The official Twitter account for the upcoming Solo Leveling anime adaptation released a teaser trailer and key visual today, revealing that the series will be premiering next winter. Previously, the series was scheduled to air in 2023 but now fans have a confirmed release date thanks to this new trailer and key visual.
The new Solo Leveling teaser trailer gives us a taste of what to expect from the series, focusing on dungeon-raiding action and supernatural horror. It also reveals the production studio for the series, A-1 Pictures, which has been responsible for several high-profile titles such as Kaguya-sama and The Seven Deadly Sins.
A-1 Pictures is a highly-experienced studio that’s known for its quality, especially in the anime industry. The company’s roster includes Shunsuke Nakashige (Mother of the Goddess’ Dormitory), Noboru Kimura (Gundam Build Divers), Tomoko Sudo (Alice in Borderland, Fragtime), and Hiroyuki Sawano (Attack on Titan, Blue Exorcist, Mobile Suit Gundam UC).
Based on Chugong’s web novel with illustrations by DUBU, Solo Leveling is set in a world where humans develop otherworldly abilities to fight monsters called ‘Dungeons’. These pocket-dimensions contain dangerous creatures that want nothing more than to escape and wreak havoc on humanity. Thankfully, humans have become “Hunters” who can use their unique powers to defeat the creatures and protect humanity.
This new anime series is adapted from Chugong’s popular web novel with illustrations by DUBU, which started its serialization in March 2018. The manhwa and the original novels are available in English on Yen Press.
The plot revolves around Jinwoo Sung, a low-rank hunter who gets injured during a double dungeon raid and is later chosen to be the recipient of a quest window. After he completes the quest, a mysterious program, called ‘The System’, chooses him to be its user and grants him powerful new level-up capabilities that are far beyond what even the strongest Hunters are capable of.
As he levels up, Sung Jinwoo finds himself in an otherworldly battle that threatens to destroy his life forever. He fights against the forces of evil to save his family and to protect his newfound power.
However, he also struggles with self-discovery as he tries to figure out how his newfound power works and why it came to be. This leads him on a thrilling journey of self-discovery and transformation as he rises from being the weakest hunter to becoming a powerful “S-rank” powerhouse known as the “Solo Player.”
With the help of his fellow hunters, Sung Jinwoo continues his quest to defeat the powerful Antares, who is the King of the Dragons. He also uncovers the secrets behind the ‘Gates’ and discovers the world they inhabit.
The upcoming anime is directed by Shunsuke Nakashige and will be produced at A-1 Pictures. A-1 Pictures has a long history of producing great anime and has done excellent work with titles such as Kaguya-sama, The Seven Deadly Sins, and Nier: Automata. This is a talented team, and it’s going to be interesting to see how they translate the manhwa to anime.
