“Solo Leveling” season 2 is interesting to review. The series picks up shortly after the first season and to a point respects the viewer’s time. The cut content can take away from the experience, though, if someone has read the comics and novels. It is heavily compressed.
The animation is high quality and the composition makes up for the fact that there may be cut content.
The story follows several different pieces of the main story of “Solo Leveling” with the open and ending credits again being spoilers for those who want to enjoy the show. The art in the opening credits hits really well and the music flows well.
The narrative for Season 2 is a focus on Sung coming into his own and becoming an S rank at a time when Korea and Japan are at conflict with an outside force. The ending of the show goes back to the first episode of the series and ties up the first two seasons well. The bulk of the season is Sung beginning to understand his power set as a whole.
The show covers the danger of different colored dungeons and how dangerous the dungeons get as two of the dungeons change rank this season.
The game is focused on a flex on the power gained in Season 1 with the focus of over four episodes on a dungeon raid that is 100 floors high, which has one of the most dramatic seasons of the anime season.
The flow of the season does a better job of capturing major events in Season 2 if there being a bigger focus on fighting.
The second season focuses on how awakening works and how guild structure works. Sung has a chance to work with the top of the top of Korea’s hunters. Reveals of his family situation begin to take place mid-way through the first season, which take root in the second season near the end.
The main focus of the dungeons is how over the top they can become from a frost dungeon with Elves and bears to an entire island of ants. This season has time to do world building and beginning to take a focus onto what is going on with the system that Sung acquired in the first season.
Sung begins to question the world around him after the first season and the first red dungeon he encounters.
The second season begins to dive into smart monsters whose INT stats are high enough to talk and function beyond basic functions of kill and breed to make more monsters. This is the first season with the elves and how coordinated they are with attacks and it is seen on full display at the end of the season with the events of Episode 1, which play out throughout Season 2 as one of its big returning themes. Spoilers are rapid in the second season which makes this review more of a challenge. The Japan vs Korea duels are some of the best art in the season. Sound design in the English and Japanese dubs help to boost the entertainment value. The music drops in fights are worth watching the show. Sound design raises the show. Magic and stat focus, and crafting, come into play in Season 2 as Sung finds drops in a hidden dungeon. The show takes a video game approach to narrative design. Auction houses where not covered in the first season. PVP is covered in Season 2 to which hunters can kill other hunters. This was glanced on in Season 1 in 2 episodes but it becomes a bigger focus mid way through Season 2.
A big moment that drives home world development is how important reawakenings are in “Solo Leveling.” The event itself barely happens and Hunter Sung and his story is even rarer.
When he has his reevaluation, a press conference happens and it becomes the level of a national figure. This shows how important these roles are in the “Solo Leveling” world.
The down side of these dangerous high profile roles are the diseases that hunters and their families may come in contact with. It was talked about in Season 1 about a sleeping disease on again off again. For those who cant handle magic, a lot become comatose. This is a big Season 2 plot point which wraps into the final episodes of the season.
The show is a great pick up from Season 1 but the amount of content forced on the viewer makes it feel rushed. The fights don’t show this but the narrative might for those who follow the books.
There is no planned Season 3 at the moment but the second season drops at a good point to take a break for the show.
Grade: B-
