Don’t worry, there will be plenty of action in the next episode, though.
Summary:
- Solo Leveling Episode 8 didn’t have any action.
- It focused on the characters and their motivations.
- Fans really enjoyed the change of pace.
The wait is finally over, we’ve managed to handle the delay, and Episode 8 of Solo Leveling (Ore dake Level Up na Ken) is here. However, it was missing one of the things fans love the anime so dearly for: action. And surprisingly, viewers still enjoyed it a lot.
An episode for side characters
After a number of episodes that were mostly about Jinwoo and his leveling up, it was highly refreshing to see other characters get some attention. Fans have been praising the adaptation for small changes for a long time already, and Episode 8 got the same treatment from them.
Manhwa readers are very hyped to see Cha Hae-In in the anime so early, and her quick appearance in one of the previous episodes got them super hyped. But Episode 8 gave her a good couple of minutes of screen time, and this is exciting.
Jinwoo’s former party members also got their moments in the new episode. Even if it’s just for a minute, we see them living their lives and struggling with the consequences of the unfortunate mission.
This is something that hasn’t been explored in the manhwa, and fans are happy to see the anime giving more depth to its characters.
Building character attachment
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The new episode was also very good at scaring the anime-onlys. They saw side characters being built-up, and they’re told that the newly formed party of hunters is about to enter an unexplored dungeon, so there’s only one possible conclusion: the series needs viewers to feel for these characters because some of them will die.
One of the manhwa readers’ complaints was that Jinwoo is an absolute star of Solo Leveling. And he should be, yes, he’s the main protagonist, after all. But side characters also matter, and with the right storytelling their stories can be interesting, too. This is something the manhwa could never understand, but something the anime is trying to fix. And it succeeds.
It was also curious to see how other survivors of the infamous Episode 1 mission reacted. Episode 8 gave us more details about their thoughts and feelings of grief and guilt. Such things are necessary for building character attachment and creating a good story.
Still, we all love the action in Solo Leveling, too, and the fact that the newly formed party is going to a new dungeon is more than exciting. That’s why fans are eagerly awaiting Episode 9 to see where this new adventure will take Jinwoo and his fellow hunters.