Colombian superstar J Balvin was announced earlier this year as a new voice actor for Solo Leveling’s second season. With the artist planning to be a part of both the English Dub and the Spanish for the white-hot anime series, many anime fans were left wondering which role he would play. In a twist, not only will Balvin’s character not be performing any musical acts but the role might come as a serious surprise for those who have been following season two’s wild battles. Of the many characters appearing in the second season, this Solo Leveling antagonist seems like the last to be a singing superstar.
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J Balvin will be playing the part of Kargalgan, a Hunters Guild Gate boss who rules over countless “high orcs” that have been wiping their way through Hunters. As those following Solo Leveling know, Jinwoo has already encountered Kargalgan in one of the flashiest fights of the series so far. Despite the outcome of this confrontation, the high orc ruler will continue being a big part of the anime adaptation moving forward, giving the Colombian superstar the opportunity to voice the villain for some time.
[RELATED: Solo Leveling: Global Music Superstar Joins Season 2 in Unexpected Way]
The New Kargalgan Speaks
In a new interview with outlet TheWrap, Balvin said the following when it came to taking on the villainous role, “You have to be precise and disciplined — it needs a lot of discipline/ Normally, when you do a song, you record, you listen, you talk with your boys, then you come back. It’s art, it’s a totally new vibe … You’re watching the video before it’s out. [In music,] you do a song, you then see the video. In this case, you already have the images there … You got to be extra focused and try to make the best lip sync and also [stay] in character. You have people that have [scheduled] time for that project. It’s not like when I go to the studio — if I want to take a week, I take a week or a month. In this case, we’re all here working.”
Balvin then took the chance to discuss the amazing fight that features his character tackling Jinwoo Sung, “To me, I think it’s the coolest fighting scene yet in the series. He’s an orc shaman. He’s the boss of the orcs and has telepathic power, anti-gravity. He casts spells that he calls songs. Like, every type of song, Song of Fire, Song of Anti-Gravity, that’s super cool … It’s a coincidence that I’m a singer. It’s definitely the type of boss that you think is almost impossible to beat.”
Balvin’s Continuing Interest in Anime
Also, as a part of the interview, the musician turned voice actor stated that he was hoping for more anime opportunities in the future, “From now on Crunchyroll should hire me to work for them. That’s a dream job. I think I can definitely quit music and go there … I won’t quit, I won’t quit, but I definitely need to work at Crunchyroll. At least I need a free pass. I would love to one day produce an anime show. Being a part as a secular producer from a Latino from Medellín, Colombia — that’s a huge statement. Whether [the show is from Korea or Japan], it would be so dope. It’s one of my biggest dreams right now to be a secular producer of an anime series.”
Want to stay in the loop on Jinwoo Sung’s journey? Follow along with Team Anime on ComicBook.com for the latest on Solo Leveling and hit me up directly @EVComedy to talk all things comics and anime.
Via Press Release
