Solo Leveling was released as a Korean web novel by Chugong then became a webtoon, and now it is an anime. The anime is made by A-1 Pictures, a Japanese studio, and Season 2 is still ongoing.
But unlike shonen anime, Solo Leveling in its webtoon version did not just focus on the main character. It also had a plot about power struggles between countries, where top hunters represented their nations. The U.S. China, and Japan all wanted to control powerful hunters.
Shonen Anime Avoids Real-World Politics
Most shonen anime like Naruto, One Piece, and Demon Slayer do not bring in real-world country politics. Even when they show big wars or power struggles, they create their own fictional nations instead of using real ones.
Even series like Attack on Titan and Hunter x Hunter, which have deep world-building, avoid mentioning actual countries. They make up their own political systems rather than showing real-world rivalries.
Solo Leveling Anime Is Skipping Country Power Struggles
The anime version of Solo Leveling seems to be avoiding these country-based power struggles. The manhwa clearly showed different countries plotting for powerful hunters.
For example, Hwang Dongsoo was originally Korean but became an American S-Rank Hunter and joined the Scavenger Guild, the strongest guild in America but the anime is toning it down. It barely mentions countries at all, but uses the term ‘abroad’ instead when discussing a person from a foreign country.
One clear example was in Season 2, Episode 3. When Sung Jinwoo’s dad, Sung Ilhwan, appeared for the first time, he was supposed to say which country he was from.
But in the anime, he just said, “I am human, I want to go home.” They completely removed the mention of South Korea. Another scene was cut out in the anime, where Sung Ilhwan threatens Hwang Dongsoo,
Don’t Ever Set Foot In Korea. I’m Not Saying This For My Son’s Sake; I’m Saying It For Yours. You Will Never Rest In Peace, Even In Death.
Even in Season 1, the anime skipped mentioning country names multiple times. The Japanese version of the anime even changed character names and locations.
Why Is the Anime Doing This?
As I mentioned above, the original material i.e. Web Novel is Korean-based while the anime is being produced by a Japanese studio.
Japan and Korea have had a complicated history and bringing in too much Korea vs. Japan rivalry could cause controversy. By removing country names, they avoid backlash from Japanese viewers.
But this might be a problem for the Jeju Island Arc in anime. That arc’s major plot is literally about Japan scheming against Korea.
Solo Leveling Season 2 Might Cut a Major Jeju Island Arc Plot
Before the events of the Solo Leveling anime, three raids happened on Jeju Island after an S-Rank Gate appeared. But all three failed, mostly because Korean S-Rank Hunters back then were too weak to clear it. The dungeon break happened, and the whole island got overrun by giant ants, making it uninhabitable.
At first, the ants were not a huge problem outside the island because they could not fly. So even after all the destruction, they just stayed on Jeju Island.
Since Korea could not handle them, they just left the island alone, hoping the ants would eventually die off from starvation.
Japan and Hidden Plan in Jeju Island Arc
The ants started evolving, and now they could leave the island, becoming a real threat again. Since Jeju Island is between Korea and Japan, it also became a danger to Japan. At least, that is how they made it seem. So, Japan offered to help Korea take care of the problem.
Japan had 21 S-Rank Hunters, while Korea only had six, and one of them, Min Byung-Gyu, was already retired.
The plan was that Japanese Hunters would lure out the ants, while Korea’s S-Rank Hunters would take down the Ant Queen. Since the queen was the only one that could reproduce, the ants would naturally die out in a year.
But Japan had another plan in mind. Their actual goal was to get Korea’s S-Rank Hunters killed. This would weaken Korea’s overall power, making it easier for Japan to take control later.
Once the raid started, Matsumoto Shigeo, the chairman of Japan’s Hunter Association, ordered his hunters to withdraw. This was supposed to leave Korea’s hunters alone to be wiped out by the ants.
The Plan Backfired
What Japan did not expect was the appearance of the Ant King, a monster way stronger than they thought. The Ant King ended up killing several of Japan’s S-Rank Hunters, completely ruining their plan.
Final Words
This entire plot was a big part of the Jeju Island Arc, but there is a high chance the anime will remove it. Instead, they will probably just show that Japan helped Korea because the two countries were close to each other and close to Jeju Island as well, without mentioning the scheming part at all.
