‘Anti-Japanese’: Netizens upset over rumors about anime adaptation of popular manhwa ‘Solo Leveling’

July 22, 2022

New rumors about the anime adaptation of the popular manhwa “Solo Leveling” are circulating, with several reports suggesting that certain details, including the story’s setting and the protagonist’s background, will be changed.

Anime streaming giant Crunchyroll confirmed earlier this month during Anime Expo 2022 in Los Angeles that an anime adaptation of the popular Korean comic book series “Solo Leveling,” created by Chugong and illustrated by Dubu (Jang Sang-rak), is in the works and is scheduled to premiere in 2023.

The anime adaptation will be developed by A-1 Pictures, the Japanese animation studio behind several popular titles such as “Fairy Tail,” “Sword Art Online” and “Black Butler.”

Director Shunsuke Nakashige will helm the anime, which will be written by Noboru Kimura. Composer Hiroyuki Sawano, who has worked on “Attack on Titan” and “The Seven Deadly Sins,” is also reportedly tied to the project.

While not much has been revealed about the anime yet, some reports are speculating that it might take some details from the original manhwa’s Japanese adaptation, which was first released as a light novel in January 2021.

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This Japanese adaptation of “Solo Leveling” takes place in Tokyo, not Seoul. Instead of focusing on Korean protagonist Sung Jin-woo, readers follow the story of a Japanese man named Shun Mizushino. Additionally, while the original manhwa paints Japan as the “bad guy,” as some readers have claimed, the Japanese adaptation’s creators reportedly found a workaround by creating a fictional country.

Several netizens have been expressing their disapproval of “Solo Leveling”‘s anime adaptation, with some writing comments on websites such as Yaraon Blog to criticize the project.

“I have heard that it is based on an anti-Japanese story. I wonder what is the intention of A-1 Pictures in making an anime of such a thing in Japan. Well, I don’t care because I don’t watch this kind of anime,” one netizen said.

“A Japanese animation company animating a Korean manga, with anti-Japanese descriptions, I ask the original author, why did he allow to have an anime produced by a company in a country he doesn’t like?” another netizen wrote.

“Solo Leveling” takes place in a world where humans who have supernatural powers are called “hunters” and make a living by battling and killing magical beasts. The manhwa follows Jin-woo, a young, weak hunter who aims to become the strongest of them all.

Featured Image via JP Anime

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