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Love at first…smell? Yeah, that’s what’s happening

Aside Roderick J "Jay" Friz Anime, Anime Reviews, Crunchyroll , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Solo Leveling: Arise from the Shadows S2 Ep 5 Review

If there’s a candidate for the best girl in Solo Leveling, then the anime makes a strong case for the strongest female Hunter in Korea, Cha Hae-in. Despite not making as hint her debut until the series was well underway, the anime has gone out of its way to add original scenes featuring Hae-in. When an anime does that, that means they will be important in the future. And now that the anime’s caught up to her actual debut, Cha Hae-in is about to become even more important.

But first, time for some backstory.

Cha Hae-in’s unique condition

As hinted at in the anime, before she became a Hunter, Hae-in was a talented track athlete. Sadly, she pushed herself too hard, leading to an injury that cut her career short. Then, two years ago, she awakened as one of Korea’s handful of S-Ranked Hunters. Now she’s the second-in-command of the strongest Hunters guild in the country. Between that and her beauty, one could call her the Korean equivalent of Asuna from Sword Art Online and very fortunate.

Here’s the thing: she doesn’t see it that way. As shown in the series premiere, she’s not comfortable with how famous she is, something that the Arise gacha game expands upon. Not helping matters is her unique condition: she can smell mana. According to her, it smells horrible, and her job makes her work around people with that smell every day.

Which explains why, after formally meeting Jin-woo, her first impulse…is to smell him.

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Who else is shipping them?

The how and why of why Jin-woo doesn’t smell bad to Hae-in aren’t made clear. Even in the WEBTOON, the best Jin-woo can come up with is due to being the Player. However, none of that matters, because this marks the beginning of Hae-in’s relationship with Jin-woo, one that will come to be of great importance to both.

…yes, the series is shipping them. It helps that she shows up looking for Jin-woo after he heads into the Dungeon on her day off. And thinks of him as she’s trying to fall asleep.

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Jin-woo the miner

So, the real meat of the episode. While Jin-woo is waiting for his updated license to go through, he’s been killing time playing miner. Even without his army, his gains are enough to do ten people’s work. But when the B-team makes an offer to have him be their porter, he takes it.

It’s a good thing, too, because their raid quickly goes sideways.

It was interesting to see just how strong the upper-ranked Hunters can be. More importantly, Jin-woo’s stealthy intervention proves just how strong he’s gotten in comparison to most Hunters. At this point, it’s accurate to say that only a few S-Rank Hunters could scrap with him. However, that becomes a moot point when a horde of High Orcs (Orcs on steroids) show up and give them a choice: go with them or die.

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Jin-woo could take them, but since he’s trying not to draw too much attention to himself, he lets the party leader decide. Having read the manwha, I can tell you that he will step up when things go sideways. And what follows will be one of the first public demonstrations of what Jin-woo is capable of. And if Hae-in manages to see it…let’s just say her interest in Jin-woo is going to be very justified.

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I give “This is what we trained for” a 4/5

Jin-woo stops faking being an E-Rank

Aside Roderick J "Jay" Friz Anime, Anime Reviews, Crunchyroll , , , , , , , , , , ,

Solo Leveling: Arise from the Shadows S2 Ep 4 Review

“You’ll be fine as long as you’re not E-Rank.” That’s an important line from the fourth episode of Solo Leveling’s sophomore outing, and for good reason. Jin-woo may have left E-Rank behind a while back, but that’s still his official rank. As long as he stays there, he won’t be able to get into higher-ranking Dungeons. If he can’t do that, he won’t be able to get strong enough to get the last part of the medicine for his mother. With people in power already suspicious of him in light of the Red Gate, Jin-woo decides to stop pretending and make it official. As of this episode, he’s now Korea’s 10th S-Rank Hunter, and everyone wants a piece of him.

Il-Hwang Just won Father of the Year

Those who were expecting to have more heart-stopping action in this episode will be disappointed in the get-go. This is one of the episodes of Solo Leveling that focuses more on drama, exposition, and world-building. It manages to drop many important details regarding the world of Hunters and how they’ve become the new power in the world. It’s already been established that one’s rank can determine their power and influence as a Hunter, but this episode hammers home the strength of a guild. The five strongest guilds in Korea collectively match the strength of the entire government. And in larger countries, the biggest guilds can be run like private kingdoms with no oversight. Is it any wonder why men like Dongsoo can act like they’re Homelander and do whatever they want?

Speaking of which, this episode has Dongsoo in a hospital bed after Jin-woo’s father turned him into a victim. And to add to insult to injury, Il-Hwan basically told the thug “if you even think of setting foot back in Korea or come after my family, I will beat up so bad that you will be longing for death. And not even the reaper will be able to save you, since I’ll just bring you back and kill you all over again!”

What a good dad.

Jin-woo ain’t interested.

So, when Jin-woo goes to get reevaluated and their giant scouter cannot compute his power level, everyone at the office starts freaking out. Sung Jin-woo is officially the 10th S-Rank Hunter in the country. What follows can be described as the process in which the best sports teams trying to recruit a promising young athlete. First comes Choi Jong-in from the Hunter’s Guild, only for him to get embarrassed when Jin-woo blows right past him. Baek Yoonho, who’s team Jin-woo saved in the Red Gate incident, comes too late to even see him!

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The most surprising offer, though, comes from the Hunter’s Association’s own leader, Go Gunhee. Keeping with the anime tradition of elders being insanely strong, Gunhee is also S-Ranked and on-par with Jin-woo. He makes a convincing argument that Jin-woo join the Association and help police the Hunters. That would go a long way to helping prevent Hunters like Dongsuk from getting away with crimes. It’s even implied that he’s hoping Jin-woo could be his successor, an offer he finds very tempting.

Ultimately, Jin-woo declines. Not only does Gunhee respect his decision, he’s so swayed by Jin-woo’s rizz he’s tempted to join him in the dungeons! Either way, Jin-woo just made a powerful ally!

Hae-in Stocks about to go up

Speaking of dungeons, Jin-woo decides to kill time by working as a miner at an A-Rank Dungeon being run by the Hunter’s Guild. And it’s there that he happens to run into a certain Hunter, one that the series has been dropping appearances for all throughout the series.

Cha Hae-in, the second in command of the Hunter’s, one of the strongest Hunters in Korea, and someone who will become very important from this moment going forward. Sadly, the episode ends right as the two have their first, actual meeting in the Dungeon, but before they can speak to each other. Manwha readers will have to wait until the next episode to see the start of their…relationship.

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The one downside to this episode is noted by Screenrant: it continues a worrying trend of the anime cutting out some of the smaller, sillier moments from the manwha. There are plenty to be found in the manwha, and even more to come when one considers what importance Hae-in will have in the future.

Meh. You can’t win them all.

I Give “I Need to Stop Faking” a 3/5. Loses one point for teasing us on Hae-in Scene!

Jin-woo has an army now. DON’T MAKE HIM MAD!

Aside Roderick J "Jay" Friz Anime, Anime Reviews, Crunchyroll , , , , , , , , , , ,

Solo Leveling: Arise from the Shadows S2 Ep 3 Review

There’s only one reason why Sung Jin-woo became a Hunter: to provide for his sister and comatose mother. That motivation hasn’t changed since becoming a Player, especially since the Demon Castle Dungeon gave him the means to create a medicine to cure his mother. Having unlocked new abilities and tested them in the Red Gate, it’s time for Jin-woo to return to the Instance Dungeon to see how far he can go. At the same time, things are happening to those connected to Jin-woo that could affect him down the road.

Jinho’s Next Step to Being a Guild Master

Not long after the Red Gate, Jin-woo and Jinho reach the end of their deal: they’ve cleared 19 dungeons together! Rather, it’s more like Jin-woo cleared them, and Jinho helped support him. To his dismay, though, even that becomes pointless with Jin-woo’s Shadows able to carry his gear and mine resources.

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It’s easy to feel sympathetic for Jinho. His father’s seemingly never expected much from him and his brother is a conceited jerk. It’s no wonder that he considers Jin-woo more of a brother than his biological brother. And, despite his now-stoic nature, Jin-woo reciprocates the feeling, to his joy. What’s more, his father actually takes his request to lead their pending Hunter’s guild seriously. However, there’s a catch: he has to recruit Jin-woo.

As expected, Jin-woo’s extraordinary actions are starting to attract attention from those in power. It’s only a matter of time before people start trying to take advantage of his power…or come for his head like Dongsoo.

Yes, that man is who you think he is

Speaking of Dongsoo, this episode reveals the reason he was called back to the US. During a dungeon raid, an American Hunting party found something, or someone: a Korean Hunter. The government detains him for fear of him being a monster, but since he speaks Korean, they bring Dongsoo in to communicate.

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What follows demonstrates how Dongsoo is just as wicked as his older brother, as he immediately realizes the connection the mysterious man has to Jin-woo and lies about the young man’s death.

Before you ask, yes. The man in question, Sung Il-Hwan, is Jin-woo’s father and an S-Rank Hunter, to boot. Ten years ago, he got stuck inside a Dungeon that closed on him. He’s only now found his way back to his dimension, and what happened in-between then, and what he learned, will become very important later in the series. What matters at the moment, though, is that he manages to humiliate Dongsoo before escaping custody. So, like son, like father!

Jin-woo Solos Half the Demon Castle

The highlight of the episode (besides the gratitious cameos of Cha Hae-In) are Jin-woo’s return to the Instance Dungeon called the Demon Castle. With the Red Gate affirming how strong he’s gotten since his job change, Jin-woo feels confident enough to try more of the dungeon.

This time, though, Jin-woo has an army at his disposal.

The second journey into the Instance Dungeon hammers home how Jin-woo’s starting to unlock the full potential of his Shadow Army. Not only can they perform menial tasks, they can also deal with the small fry enemies while he focuses on the ones that matter. He’s learning how to lead his forces into battle like a frontline general or king of old, letting him focus on the big boss of the 50th floor.

The fight between Jin-woo and the Avaricious Vulcan, while brief, is another chance for Solo Leveling to flex its animation budget. Thanks to the monster’s size and movement, it also has the benefit of feeling like a fight from Attack on Titan, which is a welcome addition. As always, though, Jin-woo comes out on top.

By the time Jin-woo makes it to the next boss on the 75th floor, he’s marching in there at the head of a small army. The fight that follows is so fast, it can’t even count as a fight! Just an execution.

Jin-woo is Getting There

So, the good news is that Jin-woo is improving by leaps and bounds, but he’s still not strong enough to solo the Instance Dungeon. The episode ends with him returning back to his dimension, but with some extra confidence instilled in himself. Once he beats the final boss of the Demon Castle, he’ll have the last ingredient he needs for the medicine to save his mother.

There’s bad news, though: he’s attracting attention. The more incredible things he does, the more people realize that he’s not an E-Rank Hunter anymore. If anything, the fact that he keeps pretending to be one will cause him trouble down the road. Sooner or later, he’s going to have to get re-re-evaluated and accept his S-Rank status. Otherwise, things could get ugly.

The good thing about Jin-woo, though, is that despite how strong he’s gotten, he’s not letting it go to his head. He still cares about his family (and Jinho), and he never lords his power over others unless he has to. Hopefully, that doesn’t change because…Jin-woo would be terrifying if he went evil. Like Homelander on steroids.

Great episode, though. Jin-woo is one step closer to saving his mother. And we got to see more of Cha Hae-In.

I Give “Still a Long Way to Go” a 3.5/5

Three Reasons Why Kim Chul is a Chump

Aside Roderick J "Jay" Friz Anime, Anime Reviews, Crunchyroll , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Solo Leveling: Arise from the Shadow S2 Ep 2 Review

A few months ago, being trapped in a Red Gate dungeon would’ve been a worst-case scenario for Jin-woo. Especially if his party leader left anyone they deemed weak behind to die while they fought the boss. But that was before he became a Player and learned how to raise the dead as part of his own private army. Now, the Red Gate is just another way for him to train and build his Shadow army. And as Jin-woo makes clear in this episode, he’s not afraid to use his necromancy powers on his fellow human beings.

To be fair, he’ll only use them on humans who already deserve this fate, like his so-called party leader.

Kim Chul’s Three Strikes

At the end of the last episode, the anime showed us the fate of party leader Kim Chul and his half of the Hunters. Without any food or supplies, they starved, froze, and were then mauled to death by yetis. Chul only survived because he ran away with his tail tucked between his legs.

While the sight of Chul walking back alone and half-insane might make some people feel bad for him, the story makes it clear that we shouldn’t. He knew leaving the weaker Hunters behind would likely kill them, and he did it anyway. Worse, he forced the other members to press on without adequate food and supplies, leading to their deaths. Any military leader worth their salt would tell you sending your forces out without being prepared can lead to disaster. That’s strike one against Kim Chul.

Then, when he gets back to the others and sees them happy around a campfire with food and blankets, he snaps. He wrongly assumes that they deliberately hoarded supplies from him, and thus, that they’re to blame for everyone’s deaths. That’s strike two, and if Jin-woo hadn’t been there to knock him on his back, he would’ve killed everyone present.

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Then, when Chul comes to while Jin-woo’s fighting the boss, he decides to try killing Jin-woo instead of helping him like he should’ve. Final strike! And for his arrogance and stupidity, Jin-woo gives Chul a very special gift: the honor of being the third time he’s had to kill a human being.

And, to add insult to injury, Jin-woo doesn’t even kill Chul himself; he has Igris do it before reviving him as his latest Shadow, now called Iron.

Jin-woo Bodies an Army of Murderous Ice Elves

The real highlight of the episode, though, is the fight between Jin-woo and his Shadow army and the Ice Elves, led by one called Baruka. The fight is frenetic, fast-paced, and seems less like a duel between two opponents and more like a proper battle. As Jin-woo continues to get stronger, though, he’s going to use his Shadows more and more to help him deal with monsters. Thus, this is a prelude to some of the things that he will end up doing as the anime progresses.

Baruka’s a tough opponent, but in the end, he ends up another victim of Jin-woo. The one loss that Jin-woo has to take is the fact that he’s unable to extract Baruka’s Shadow, leaving him out of a valuable soldier in his growing army. However, he manages to get his daggers and the survivors out in one piece, so that’s a win. In addition, he gets another cool moment when the White Tiger’s guildmaster, Baek Yoonho, tries to get answers about what happened out of him. Instead, Jin-woo tells him off for not being grateful he got any of his guildmembers out alive.

As for Dongsoo, he left after thinking Jin-woo wouldn’t make it out of the Red Gate alive.

This episode marks another turning point in Jin-woo’s growth as a Hunter. Until now, he’s only used Shadow Extraction on monsters. Now that he knows he can use it on humans, though, anyone who makes the mistake of crossing him could become an undead minion in his army. Fortunately, he seems like the type who wouldn’t revive another human unless they were already worthy of punishment from him. On a lesser note, this is the third instance where he’s killed a person; if he’s not careful, he could become numb to the value of life and risk losing his humanity. Thankfully, he has his sister and Jinho to keep him grounded.

Speaking of Jinho, when he sees how informal his boss and Song-yi are after the events the night before, he comes to a disturbing conclusion. To be fair, if someone heard two people talking about how they didn’t get any sleep the night before out of context, they might make the same assumption. But Jin-woo isn’t that kind of Hunter.

People love the new OP

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By the way, reports are coming in saying that Solo Leveling broke its already impressive viewer record with the premiere of Season two. And the new OP managed to reach a million views on YouTube in less than three days. The people have spoken: Solo Leveling is a big thing in anime right now!

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I Give “I Suppose You Aren’t Aware” a 4/5