How ‘Solo Leveling’ became the year’s biggest breakout anime

The year’s standout new anime series is undoubtedly Solo Leveling. Debuting in January, the TV adaptation of a Korean ‘manhwa’ comic book and webtoon recently broke into IMDb’s top 75 most-searched list – beating out English-language blockbuster franchises like The Witcher and You. On specialist streaming platform Crunchyroll, it’s already the seventh most viewed show of all time with just 10 episodes released. Then there’s the frenzy on social media, where millions gather to discuss plotlines and swap complex theories. If it was a Hollywood Netflix production, the stars would’ve been invited to crack jokes on Jimmy Fallon’s sofa by now.

It’s got a gaming twist

Part of why Solo Leveling has blown up is its unique take on a common premise. Set in a fantasy world of superpowered monster hunters, it follows a weak hero, Sung Jinwoo, who must overcome his lack of strength and learn to cope with family tragedy – all tropes in the modern anime world. Cleverly though, it adds a video game twist seemingly aimed at the genre’s younger male audience. After a violent event, Jinwoo is refitted with an augmented reality system that allows him to level up his powers by passing deadly challenges. Boasting bloody battle scenes and more than enough flashy gear to geek out over, it’s a thrillingly fresh experience for tellyheads who also dabble in gaming, like its animation producer Atsushi Kaneko.

“I loved gaming when I was a kid,” he tells NME backstage at the glitzy Crunchyroll Anime Awards in Tokyo, though he’s keen to stress that the Solo Leveling team’s goal wasn’t to replicate the console experience on TV. “If you want to make something that is beyond any other thing in the world, you shouldn’t refer to anything else… That is a loser mentality and a loss of imagination.”

Demons are in right now

Another reason for Solo Leveling’s breakout success is probably timing. Fantasy anime have always been popular, but right now they dominate even more than usual. Many of the biggest globally – Demon Slayer, Jujutsu Kaisen, Chainsaw Man – are about male heroes whose job is to vanquish increasingly powerful demons, devils or zombies. Some Western critics have argued this links to traditional Japanese culture, which has more obvious roots in spirituality. Kaneko gives a simpler explanation.

“When I was a kid I liked anime and manga about monsters, goblins and things like that,” he says. “I wanted to escape reality… When I couldn’t speak to the girl that I liked or when I couldn’t win over classmates… I wanted some kind of sanctuary or place that I could escape into – and that was a game or manga for me.” Now Kaneko is a grown man, he has new realities he needs to take a break from. “[It’s also] probably because of politics… Japan is unstable and uncertain at the moment and this is something that you cannot resist [thinking about sometimes].”

Is it more popular outside of Japan?

Interestingly, Solo Leveling’s route to the top of anime’s trending list hasn’t been quite as bump-free back home. This is partly to do with controversy arising from the studio’s decision to seemingly relocate the action to Japan, which annoyed some fans, as well as other changes to names and locations in the Japanese translation. If you look on Reddit forums, you’ll find lots of disgruntled readers of the manhwa airing their views that the show is “mid” and that “Japanese hate Solo Leveling”. This isn’t true, of course – and there is growing evidence (ratings, social buzz, the growing critical acclaim) that this small pocket of negativity has dispersed already. Add to that the algorithm-busting adoration of its k-pop theme song – performed by NME The Cover stars Tomorrow X Together; eight million YouTube views and counting – and it’s getting hard to argue the show isn’t as accepted in anime’s country of origin.

The future is animated

Kaneko has worked in the industry for 16 years now, and in that time the Japanese anime market has grown in value by more than 50 per cent. He’s convinced the surging viewer numbers overseas (not seen since the days of Pokémon and Digimon in the late 1990s and early 2000s) will continue to rise. “I really feel that anime’s popularity has spread from Japan to all over the world and it’s just extraordinary,” he says. However, he also warns against oversaturating the streaming market with cheap “rubbish”.

“I think, actually, that there are too many anime these days… It’s becoming like fast food or fast fashion… Anime is not something you can mass produce. I want the quality to level up – and I want the studios to think about that.”

‘Solo Leveling’ is streaming now on Crunchyroll – the final episode of season one cour one is released on March 30

*A translator was used to complete this interview

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