Review: Solo Leveling: -ReAwakening- awoke something in me

I don't get to go into movies blind very often, and it's probably even more rare for animated movies, so what a treat for me to catch Solo Leveling -ReAwakening- today without knowing what I was in for. All I knew is that it was an omnibus movie of the first season of the show, but I didn't know what the show was about.

This was, maybe obviously, a great way to dive into the show. I think this is my first time seeing an omnibus anime movie. My closest prior experience would be some of the Demon Slayer "movies" that have come out but are actually just a handful of episodes shown on the big screen. (I guess Rocket Club: Across the Cosmos is also in that vein?) So I'm not sure how smoothly these things usually go, but in this case, I was really impressed. While it was obvious that I was watching a condensed/abridged version of the story, it was really well-done, and I felt like I was keeping up quite well for the most part. The biggest challenge is keeping all of the characters straight, especially when we're meeting characters for the first time that the main character already has (intense) history with. But even in those cases, some quick flashbacks at least give you a vibe, if not complete understanding. And sometimes, a vibe is enough.

The basic gist of Solo Leveling is that portals appear all over the place which, when entered, teleport you to fantastical worlds, usually dungeons, where you fight monsters and hopefully score some treasure. When the portals first appear, a bunch of people also have dormant powers awaken, marking them as hunters who are able to go into these worlds to fight, and thus seal off the gates. Every hunter has a rank, ranging from S to E, and those ranks are unchangeable. So there are only 7 S-tier hunters, and only ever will be. Except...

Sung Jinwoo is known as the weakest hunter in the world. Even lowly goblins give him a tough fight, when those should be easy sword fodder for anyone who steps through a portal. But after a catastrophic battle that leaves him for dead, Sung is "reawakened" (hence the title) and finds himself freed from the constraints that other hunters face. Suddenly, he can level up, gain new abilities, and access menus that are invisible to other hunters. Basically, he becomes Neo, able to see the fabric of the Matrix. Which causes confusion for everyone around him, who expect him to continue to be a weakling. Why does he keep getting stronger, hotter, taller even?

It's a great premise, and one that weirdly made me "get" people who watch streamers. I've never given streamers a go, because I figure I would always rather play a game than watch someone else play a game. But this movie challenged that for me. We're essentially watching Sung "play the game" that is hunting. Only he, designated by the System as The Player, can pull up menus, access his inventory, and receive mission readouts while he's adventuring. He checks his mana while doing summons, buys potions, can keep track of remaining enemies, all thanks to a handy HUD that's for his eyes only. It ends up scratching some of the itches that I get when I'm gaming -- the satisfaction of a battle hard-won, the thrill of leveling up and gaining new abilities, the fun of testing them out.

It helps, too, that the animation is just fucking gorgeous. The action scenes are especially eye-popping. One of the highlights of the film is when Sung battles Igris, a red-armored knight with a massive sword and (seemingly) no weak point. The expressive line work, shifts in aesthetic approach, drops of color...all stunning. Really beautiful stuff. (Also, Sung himself is extremely hot, which never hurts).

While most of the film serves as a reminder of the show's first season, it ends by giving a peek at Season 2, which starts airing in January. I thought there would be a marked shift in the pacing, which I guess there sort of was, but the whole package overall was so well-edited that it didn't feel like too much of a separate thing, which is appreciated for a theatrical program like this. The Season 2 stuff was even more badass than anything that preceded it, with Sung tapping into his fresh necromancer powers in some wild and unexpected ways. He's truly so awesome.

After watching Solo Leveling: -ReAwakening-, I'm definitely interested in checking out more omnibus films as a way to expand my anime horizons. And more importantly, I'm fully onboard for Season 2. I might even go back and check out some full episodes of Season 1.