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Netflix's Sakamoto Days Season 1 Episode 2: "Vs. Son Hee and Bacho" was sweet and heartwarming - and a tad bit morally preachy.
Posted in: Crunchyroll, Review, TV | Tagged: anime, Review, Solo Leveling
Solo Leveling Season 2 Ep. 1: "You Aren't E-Rank, Are You?" Review
Crunchyroll's Solo Leveling S02E01: "You Aren't E-Rank, Are You?" was a welcome return that wasted little time jumping back into the action.
Crunchyroll's Solo Leveling Season 2 Episode 1: "You Aren't E-Rank, Are You?" was a phenomenal episode to start the season on. It had great animation and pacing. I loved that it just started without any need for exposition. That said, I was incredibly thankful for the short recap prior to the episode getting underway.
The first thing to address is that the Sung Jin-woo glow-up is real, and I will never be able to get over it. Are we really anime fans if we do not simp over 2D characters? Exactly. The intro and outro were bangers. That said, I am a little concerned about the art in both. I have questions and theories. We all know Jin-Woo does and has a reawakening. However, the art seems to imply a duality. Is the Jin-Woo we currently have the Jin-Woo that died? Is there more to this reawakening that has not been revealed to him? Or to us? I have a feeling there is a deeper storyline hidden in there.
I liked how the episode started and how there seemed to be some tension from the beginning. The pace is maintained wonderfully throughout, with good dialogue and fantastic animation. Now, I know this was a film for the first four episodes, so I hope it maintains the amazing quality until the last episode. It really looked amazing, very detailed and crisp. Every aspect of the episode, visually, had me invested. I did not get to watch the film in theaters, so I am looking forward to seeing where things lead.
The episode starts with Jin-Woo having to meet his sister's teacher and getting great comments about her. Even she comments in surprise about how different he looks. Jinah's teacher asks Jin-Woo to Han Song-Yi who had joined his party in the previous season as an E-Ranker. Turns out she had quit school and Jin-Woo takes it upon himself to show her what the hunter world is like. They get to join a party as training, but it turns into a red portal, and things go very bad.
The lower ranks get left behind by Jin-Woo since the A-Ranker in charge thought of them as dead weight. But things go smoothly for Jin-Woo as he gets them to safety he calls upon his shadow army and defeats the ice bears. Man, that was brutal. For the other team, things do not go peachy at all, as it seems the only one who survived was the lead. That was brutal. Those ice elves seem brutal. However, in the outside world, things are taking a turn since there are several people waiting for Jin-Woo, including someone who wants to kill him pretty much.
Though for the officials, they seem to be on the right track that Jin-Woo has gone through a reawakening. I am very curious to see where things go from here. Will they find out how powerful Jin-Woo truly is? Will be convince Song-Yi to return to school? Will the guy kill Jin-Woo? So much going on, and it has me biting my nails.
Solo Leveling Season 2 Episode 1: "You Aren't E-Rank, Are You?"
8.5/10
Crunchyroll's Solo Leveling Season 2 Episode 1: "You Aren't E-Rank, Are You?" was a phenomenal episode to start the season on. It had great animation and pacing. I loved that it just started without any need for exposition. That said, I was incredibly thankful for the short recap prior to the episode getting underway.
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