By TREVOR HOGG Images © Solo Leveling Animation Partners. Like the protagonist Sung Jinwoo, the Solo Leveling franchise has leveled up from being a web novel created by Chugong to a webtoon to anime series with each medium expanding upon the other in world-building, character development and narrative scope. What remains at the core of the fantasy tale are portals to other dimensions that contain Magic Beasts that threaten to overtake the Earth, with the only defense being humans known as Hunters who have manifested supernatural abilities to varying degrees. At the lowest end of the power spectrum is Sung Jinwoo, but his fortunes dramatically change when a mysterious entity puts him through a series of tests that enable him to improve so much that his achievements become legendary. As part of the Emmy Awards campaign which sees the Aniplex, A-1 Pictures and Crunchyroll partnership being submitted for Outstanding Animated Program, Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation – Character Animation (Yoshihiro Kanno) and Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation – Character Design (Tomoko Sudo), three of the major players recently gathered in Los Angeles along with a translator to discuss the creative challenges in producing two seasons consisting of 25 episodes. Storyboard and the final animated still featuring renown S-Level Hunter Cha Hae-In, who becomes the wife of Sung Jinwoo. (Image courtesy of Atsushi Kaneko via X) “[T]he world of Solo Leveling takes place in some country in present day, so making sure that reality comes across to an audience was important for us. The original work is Korean, so Korea is the foundation. In the Japanese version that was also released as a manga, there were some slight cultural differences and adaptation. When animating this, we wanted to make sure that all of that was embraced and encapsulated. Anything from the exterior textures on buildings down to traffic rules.” —Sota Furuhashi, Producer, Aniplex Even though Shunsuke Nakashige [director] is guiding the vision of the adaptation, the nature of anime requires multiple contributors. “Personally, what I think makes anime interesting is this idea that the same person doesn’t illustrate or draw everything,” notes Sota Furuhashi, Producer at Aniplex. “That brings a lot of different textures and layers to how things are expressed. Take even one shot or scene: There will be multiple people animating this, so that gives the visual its own unique taste. This all comes together into a singular experience for audiences to enjoy. In the case of Solo Leveling, the action component is something that needs to be constantly evolving, so there is a lot of different talent that is pooled into these different scenes; that’s what adds value to the Solo Leveling experience.” Despite the fantastical elements, there has to be an element of realism to the world-building. “I want to preface this by saying I am only a proxy for the director, but the world of Solo Leveling takes place in some country in present day, so making sure that reality comes across to an audience was important for us,” Furuhashi explains. “The original work is Korean, so Korea is the foundation. In the Japanese version that was also released as a manga, there were some slight cultural differences and adaptation. When animating this, we wanted to make sure that all of that was embraced and encapsulated. Anything from the exterior textures on buildings down to traffic rules. We wanted to express what happens in people’s daily lives because that creates a lot of reality in terms of world-building.” Storyboards for the fight between Sung Jinwoo and Blue Venom-Fanged Kasaka which emphasize the size and scale of the Magic Beast. (Image courtesy of Atsushi Kaneko via X) “When we first saw Solo Leveling, which is quite serious and has a lot of violence, and understood the intent, the decision was made not to run away from [the violence] and to make sure it was embraced because it showed how serious the creators were in wanting to push the envelope.” —Kanako Takahashi, Producer, Crunchyroll A combination of 2D and 3D animation techniques were utilized. “We wanted to use 2D hand-drawn animation as the foundation, but I’m sure you’re aware it doesn’t scale well in terms of mass-producing groups of enemies,” states Atsushi Kaneko, Producer at A-1 Pictures. “Take any character that has a name – those are all hand-drawn. But other characters we decided to go with 3D because there’s a lot more range of expression that we could do and was more efficient. That was a decision we made with the director and CG director [Toshitaka Morioka].” Initially, the Shadow Army, which consists of the enemies killed by Sung Jinwoo and subsequently resurrected by him upon gaining the ability of a necromancer, was to be 2D rather than 3D. “The Shadow Army doesn’t have a lot of visual cues and information in terms of the colors and lines,” Kaneko remarks. “That would have been easy to animate in 2D, but in terms of how that would be conveyed on the screen, it would feel a little lacking. Then we pivoted to 3D and ran a lot of tests. When we finished it, got it through the pipeline and composited it together, there was a lot more range in terms of what we could express through animation.” Storyboard and final close-up shot of Sung Jinwoo as he takes on the Ice Elves. (Image courtesy of Atsushi Kaneko via X) Fights that are briefly depicted in the source material became major action sequences. “In terms of the choreography of the action scenes themselves, our protagonist, Sung Jinwoo, at the beginning is weak and pathetic, and we wanted to make sure that we captured that inexperience and clumsiness in his actions,” Kaneko states. “We agreed with the animation team that we would go in stages. As he becomes stronger, so would his action. In Episode 104, after he reawakens, we start to move a little away from reality and go into this suspension of disbelief. Jinwoo’s actions and choreography improved significantly, and you could see that over several subsequent episodes. We wanted to make sure that it felt dynamic, alive and cathartic when audiences see it. But it wasn’t just that thought. A lot of the decisions in terms of how the action was going to unfold didn’t always come from the director or action director [Yoshihiro Kanno]. Several of our keyframe artists in the storyboarding phase, or while animating, almost ad lib, so there was a lot of creative agency the animators had on the actual ground floor. That’s how all of the action came together under the guidance of the director and action director.” The Shadow Army features defeated foes such as Igris and Iron (former A-Rank Hunter Kim Chul) who have been resurrected by Sung Jinwoo through his ability as a necromancer. (Image courtesy of Atsushi Kaneko via X) Blood and gore are not in short supply during the fights. “Early on, the director [Shunsuke Nakashige] and I decided not to shy away from the gore, but we did have to have the conversation because in Japan if something is going to be broadcast then it needs to fall within certain limits,” Furuhashi explains. “But we wanted to push the limits of expression as far as we could for something that would go on air. Part of that comes from this idea that the series starts with the main character’s death, and he is beginning from the bottom; that needed to be conveyed to audiences in a visual way. Another reason that we didn’t want to shy away from the gore is even though this is a fantasy world, it’s set in the present day as we know it. In order to make sure that reality was conveyed, if you cut someone’s arm with a sword, they’re going to lose an arm.” Crunchyroll understood that the violence was an integral part of the storytelling. “When we first saw Solo Leveling,” remarks Kanako Takahashi, Producer at Crunchyroll, “which is quite serious and has a lot of violence, and understood the intent, the decision was made not to run away from that and to make sure it was embraced because it showed how serious the creators were in wanting to push the envelope.” An example of how detailed the storyboards can be, down to the eyes, which is also reflected in the final animation. (Image courtesy of Atsushi Kaneko via X) “A lot of the decisions in terms of how the action was going to unfold didn’t always come from the director or action director [Yoshihiro Kanno]. Several of our keyframe artists in the storyboarding phase, or while animating, almost ad lib, so there was a lot of creative agency the animators had on the actual ground floor. That’s how all of the action came together under the guidance of the director and action director.” —Atsushi Kaneko, Producer, A-1 Pictures 3D animation was utilized for the Shadow Army in order to make their simplistic shapes and forms more dynamic. (Image courtesy of Atsushi Kaneko via X) Magic Beasts appear ranging from the Blue Venom-Fanged Kasaka to Ice Elves that have volatile tempers and awe-inspiring agility. “I don’t know if I would call it a monster, but one scene that stands out to me is the Kargalgan gun battle because the action in that scene and the level of quality is second to none,” Takahashi observes. “Seeing how passionate the fans were and their online reaction to that battle in particular left a big impression on me.” The goal was to focus on adapting the source material as opposed to making creative decisions driven by the desire to stand out from other anime productions. “It was a natural result, and we’re grateful for the chance,” Kaneko states. “I didn’t feel like we were doing anything too different or out of the ordinary, but the chain of events that led ultimately to how fans reacted to it is something that differentiates us from other anime. In a way, we are also searching for that answer because we didn’t set out to do something very different or say, ‘We’re going to make this series about this or this is the angle we’re going to come from.’ The differentiation was also a byproduct of taking this IP and animating it.” The Shadow Army is ordered by Sung Jinwoo to assist the Hunters during the 4th Jeju Island Raid. (Image courtesy of Atsushi Kaneko via X) A scale and proportion study between Sung Jinwoo and the Ant King along with a final still of the bloodthirsty Magic Beast. (Image courtesy of Atsushi Kaneko via X) The passionate fan reaction to the Kargalgan gun battle left a lasting impression on Crunchyroll Producer Kanako Takahashi. As Sung Jinwoo becomes stronger, his actions become more dynamic. There is no holding back on the blood and gore as the consequences of being struck by weapons are grounded in the real world despite the fantastical settings. A quiet moment as Cha Hae-In ponders her encounter with Sung Jinwoo. (Image courtesy of Atsushi Kaneko via X) Watch the dynamic Jinwoo vs. Kargalgan battle in Season 2 of Solo Leveling: Arise from the Shadow courtesy of Crunchyroll and Solo Leveling Animation Partners. Click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLKYFu_sMTM. And watch a GIF on the design and construction of an action sequence for the anime opening of Solo Leveling by Studio Ppuri’s Inseung Choi and his animation team. Click here: https://x.com/i/status/1747212779868901522.