Solo Levelinghas reached a level of success not a lot of people could have seen coming. Its first season broke record after record, even becoming the most-liked series on Crunchyroll in just 12 episodes. With a popular manhwa/webtoon backing it up, not many could have predicted the heights thatSolo Levelingwould reach in its first season, drawing a ton of comparisons toOne Punch Man,another series with a solid web comic backing it up, leading to a similar success with its first season.
Solo LevelingandOne Punch Manmight have a lot in common, but there’s one huge area where they differ.The second season ofSolo Levelinglooks to continue the trends put forward by its predecessor and succeed by that much more. The second season ofOne Punch Man,however, left a lot to be desired, causing many fans to wonder how such a great series could drop off so heavily.
Both Started as a Web Novel and Web Comic Respectively
Solo LevelingandOne Punch Manhave a lot more in common than most new and old fans might recognize. Both come from humble beginnings and, while other series may be backed up by a major studio, or have an author who has already built a large following,Solo LevelingandOne Punch Manboth started on the web as a novel and comic respectively. Chu-Gong, the author who createdSolo Leveling,hadn’t published any other notable works by the timeSolo Levelingwas first created.
ONE, the mysterious creator ofOne Punch Man,didn’t have any prior projects either when he first started self-publishing.While he’s since created a variety of other works, including one of thebest anime series of all time,Mob Psycho 100,he had the same start as Chu-Gong.
Both series started from basically nothing, expanding into massive franchises due to their amazing stories.Nobody would have predicted just how big both series would have grown, especially considering where they started.
And Became Major Hits When They Finally Aired
Another area whereSolo LevelingandOne Punch Manreally came together was in their first seasons. Both had an incredible debut, breaking the world of anime wide open in an instant. The first season ofOne Punch Manis one of thebest animated seasons of animealtogether. Saitama, Genos, and the rest of the characters inOne Punch Manlook exceptional, and their fights are always jaw-dropping. The animation behind the Genos versus Saitama fight alone should earn the series an award.
Solo Levelingquite literally broke records on Crunchyrollwhen its first season debuted. The animation was absurdly good, the story was edgy in the best way possible, and anime watchers got their first taste of Sung Jinwoo, the sole Hunter whose strength is accelerating at an unprecedented pace.The first season ofSolo Leveling,likeOne Punch Man,left nothing to be desired.Both series started so well, that they immediately stood out from all their competitors.
When the first season ofOne Punch Mancemented itself as an unexpected comedy anime, the series was quickly labeled one of the funniest of all time. People couldn’t wait for the second season to come out, and the same can be said aboutSolo Leveling.There’s not a single moment in either first season that should be cut. Each one adds to the series, leaving not a shred of fat to slow the viewing experience down.
Solo Leveling’s Second Season Is Much Better Than One Punch Man’s
Whereas One Punch Man’s Season Two Fell Off
Where the two series began to differ immensely is in their second seasons.WhileSolo LevelingwouldthensurpassJujutsu Kaisen’srecord on Crunchyroll, the second season ofOne Punch Mandipped in quality by a noticeable amount.Solo Levelingsomehow took the show to even greater heights in a way most people didn’t even think was possible, considering just how good the first season was. And Jinwoo’s story would only prove to get even better as new episodes dropped, with the numbers reflecting that directly. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for One Punch Man.
Nobody knew how big One Punch Man was going to be when it first aired, so the decision-makers of the series didn’t book Madhouse to animate the next season.
The second season of the hit series was beginning to stir somecontroversy as fans identified a lot of key flawsin several areas. Initially,One Punch Manwas animated by Madhouse, one of the best animation studios in Japan. Madhouse is known for a lot of other hit series, includingParasyte: The Maxim, Black Lagoon,and thetop-ranking anime of all time on myanimelist.com,Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End.
Nobody knew how bigOne Punch Manwas going to be when it first aired, so the decision-makers of the series didn’t book Madhouse to animate the next season. They instead deferred to J.C. Staff, and the dip in animation quality was palpable. Not only was the animation considerably worse, but the story fell off too.
One Punch Man’s Creator’s New Monthly Manga Could Be His Best One Yet
ONE’s newest manga series Bug Ego is finally being serialized by Shueisha which could finally give the new work the attention it deserves.
One Punch Manis at its best when the series focuses on the titularOne Punch Manhimself, Saitama. The second season puts him on the back burner and focuses on the other heroes that make up the bulk of the Hero’s Association. While characters like Bang, Garou, and morecanbe interesting, they pale in comparison to Saitama. Without the protagonist, the series feels like any other shōnen anime with its normal roster of heroes, and that’s not the point ofOne Punch Man’sfranchise. Saitama exists to break all the rules in the best way possible, and without him, the story isn’t nearly as great as it was during the first season.
Solo Leveling Succeeded Where One Punch Man Faltered
If Madhouse Animated One Punch Man Season Two, Who Knows What Would Have Happened
WhileOne Punch Mangot worse during its second season,Solo Levelingonly got better.Like Sung Jinwoo himself,Solo Levelingcontinues togrow stronger as a series the longer it goes on.If Madhouse had come back to produce the second season ofOne Punch Man,it would have been much better than what fans received, but even higher-quality animation wouldn’t stop the story from getting more boring.
Solo Levelinghasn’t reached its peak yet, and it’s headed in that direction with no stops in sight. It’s one of thebest edgy anime series of all time, and it will only continue that trend for the remainder of the second season and well into the third.One Punch Manmight be trying to do too many things at once, whereasSolo Levelingfocuses on Sung Jinwoo almost entirely, andOne Punch Manhappens to put a lot of side characters in the spotlight when they may not deserve it.
Solo LevelingandOne Punch Manare excellent because of their main characters. IfOne Punch Mancould take a page out ofSolo Leveling’sbook and focus solely on Saitama, maybe it would be close to breaking the same records Sung Jinwoo has obliterated time and time again.
