Summary

Maintain high animation quality to retain fan interest; avoid drop-offs seen in other anime.
Avoid lengthy gaps between seasons to prevent waning interest and maintain hype.
Ensure Season 3 manages pacing and depth of story to do justice to remaining arcs.

Solo Leveling was a very popular manhwa during its run, but when the first season of the anime was aired in 2024, it reached a level of popularity that has been unprecedented for a manhwa adaptation. Its second season even went beyond expectations, taking things even further.

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By Lucas Simons

Solo Leveling is now one of the most successful and popular action anime ever made. It has brought waves of fans to anime and has also been something of a catalyst for the adaptation of other promising manhwa titles. With Season 3 possibly on the horizon, what are some of the things it has to get right, and what must it avoid?

1 Drop In Animation Quality

This Has Been The Death Of Too Many Shows

As anime has become more popular, the necessity for top-tier animation has only grown. There is nothing more of a turn-off to a show than a drop-off in quality. This can make even the most well-regarded shows fall in their estimation of fans. This tends to happen when there is a change of studios.

This has affected shows like One Punch Man, Seven Deadly Sins, and more recently, Blue Lock. If Season 3 is going to build on the success of Solo Leveling’s second season, the animation must remain consistent, as it is one of the major things that drew people in the first place.

2 Time Between Seasons

Nothing Kills Hype Like Time

Solo Leveling’s first season came out in 2024, with its more successful sophomore effort debuting in 2025. This way, it was able to retain its goodwill and hype between seasons. However, with speculation rife that a third season might not be till late 2026 or even 2027, there is a danger of waning interest.

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By PaulAn'drey Pierre-Louis

So many shows have suffered from this as the time between each season took too long to generate the appropriate level of interest. Solo Leveling has a good thing going, and the best thing would be to have a third season no later than 2026 to keep fan engagement high.

3 Rushing Major Arcs

Season 3 Must Manage SL’s Pacing

Including the epilogue, Solo Leveling has about 200 chapters, and so far, the second season goes to about the 110th chapter, where Sung Jin-woo defeats the Ant King. This leaves about 90 chapters or so left to adapt. In those chapters, there are some major arcs, including the International Conference and Japan Crisis Arcs.

A mistake Season 3 must avoid is trying to breeze through the remaining arcs, completely messing up the pacing in the process. Ideally, the show should run for another two seasons to fully cover what is to come. With the next arcs having even more weight, they deserve to be given adequate attention to be better enjoyed by fans.

4 Abandon The Things It Did Well

Solo Leveling Was Unashamed Of What It Was

Solo Leveling is far from being the perfect anime, and it has had its fair share of criticisms, especially regarding the depth of its story. However, it can be argued that Solo Leveling thrived because it knew what it was and leaned into it. Solo Leveling is an unabashed power fantasy with a "perfect" protagonist, and it was all about the "hype" and excelled at it.

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By Oluwatokiloba Folami

It would be a mistake to abandon that in favor of trying to deepen the story artificially in some way. Solo Leveling is an accessible anime with scenarios that are easy to get lost in and a lack of jeopardy for the protagonist. It’s perfect and should never change.

5 Underutilization Of Secondary Cast

Solo Leveling Has Some Cool Side Characters

The Solo Leveling anime stayed true to the manhwa, but made a couple of changes, especially in the first season. Audiences were introduced to Cha Hae-in much earlier, more attention was given to Lee Joohee, and they used Chairman Go as an effective narrator. These little touches were welcome as they made use of the secondary cast a bit better than the manhwa.

The second season wasn’t as concerned with the side characters, which was a bit of a shame, as they had potential. With Season 3 introducing some pretty cool characters like Thomas Andre, it will be something of a missed opportunity if Solo Leveling doesn’t platform these characters in a way to give the show more depth.

6 Making Sung Jin-woo One-Dimensional

He Does Have Some Complexity

Sung Jin-woo has been described as an "aura farmer," and to be fair, this isn’t far from the truth. He is made to look cool in every instance, and this makes him a fun character to watch and root for. But, there is a danger of stifling the character, especially when the manhwa doesn’t do this.

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By Mirza Aaqib Beg

The later arcs only serve to deepen Jin-woo’s character as he deals with loss, the loneliness of being humanity’s savior, and the shattering choice he has to make at the end of the story when at war with the Monarchs. Season 3 could be a chance to show Jin-woo as more than just an aura farmer, but a fully-fleshed character who belongs with the other elite anime protagonists.

7 Unnecessary Changes To The Story

Let The Manhwa Stand For Itself

So far, Solo Leveling has stayed faithful to the source material with very little deviation, and in the instances when it has done this, it has been somewhat necessary. The Solo Leveling story is over, so there is no reason for an original anime ending.

The story’s end might not make everyone happy (especially if the epilogue is not animated), but the anime should be brave enough to stay true to the very end. Any unnecessary changes could really affect the perception of fans towards SL.

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