Follow us on Google News

Get the latest updates directly in your Google News feed

Of all the manga and manhwa in the past few years, very few titles have managed to leave a lasting impression on their viewers, likeSolo Leveling.The story features the perfect underdog story of Sung Jinwoo, who happens to be the weakest hunter in humanity’s history but aspires to be the strongest.

A stil from Solo Leveling-ReAwakening

Sadly, the title has been a topic of criticism, where fans found the show to be nothing like the source material. To make matters worse, the show felt flat after just a couple of episodes. With Season 2 already defying expectations, the producer has come forward, shedding light on the monumental effort they put in to appeal to the global audience.

Solo Leveling’sproducer sheds light on the trouble circling Sung Jinwoo

Ch’ugong’sSolo Levelingsent shockwaves in 2024, as it was one of the most anticipated series that many were looking forward to. However, upon release, it put its viewers in a chokehold. The anime was nothing like the manhwa, which had gained incredible success for all the right reasons.

Contrastingly, the anime adaptation failed to resonate with the traits of the source material, where some claim the seriesstarted an unwanted trend. However, this can’t disregard the fact that the series has made an astronomical effort to please its global audience.

Major problem followed Sung Jinwoo’s name in Solo Leveling

Recently, during an exclusive interview via X (@chromat1cfire), Mr. Sota Furuhashi, the series’ producer, threw light on the problems surrounding the production that hindered the work that“aimed at a global audience.”

As it is a work aimed at a global audience, there were unprecedented difficulties in the production. For example, the name of the main character in the original work is “Mizushino Shun” in Japan.

Taito Ban was allured by Sung Jinwoo’s character sketch

He continued explaining the Korean origins of the show and how outside of Japan Mizushino Shun is called“Sung Jinwoo,”and they did something unexpected to appeal to the Otaku community in Japan. The producer added,

Since it was originally a Korean work, the character names were localized for Japan, but outside of Japan, they are known by their Korean names.

“It might be all over for me”: Taito Ban Was Convinced His Career Was Over if He Failed the Solo Leveling Audition

He emphasized that to make the series more appealing to the Japanese audience, the names were localized, but outside the E-Rank Hunter was known by their original name.

“It might be all over for me”: Taito Ban Was Convinced His Career Was Over if He Failed the Solo Leveling Audition

Thus, taking a drastic step to ensure the show did appeal to the global audience.

Solo Levelingdid not consider failure as an option

In the same interview, Sota Furuhashi put weight on the importance of the character’s name in Japan and overseas. This made them decide to do two dubs, where one will be exclusive for the people of Japan, while the other will be made for overseas viewers.

Because the character names are different in Japan and overseas, we did two dubs, one for the Japanese version and one for the overseas version, which is something we’ve never done before. Japanese voice actors are popular overseas.

Sung Jinwoo is called Mizushino Shun in Japanese version

Furuhashi-San added that they were“conscious of people”who preferred the subbed version. Hence, they made appropriate changes throughout so that they“don’t feel out of place.”

So we were conscious of people who watch anime with subtitles. That’s why we changed the character names during dubbing so that they wouldn’t feel out of place. We also used English for the backgrounds, status screens, etc.

Despite criticism closely following the show, the production team deserves a huge round of applause for the efforts they put in to make the title become a global sensation.

Nevertheless, with the arrival of the second season, fans are excited as thedebut episode has raised the barand made them look forward to Sung Jinwoo’s next chapter.

Solo LevelingSeason 2 Episode 2 will be released on January 12th, 2025 at midnight (JST); it can be streamed on Crunchyroll.

Tushar Auddy

Senior Writer

Articles Published :1784

Tushar Auddy is a Senior Writer at FandomWire, primarily covering WWE. He has contributed to anime, MCU, DCU, animation, and TV Series, giving sharp insights and coming up with his own unique theories, which take the fandom by storm.

More from Tushar Auddy

WWE RAW Tonight (August 18): Roman Reigns’ Match at Clash in Paris Receives Bizarre Update After Show Goes Off Air

Why Karrion Kross Should Sign With TNA Instead of AEW After WWE Exit

WWE: After 11 Years of Marriage, Naomi and Jimmy Uso Announce First Pregnancy

Bella Ramsey’s Campaign to Become MCU’s Spider-Man: Is It Really That Absurd?

The Conjuring: Last Rites Faces Its Toughest Box-Office Battle After Rare WB Record

Bridgerton’s BTS Moment Proves the Netflix Show Is Against James Cameron’s Ways

Fallout Season 2 Release Date Confirmed: 5 Post-Apocalyptic Shows to Watch While You Wait For Peak Cinema

Kevin Hart Is Trading Dwayne Johnson for Another WWE Star in New Netflix Film

Perfect Match Season 3: How Did Ollie Propose to AD?

solo levelingSung Jinwoo