Review of Solo Leveling Season 2: Arise from the Shadow

It's a very well-animated anime. Yes, it has fantastic scenes, yes, the final bosses develop well, yes... But in itself, there isn't a great story. As the name suggests, in Solo Leveling we see how Sung Jinwoo defeats boss after boss without breaking a sweat. Unlike the first season, where going from level 1 to level 10 isn't the same, where we saw him suffer and struggle to continue leveling up... In this season, we know he is going to defeat them. He's already a top level, he's achieved his S rank, and everyone sees him for what he truly is: a tremendous fighter. And so hegoes through life, being a strong person who wants to pretend he doesn't care about being that strong. He has no personality of his own, not even a hint of wanting to protect humanity, or greedy to get rich. He's just there to be there. he is empty.

There's something this series doesn't address: when a character is super strong, the way to make them shine isn't to have them fight another equally strong opponent whom we ALL know they'll defeat... but to pit them against something where they have to use their wits, think of strategies, and make the other S-ranks shine...

But no, the only one who has the right to shine here is Jinwoo.

He's easy to watch, but he has no magic or light of his own; it's just another Shonen battle series.

I wish they'd delve deeper into the lore. This season, we saw that inside the tower, where Jinwoo obtains the ingredients for his mother's elixir of life, there is a community, there are sentient beings. And that... it seems that unlike the others, they aren't being "controlled" to "attack humans," but to "protect the floors." We still don't know what that consciousness is that controls them, or why the super ant that captured Jinwoo can now speak. Is Jinwoo the only player? It seems like the guy who looks like his father or grandfather knows his stuff. And they left a hook at the end: the two monsters can open their own portals.

We're hoping for a lot of Lore in the next one! Because we already know he'll win battles without breaking a sweat.