The anime adaptation of Solo Leveling has been a resounding success since its premiere in January, but its latest recap episode, numbered as 7.5, has sparked controversy by becoming the most disliked episode in Crunchyroll’s history. With over 64,500 dislikes and only around 30,600 likes, this episode has generated polarization among fans.
Episode 7.5 was aired just after the acclaimed Episode 7, considered by many as the best of the series so far, which led many viewers to consider it unnecessary and even annoying. Some fear that this episode is an indication of production problems, something that has occurred in past series produced by A-1 Pictures.
Despite this, the series as a whole will not be negatively affected, at least for now. Crunchyroll CEO Rahul Purini revealed in a recent podcast that his company pitched the Solo Leveling manhwa to Aniplex, which was crucial in bringing the anime series into production. “Our team read the manhwa, liked the IP, and so we actually took it to one of our sister partners in Japan -Aniplex- and co-produced the series with them,” said Purini.
Solo Leveling follows the story of Sung Jin-woo, the weakest E-rank hunter who, after surviving an extremely dangerous dungeon, becomes a “player” with the ability to see an interface that shows him missions, statistics, inventory, shops, and levels.