By: Peggy Sue Wood | @pswediting

Last Thursday, I attended the 9:40 PM release of Solo Leveling: ReAwakening, which has been described as a “bridge” between Seasons 1 and 2 of the Solo Leveling anime. Essentially, it’s the Season 2 premiere, and I was hyped going in.

After a long week at work—and knowing I still had to go in the next morning—I bundled up and braved the cold South Carolina weather to make it to the show.

While I was excited initially, my enthusiasm started to wane when the first hour and then some turned out to be a recap of Season 1. It made me feel bad for my mom, whom I had invited to join me, as I had rushed her through the entire first season in just two evenings after work earlier that week, all while still recovering from the Thanksgiving chaos.

Fortunately, the hype returned during the final 40 minutes when the Season 2 material finally kicked in. We got to see the beginning of the Red Gate Arc and the summoning of Tank and Iron—one of my personal favorite moments!

Was it worth the ticket price though? Honestly, I’d have to say “no.” Look, I’m a fan—almost like a “take my money” sort of fan—but I think it would’ve been better to wait and stream it at home. As much as I love Solo Leveling, the recap, while well-assembled, wasn’t particularly engaging. It reminded me of the disappointment I felt with the Demon Slayer movie that was essentially just a recap.

I honestly feel like they should have taken a page out of the My Hero Academia playbook when it comes to movies, and assumed that most people attending probably already know the series up to that point. Alternatively, showing the new content and then giving filling the remaining time with the episodes from THE LEVELING OF SOLO LEVELING that is currently steaming on Crunchyroll.

THE LEVELING OF SOLO LEVELING, by the way, is pretty good and I encourage those interested in understanding fan culture and media overlap a bit more to watch it. Of course, I also recommend it to those that are fans of Solo Leveling! Some of the collections the fans featured in the video have is enviable!

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Thank you for reading! If you’re a fan of Solo Leveling and have seen the movie, I’d love to hear your thoughts. Please share them in the comments below!