Solo Leveling’s ‘great body’ goes viral

Although it has probably gone unnoticed when compared to “the expectations that fans had created,” the anime adaptation of “Solo Leveling” remains one of the popular series of the season Winter-2024 (January-March). Each new episode accumulates hundreds of thousands of views on Crunchyroll, but the most recent one became a trend for showing the physical evolution of the protagonist Jin-Woo Sung.

The protagonist, who starts out looking thin and puny, was finally shown in the most recent episode with a beefy and evolved appearancebecoming a surprise for viewers.

The design was even updated on the official site:

It’s quite curious that a male character became a trend, but even the Japanese had something to say about it:

• «The protagonist is turning very bad, right?».
• «The protagonist’s face suddenly changed and he was like, who the hell are you?».
• «Do people change when they grow muscles?».
• «Hey, hey, hey! Who is that hospitalized male? Where is the protagonist?».
• «Solo Leveling is starting to be noticed, unlike when it started in January».
• «Maybe he looks different because he has confidence in himself now.».
• «I don’t know, his face has changed, but it’s not like he’s a different person. It’s not a change in the way she looks at you or anything like that. It’s probably different from before and after, as usually happens in shonen».
• «It’s strangely realistic to think that when a man gains muscle and confidence, his character suddenly deteriorates. I wonder if it is common in Korea, because Korea, like the United States, has a sexist mentality».
• «Muscles change your personality».
• «Calmest chapter of Solo Leveling and curious how Jin-Woo has changed, they even changed his seiyuu and everything».
• «Start getting used to this confident protagonist, because he’s here to stay».
• «Sung Jin-Woo’s Progression in Solo Leveling Is Completely Incredible to Watch».
• «Jin-Woo, although it looks different from the webtoon version, has been well adapted to the anime. Some shots look inconsistent, but for the most part the anime adaptation looks stable.».

Fountain: Otakomu