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For an anime to break the internet, it’s essential to feature a high-quality level of animation. A-1 Pictures did the correct formula forSolo Leveling, especially in Season 2, which featuredSung Jin-Woo’s showdown with the Ant King. The blow-by-blow exchange between these two characters left fans on the edge of their seats, as A-1 Pictures undeniably delivered a visual feast.
WhileSolo Levelingboasts fluid fight scenes and explosive power-ups with Jin-Woo at the center, fans know there’s a big anime out there that is still in a league of its own—Demon Slayer. With the release of the first Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle movie, many fans can’t help but compare its animation quality, especially its combat choreography and camera work, to Solo Leveling.
Solo Leveling Has Top-Tier Animation But Demon Slayer Is Still Unmatched
Solo Leveling Looks Cool, But Demon Slayer Hits Harder
Solo Leveling is one of thebest power-fantasy anime of modern timesfor a variety of reasons, including its sleek and exciting animation. A-1 Pictures did a consistent job in bringing Solo Leveling’s big moments to life, from the pilot episode where fans saw S-Rank hunters Baek Yoon-Ho and Eun-Seok fighting against Jeju Island ants to the climactic battle between Jin-Woo and the Ant King in Season 2.
Hardcore fans of the Solo Leveling manhwa are mostly happy and satisfied with the animation quality thus far, as each episode, especially those with dungeon boss fights and skill activations, is done with dramatic visuals and bold and striking effects with respect to the original art. Even the character designs, especiallyJin-Woo’s formidable shadow army, are clearly animated with extra care.
“It’s embarrassing to call myself a hunter. Not only do I get hurt all the time, but near-death experiences are nothing new to me."—Sung Jin-Woo
But even with all that muscle, fans know that Demon Slayer is laps ahead of Solo Leveling when it comes to visual spectacle.Every fight in Demon Slayerleaves fans breathless after watching the characters engage in a high-stakes battle that isn’t just thrilling but also cinematic and visually stunning. On top of that, fights in Demon Slayer also blend character growth, music, emotion, and art into every slash. In other words, while Solo Leveling is visually cool, Demon Slayer is visually powerful.
There’s Still Room for A-1 Pictures to Elevate Solo Leveling’s Animation
Solo Leveling Season 3 Might Surpass Seasons 1 and 2
As the stakes go higher in Solo Leveling Season 3, with theintroduction of the Monarchs, new shadows, and the story going international, A-1 Pictures has a lot of creative space to elevate Solo Leveling’s animation quality. Fans have high expectations that Season 3 will be bigger and better than the last one, especially after Solo Leveling has been named as Crunchyroll’s Anime of the Year.
However, withA-1 Pictures recently reporting heavy lossesdespite the success of Solo Leveling, there’s always a possibility that the animation for Season 3 might be affected. Still, fans remain hopeful that, despite this unfortunate news, A-1 Pictures could push future seasons of Solo Leveling from good to the best. The studio could take their time refining backgrounds, color palettes, the use of special effects, transitions, camera angles, or whatever else is necessary to elevate the animation quality.
“Weakness is not something to brag about."—Sung Jin-Woo
Hopefully, Solo Leveling Season 3 won’t suffer the same fate as The Beginning After the End Season 1, which was heavily criticized for its “static and slideshow-like” animation. After all, both titles are manhwa adaptations, butTBATE was under fire for its mediocre animation, while Solo Leveling was praised.
Could Ufotable Take Over Future Seasons of Solo Leveling?
Could Solo Leveling Switch Anime Studios?
For now, it seems unlikely for Solo Leveling to switchanime studios from A-1 Pictures to ufotable. While it’s not uncommon for an anime series to switch studios, like Attack on Titan, One Punch Man, and The Seven Deadly Sins, ufotable is known for taking their time with production, almost as if they’re not fond of handling multiple projects simultaneously, like A-1 Pictures.
And at the moment, ufotable is committed to doing the animation behind the Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle trilogy. Hence, there’s little to no chance that fans will see a Solo Leveling animation from ufotable anytime soon. On the contrary, there’s an even greater chance of seeing a new anime series from ufotable sometime in the future, considering Demon Slayer is already in its final arc.
Even so, most fans are confident A-1 Pictures will continue to deliver top-notch animation forSolo LevelingSeason 3, especially now that it has become a household name. Fans should expect to see more fluid action scenes and better combat choreography, as exciting battles with powerful enemies await Jin-Woo next season.
