Solo Leveling is a globally popular Korean web novel and webtoon written by Chugong, illustrated by DUBU (REDICE STUDIO), and adapted by h-goon (published by D&C MEDIA). In Japan, it has surpassed 650 million views on the digital manga platform Piccoma.
Set in a world where mysterious portals known as “Gates” connect different dimensions, Hunters—individuals awakened with supernatural abilities—fight against monsters emerging from these dungeons. Among them, Jinwoo, once known as the weakest Hunter, gains the unique power to level up and climbs from weakest to strongest.
After an intense Season 1, the long-awaited Season 2 is finally here! Let’s see how Japanese fans reacted to its thrilling return. 🚀🔥
Please Note:
- This article contains spoilers.
- The author watched the series in Japanese, so character names and terminology may differ from the official English version.
Episode 1 Synopsis: Solo Leveling Season 2
You aren’t E-rank, are You
Jinwoo attends Jin-ah’s parent-teacher meeting, where the teacher asks him to persuade Han Song-Yi, Jin-ah’s classmate, who is planning to drop out of school to become a Hunter.
To show her the harsh reality of being a Hunter, Jinwoo takes Han Song-Yi to observe the White Tiger Guild’s rookie training session. However, as they step into a C-rank Gate, the entire space suddenly turns red, completely cutting them off from the outside world.
It is a Red Gate—a portal leading to a high-level dungeon.
*This story summary is a direct translation from the official website of Solo Leveling, “TVアニメ『俺だけレベルアップな件』公式サイト”.*
Japanese Fan Reactions to Solo Leveling Season 2 Episode 1: Live X Posts
◆ Before the Broadcast
Solo Leveling Season 2 is almost here! Watching it live! LOL. So hyped!!
俺レベアニメ2期放送まで後少し リアルタイムで見るぞ！笑 めっちゃ楽しみ！！
Made it home!! Just in time to watch it live! 🥰
きたーく！！ リアタイ間に合った🥰
I’ve been waiting for this so badly!
めちゃくちゃ楽しみに待ってた。
Guess I’ll at least watch the first episode for you, Jinwoo.
1話だけでもとりあえず見てあげましょうかミズシノくん。
Honestly, I don’t really care, but this is the only thing on right now, so I’ll keep an eye on it.
正直どうでもいいんだけどこの時間コレしかやってないので横目で待機。
IT’S JINWOO TIME AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!
ミズシノくんの時間だああああああああああああああああああああああああああああああああああああああああああ
There’s a chance we won’t get an opening theme today, huh?
今日OPない可能性あるよな？
◆ Broadcast Begins: Jinwoo Appears
His jaw is so sharp.
あごが細い。
Who even is this guy?
誰だよ。
He’s transformed again!
また別人になってる。
That jawline could cut glass.
顎、鋭利すぎやろ。
Solo Leveling is BACK! And so is this jawline!!
俺レベが帰ってまいりました！ この顎！！
Ginga Banjou’s narration is a blessing.
銀河万丈ナレーション助かる。
I don’t even know what he’s supposed to look like anymore…
もう正しいビジュアルが分からないよ…。
Jinwoo is looking way too dignified now. (^^;)
水篠くん、とんでもなく凛々しくなってる(^^;)。
Even his sister would doubt if this is really him.
妹でも疑うレベルで見た目が変わった旬。
That jaw is too damn pointy.
アゴが鋭角すぎる。
He’s gotten way too sharp.
だいぶ尖ってきたな。
Back when his jawline wasn’t this sharp yet…
まだ顎がそこまで尖っていないころ。
It’s basically a game world, so nothing should surprise us anymore.
実質ゲーム世界同然なので何ら不思議はない。
Jinwoo has adapted too much to this harsh world… he’s unrecognizable now.
水篠君、過酷な環境に染まりすぎて変わり果てた姿に。
◆ Opening Theme
Wait, LiSA did the opening theme?!
OP、LiSAさんなんか！
LiSA!! So cool!
LiSAさんー！カッコいい！
An anime that has a proper opening theme from episode 1… respect.
1話から通常のOPのあるアニメは。
It’s finally here…! The opening song is insanely cool!!
ついに始まりました…！ OPカッコ良すぎる！！
Praying that LiSA’s opening song isn’t the highlight of the whole season.
LiSAのOPが一番の見どころにならないことを祈っている()。
Wait, LiSA can pull off a deep male voice too?
LiSAって男声出せるんだ。
Oh snap, it’s Hiroyuki Sawano!!
澤野弘之じゃねーか！
Season 2’s opening theme is a collaboration between Hiroyuki Sawano and LiSA.
第二期のOPは澤野弘之さんとLiSAさんのコラボレーション。
Glad to see Sawano still handling the music in Season 2. Expectations high!
2期も変わらず音楽は澤野弘之さんなのね。そこは期待。
Honestly, I liked Season 1’s opening song by Sawano feat. TXT better.
OP曲は正直1期の澤野feat.TXTの方が良かった。
Feels like it’s been ages since I last saw Jinwoo pre-level up.
なんかレベルアップ前を久しぶりに見た気がするけど。
Bruh, even his bone structure changed. LOL.
骨格から変わっとるがなｗ。
This opening sequence storyboard is actually really good.
これOPコンテかなり良いな。
Studio: A-1 Pictures.
制作 A-1 Pictures。
◆ Jinwoo at School & Reunion with Han Song-Yi
That side character is kinda cute.
モブかわ。
Jinwoo is getting all the attention from the girls.
水篠くん、女子生徒から注目の的。
The sister… becoming a Hunter…
妹のハンター化…。
Ah! The hoodie girl!
あ！フードちゃん！
Yeah, I wouldn’t recommend it either.
まあ薦めないわな。
The teacher is asking the student’s older brother for a favor at a parent-teacher meeting…
保護者面談に来た生徒の兄に教師が頼み事。
Yo, Miyu Tomita’s here!
富田美憂ﾁｰｯｽ。
This girl’s got that husky Miyu Tomita vibe. Loving it.
この子、ちょっとハスキーめの富田美憂さんよな かなり良い。
So, he’s trying to talk a student out of dropping out to become a Hunter…
ハンター希望で学校を中退しようとする生徒の説得か。
◆ Hwang Dong-soo Appears
Suwabe!
諏訪部。
Who the hell is this old dude!?
なんだこのおっさん！？
Whoa, he’s huge…
うおでっか…
And that guy is coming to Japan too…
そして、例の奴も日本に来る。
Mysterious aura.
謎オーラ。
I don’t need to see a buff guy flexing his ego.
マッチョのイキリ見せられても。
Why would they even let this guy into the country? LOL
こんなの入国させんなよｗ
So, is this like the Japanese Self-Defense Forces vs. the US military kind of deal?
なんだ？自衛隊とUS軍的な関係か？
Something about this feels unsettling…
なんだか色々とざわざわするな..
So we’re running this parallel to the Chimera Ant arc, huh?
やっぱキメラアントと同時並行で進めていくのね。
Waaaaaah, I forgot Furukawa-san was in this too! His voice is seriously amazing…
わああああああここにも古川さん出てるんだっけ！ まじいい声、、
Season 2’s official website doesn’t have a character page, so I can’t check how their names are written in kanji.
第二期の公式サイト、キャラクター紹介ページがないから、名前の漢字が分からないんだよな。
◆ Dungeon Tour Begins
Cute.
かわいい。
A-rank… that’s high.
A級…たか。
The strongest tank?
最強タンク？
As you can see, he has a short temper.
ご覧の通り短気です。
So just by looking at him, you can tell he’s a tank? LOL
御覧の通りでタンクって決まるんだ(笑)。
THE STRONGEST TANK IS HERE━━━━━━(ﾟ∀ﾟ)━━━━━━!!!!
最強タンクｷﾀ━━━━━━(ﾟ∀ﾟ)━━━━━━!!!!
Tbh, I kinda just skimmed through the second half of Season 1, so I have no idea what’s happening.
てか1期は途中からほぼ流し見してたからもうストーリー分からん。
So this is the party lineup this time.
今回の編成はこう。
E-rank discrimination incominggggg!
E級差別キタアア。
I don’t think this is gonna be just a tour…
ご見学だけじゃ済まなそうなんですが…。
Into the dungeon we go.
いざダンジョンへ。
Bet we’re about to get some unexpected OP enemies. LOL
予想外の強い敵が出るんやろなあｗ。
Another death flag? What’s about to go down this time…
また、フラグかな？ 何が起きるのやら。
◆ Dungeon Anomaly Occurs
Something’s wrong with the dungeon?
ダンジョンに異常が？
So it’s another “this dungeon looks easy but actually it’s hell” situation?
また楽なダンジョンと見せかけてやべーの出てくる感じだ。
Something’s off. (But when is it not?)
なにかおかしい（いつもおかしい）。
It’s a Red Gate!!
レッドゲートだ！！
The girl next to him does not look dressed for hunting at all.
隣の女の子はどう見ても狩りに行く格好じゃないんだよな。
Dude’s got Conan-level death god energy. LOL
コナン君くらい死神だなｗｗｗ
That death flag got triggered way too fast. LOL
フラグ回収、早過ぎるｗｗ
Thought this was an easy dungeon, but nope—it’s a nightmare difficulty dungeon.
簡単なダンジョンだと思ったら、超高難易度ダンジョンになった件。
Even if it’s just a tour, they should’ve at least brought some self-defense gear.
しかし見学とはいえ自衛用の装備は必要だろ。
◆ Teleported to a Snowy Field
Getting dumped into a snow-covered wasteland… classic RPG trope.
放り出された場所が豪雪地帯もRPGあるあるだな。
The tank is the only one dressed for the cold… smh.
タンク一人だけあったかそうな格好しやがって…。
That was close!!
あぶねぇ！！
One guy just died at light speed.
爆速で一人死亡。
Sniped outta nowhere!
いきなり狙撃された。
An E-rank… with his bare hands?!
E級が素手で？
Wait, so elves are enemies too?
エルフも敵キャラなのか。
What the hell is an Ice Elf!?
アイスエルフって何!?
Ice Elf? Never heard of that race before.
アイスエルフはあんま聞いたことない種族ですね。
This was literally me two months ago. (Realizing how OP I’ve become.)
２ヶ月前まで確実に俺だったｗ（自分が強い自覚がある）。
This Ice Elf dude is totally underestimating them.
アイスエルフくん舐めプしてるなぁ。
Uh… is the tank even doing his job? LOL
てかタンク仕事してないよなｗｗ
◆ They Split Into Two Groups
Wait, they’re splitting up?!
え？二手に分かれる？
Anyone who suggests this dies first.
そんな事を言う人が先に死にます。
Hmm… this self-proclaimed leader seems hella shady. LOL
うーん、この自称リーダーあからさまに胡散臭いぞ？www
A top-ranked Hunter making the absolute worst call—splitting up for no reason.
意味不明に二手に分ける悪手を取る最高位のハンター。
Nope. You’re a lost cause. LOL
お前はダメだww
Nope. You’re a lost cause. (Also, so is this plot decision.)
お前はダメだ(このアニメのストーリーが)。
T-Tsukemono (pickles)…
つ、漬物…
Editor’s Note: A reference to “Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo.”
We have no choice but to leave the baggage behind. (For their own good.)
お荷物は置いていくしかないんだ(善意)。
Splitting up on purpose? That’s literally asking to die.
わざわざ二手に別れるなんて自滅コースまっしぐらなんじゃないの。
This girl has good instincts.
この女は見る目があるようだ。
She’s got sharp intuition!
勘の良い女ね！
You’re not a background character, are you? (Judging by your face.)
あなた、モブじゃないでしょ（顔面判定）。
Two girls ended up in his group? That’s basically a harem.
女子2人がこっちに来たのハーレムじゃん。
So… the girls are not going to suffer, huh?
女は酷い目にあわないってことですか。
Honestly, Jinwoo’s group feels way safer.
むしろ水篠くんのほうが安心なんだよなぁ。
Damn, this outfit is not made for the cold…
しかし寒いなこの格好……。
◆ Attacked by an Ice Bear
BEAR ALERT! 🐻
くまー！🐻
Ice bear…
アイスベア…
Hellflame Grizzly?!
ヘルフレイムグリズリー？！
Akita’s natural enemy!
秋田の天敵！
Someone should show this to the people complaining about Akita Prefecture. LOL
今の秋田県にクレーム入れてる奴らに見せてあげたいwwwwwwwww
Editor’s Note: Refers to the time when a bear appeared in a residential area in Akita Prefecture, and the local government received numerous complaints opposing its removal.
Let’s throw those complainers into this scene and see how they handle it. LOL
秋田県にクレーム入れてた奴らあの場に放り込もうぜwwwwwwww
Does that shield have some kind of shock-reflecting system or what?
あの盾は衝撃反射装置でも付いてるのか？
If you play dead here, you’ll just freeze to death.
死んだふりしたら凍死します。
◆ Head Pat Moment
The head pat made me audibly react.
頭ポンポンで声出た。
She’s so easy.
チョロイン。
Head pats—only allowed if you’re hot.
イケメンにしか許されない頭ポン…。
She’s done for… (confirmed).
落ちたな…(確信)。
Did he really need to put his hand on her head to say that?
別に頭に手を乗せて言わなくてもよかったのでは？
Sakaita-kun’s deep voice seriously gives me chills~ (๑//́Д/̀/)ﾊｧﾊｧ💕(๑//́Д/̀/)ﾊｧﾊｧ💕(๑//́Д/̀/)ﾊｧﾊｧ💕
マジで坂泰斗くんの低音ボイスってゾクゾクしちゃうよねぇ〜(๑//́Д/̀/)ﾊｧﾊｧ💕(๑//́Д/̀/)ﾊｧﾊｧ💕(๑//́Д/̀/)ﾊｧﾊｧ💕
Please let that be an off-record moment.
オフレコでｵﾅｼｬｽ。
New title unlocked: Wolf Slayer.
称号を狼虐殺者に変更。
◆ Jinwoo Has Become Famous
Oh, it’s the sunglasses guy from earlier.
あ、さっきのグラサン。
The “reawakened” narrative is becoming an accepted fact. LOL
再覚醒者が順調に既成事実化しつつあるｗ
Everyone knows Jinwoo’s name now…
みんなミズシノくんの名前を知ってる…
That E-rank hero is suddenly famous.
なんかすっかり有名になっとるなあのE級勇者。
He just one-punched a polar bear. LOL
さっそく白熊ワンパンしとるw
Level up!
レベルアップだ。
This is peak OP protagonist energy.
俺TUEEEEEEEEE系の極致だけあるｗ
Beating Ice Bears with a single punch—Jinwoo is basically One Punch Man.
アイスベアもパンチで倒すワンパンマンなスタイル。
Jinwoo sitting on top of the Ice Bear… lowkey gives off Fushiguro vibes. LOL
アイスベアの上に座る水篠、若干の伏黒みあるw
◆ Convenient Magic
Oh, look, they had coats all along.
コート持ってました。
They pulled out warm clothes!
防寒具出て来た！
So warm…
あったけぇ…
Too convenient. LOL
便利すぎるwww
Doraem—
ドラえもn
At this point, I don’t even know if they’re hiding it or not.
もう隠してるのか隠さないのか分かんなくなってきたな。
◆ Eating Ice Bear Meat
MEAT! LOL
肉！ｗｗ
Wait, that’s edible…?
食えるんだそれ…
Where’s the Monster Hunter style BBQ animation?
モンハン肉しろよ。
Gourmet hunting anime moment.
ジビエアニメーション。
Delicious in Dungeon, but on steroids.
ダンジョン飯強化バージョン。
There were more people in the manga… guess they cut it for the anime.
コミックだともうちょっと人数多いけど、アニメの都合か。
Jinwoo is flexing way too hard right now.
イキってるミズシノくんマジでイキり過ぎてるよな…
◆ Jinwoo Approaches the Ice Bear’s Den
Post-meal workout: attacking a bear den.
食後の運動で巣穴に。
Jinwoo casually raids a bear’s den as his after-dinner workout. LOL
食後の運動で熊の巣に襲撃する水篠くんよｗ
Aaaahhh!!! He’s testing out the thing from the Season 1 finale here?!
ああー！！！ここで1期の最終話のやつ試していくの！！？！
He struggled a lot in Season 1, but in Season 2 he’s just steamrolling everything.
1期では割とずっと苦戦してたけど2期はもう無双してんな。
Is he seriously about to wipe out the whole den? If his past life was a dragon, someone would be stopping him right now.
まさか巣ごと…前世が竜の人なら確実に止めに入るところかも。
Wait, isn’t his necromancer skill still a secret?
ネクロマンサースキルは秘密なんだっけ。
Here they come!!! The shadow soldiers!!!
きたっ！！！影の兵士！！！
COME FORTHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH (also, Sawano’s music kicks in LOL)
出てこいwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww(澤野wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww)
Jinwoo said “Come forth!” so obviously, Sawano felt obligated to drop his music right there.
ミズシノくんが「出てこい」って言ったから、そりゃ澤野も出てこないとダメだって使命感感じちゃうよね…
Sawano Song Domain Expansion‼️‼️‼️😆✨😆✨😆✨😆✨
澤野ソング領域展開‼️‼️‼️😆✨😆✨😆✨😆✨
Owning an entire shadow army by himself? Total cheat mode.
1人でシャドー軍団所有してるの既にチート。
As long as his MP doesn’t run out, he can keep reviving them.
MPが亡くならない限りは再生できるからね。
Summoning drains MP over time, though.
召喚中はMP減り続ける。
◆ Ice Bear Boss Appears
Of course, the boss shows up.
やはりボスが出てきた。
Papa Bear is not happy. LOL
パパグマお怒りのご様子wwwwwww
Jinwoo is literally soloing a raid boss.
一人でレイド戦しとる。
The shot of Igris standing behind Jinwoo looks so badass.
イグリットを背後に侍らせてる構図がいい。
That knight is way too OP… what even?
その騎士つよすぎん？えんぐ。
Honestly, do they even need anyone else at this point?
もうコイツ一人でいいんじゃないかな。
Yeah, he’s just too strong.
やっぱつえーわ。
Igris is way too cool.
イグリットカッコ良すぎる。
Jinwoo’s little “Wow” moment was actually kinda cute. LOL
「わーお」の水篠かわいいよなw
What happened to Jinwoo’s proportions?! LMAO, stop making him look like a burning incense stick.
水篠の頭身どうしたwww火のついたお線香みたいな描写やめてwww
Mami’d.
マミッッッッッッッ。
Editor’s Note: A reference to “Puella Magi Madoka Magica.”
He just got Mami’d.
マミった。
Did that thing just try to self-destruct?!
こいつ今自爆しようとした？
That poor bear was just living peacefully in its own territory…
自分のテリトリーで平和に暮らしていただけのクマちゃんが…
As expected of A-1 Pictures, the animation is solid.
A-1 Picturesなのでさすがに作画はいいんだよな。
This is probably supposed to be a hype moment, but since Jinwoo hasn’t really interacted with his knight army much yet, it doesn’t hit as hard.
なんか多分盛り上がりシーンなんだろうけど、そんなにまだ接してない騎士軍団たちがシロクマ討伐してるシーンなので、ボルテージ微妙っスね。
◆ Meanwhile, the Other Party…
So… they’re all dead, huh?
こっちは全滅か。
The high-ranked party already got wiped out?
高ランクのパーティーのほうはもう壊滅してるのか。
Meanwhile, the big-talker team that was acting tough earlier… (LOL)
一方そのころ啖呵を切った自称さんチームは(笑)。
Uwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!
うわああああああああああああああああああああああああああああああああああ
Mr. “Strongest Tank”, tell me this is a joke…
口だけ最強タンクさん、嘘だよな？
Bro tucked his tail and ran.
しっぽ巻いて逃げたや。
Called it. LOL
知ってた展開すぎるｗ
◆ Ending Theme
It’s already over…
もう終わった、、、。
TK’s ending song is here!!
TKさんのEDきたー！！
It’s a Ling Tosite Sigure ending theme!
凛として時雨ED。
Sounds just like a Ling Tosite Sigure song.
凛として時雨みたいな歌だな。
Animation direction: 6
Assistant animation: 3+1
作監6協力3+1。
That flew by.
あっという間だった。
Oh, the episode title drop happens here.
ここでサブタイ。
Nice timing for the title drop.
サブタイのタイミング良いな。
TK from Ling Tosite Sigure did the ending theme.
TK from 凛として時雨ED。
Thought it sounded like Ling Tosite Sigure… and it actually is Ling Tosite Sigure. LOL
凛として時雨っぽいと思ったら凛として時雨だったｗ
First Ling Tosite Sigure anime ending song since My Hero Academia.
ヒロアカぶりの凛として時雨。
◆ After the Broadcast
That felt so fast… can’t wait for the next episode!
体感とても早かった..次回も楽しみ！
The slow pacing that was a concern in Season 1 feels much improved in Season 2. The story is moving at a really good pace.
第一期で懸念だった「のんびり展開」は、第二期で随分と改善されている印象。かなりテンポ良く物語が展開している。
Season 2 is continuing right where Season 1 left off, but the pacing is insanely fast. The official website doesn’t explain enough either, so it’s easy to feel lost. I didn’t even have time to check what improvements they made from Season 1. The constant perspective shifts are still the same, though.
2期だけど1期の続きをそのままやる展開で、しかも展開がめっちゃ早い。公式サイトの説明も足りてないし、置いてけぼりになりそうな感じが。1期からの改善点をチェックする余裕もなかった。キャラ視点をころころ変えるのは1期から変わってなかったけど。
By Season 2, everyone has figured out how to enjoy Solo Leveling properly. (And honestly, it is fun.)
もう2期ともなると、みんな俺レベの愉しみ方を心得てしまっているよね(正直愉しい)。
This season is probably going to be more popular overseas than in Japan again. Actually, this anime feels like it was made for the international market from the start.
まあ今回も日本より海外の方がウケる感じかな。というか完全に最初から海外市場狙いで作ってるよなこのアニメ。
That felt like three minutes!!!!!!!
体感3分だった！！！！！
Blessed to have both the opening and ending theme right from episode 1!!!!!!
二期初話からOpening theme & Ending themeありがとうございます！！！！！！
At least someone pointed out that the protagonist’s appearance keeps changing. LOL
とりあえず主人公の見た目が変わってる事を指摘するキャラがいて良かったｗ
◆ Bonus: LiSA’s Post (Opening Theme Singer)
Whaaaaatーー!!! The story’s so fast-paced and the visuals are amazing, I was so into it that the episode ended in no timeーー!!!
うわーーー!!!面白いし展開早いし画がすごいから夢中で観てたらあっという間に終わっちゃったーーーー!!!
Final Thoughts
The highly anticipated Solo Leveling Season 2 has begun, and Japanese fans have shared their reactions in real time. With a strong start, the series continues to draw attention. Stay tuned for more updates.