Solo LevelingSeason 2 has skyrocketed to success, outperforming every other heavy-hitter in 2025. The Shōnen series is now themost-viewed animein the history of Crunchyroll. The show’s popularity admittedly makes it an easy target for hot takes. But I can’t get over the glaring narrative issues that undermine what made the show so great to begin with.
When a show’s success stems fromsubverting popular genre tropes, it presents a difficult path moving forward.The Boysstarted as a commentaryon the mindless violence and over-sexualisation in superhero movies,but now it relies on gore and nudity to get a reaction.One Punch ManSeason 1 simultaneously parodied classic Shōnen while displaying its best qualities. However, Season 2 devolved into a generic Shōnen action series lacking self-awareness.Solo Levelingis going down the same path, and it might be too late to turn back.
‘Solo Leveling’ Season 1 Took the Power Fantasy Trope to A New Level
To understand Season 2’s falloff, we need to understand what madeSeason 1 so special. Anime has covered power fantasy in almost every form imaginable, butSolo Levelingdeconstructed power fantasystories and grounded them in reality. Jin-Woo (Aleks Le) begins a journey of self-improvement, using real-world video game mechanics to level up. Leveling up involves a fair amount of super-powered battles with fantastical creatures, but the story exploresself-improvement at its core.Solo Levelingusesvideo games as a frameworkto illustrate how people can improve their lives.
Video games are the perfect allegoryfor the show’s target audience. Technology has put an entire generation’s mental and physical well-being at risk, butSolo Levelingcommunicated with that generation using their own language. It’s a simple yet profound idea for a power fantasy show. I have no issue sinking six hours into an intenselychallenging boss run onElden Ring, but re-evaluating my life choices and brainstorming ways to better myself is one boss I’d avoid at all costs. By breaking down life’s insurmountable challenges into video game terms,Solo Levelingstruck a chord with audiences across the world.
‘Solo Leveling’ Might’ve Won Best Anime of the Year, but This Is the Series Everyone Should Be Watching
Just watch out for the mimics!
Unlike other powerful anime heroes, Jin-Woo forces himself to develop better life habits, working out, going for runs, and helping others whenever he can – it really is that simple. He persists through hardship and resolves to support his family regardless of risk. His vulnerability adds a sense of stakes. Where most Shōnen heroes easily swat away foes, every fight is a struggle for Jin-Woo, and even the smallest wins feel like monumental victories. Season 1 crafted the perfect recipe for a relatable,charismatic protagonistin a high-stakes universe. However, Season 2 threw that recipe out for a moreformulaic Shonen series.
‘Solo Leveling’ Season 2 Repeats a Formula We’ve Seen Too Many Times
Leveling up was always inevitable; it’s in the name, after all. However, I didn’t expect Jin-Woo tolevel up so quickly. He gradually climbed up the ranks throughout Season 1, but by Season 2’s first episode, he isliterally the most powerful hunterin the world. Mastering a craft takes years of dedication and no small amount of patience. With this logic in mind, Jin-Woo should be reaching the apex of his power towards the final season, not the second. He saves his mother immediately, and the rest of the show lacks personal struggle.Jin-Woo’s central conflictthen explores how to handle fame and attention, which ishardly relatable.
The relatability issues extend beyond his inner conflict. For whatever reason, Jin-Woo’s powers robbed him of any personality. He becomesemotionless, stoic, silent, and utterlydevoid of any charisma or enthusiasm. He anticipates every move, predicts any outcome, and watches mostly while his mindless spirits fight for him. Jin-Woo became the generic, mysterious, ripped hero we’ve seen in a hundred other Shōnen before. There’s never a question of whether he can win in Season 2, it’s just a matter of how cool he can make it look. Audiences now revel inanother power fantasythat removes its nuanced allegories and relatability.
Countless anime series follow an innocent-minded kid who attains a secret, ancient power that outmatches anyone else in the world, like Jin-Woo. However, most of these characters have at least one distinctive personality trait that helps them stand out. InJujutsu Kaisen, Itadori’s (Adam McArthur) naive outlook on a dangerous worldstarkly contrasts with the horrific curses and serious sorcerers around him.One Punch Man’s Saitama andOne Piece’s Luffy (Colleen Clinkenbeard) never take things seriously and always poke fun at their most lethal foes, which makes them charismatic, entertaining leads. But Shōnen protagonists don’t all have to be funny.Attack on Titan’s Eren Yaeger (Bryce Papenbrook) resembles Jin-Woo in many ways, but his lack of emotion is earned through a long, painful character development that explainswhyhe became so detached and unemotional from the outside world.Itadori follows a similar trajectory inJujutsu Kaisen, but each step in his journey is fleshed out, exploring the traumatic events leading to his disillusionment. Jin-Woo has no such explanation. We’ve seen Shōnen characters like this before, and we’ve seen them better written.
‘Solo Leveling’s Global Success Makes It Too Big To Fail
IfSolo Leveling’s decline is so apparent, how is theshow still so successful? Power fantasy might be an oversaturated genre, but it’s still a massively popular one.Solo Levelingwas popular for its unique world, but now it’s popular for the same reasons as every other Shōnen. There’s also been a marketed increase in popularity between seasons, which makes the seriestoo big to fail. Season 1 was successful, butSeason 2 saw a 90,000 user rating increase. The series blew up outside of Korea, gaining international traction. The massive success of aTikTokmarketing campaign for the new video game, which garnered almost 1 billion views in the first month of release, along with strong word of mouth, has turnedSolo Levelinginto a franchise that canwithstand any narrative criticisms.
Game of Thronesis an interesting casestudy for this kind of scenario. In hindsight, it’s easy to track the HBO series’ consistent decline over several seasons, but generalaudiences didn’t noticeany severe falloff until the final season.Game of Thronesbecame a global hit by the time anyone had a chance to notice the bad writing, and criticism can be drowned out in all the noise.One Punch Mansuffered a similar declinetoSolo Leveling, but the lack of Saitama’s (Max Mittelman) onscreen presence made Season 2 noticeably worse for most fans. On the surface, Solo Leveling retains excellent production quality, well-choreographed fights, and vibrant characters, enough for many viewers to keep watching.
Jin-Woo went from a relatable everyman to an untouchable god overnight. To restore Season 1’s charm, we’d need to see some future arcs involving Jin-Woo losing some serious XP, which seems unlikely.Season 2 has changedthe show into a different story. It’s a familiar story for anime fans, based on a proven formula that’s worked for countless predecessors. Leveling up was inevitable, but it’s a shame it happened so quickly.
