Solo Leveling’s second season outdid the first in nearly every area, be it the overarching plot or Jinwoo’s opponents and fights. Having said that, the biggest improvement was without a doubt the series’ animation. Season 1 of Solo Leveling was admittedly already exceptionally animated, which is why the series had even more fans looking forward to Season 2. However, the second season upped the ante even more in terms of the animation, giving fans some of the best fights in all of Solo Leveling. At the same time, this animation upgrade brought the production team all-new challenges, and according to them, this was the most demanding episode of the series so far.
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In a recent AMA discussion on Reddit, Sota Furuhashi, the main Producer, and Atsushi Kaneko, the Animation Producer for Solo Leveling, were asked which phase of the series’ production was most time-consuming and challenging, and which fight did they consider the best from Season 2. In response, Atsushi Kaneko revealed that Episode 24, or Season 2 Episode 12, which adapts the highly anticipated fight between Jinwoo and the Ant King, especially stood out to him. Kaneko revealed that most Solo Leveling episodes on average consisted of 8000 to 10,000 frames, but Episode 24 had 17,000 in contrast, easily overtaking the rest. His exact response in the Reddit thread reads, “Episode 24 really stood out for me. I don’t recall the exact average, but most Solo Leveling episodes typically had around 8,000 to 10,000 frames. Episode 24 had about 17,000—which completely eclipses the others.”
[RELATED: Solo Leveling Producer Reveals the Anime’s Insane Production Timeline]
Solo Leveling‘s Best Fight Was Also the Most Challenging to Animate
Even to the naked eye of a viewer, it is expressly clear that Episode 24 had a lot of care put into it. The episode is by far the best one of the series so far, and not just because it covers the highly awaited climax of the Jeju Arc, the battle between Jinwoo and the Ant King. The anime elevated what was already a fan-favorite fight in the manhwa even more than fans thought possible, and the fact that the episode consisted of nearly double the usual amount of frames proves that the Jinwoo vs. Beru fight is truly the magnum opus of Solo Leveling’s fights so far.
In the Reddit response, Kaneko also reiterates what makes Episode 24 so great, saying, “I mentioned this on X as well, but the scene where Jinwoo is fighting everyone, with the red and blue representing the conflict and the purple background setting the tone—it was incredibly moving. It felt like Jinwoo had crossed into something even deeper, into another side of himself entirely.”
Solo Leveling‘s Producers Reveal Their Favorite Episodes of the Series
In another response in the thread where Kaneko and Furuhashi were asked what their favorite episodes were, Kaneko yet again chose Episode 24, explaining why it was his personal favorite, saying, “For me, Episode 24 from Season 2 stands out. It brought together an incredible level of animation and emotion, and it felt like a culmination of everything Jinwoo had been through.”
As for Sota Furushashi, he revealed his favorite was Episode 21, or Season 2, Episode 9, which caused quite a bit of controversy among fans due to Jinwoo’s rare display of emotion, However, this was the very reason that this episode was Furuhashi’s favorite as he explains, “I’d say Episode 21, when Jinwoo’s mother is revived. So much of the series focuses on action and battles, but we don’t often explain why he’s fighting. That scene finally reveals the emotional core behind his journey. Even in the webtoon, it was one of the most moving moments for me.”
Overall, it is evident from these responses from Solo Leveling’s producers that the team at A-1 Pictures is incredibly passionate about the series. Fans have known for quite some time that the series is in safe hands, but this is reassuring nonetheless. Moreover, it will be exciting to see what the anime’s creators have in store for the rest of the series and whether Season 3 can possibly live up to the bar that Season 2 and exceptionally animated fights like the Ant King fight have set for the series.
Source: Reddit.
Solo Leveling can be streamed on Crunchyroll.
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Image courtesy of Marvel Comics.
