The upcoming Solo Leveling anime adaptation has controversially changed the name of its main character from Sung Jin-Woo to Shun Mizushino.
This week, Solo Leveling fans around the world are celebrating as the fantastic new trailer for the upcoming anime adaptation continues to go viral.
It was only a matter of time before the iconic web series would be made into a TV series; however, seeing our favorite characters come to life with the help of A-1 Pictures has made the years of patience worth it.
Unfortunately, our favorite characters won’t technically be our favorite characters anymore, with confirmation that Sung Jin-Woo, the series protagonist, will have his name changed to Shun Mizushino – here is everything that fans need to know.
Solo Leveling anime to change MC name to Shun Mizushino
Yesterday, the official preview trailer for the upcoming Solo Leveling anime adaptation premiered online, confirming that the series has had its release delayed from late 2023 to Winter 2024 (January – March 2024).
However, the new preview trailer also confirmed that the name of the main character from the original web series will be changed from Sung Jin-woo to Shun Mizushino.
The reason for the change in name is that whilst the original series was a South Korean production, the anime will be adapted by A-1 Pictures, a Japanese animation studio.
In this upcoming adaptation, various cultural references will be switched from South Korean to Japanese, including the names of Cha Hae-in to Kousaka Shizuku, Baek Yoonho to Taiga Shirakawa, and Woo Jinchul to Akira Inukai.
The trailer featured the following caption, confirming the name change:
“The story takes place in a world where there is the “Gate”, a passageway connecting another dimension and the present world, and people with special abilities called “Hunters”. One day, “Shun Mizushino”, a hunter of the lowest rank, called the weakest weapon of humanity, suddenly obtains the power to “level up” only by himself. Overcoming numerous trials, Shun rises from the “weakest” to the “strongest”.”
The name change was then reaffirmed when the official anime adaptation website shared the series ‘Introduction’ – which when translated from Japanese, reads:
“More than ten years have passed since the “Gate”, a passageway connecting the other dimension and the present world, suddenly occurred. In the world, people who have awakened to superhuman powers, known as “hunters”, have emerged. Hunters make a living by conquering dungeons within the Gates and earning compensation.
One day, they encounter a high-ranked double dungeon hidden in a low-ranked dungeon. A mysterious quest window appears in front of Shun, who is mortally wounded. On the verge of death, Shun decides to accept the quest. He becomes the only one to ‘level up’, and he is the only one who can do so. Among such strong hunters, Mizushino Shun lives as a low-ranked hunter, who is called the weakest weapon of mankind.”
If the series features a South Korean dub, fans can expect Jin-Woo to remain the MC’s name; however, as the majority of fans will be watching the Japanese sub via Crunchyroll, we will all have to get used to Shun as the new protagonist title.
Whilst most new Solo Leveling fans, or anime-only watches, will certainly not be fazed by the name change; the decision to go with Shun Mizushino has certainly not gone down well with fans of the original series.
By Tom Llewellyn – [email protected]
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