The following contains spoilers for the Solo Leveling manhwa by DUBU (Redice Studio), based on the light novel by Chugong.
Solo Leveling’s incredible action scenes have quickly made it into one of the biggest anime series on the planet, but it’s the source material that made the series big enough to receive such a highly anticipated adaptation to begin with. Considering how beloved the Solo Leveling manhwa is, it’s understandable that the anime remains very faithful to the source material. Nevertheless, there have been notable, though often subtle, changes throughout the series’ run that can have major impacts on the story in the long run.
One change that has come into prominence in Season 2 is in how the anime foreshadows the source of Jinwoo’s power through dialogue. The most consequential alteration yet came in Season 2, Episode 6, “Don’t Look Down on My Guys”, which saw a nuanced change to an important moment during the fight between Sung Jinwoo and Kargalgan. While apparently minor on the surface, it might very well change everything about how the anime handles the biggest underlying plot thread of the series. It could lead to a significant difference between the manhwa and the anime going forward, but – unlike some of the other, more questionable cuts and omissions from the manhwa that fans have been vocal about – this change could actually be a good thing in the end.
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In Solo Leveling Season 2 Episode 6, Sung Jinwoo faces off with Kargalgan, the leader of the High Orcs, in one of the anime’s best fights so far.
Kargalgan’s Altered Dialogue Changes The Anime’s Foreshadowing
Tusk Recognizes the Shadow Monarch Before Anyone Else Does
Interestingly, in the manhwa, Tusk’s Magic Beast form, Kargalgan, is actually the first character (other than the Architect at the very start of the series) who seems to recognize that Sung Jinwoo is the Shadow Monarch. While Barca, the leader of the Ice Elves, could also tell there’s something different about Jinwoo, Kargalgan is the first one who alludes to the Shadow Monarch directly. In the manhwa, during the fight against Jinwoo, Kargalgan says before the System causes him to glitch out, “he must be… the Monarch!” While the manhwa takes this very direct approach in literally calling Jinwoo “the monarch”, the anime keeps its cards closer to its chest.
Igris is also able to tell Jinwoo is training to be Ashborn’s replacement during the Job Change Arc, but he never confirms this until the epilogue after the final battle is won.
The Japanese subtitled version of the anime has Kargalgan say instead “It can’t be… would they really…?” This seems to imply that Kargalgan is realizing who Jinwoo is, but it goes deeper than that. Because he received the command to “kill all humans”, and the Shadow Monarch appears to be a human in front of him, he is questioning why exactly he would be given this command to kill the Shadow Monarch himself.
In the end, he resolves to “heed the command”, because the “reasons behind it are of no concern.” This change in dialogue makes it seem as though Kargalgan is also aware of the rest of the Monarchs, rather than just of the Shadow Monarch, as the manhwa seems to suggest. By using the word “would they really”, he’s actively questioning why he would receive these orders, adding a bit of additional intrigue for fans with prior knowledge of the Solo Leveling Universe before watching this episode.
Then how did we… come to be here? When I first spawned… there was but a single thought in my head. Hunt humans! The reason doesn’t matter. I just have to follow this order.
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Sung Jinwoo’s Newest Shadow Soldier is Solo Leveling’s Most Criminally Underutilized in the Manhwa
Sung Jinwoo’s Shadow Soldiers have been standouts in the anime, but his newest as of Season 2 Episode 6 is by far the most underrated in the manhwa.
Additionally, this dialogue change serves to retain a bit more of the mystery for anime-only viewers. In short, it simulates what the manhwa was trying to do without giving too much away. In the manhwa, the word “monarch” was intended to be partially censored, as though it could just barely be made-out over the glitching of the System. The anime used the visuals to depict the glitching a bit more. It’s nearly impossible to depict the glitching in subtitles, so changing the world in the English subtitles would only make sense. It will be telling to see what the English Dub does with this dialogue change when Episode 18’s Dub comes out on February 22nd, as there have been instances where the dub remains even more loyal to the source material than the Japanese version.
However, not all the foreshadowing is removed entirely. In fact, the Solo Leveling anime adds an interesting scene that showcases the Shadow Monarch’s eyes when Jinwoo first begins his attack against the High Orcs. This is a great bit of visual storytelling that only manhwa readers would fully comprehend the significance of, but which anime-only viewers would just pass off as a cool stylistic detail. While this was also shown briefly in a few instances previously, such as in the Job Change Quest, and when Jinwoo fights the boss of the 75th floor in the Demon’s Castle, it’s not ever stated directly what it means. In this way, the anime uses more subtle forms of visual foreshadowing without giving too much away. It’s actually a positive change, as the anime attempts to lean into its strengths over the medium of manhwa in unique ways.
Sung Ilhwan Also Has a Change in Dialogue With Interesting Implications
Jinwoo’s Father Foreshadow’s His Son’s Abilities More in the Anime
It’s not just Kargalgan’s dialogue that foreshadows Jinwoo’s true condition in Solo Leveling’s second season. Another major moment comes by way of Jinwoo’s father, Sung Ilhwan, in Season 2, Episode 3, “Still a Long Way to Go”. In the episode, Jinwoo’s father is interrogated by Hwang Dongsoo, who is working for the American government in trying to learn more about the circumstances behind Ilhwan’s dissapearance and subsequent reappearance in a Gate. During this conversation, Ilhwan hints that he knows the truth behind the Gates and Magic Beasts, and even drops a few subtle clues behind their true purpose. However, a minor change in dialogue in the anime hints even more at Jinwoo’s greater role in the entire conflict.
In the manhwa, he tells Dongsoo that, during the inevitable war to come, “amateurs will either be eaten or enslaved”. This doesn’t really say much about their enemy, as Magic Beasts definitely eat Hunters, and the more intelligent Magic Beasts like the High Orcs or Ice Elves would certainly not be above enslaving humans. However, in the anime, a slight alteration makes a key difference in how the conflict is presented. According to Ilhwan in the anime, “Numbers won’t help. Most will either be devoured, or enslaved and used against us.” While the change is only in adding a few words, the implications are major.
Numbers won’t help. Most will either be devoured, or enslaved and used against us.
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The Monarchs in Solo Leveling, Explained
The cosmic aspect of Solo Leveling is yet to be explored in the anime, especially the chaotic inception of the primary antagonists: the Monarchs.
In the Solo Leveling anime’s version of the dialogue, Hunters won’t just be enslaved, but they’ll also be used against their own people. This is important, because the key to Jinwoo’s power as the Shadow Monarch is to turn the dead into his loyal minions to be used against his enemies. This change is already notable in changing how the anime foreshadows Jinwoo’s abilities, but there’s another interesting omission in Ilhwan’s interaction with Dongsoo that anime fans won’t even know they’re missing.
At a later point in the Solo Leveling manhwa, Dongsoo has a flashback to his fight with Ilhwan, in which he recalls Jinwoo’s father telling him, “Don’t ever set foot in Korea. I say this not for my son’s sake, but your own. You won’t be able to close your eyes even when you’re dead.” While this plays off like a threat to Dongsoo, only the reader can know that the real reason Dongsoo won’t be able to close his eyes after death is because he will become Jinwoo’s Shadow Soldier.
The Solo Leveling Anime is Changing How the Story Builds Up Jinwoo’s Abilities
The System’s Reveal May End Up Being More Shocking For Anime-Only Fans Than it Was For Manhwa Readers
It’s been a common point of criticism to point out how Jinwoo is a more humanized, less edgy character in the anime as opposed to the manhwa, which is definitely a fair detail to note. In a way, this could be viewed as detrimental to the story, as the entire point is that he’s slowly becoming one with the Shadow Monarch, and therefore losing his humanity in the process. However, that’s only part of the story.
Buying into that argument that Jinwoo should be more immediately edgy because he’s becoming the Shadow Monarch presumes that Jinwoo eventually does lose his humanity entirely at some point in the manhwa, which is never the case. Jinwoo struggling with his loss of humanity more slowly in the anime, and more actively fighting it, gives the overall narrative more tension and will actually make more sense by the end of the series. The anime is by no means removing Jinwoo’s edgier side, far from it, but there’s definitely a more apparent internal conflict that’s more interesting to watch unfold.
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10 Best Changes the Solo Leveling Anime is Making From the Manhwa
Solo Leveling’s anime is impressively faithful to the source material, but there are also plenty of ways it’s changing the manhwa for the better.
Similarly, removing dialogue referencing the Shadow Monarch directly, or subtly hinting at Jinwoo’s role in the endgame in other places, helps feed into the mystery of Jinwoo’s power and identity. The Solo Leveling anime isn’t completely removing the foreshadowing present in the manhwa, but instead altering the methods of foreshadowing it uses. This could have the final result of making the series’ biggest plot twist more shocking for anime-only fans, as it preserves the enigma a bit longer.
That’s a good change in the long run, even if it has the consequence of making it feel like the series is deviating in small (though sometimes, more major) ways from the source material. Ultimately, the story is still very clearly headed in the same direction as both the manhwa and the light novel did, and Jinwoo will obviously still become the true Shadow Monarch in the end.
That in mind, while adding the word “monarch” into the Kargalgan scene in the manhwa never really gave everything away, it also didn’t really give fans a vital piece of information that they won’t get eventually. It was still just a small hint at the reality of Jinwoo’s power. On the other hand, by removing the word entirely, the anime preserves an added element of surprise. Fans still know that Jinwoo is the Shadow Monarch class, but the significance of that title is kept mysterious for now.
Emphasizing the term monarch in the manhwa only served to give away a key detail that wasn’t really necessary yet. The Solo Leveling anime’s changes retain the underlying storyline while making the hints feel more like subtle nods to manhwa readers rather than potential spoilers of the big twist. In the end, when Jinwoo does come to learn the truth about his world and powers, anime-only fans may very well be just as surprised as he is.
Solo Leveling Season 2 is now streaming on Crunchyroll.
Solo Leveling
- Release Date
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January 7, 2024
- Directors
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Shunsuke Nakashige
- Writers
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Noboru Kimura
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Taito Ban
Shun Mizushino (voice)
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Genta Nakamura
Kenta Morobishi (voice)
