Summary
- Season 3 of Solo Leveling may not be released until 2028 or even later.
- Production staff want to aim for higher animation quality, potentially leading to longer wait times for fans.
- Fans are divided on the lengthy wait for Season 3, expressing concerns about losing interest and the quality of the final product.
Speculation around exactly when Solo Leveling will return for Season 3 has gone wild as fans begin their potentially long wait for more of Sung Jinwoo’s story. While the official date for Season 3 has yet to be confirmed, fans are poring over potential leaks and producer statements to try to figure out exactly when Solo Leveling will be back.
Comments from a producer during a recent Q&A signaled a preference for a 2028 release date, while another producer in a Reddit Q&A revealed that each episode of Solo Leveling can take 10 months or more to complete fully. A possible 2028 date for Season 3 has fans divided, with some unwilling to wait that long and feeling like such a faraway date kills the current hype the series has been building.
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Quality Animation Takes Time
Why a Further Date is Preferred
Sota Furuhashi, an animation producer for Aniplex, expressed a desire to give the series' animation more time to cook, wanting it to get the best treatment possible despite fan anticipation for a quick release.
“I think, more than anyone, I am anxiously awaiting a Season 3! But in truth, between Season 1 and Season 2, 220,000 frames of animation were created. So, if it were up to me, I’d say let’s wait until the next Olympics (2028) to see what’s going to happen with a Season 3. But I think that’s more up to Kaneko and A-1 Pictures.” Furhashi commenting during a Solo Leveling Q&A.
Atsushi Kaneko, an animation producer for A-1 Pictures, answered a question during Q&A o n r/animation that revealed a typical episode of Solo Leveling takes quite a while to complete. This revelation casts doubt over whether a Season 3 could be released quickly enough to follow up on Season 2 anytime soon.
“Each episode takes about 10 months to complete, with some of the longer ones taking up to 12 months.” -Atsushi Kaneko during a Reddit Q&A.
The math seems to be adding up for Solo Leveling Season 3, which will take a bit longer to release if the same level of quality and work is put into it compared to the previous seasons. While waiting for something that takes a long time is a negative experience, it’s possibly an even worse experience as a fan to get something early that feels rushed or below the standard bar set.
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Fan Reaction to Potential Release Date
Some Aren’t Thrilled at Waiting
The possibility of waiting multiple years for good animation is a feeling that Solo Leveling fans might now have to share with other fans of popular series. While some shows’ seasons are planned for and released in succession, some series aren’t so lucky. One Punch Man was praised for its animation quality when it came out in 2015, but fans had to wait nearly four years before Season 2 saw the light of day. With the uncertainty around the release date for Solo Leveling and A-1 Pictures having to take on other projects, it's possible the show may not see another installment for quite some time.
“Solo Leveling pushed till 2028? [Forget] my life.” -X user 0xxRage reacting to the news of a possible 2028 release date.
While some fans of the show understand the amount of work that goes into animating an adaptation like Solo Leveling, others weren’t sure that such a long wait would be worth it.
“Idk how I feel about this.” -Reddit user Brief-Contact664 responding to the idea of a 2028 release.
One concern is that the current momentum the anime has achieved in drawing in new viewers and catapulting the series to the top of streaming charts will be lost with such a long wait until Season 3.
“Wouldn't the fans lose interest and drop this anime because it's taking so long? People would probably forget that season 3s even coming so its release probably wouldn't be great either. Imagine waiting for 3 years just for 12 episodes.” -Reddit user Princefluffys reacting negatively to a potential 2028 release date.
It’s unclear how the potential long wait for the follow-up to Season 2 would affect fan perception of the series. When One Punch Man Season 2 finally came out, many fans' initial impressions were negative, feeling like the quality on display was not worth the hiatus between adaptations. As Season 3 of One Punch Man is set to release later this year, we may get a sneak preview of possible Solo Leveling fan disappointment as they may also have to wait years for something that might not live up to expectations.
Solo Leveling can be streamed on Crunchyroll and Amazon.
Solo Leveling
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget- Release Date
- 2024 - 2025-00-00
- Network
- Tokyo MX, Gunma TV, BS11, Tochigi TV
- Cast
- Taito Ban, Genta Nakamura, Haruna Mikawa, Reina Ueda, Daisuke Hirakawa, Hiroki Touchi, Banjo Ginga, Makoto Furukawa, Akio Otsuka, Akira Ishida, Yasuhiro Mamiya, Junichi Suwabe, Miyu Tomita
- Directors
- Tatsuya Sasaki, Toru Hamasaki
- Writers
- Shigeru Murakoshi, Shingo Irie, Fuka Ishii
- Main Genre
- Animation
- Seasons
- 1
- Studio
- A-1 Pictures
- Based On
- Manhwa
- Creator
- Chugong
- Number of Episodes
- 25
- Streaming Service(s)
- Crunchyroll
- MyAnimeList Score
- 8.28 (Season 1); 8.86 (Season 2)
- Creator(s)
- Chugong
- Where To Watch
- Crunchyroll
