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「」 ()
“You’ve Been Hiding Your Skills”
Okay, first of all – because I know there will be people in the comments that say this. No, I am not covering episode 08 – and the last week before that was episode 7.5. Episode 08 is a filler if I’ve ever seen one. It sets up the exposition for this episode. I was thinking of doing a double post but honestly, I can’t be bothered, so you get this. We have copeium inhalers if you need one. Nevertheless, let’s all welcome the introduction of Tae-Shik Kang. The purple-haired guy voiced by the shake guy.
Honestly all jokes aside I’m very happy with this episode, the action was nonstop and people were dying left and right – like a good episode of Solo Leveling should be – it reminded me a lot of reading the Manhwa where the story finally starts picking up and the action starts going on all cylinders. It also helped that the animation was there to back it up. A-1 finally got a chance to show up for what they are known for, being a good anime studio. That always has delays. Do you guys remember the Nier anime? I had similar hopes for Solo Leveling actually – or I mean like – I had a similar idea that Solo Leveling delays would be imminent. So it didn’t come as a big surprise when they announced episode 7.5 would be airing during the traditional time slot. Of course, fans were outraged – by all means this is the show people are looking forward to during the Winter of 2024.
So yeah might this episode be a little bit of a redemption arc? It certainly feels that way because of how flashy and cool it was. Of course, Tae-Shik Kang is given the choice of being morally gray as he is offered a large chump of change to kill the dudes in orange – but it seems the money is only the cherry on top of the cake as he enjoys killing people – as edgy as the episode makes it out to be I think at the moment it’s actually quite enjoyable and goes well with the pacing of the episode. If you’re willing to suspend you’re disbelief then the corny nature of it all kinda goes away because the situation is presented with such high stakes and such strong emotions. Of course, the dad of this girl who hung himself would want to seek revenge for his fallen daughter and will go to any means to do so – but in retrospect, I think the acting just kinda made it campy. Wouldn’t you agree?
So yeah Sung comes in clutch and manages to get a quest out of it to boot – because the system orders him to kill Tae-Shik Kang because he was actually in trouble. And that’s how the system operates. Also, it seems the other characters – the mage dude with one arm and this healer girl will not dive deeper into his powers or ask any more questions because the one-arm dude took the blame for him. Of course, Sung wants to keep his power hidden for now. Because of the promise he made with that coffee dude. God, I’m bad with names. I always say – if the show is compelling enough I’ll learn the names of the characters – but Solo Leveling continues to prove just to be another campy – sort of cringy – sort of soul food – adaptation at best. At this point, you are much better off switching over to the Manhwa and you wouldn’t be missing anything. There was this one point I did like – the style changed and Sung just silently impaled Tae but not before the show did a big thing with the eyes. I always love that type of stuff – it’s just like an overpowering visual flare. Of course, don’t get me wrong Itadori with the wolves and Mahito with the rabbits will always be my favorite. Nevertheless, I’ll continue to review Solo Leveling from here until the 12 episode. Thanks for reading and have a nice day!
Full-length images: 39.
End Card
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