“Very Unexpected”: Solo Leveling Producer Talks the Anime’s Japanese Reception

Solo Leveling’s anime debut last year made major waves among the global audience, which ultimately led to the show being honored as Anime of the Year in the Crunchyroll Awards. The second season was released in Winter 2025, and it even broke the previous season’s records, making it one of the most popular anime shows of all time. Solo Leveling’s success has been groundbreaking, especially considering it’s an anime adapted from a Korean manhwa and light novel instead of a manga. The story follows Sung Jinwoo, who rises to the top after experiencing a near-death situation and acquires the power of a mysterious system.

The anime has adapted the original story till the Jeju Island Arc, but there’s still a lot left to be untold. The truth behind the unusual phenomenon in the world and the history behind it will begin unraveling in the third season. Unfortunately, after releasing the first two seasons in consecutive years, the animation studio went silent about the third installment. Solo Leveling Season 3 is still awaiting an official announcement and a release window. Considering the studio’s packed schedule, we may have to wait longer than usual before getting an update. While we wait for a sequel, Solo Leveling Animation Producer Atsushi Kaneko and Action Director Yoshihiro Kanno join Crunchyroll’s weekly podcast.

Solo Leveling Animation Producer Shares the Global Reception Was Unexpected

Crunchyroll’s weekly podcast, The Anime Effect, features a round table discussion with the series’ Animation Producer and Action Director. When asked if there was anything in the anime’s adaptation process that surprised him, Kaneko shares, “The way Solo Leveling’s anime was received in Japan was no different from any other anime.” He implies that the anime wasn’t anything remarkable in Japan before talking about its global reception.

He adds, “So, when we learned how the series exceptionally blew up in popularity for our global Solo Leveling fans, honestly speaking, this difference in reaction was very unexpected.” The producer continues, “It’s not exactly a temporary hype, but I do wonder who reacts more to the episodes first between the Japanese and global fans.”

While the anime wasn’t a flop in Japan, it couldn’t even compare to the global reception. Solo Leveling was a massive hit worldwide long before the anime adaptation, thanks to the novel and manhwa series. With its groundbreaking success, the series introduced several overseas fans to the world of manhwa. Jinwoo’s journey in the first two seasons has been thrilling so far, but anime-only fans may be unaware that there’s a lot of worldbuilding and story left to uncover.

Jinwoo achieved everything he wanted to by becoming Korea’s strongest hunter and healing his mother’s eternal slumber. However, despite all his strength, he’s not ready for the challenges ahead of him. Unfortunately, even in the podcast, the two of them couldn’t reveal any information about the third season. It will be released eventually, for sure, we just don’t know when. Fans are growing ever-so-impatient after the way the second season ended with introducing two mysterious villains, who will have a major role in the story going forth.

H/T: Crunchyroll on YouTube