Solo Leveling Episode 1 review: A rough start to a potential masterpiece

Solo Leveling Episode 1 premiered on January 7 with all the fanfare that the reputation of the source material warranted. With expectations having reached a crescendo, the anime has several hurdles to overcome in order to deliver a product that does justice to the manhwa, and episode 1 was its first test.

With a beloved script, a reputed studio, and a stellar staff, the anime has all the makings of a masterpiece. However, controversies have followed the production from the beginning due to it being a Japanese endeavor, and the story being far from Japan-friendly.

Solo Leveling Episode 1 is not nearly enough to judge the whole production and whether or not the concerns of the fans are valid. However, what we can judge is the quality of production and the directorial choices made in this rendition of the story.

This Solo Leveling Episode 1 review is essentially an attempt to answer the question: “Did the anime succeed in making the same impact with its first episode that the Webtoon's first chapter did?”

Disclaimer: This article reflects the opinion of the author.

Solo Leveling Episode 1 review: Animation, action, and music - the good parts

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Having already declared the verdict in the title, I should begin by explaining what was so promising about this episode. First and foremost, Solo Leveling is a battle series, though we might not be able to call it Shonen. The core component of this series is action, supernatural, fantastical action at that.

The said action has been taken to a higher level by the vibrant art of the Webtoon. A-1 Pictures is a veteran anime studio and they did admit that having colored artwork as the base material helped them in translating the series onto the screen. As a result, the animation of Solo Leveling Episode 1 was smooth, fluid, detailed, and vivid.

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Conversely, the first episode had very few action scenes and hence was unable to provide us with a good sample of what to expect. However, the anime original scenes of Jong-In and Yoon-Ho promised incredible works of battle-sakuga in the future. The background score did not get much opportunity to shine in this episode, and thus could not leave much of an impression.

The fuss about the music was made due to the theme songs, specifically the opening. Every fan knows by this point that the famous K-pop band TOMORROW X TOGETHER has sung the opening “LEvel”, which has been released as a single on several platforms. However, Solo Leveling Episode 1 itself had a cold opening and we did not get to see the opening montage as such.

Solo Leveling Episode 1 review: Character and plot introductions - too much too soon

Joo-Hee and Jin-Woo as seen in Solo Leveling Episode 1 (Image via A-1 Pictures)

Having explained the positive parts, we now come to the shaky aspect of the episode. The issue most fans had with the episode was the pacing, which, while not slow, was jumbled and a bit rough. The information provided was perhaps a tad too much for a pilot episode.

The cliffhanger ending had no edge because a lot of battle-shonen series start very similarly nowadays. There was no key entry point to the series, and at no point did protagonist Sung Jin-Woo succeed in endearing himself to us. This was largely due to the anime introducing as many major characters as possible in the first episode.

Baek Yoon-Ho and Choi Jong-In, who appear in the webtoon in chapters 47 and 62 respectively, were the first characters we see. They were how the anime introduced the Hunters to the audience, with a blatant show of strength. Go Gun-Hee, Woo Jin-Chul, Min Byung-Gyu, Yoo Jin-Ho, Han Song-Yi, and Cha Hae-in, were all introduced almost back-to-back. Even the scene at the beginning hints towards the Jeju Island arc, which comes around chapter 90 in the webtoon.

Choi Jong-In in Solo Leveling Episode 1 (Image via A-1 Pictures)

None of these characters appear in the first 10 chapters of either the novel or the Webtoon. By introducing such a large cast, the focus lessened on Jin-Woo, which is why there was no sense of urgency when the ending implied his impending doom. Additionally, the frequent cuts between different settings were jarring and lent to the sense of disarray already permeating the episode.

Considering that some of the aforementioned characters weren’t named in Solo Leveling episode 1, it might have been better not to tamper with the timeline at all. Instead of adapting only chapters 1-3 of the webtoon, episode 1 could have adapted the first 5 or 6 chapters, both of which had good end-points.

This might have allowed us to see the multifaceted nature of Sung Jin-Woo and given us a more evenly-paced opportunity to understand the premise of this world. Instead, we have at our hands a clumsily stitched montage of too many characters doing too many things, none of whom have managed to make any impression on us.

Solo Leveling Episode 1 Review: Understanding the controversial choices

Yoon-Ho and Byung-Gyu in Solo Leveling Episode 1 (Image via A-1 Pictures)

Having said that, however, we must try to understand why such a production decision makes sense. Solo Leveling originally debuted as a novel, which was then adapted into a webtoon. Both of these were serializations, and therefore operated on the same principle: end the first few chapters such that the reader comes back for the next one.

The novel had a moderate start and became popular over the course of its serialization. The Webtoon, when it started serialization in 2018, had enough buzz from the novel to fall back on. However, the visual component was its USP, and the frankly awe-inspiring art of the Webtoon made a semi-popular series into an overnight sensation.

Readers came back to the novel for Chugong’s writing and to the Webtoon for Dubu’s visualization, both of which had the element of surprise. The anime had none of that. We know the story, the characters, their visual representation, their colors. The only elements the anime had were sound and movement, and it had to employ both in full force to draw the viewer in.

Cha Hae-in in Solo Leveling Episode 1 (Image via A-1 Pictures)

Jong-In and Yoon-Ho's introductory scenes were a glimpse of the action we can expect from the series. Their battles were to induce admiration, and Cha Hae-In’s beautiful design was to ensure a sizable fan following. You will notice that while the main characters are voiced by lesser-known actors, these side characters have veteran names to them.

Hae-In is voiced by Reina Ueda, Jong-In by Daisuke Hirakawa, Jin-Chul by Makoto Furukawa, Byung-Gyu by Junya Enoki. All of them are well-known names in the industry, and all of them speak in Solo Leveling Episode 1. By compromising on Jin-Woo’s exposure, the anime capitalizes on the use of kinetic and auditory elements.

As a result, while those who have read the source material understand the potential of the anime, it might fail to impress new viewers. Anime-only watchers lack the prior knowledge of the plot that existing fans have, and while most of them will stay for episode 2, some might not return because Solo Leveling Episode 1 failed to give them any stake in the story it’s telling.

Final thoughts

The setting of Solo Leveling episode 1 (Image via A-1 Pictures)

Solo Leveling Episode 1 did not live up to the hype the webtoon or novel fans created, because it focused more on the elements and not the collective whole. However, it was in no way a bad episode or a subpar effort. The quality of the production clearly shone through, giving everyone an idea of what to expect in the future.

The studio had previously held several selective screenings of the first two episodes, solidifying the notion that they are to be treated as a unit. The second episode should adapt chapters 4-7/8, which might solve the pacing issue and the problem of Jin-Woo’s characterization.

As expected, the studio did make fundamental changes to the names and locations in the locally broadcasted Japanese version, but the international version (including the Japanese dub) remains true to its source. If any cuts have been made to the script to appease the anime’s country of origin, they are not yet apparent enough to notice.

Preview of Solo Leveling Episode 2 (Image via A-1 Pictures)

The Blue-Ray lists the anime for 12 episodes, and disputes remain on whether the first season will have 2 cours. Given the popularity and the chapter count, two cours consisting of 23-25 episodes in total sound most reasonable for the production. Solo Leveling Episode 2 will be released on January 14, 12 Am JST, and will hopefully validate my claim that this anime can become a true masterpiece.