The idea of him running circles around me is getting on my nerves. Change of plans. I'll crush him for real! - Ore dake Level Up na Ken S2: Arise from the Shadow - Episode 10
Solo Leveling Season 2 -Arise From The Shadows- Episode 9 Review - The Real Reward
I am not crying; you are… (fat lie). Man, it felt so satisfying to finally see Jinwoo’s mother Park Kyung-hye finally awake! His whole motivation to be a Hunter and go through these crazy trials and tribulations was so he can find a way to cure her. The dude went through so much and was finally rewarded blissfully.
Jinwoo has been rewarded so well in this episode. He’s got a dragon minion from Baran’s wyvern, so he earned a way to fly now. He also gained the ability to teleport to wherever one of his shadow minions are, so he can swap places with a patrol minion whenever he wants now. These will definitely be useful later on.
A common ‘criticism’ I’ve seen on social media was that Jinwoo is emotionless and such. Hey, he’s an adult (24 years old) and is basically a slave to a menu system that only he can see. The system only gives him two options: survive or die. Given his motivation in life, he has to survive. The first time he killed humans was back in Episode 6 of the first season, meaning that he’s someone who has solidified his resolve to fight. I’m sure that anyone would harden themselves if they went through the same things Jinwoo did.
But yeah, the hospital scene was so beautiful. The soft blue lighting and the way SennaRin started singing the background ballad just amped it up so well. Jinwoo has been hardened by all of his Hunter stuff, so to see him finally let it out and be the gentle boy he once was like in the beginning was just so wonderful. The way A1 animated this was basically a masterpiece. They animated small details like Jinwoo shaking as he used the Elixir on her to the way Kyung-hye’s hair flowed against the wind as she woke up… it was so breath-taking. Also, the way Jinwoo’s Japanese voice actor Taito Ban voiced him choking on his tears so soft and tenderly is just…*sniff*. Jinah had her fair share of tears too when Jinwoo brought her to the hospital after Kyung-hye’s awakening.
Now that Jinwoo reached his goals, what’s next? Well, there’s still the matter of the giant ants that is the main topic of conflict. The Hunters Association is gathering up all the S-rank Hunters and are also collaborating with Japanese Hunters for this raid mission—you know it’s that serious when Korea has to ask other nations for help. Because of the collaboration, the Hunters are going to test their skills and that’s how the episode ends. Let’s see who’s the strongest…
There’s also the scene with Yoonho and the S-rank Healer Min Byung-gyu who retired from being a Hunter and was planning on becoming a civil servant. It was due to trauma from losing his friend Eunseok during their previous encounter with the ants which was all the way back in the very first episode of the first season. Why does it feel like Byung-gyu is going to change his mind about not participating and join the raid? He’s got death flags planted all over him…
The voice cast just keeps increasing in quality. Park Kyung-hye is voiced by Yuri Amano who you might know as Keiko from Yu-yu Hakusho and Mary from Tales of Destiny. Min Byung-Gyu is voiced by Junya Enoki who you might know as Totomaru from Ron Kamonohashi’s Forbidden Deductions and as Yuuji Itadori from Jujutsu Kaisen. The late Eunseok is voiced by Takuma Terashima who voiced Satoru from Wonderful Precure and Shiki from Edens Zero. A few hunters also have quality voice actors like Kazuyuki Okitsu, but I don’t know who he’s voicing… and there’s also Akio Otsuka as the guy training with Yoonho, I believe…
Will the next episode just be focused on the power scaling between the Korean and Japanese hunters? When will the Jeju arc start? Also, what’s with that Thomas Andre guy’s deal? What are your thoughts on this episode?
