The Solo Leveling anime has been giving us a fabulous watching experience since Season 1. Not once have we been disappointed and thought that things could have been better.
This is definitely all thanks to A-1 Studios, which stepped up its game in adapting this manhwa as faithfully as possible. They have consistently provided good episodes, and their streak is still going strong.
However, recently, a trailer of the much-awaited Jeju Island arc has surfaced and has fans talking again. But this time, rather than offering praise, they are concerned that things might not go as well as they have thought.
The first look at Ant King in Solo Leveling
The Ant King is a very important villain in Solo Leveling for many reasons. First of all, he will be the mightiest enemy Jinwoo will fight at that point in time and then get transformed into one of his strongest shadow soldiers. Not just that, even in the future, the Ant King or Beru, as Jinwoo’s soldier, will have key moments that make him an absolute fan-favorite character.
Hence, his design should have been as perfect as the manhwa, if not more. He should have the menacing aura of a king that lets us believe the devil himself chose to become an ant. However, now that his first design is in front of us, the scenario does not look as promising.
From the trailer, we see the Ant King finally being born, and he is not as epic as the manhwa made him out to be. Plus, the color scheme used here is also incorrect as, in the manhwa, the Ant King was completely black, and here he is a shade of blue.
Needless to say, fans are pretty worried about the animation and the representation of their beloved antagonist. It will be very important for A-1 Studios not to mess this up, as the Jeju Island arc is hands down the most anticipated in Solo Leveling. This is one of those times where the focus will not just be on Jinwoo but also on other strong hunters. If the Ant King is not imposing enough, how can he be considered a threat to multiple S-ranked hunters?
A-1 Studios cannot afford to miss
This season has not been very good for anime adaptations and their studios. The other show that was supposed to give us a great experience was Sakamoto Days, and its studio has disappointed fans with its lackluster visuals.
But A-1 Studios was getting all the recognition because of how uniform they have been with their output and a track record of delivering top-tier animation. In such a scenario, fumbling the most crucial arc for an anime as popular as Solo Leveling can pummel its reputation to the ground.
Many fans are rightfully worried but also are willing to give this a chance because of their trust in the studio. Apart from that, few are also optimistic that even though the Ant King might look like a squish can end him, the Beru form will be terrifying.
He looked better in shadow form anyways so I’ll just wait till that version gets killed and we can see our glorious king beru in his best pic.twitter.com/Vplh1rSpaW
— Xeno🥇 (@xeno_edits_0) March 4, 2025
Therefore, it is safe to say that a weak-looking Ant King will do, but a pathetic Beru will not be tolerated. Let us hope A-1 Studios will keep this and the fan reactions into account and rectify the mistakes they plan to make.
Watch Solo Leveling Season 1 and 2 on Crunchyroll.
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
