The Mycenaean

“Solo Leveling” is a popular anime that started as a South Korean web novel by Chugong. It tells the story of Sung Jinwoo, a weak hunter who fights monsters to protect people. After a near-death experience in a dangerous dungeon, he gains a special ability to level up his strength, which is rare in his world. This leads him on a journey to become the strongest hunter and uncover the secrets behind the dungeons.

“The plot of the anime is really good because I like the concept of conquering dungeons and having a hunter organization,” said Aidan Quinn, a senior.

“I like it because the fights are super cool and [Jin-woo] has so much aura,” said Davion Christian-Keyes, a freshman.

The anime adaptation, produced by A-1 Pictures, first aired in January 2024 and quickly became a hit. Fans loved its exciting action scenes, cool animation, and the way it showed Jinwoo’s growth from weak to powerful. The first season got a 100% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with an average score of 7.7/10.

By March 2025, “Solo Leveling” had over 603,000 reviews on Crunchyroll, surpassing the long-running favorite “One Piece,” which has 596,000 reviews. This shows how quickly “Solo Leveling” became one of the top anime series.

“I never thought ‘One Piece’ would be overthrown, but the hype around ‘Solo Leveling’ is absurd so it makes sense,” said Quinn.

The second season, called “Arise from the Shadow,” started in January 2025. It continues Jinwoo’s story as he becomes even stronger and faces new challenges. Fans are excited to see how his character develops and what new adventures await.

“Season two has been a banger so fa,r and I am hype for the last episode to drop soon,” said Quinn.

One reason for the anime’s success is its presence on social media platforms like TikTok. Fans create and share edits of their favorite scenes, which helps attract more viewers and keeps the community engaged. Aleks Le, the English voice actor for Jinwoo, mentioned that these fan-made videos have played a big role in the show’s popularity.

“I see so many edits of Jin-woo having lot’s of aura and being nonchalant,” said Christian-Keyes.

Overall, “Solo Leveling” has made a huge impact in the anime world. Its gripping story, impressive animation, and strong fan support have quickly made it a favorite among anime enthusiasts.