveling / 나 혼자만 레벨업

By: Chugong

[mikyapixie]

𝔖𝔬𝔩𝔬 𝔏𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔩𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔖𝔢𝔞𝔰𝔬𝔫 𝟚 𝔅𝔈ℜ𝔘 𝔖𝔥𝔞𝔡𝔬𝔴 𝔙𝔦𝔰𝔲𝔞𝔩!

[ella390-the-potato]

Solo Leveling - Episode 1

Guild Master Choi Jong-In

[roseunspindle]

All the Manga and Graphic Novels in 2025