The spectacular art, exciting fights, and Sung Jinwoo’s coolness are some of the factors that led to the immense popularity of Solo Leveling. The manhwa offered adrenaline-inducing moments at every turn, keeping the readers hooked to the narrative. As great as the manhwa is, there are some evidently weak aspects of it. For instance, the other characters besides Jinwoo hardly get their moments to shine.
The anime is fixing this issue by fleshing out the characters and making them more realistic, which, in turn, helps the relationship dynamics between them. Jinwoo and Yoo Jinho’s friendship is the best example of this. Compared to the manhwa, their relationship feels more natural. This is a great change as it directly connects to a major future event in the story.
Jinwoo and Jinho’s relationship in Solo Leveling anime vs. manhwa
Yoo Jinho was first introduced in the manhwa during the Dungeon & Lizards Arc in the first season of Solo Leveling. Jinho is weak, but the way he jumped in to save Jinwoo against an A-Rank hunter was extremely brave. That dungeon mission also marked the beginning of his friendship with Jinwoo. In the manhwa, Jinwoo was much colder and he often brushed off Jinho.
For instance, when Jinho first offered Jinwoo to build a guild together, he completely dismissed him. The moment that made Jinwoo’s feelings towards Jinho clear was when he raged against the Scavenger’s Guild. In the anime, things are not much different but Jinwoo is definitely more expressive. It shows in his interactions that there’s more warmth.
Despite his weaknesses, he stands strong in the face of life-threatening situations. In the manhwa, one particular moment comes out of nowhere at the end. With all the changes, we might get a better connection between the different plot lines, as this Reddit comment explains.
Comment
byu/OneAttention2623 from discussion
insololeveling
This comment was in response to the anime original interactions between the two characters. Having a closer relationship with Jinwoo is making the characters more relevant to the plot, including Jinho. This is a welcome change as Jinho plays a key role, as the story progresses. Moreover, he’s a great character who values his relationships.
This is a great fix to an upcoming major plotline
In the manhwa, there are two key moments that highlight Jinho’s role in the story. In the later part of the story, Hwang Dongsoo tortures him to find out about what happened with his brother. Despite all the beating and life-threatening injuries, Jinho refuses to talk about Jinwoo. It was admirable of him, as even if he had spoken the truth, Jinwoo would have been able to handle Dongsoo.
This moment and Jinwoo’s rage when he found out about what happened highlighted how much these two valued each other. At the end of the manhwa, Jinho married Jinah, Jinwoo’s sister. Their relationship came out of nowhere. If the anime continues with the original interactions, they can add more scenes that justify Jinho and Jinah’s relationship as well. This suggests that Studio A-1 Pictures plans and decisions for the anime might lead to a more cohesive narrative.
Solo Leveling is available to stream on Crunchyroll.
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
