Kakao Entertainment has just announced a Solo Leveling live-action adaptation, and fans are already worried about it.
Rumors of Solo Leveling being turned into a live-action project have been around for a while, so this news isn’t totally unexpected – but some would prefer they were just rumors.
So far, there isn’t much information on the adaptation — to start with, it’s not even clear if it will be a movie (or a series of movies) or another TV show.
Apparently, it will specifically adapt the spin-off, Solo Leveling: Ragnarok, which is set after Solo Leveling and focuses on Sung Suho (Sung Jinwoo’s son).
Solo Leveling fans are right to be worried about a live-action adaptation
Every project has the potential to be good. However, anime fans have a long list of adaptations that haven’t met expectations. While Hollywood movies or shows based on mangas have failed (like Death Note or Dragon Ball), many Japanese live-action adaptations have also been unable to live up to their original stories.
There are some examples of well-received live-action series, like Alice in Borderland, but that one is a bit more grounded than Solo Leveling, so it would have been easier to adapt.
However, one series has already set a good example of how to transform an action-packed fantasy story into live-action: Netflix’s One Piece.
Compared to other live-action adaptations, One Piece has enjoyed a more positive reception so far, pleasing fans and even people who had never been into manga or anime at all.
What can Solo Leveling learn from Netflix’s One Piece?
While it can be hard to list the exact reasons why something has become successful, there are key lessons to be learned from the One Piece live-action series.
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First, the series’ creator Eiichiro Oda is closely involved in its production, working with Netflix to ensure the adaptation honors the story and the atmosphere of the manga.
In the case of Solo Leveling, this would mean consulting the creators of the Ragnarok webtoon (Daul and JIN), as Solo Leveling creator, Chugong, is not closely involved with the sequel.
Another important lesson would be securing a decent budget for the adaptation. One Piece is an exception, as it had Netflix’s backing, but Kakao should still treat the adaptation as a priority and invest as much as they can.
Finally, one thing that One Piece does well (and it doesn’t depend too heavily on its bigger budget) is how it adapts a fantasy manga while remembering it’s a live-action series. There’s a tendency for live-action adaptations to try to emulate the manga (or even the anime) too hard, and then they feel uncanny, because some things are only meant to fit animation or comic mediums.
At the same time, other adaptations try to make the story look too real, almost as if the production is ashamed of the source material. In these cases, it compromises the fantasy atmosphere in service of a more “realistic” approach, and that usually drives fans away.
If the project can balance the fantasy elements of the story with the actual possibilities of a live-action movie or series, like One Piece does, then this could become one of the few fan-favorite adaptations.
In the meantime, find out how to watch Solo Leveling Season 2 on Netflix and the 20 best anime like Solo Leveling
