Solo Leveling season 2 changes one of the darkest scenes from the original comic

Like any adaptation, Solo Leveling season 2 has naturally made some changes to its source material. But one moment in the anime's latest episode makes a small but significant alteration that changes the morality of its main character. Before we get into it, though, this is your warning that there are spoilers for Solo Leveling season 2 episode 2 ahead.

The episode sees Sung Jinwoo fight and kill Kim Chul, with the implication being that Jinwoo was able to predict that he would attack him and therefore was acting in self-defense. However, in the original manhwa, Jinwoo was always planning to kill Kim Chul from the outset and even intentionally provoked his attack so he had an excuse to fight back – he needs a new shadow in order to have enough strength to take on Baruka, and killing Kim Chul gives him the perfect opportunity to gain one. The change, though small, makes Jinwoo less morally grey than his comic counterpart.

Since the new season premiered earlier this month, Solo Leveling has gone on to break its own record on Crunchyroll. In less than 24 hours, the season 2 premiere reached 129,000 likes, breaking its season 1 premiere record of 114,000 likes in two days.

Per the official season 2 synopsis, "It's been over ten years since gates that lead to another dimension have begun appearing across the world. The battles between the magic beasts inhabiting the dungeons through the gates and the human hunters who have awakened the abilities to fight them show no signs of ending. Ordinarily, a hunter's abilities do not change upon awakening, with their rank never increasing. However, the low-ranked Sung Jinwoo, known as 'The Weakest Hunter of All Mankind,' gained the ability to level up through battle during a raid on a double dungeon.

"Having completed a job-change quest that earned him the job 'Shadow Monarch' and command over an army of shadows, Jinwoo heads into battle seeking the ingredients for the Elixir of Life to save his sick mother."

New episodes of Solo Leveling are dropping weekly on Crunchyroll. For more information, check out our Solo Leveling season 2 release schedule, or fill out your watchlist with our guide to all the other best new anime on the way in 2025.