Warning: The following contains spoilers for Solo Leveling’s Ending!!Solo Levelingis one of the most popular manhwas that has shaped the medium and inspired many of the following works. However, this doesn’t mean the series is flawless. For this reason, even if the possibility ofSolo Levelinggetting a full anime adaptation is exciting, what is even better is that it can fix a common complaint of the manhwa.The most criticized aspect ofSolo Levelingwas its ending, which left readers wanting more.
While some claim that it was disappointing or rushed due to artist DUBU’s deteriorating health during the series' final segment,there’s no doubt thatSolo Leveling’s biggest problemis its final battle, which also highlights the anime adaptation’s potential to ameliorate these issues and conclude in a satisfying way for fans.
A Glimpse Into Jinwoo’s Battle in the Dimensional Rift Could Be More Impactful
The biggest criticism ofSolo Leveling’s final arc is related to Jinwoo’s decision to use the Cup of Reincarnationafter defeating all the Monarchs and Antares, erasing all the struggles and sacrifices that happened until that point. As a result, Jinwoo carried all the responsibility of fighting Antares again, locking himself in the dimensional rift with the rest of his shadows that still existed in the past to go into a long-lasting war against the Monarchs and their army.
This made all the series' events feel inconsequential, especially since Jinwoo didn’t show much personal conflict and regret at the end besides the deaths of his father and Go Gunhee, which made fans think that, despite everything, he could have easily returned with his family and Cha Hae-In instead of regressing and wasting 27 years fighting. Moreover, while Jinwoo vs. Antares was an epic fight, showing a second battle in the dimensional rift could be repetitive, as the ending ofSolo Levelingdidn’t go into detail about how the fight unfolded, and it felt a little underwhelming to readers.
After Rereading Solo Leveling, I Hate to Admit It But the Ending Was Disappointing
Solo Leveling’s webtoon is one of the best I’ve ever read, but the ending leaves a lot to be desired.
Furthermore,this high pacing only added to what fans considered a largerSolo Leveling’s flaw after Jinwoo became too overpowered: his divine powers took away the tension, and he could resolve any conflict without lasting consequences. However, if the anime adaptation chooses to highlight the scale of the war in the dimensional rift, even if it’s a short sequence displaying all the years passing by and the toll taken by Jinwoo, it could better convey to viewers that this wasn’t a deus ex machina but rather an admirable sacrifice where he carried the future of the world on his shoulders.
The Anime Needs To Highlight the Reasons Behind Jinwoo’s Regression
The Epilogue Shows How Fulfilling Jinwoo’s Decision Was
What many readers failed to acknowledge is thateven if Jinwoo had won the fight against Antares, humanity had lost too much until that point. Cities were destroyed in Japan after the Giant’s break, Canada was practically obliterated, but also Jinwoo lost his father and the Chairman Gunhee, as well as the trauma of his sister Jinah, plus all the students who lost their lives during the attack on her school. Because of this, even if he didn’t show he was deeply impacted by all the consequences of the battle, regressing was a fitting progression of the plot.
It has been highlighted from the start how the appearance of gates disrupts the lives of everyone, from those losing their dreams and becoming hunters like Cha Hae In and Park Jongsoo, people falling ill with the eternal slumber disease, a disbalance in the political world, Sung Il-Hwan spending a decade away from his family as well as Jinwoo many regrets across the series like arriving late in the Jeju Raid and the incident in Jinah’s school. This way, Solo Leveling delivers what power does to society, how it impacts people and what it means to possess power.
Therefore, the only way for Jinwoo to stop the endless cycle of war between rulers and monarchs, save everyone and prevent the gates from opening was regressing, which was a pretty consequential decision, as anyone kind and powerful enough might take the burden upon himself to create a better world and Jinwoo purpose of leveling up was always to protect others. So,if the anime includes the manhwa' epilogue and delves into Jinwoo’s mindset to return in time, it could deliver the message of the seriesabout using power for a good cause, even at the expense of oneself.
Solo Leveling’s Final Arc Needs to Give More Screen Time to Other Characters
The National Level Hunters’ Potential Was Wasted in the Manhwa
SinceSolo Leveling’s animeis expanding on the manhwa, trying to develop more supporting characters and improve the world-building,it could likely do the same for the rushed portions of the final arc. While the anime has already included original content in the first two seasons, the last third of the story goes on a speed-run, so it is the part that needs to delve more into Jinwoo’s insight and give more relevance to secondary characters.
For example,the National Hunters’ potential in the manhwa felt wasted,like Liu Zhigang,the Chinese National Hunter, who was presented as one of the strongest hunters who borrowed power from the Rulers, but his fights were mostly off-screen. Likewise, Thomas Andre was also sidelined after his fight against Jinwoo, Cristopher Reed was defeated quickly by the Monarchs, and Siddharth Bachchan didn’t even appear in the manhwa, which had recently been fixed by giving him a role inSolo Leveling Ragnarök.
Even though filler content isn’t appealing to all the viewers, a good way to give them more protagonism and expand the universe of the series could be to showcase his individual fights in the final battle and by showing a flashback of the Kamish break, which was the event that made Thomas Andre famous, and could improve the world-building of the series as China also send Liu Zhigang to help America.
The Anime Could Add More Interactions Between Sung Jinwoo and Cha Hae In
The Light Novel Depicts Jinwoo’s Interest in Cha Hae in More Than the Manhwa
A common criticism inSolo Levelingis thatSung Jinwoo and Cha Hae In’s relationshipfelt forcedas they didn’t have as many interactions. This is due to Jinwoo’s feelings not being clear until the last chapter of the manhwa, where he acknowledges he wanted to be with Cha Hae In, which makes his reason to stay on Earth unconvincing to some readers. However, in the light novel, Jinwoo is attracted to Cha Hae In since he meets her, and their moments together are more romantic than in the manhwa.
Another couple whose relationship should be further explored is Jinwoo’s sister, Jinah, and Jinho.InSolo Leveling’s epilogue, it is revealed that Jinho asks for Jinwoo’s blessing to ask Jinah to marry him, when their relationship wasn’t even hinted at in the manhwa. This has been improved in other mediums, like the gameSolo Leveling: ARISE, where they added an interaction between them where Jinah is saved by Jinho and starts to be interested in him.
That means the anime should include original scenes that better display their bond to make their relationship more natural, instead of what happened in other series like Naruto, where a film was released after the anime’s ending to better display Naruto’s relationship with Hinata. Nevertheless, by exploring the story more without rushing into the action scenes, the final arc ofSolo Levelinghas everything to captivate viewers once it gets adapted into anime.
