Solo Leveling Director Worked So Hard on Season One They Coughed Blood

When it comes to anime, some shows go above and beyond to get things done. It isn’t easy making a TV series, after all, and the anime industry is notoriously competitive. To succeed, staffers must give it their all, and the crew behind Solo Leveling did just that. After all, its lead actor coughed up blood at one point while acting, and we just learned the anime’s director underwent a similar issue.

The confession comes courtesy of Shunsuke Nakashige, the director of Solo Leveling. The executive hit up social media to thank fans for their support when Solo Leveling season one ended. It was there Nakashige commented on the anime’s success, and they revealed they were taken to hospital last year from work because they were coughing up blood.

“Thank you for watching Solo Leveling episode 12. It was the kind of project that hurdles with its artwork arose as its story progressed, but I think we pushed through it thanks to the entire team. It looks like there will be a second season, so I’ll sleep a lot and do my best. Last year, I was hospitalized because I vomited blood,” Nakashige shared.

As you can imagine, there is no circumstance in life where vomiting blood is a good thing. You generally want to keep your blood in your body where it belongs, but it seems work stress took Nakashige to a new level. And as we know, the director was not the only person impacted by this illness.

In a previous interview, Nakashige revealed the actor behind Jinwoo in Solo Leveling coughed blood at one point during production. While recording some lines for the first half of season one, Taito Ban spit up blood in the recording studio because he was using his voice so roughly. This kind of dedication is as terrifying as it is impressive. And now, Ban is not the only person on Solo Leveling who can say they shed blood for the anime.

If you are not caught up with Solo Leveling, the hit anime is streaming season one in full on Crunchyroll. So for more info on the series, you can read its official synopsis below:

“They say whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, but that’s not the case for the world’s weakest hunter Sung Jinwoo. After being brutally slaughtered by monsters in a high-ranking dungeon, Jinwoo came back with the System, a program only he could see, that’s leveling him up in every way. Now, he’s inspired to discover the secrets behind his powers and the dungeon that spawned them.”

What do you think about this Solo Leveling confession? Let us know what you think in the comments below as well as on Twitter and Instagram. You can also hit me up @MeganPetersCB to share your take!