Thankfully, it’s popular enough that it will probably get one.
Summary:
- Solo Leveling is a cool anime, but it won’t be relevant in a few years.
- It’s just too short and too simple for fans to talk about it after it ends.
- It will need to get a sequel to stay on the radar.
In the Winter 2024 anime season, Solo Leveling (Ore dake Level Up na Ken) is definitely the most popular new anime. It’s not as big as Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End (Sousou no Frieren), but Frieren has been airing since October 2023 and shouldn’t really count.
As such, many fans feel like Solo Leveling is a major hit that is going to become a classic in the long run. That, however, isn’t very likely — the anime is fun to watch, but many otaku think it doesn’t have much staying power, and they’re making some good points.
There’s nothing wrong with it per se
Is Solo Leveling a bad anime? No, not at all. It’s animated very well, and it’s entertaining enough to follow it weekly. It delivers on its premise of an overpowered protagonist working for his OP status, although it takes some time to get there. The music is on point, so what exactly is wrong with it?
What will make it less popular?
The reasons why it probably won’t be relevant in a few years are fairly complex. They largely rely on what made it popular in the first place — which was the amazing art of the manhwa and how easy it was to read.
The anime is also easily watchable, but, unlike some other manhwa adaptations (Tower of God, for example), it doesn’t leave much room for fans to speculate.
The anime also took some time to make Jinwoo actually overpowered, and that cost it some of its popularity. Fans just weren’t comfortable with the anime taking 5 weeks to actually get to the main part of the premise.
Yes, the animation is great, but that alone won’t save the series. Many anime by Studio A-1 Pictures look great, not just Solo Leveling — and a lot of them are no longer relevant. Just having great animation doesn’t make people remember the anime fondly unless the story is also good.
In that department, Solo Leveling also suffers: the story isn’t bad, but it’s very simple.
How could these problems be solved?
Some of these problems could have been alleviated by giving the anime an extended premiere. Fans would probably be more on board if the anime didn’t take almost half a cour to make Jinwoo actually strong.
The plot gets somewhat more interesting later in the manhwa, when more characters get added. The problem? The first season of the anime simply won’t get there, as it is scheduled for only 12 episodes. Unless Solo Leveling receives a sequel, it will lose its relevance over the years.