Anime Feminist Analyzes Solo Leveling Adaptation Through Lens of Anti-Korean Sentiment
The analysis argues that the Solo Leveling anime's removal of Korean identifiers and rewriting of the Jeju Island Arc constitutes a form of cultural erasure that mirrors Japan's historical colonial policies, transforming an anti-colonial Korean story into nationalist propaganda.
Reporting from 1 sources: Anime Feminist.
Anime Feminist published a detailed analysis examining the Solo Leveling anime adaptation, focusing on changes made for its Japanese release and their connection to historical anti-Korean sentiment and Japanese imperialism. The piece notes that Solo Leveling made history as the first Korean work to win Crunchyroll's Anime of the Year award, and was the most-watched anime on the platform in 2024. However, the analysis highlights that the Japanese localization removed all references to Korea, changing locations from Seoul to Tokyo and giving characters Japanese names. The article argues these changes mirror Japan's colonial-era "Japanization" policies, which sought to erase Korean language and culture during the 1910-1945 occupation. The analysis focuses particularly on the Jeju Island Arc, where in the original story Japanese hunters betray Korean hunters in a plot that parallels Japan's historical treatment of Korea. The piece states that the Japanese version of the arc was rewritten to remove this anti-colonial allegory, with the fictional "De Facto Nation" replacing Japan as the antagonist. The article calls for more historically informed discussion of these changes among anime viewers.
The Anime Feminist piece, published on February 6, 2026, draws direct parallels between the Japanese localization of Solo Leveling and the Empire of Japan's early 20th-century colonization of Korea. The article notes that the original Solo Leveling novel's Japanese release removed all Korean references, a practice carried over to the anime adaptation. Korean locations were changed to Japanese ones, and characters like Sung Jin-woo became Shun Mizushino. The analysis argues this mirrors Japan's historical "Japanization" policies, which forced Koreans to adopt Japanese names and banned the Korean language.
The piece focuses on the Jeju Island Arc, where in the original story Japanese hunters conspire to kill Korean hunters, echoing Japan's colonial aggression. The article states that the Japanese version replaced Japan with a fictional "De Facto Nation" and changed the betrayal from premeditated to opportunistic, dulling the anti-colonial themes. The analysis also notes that A-1 Pictures removed cultural indicators from office backgrounds and cut a scene where a Japanese hunter underestimates a Korean hunter. The article criticizes the lack of historically informed discussion about these changes among Western anime fans, attributing it to a monolithic view of Asian cultures and over-idealization of Japan.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.