breaking the internet during its biggest moments. Sung Jinwoo's journey of leveling up in a world where hunters cannot improve their abilities has been nothing short of impressive. Paired with some of the best visuals modern animation can allow for, Solo Leveling has the recipe for worldwide success, and is delivering spectacularly.

In the midst of a highly ambitious second season in which the anime plans to cover multiple arcs from the original manhwa, concerns about pacing or quality drop-off have largely disappeared as the show continues to impress on a weekly basis. 2025 has only just begun, but it's safe to say Solo Leveling is making an incredibly early bid for anime of the year. However, there exists a sizable portion of the anime community that believes the series is just another dismissible power fantasy story, and that isn't the case.

Solo Leveling Differs From the Run-of-the-Mill Power Fantasy

Key Characteristics of Sung Jinwoo Allow the Series to Stand Out

A power fantasy series is typically defined by a main character that is weak and very quickly or instantly becomes incredibly strong. Multiple shows premiere every anime season which typically feature phrases or words like 'how I...' or 'reincarnated', and generally fit the bill of a power fantasy series. While there are some gems to be found among these stories, many are often re-skins of whatever shows came before, in which a character suddenly becomes overpowered against whatever antagonistic force is threatening them.

In a vast sea of rather insufferable protagonists, however, Sung Jinwoo stands out for the simple reason that he's a pretty good guy. His ever-increasing strength never gives him much of an ego, and he understands well that his power isn't entirely his own. To add to that, unlike many other characters in the genre, Jinwoo actually had to work rather hard to become stronger and improve himself. The system does quite a bit of the work, but his transformation into 'buff, edgy main character' was largely the result of his own training and effort.

Solo Leveling Cuts to the Chase and Gets to the Action

The Series Often Chooses Not to Waste Its Time

Something that plagues many series in the power fantasy category is an unfocused narrative. To further appeal to an audience, some may include a generous amount of fan service with its female characters, while others can fall victim to introducing worlds far too large for them to explore or flesh out adequately. Solo Leveling keeps itself entertaining by foregoing much of anything aside from action. Its side characters are well-written enough to hold up a few minutes of downtime before the focus shifts back onto Jinwoo and his shadow army.

This shadow army also includes who manage to be far more interesting than many other series' ing casts, all without saying a word. A-1 Pictures has seemingly struck gold with their adaptation of Solo Leveling, and as long as they don't get crushed under their own fast-paced telling of the source material, there's little reason the series won't continue its impressive success. Fans should be excited about closing out Season 2 with the Jeju Island arc, and any anime fans hesitant to check out the series will be doing themselves a favor by tuning in.