This article contains spoilers for the Solo Leveling manhwa.
Solo Leveling Season 2 is all set to adapt one of the manhwa’s most crucial arcs. In the latest episode, both Japan and Korea have come together to launch another assault on Jeju Island to nip the evil in the bud. From this point on, the political stance and context play an important role in Solo Leveling’s lore. However, with real-life complexities between Japan and Korea, the anime adaptation has suffered heavy censorship, drawing criticism from fans for diluting the story’s message.
Unfortunately, such modifications risk softening the elements and strengthening inconsistency, which can ultimately harm the narrative. The location and name change could have worked to some extent at this point, but with Japan and Korea being key players in the upcoming arcs, the continued filtering can ruin the overall experience.
Solo Leveling Is Becoming a Target of Political Sensitivities
A Heavily Altered Version of the Anime Already Aired for the Japanese Audience
Solo Leveling has been adapted from a popular manhwa, which is the Korean equivalent of a manga. Naturally, the story has been told from a Korean perspective with the backdrop and characters hailing from the said country. Although it’s a fantasy story, one of the elements that sets Solo Leveling apart is the political context and complexities. Both the source material and the anime have occasionally adopted a breaking-the-fourth-wall approach, which only makes the story seem more immersive and authentic. However, this approach has also become a bone of contention for the anime, which has subjected it to censorship because of its political tone.
RelatedSung Jinwoo may be the main protagonist of Solo Leveling, but another unlikely hero emerges to save the day during the Jeju Island Raid.
The anime has been significantly modified in its Japanese broadcast to best fit the sentiments of the Japanese audience. It shouldn’t come as a surprise because filtering is a common practice in media content from both nations, which is an unwanted byproduct of Japan and Korea’s controversial history. The countries often depict each other in an antagonistic light that mainly hails from the intricate history of Japan’s colonization of Korea. This wouldn’t have mattered if Solo Leveling was just another anime about an overpowered MC. Instead, politics plays a vital role in both constructing and blending several of the manhwa’s most important arcs.
The Censorship Problem Dilutes Solo Leveling’s Historical Context
Changing the Details Has Undermined the Anime’s Political Themes
Sung Jinwoo is a Korean hunter in the original story, but in the Japanese version of the anime, the characters have Japanese names and origins. Sung Jinwoo is Shun Mizushino, based in Japan, while the Japan in the said version is a fictional country called DFN. On the other hand, the version available on Crunchyroll and to most of the international audience closely follows the source material. The latest episodes have set the groundwork for the Jeju Island Arc, which is essentially a collaborative mission between Japan and Korea’s S-Rank hunters. In Solo Leveling Season 2, Episodes 8 and 9, the Korean Hunters Association has shaken hands with Japan’s hunters for a joint operation to finally take down the Ant monsters breeding on Jeju Island.
Original Character Name
Japanese Name
Sung Jinwoo
Shun Mizushino
Sung Jinah
Aoi Mizoshino
Baek Yoon-ho
Shirakawa Taiga
Cha Haein
Shizuku Kosaka
Korea had failed in their initial attempts to close the gate that spawned on Jeju Island four years prior to the current events. The hunters could not close the gate, resulting in a bloodbath and Jeju Island being abandoned. However, it recently came to both Korea’s and Japan’s attention that the ants from the islands have gained flight abilities and can cross great distances, eventually putting Korea at risk as well. Now, the joint operation will include ten of Japan’s best S-Rank hunters and Korea’s own to kill the Ant Queen once and for all. However, right off the bat, the Japanese hunters are given the typical “bad guy” vibes with self-serving attitudes. While this has no effect on international audiences, the nationalist narrative has rubbed the Japanese viewers the wrong way already.
Ultimately, no media franchise wants to attach negative sentimental values to its work amid the growing intolerance for racial parodies in pop culture. As for Solo Leveling, it may not register immediately through the anime, but the story is inherently nationalist-centric. There is significant emphasis on countries and their treasured asset of S-Rank hunters, who involuntarily end up having a political influence. Their presence, strength, and numbers are considered a country’s ultimate strength in the world of Solo Leveling, thus enriching the lore with evident traces of political play and power struggle. With Japan and Korea’s bad blood, the audience may not see the full extent of the story’s controversial political viewpoint and ideology in the anime.
The Omission May Ultimately Have a Negative Impact on Solo Leveling’s Story
Themes of Nationalism Are Integral to Solo Leveling’s Narrative
Image by DUBU
While the general view and use of censorship in media and art is to protect the public from being exposed to overly violent and explicit content, the action has also strongly leaned toward cultural values. Viewers must have already understood the standing of Japan in Solo Leveling, the heated entrance of their S-Rank hunters on the scene, and the obscurity surrounding the mission.
Manhwa fans already know what carnage will happen at the island and why the Japanese hunters would momentarily act as light antagonists. However, the context may not matter to the nationalist audience because in the end, their identity is being negatively stereotyped. Nonetheless, the million-dollar question is, how will that affect the story? Politics will have a more definitive role in Solo Leveling moving on, but how will the anime address the elephant in the room?
If this is the best this country has, I’m a bit disappointed.
~ Japan’s S-Rank hunter about Baek Yoon-ho sparring.
The Japanese and Korean hunters will land on Jeju Island with a common mission, but the actions of a few corrupt will stain the character of the whole nation. The questionable decisions of Goto Ryuji will result in the death of countless, but that angle will make every Japanese hunter seem like a villain regardless of who started it. The Japanese version of the anime has already made significant changes to the origin of the characters and the locations, but it would be a challenge to determine how they’d fit the Jeju Island arc and the Japan Crisis arc in the upcoming adaptations.
Moreover, there’s a chance that the prominence of the political segregation might also affect the content for the international audience. There’s still no telling how closely A-1 Pictures will follow the source material when it comes to Japan’s portrayal even with censorship. Fans are worried that the cuts will undermine the story’s best arcs both thematically and narrative-wise.
Anime Censorship Is on an Upward Trend
Time Will Tell How Much Solo Leveling Will Suffer Because of Censorship
Anime is not a country-specific experience anymore. It’s a global phenomenon, and anime like Solo Leveling are instrumental in engaging a broad spectrum of viewers. However, altering the story to a point where it dilutes critical elements will definitely disappoint fans. The subtle inclusion of contradictory ideologies and controversial opinions is vital to storytelling because reality exists in every shade of gray.
There’s prejudice and unfair judgement, but the essence of experiencing a tale in its entirety is to let the viewers have their own sense of understanding. Censorship can work only so much until it starts to affect the art. Fans may not have noticed but the anime has cleverly avoided mentioning nationalities at all if it isn’t absolutely necessary.
RelatedSung Jinwoo is the strongest character in Solo Leveling, showcasing a multitude of powerful abilities and skills.
For instance, when Sung Ilhwan is found, he claims to have been human and wants to go “home.” However, in the manhwa, he specifically mentions that he is Korean. Similarly, Solo Leveling tiptoes around nationalities, avoiding even mentioning Korea if it’s easily interpretable by the audience. Although minor, these changes will significantly impact the upcoming arcs since they are deeply embedded in patriotism and will involve mentioning the names of several countries.
It’s difficult to contemplate how specific audiences will react if the anime stays true to the source material, especially in the Jeju Island arc. If the anime wants to unleash the true potential of Solo Leveling, it will have to portray some of Japan’s high-ranking officials in a villainous arc. Viewers should refrain from thinking that the anime is only about glorifying a turbulent political climate. It’s a multi-faceted story in which politics and patriotism act as catalysts to elevate the plot and set the stage for Jinwoo’s international recognition.
Hunters are game-changers for any country in Solo Leveling, and it’s difficult to imagine a nation not trying to weaponize them. Therefore, the national identity of the strongest hunters and their personalities is central to the lore and creates an opening for conflict if portrayed negatively. Ultimately, there’s still no telling how much censorship is in store even for the international fans because the studio has to tackle the problem as a whole and not just for the Japanese audience. It’s extremely crucial for Solo Leveling to nail the Jeju Island arc if it wants to evolve into a long-running series, but omitting its fundamental themes could ruin things.
