Solo Leveling is definitely the most famous show of the current anime season, and we can understand why. It has great animation, a quick pace, and a protagonist who is the strongest in his verse.
However, how long can one keep accepting Jinwoo as the only aspect of the show? One would also need other characters and their development to truly feel connected to the anime.
Jinwoo is undoubtedly the centerpiece who deserves all the attention he gets. But by ignoring the side characters and removing crucial scenes, more harm is being done to the anime than good.
The over-emphasis on Jinwoo hurts the world-building
The story of Solo Leveling takes place in a very interesting world where hunters exist to kill the monsters of the dungeon. The premise was something that readily hooked the audience, and the animation delivered that idea in the best possible way.
But, the tension surrounding hunters and their guilds was lost after the spotlight went on Jinwoo and stayed there from episode one. We have very few side characters who can be called of importance, and even they are somehow related to Jinwoo, like his sister, Jinah, or his future love interest, Haein.
This same mistake was one of the chief criticisms of the manhwa, where we rarely get to know an important character or meet an interesting villain. Jinwoo essentially runs a one-man show that exists solely for him.
Compared to Solo Leveling, another power fantasy show with an overpowered character like One Punch Man handles this situation much better. The focus is not always on Saitama, and we are presented with some very interesting and memorable side characters who enhance the world-building.
Missing scenes are ruining this season of Solo Leveling
In the latest episode, there were many scenes that were deliberately cut from the manhwa to make the episode a lot more action-packed. Jinwoo’s interactions with his family and essential details about the other S-ranked hunters were omitted to explore the Jeju Island arc faster.
The fact that Yoonho was actually not in his ultimate form and was holding back in his fight with the Japanese hunters was not mentioned. He also commented on how much more powerful the Japanese S-ranked hunters are than them, but that was also not addressed.
This significantly diminishes the importance of the minor characters and lessens Jinwoo’s growth and credibility as a hero.
While Jinwoo was fighting against Ryuji in the manhwa, we saw Ryuji having a killing intent toward Jinwoo, and the system warned him about it. This is why, Jinwoo stops Ryuji’s attack right away, so that the system does not force him to kill Ryuji. This was a meaningful bit that got cut out, which would have made us more aware of the system.
Comment
byu/kuzuma- from discussion
inanimeindian
Jinwoo is certainly the coolest and strongest in Solo Leveling, and we are here to see him. But if other things are not prioritized Jinwoo’s growth will only feel like a product of plot armor and nothing else.
Watch Solo Leveling on Crunchyroll.
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