SOLO LEVELING? MORE LIKE SOCIAL LEVELING

Mhlengi Khumalo and Awethu Khumalo 

@into.mbiyakwakhumalo and @awe2s_righttoe

 

What happens when you take all the anime fans on campus and put them in one venue? An Anime Screening occurs!

 

Friday 15 March marked the beginning of something truly amazing. The NWU-PC Anime Club held its first Anime Screening night and to call it anything less than electrifying would be an understatement. The night was filled with laughter and heated debates over whether One Piece is worth the watch and why Solo Leveling won the voting. Regardless, everyone was very excited to be around a community that appreciates and critically critiques the art of anime.

 

This amazing night would not have been possible without the powers behind it all. We spoke to Joy Ajayi, the Chairperson of the NWU-PC Anime Club, and Thendo Ramavhona, the secretary of the NWU-PC Anime Club to get their insight on how they planned such an event and what they have planned for the next meeting. After Solo Leveling won the screening vote by just 3 points, we asked Ajayi and Ramavhona what aspects of Solo Leveling they thought resonated most with our club members.

 

They had the following to say, “Since Jin-woo was one of the lowest ranked hunters in his time, we can all identify with not being at the top, especially coming from high school. However, Jin-woo didn’t stay where he was, he found a hack and was able to level up and soar through the ranks. We can all draw strength from that and also find hacks in order to level up and make it in life.”

 

Planning any event requires considerable effort, and Ramavhona talked us through the process of bringing the night to fruition. She said that all events start with the team deciding what they are going to do, discuss possible dates and most importantly, collaborate with the SCC. They help them get venues, approve their plans and posters for marketing.

 

Although the Chairperson, Ajayi, is supposed to remain neutral when it comes to screening votes, she really wanted Kaiju No.8 to win. She also informed us that there would be another screening planned for this week. Our ears were peaked when she spoke about a possible inter-campus trivia night at the NWU Vaal campus, which she believes will be a huge success with the help of her executives and the NWU-Pukke.

 

Before the screening, Wapad spoke to two members of the club to find out what their expectations were, and we got surprising answers. Anrique Oliver, BA in Psychology and Tourism Management, told us he had voted for Fire Force, while Sifiso Thabethe, BA in Sociology and Geography, voted for Solo Leveling.

 

Oliver stated, “For me personally, I voted for Fire Force due to the extent of the storyline, background, and character-driven stories in the first few episodes to make more people interested in the anime as a whole. In Solo Leveling, we only focus on one character for the majority of the anime.”

 

Thabethe, however, had a totally different opinion about this. He explained, “Well, I’ve been seeing a lot of news and spoilers about it. I mean, I’ve watched the first season and I liked it, although I didn’t resonate with it. The second season has been gaining traction, but I’ve never had the urge to watch the second season before, so this will be a new experience.”

 

Both Ajayi and Thabethe had a similar opinion on why so many people voted for Solo Leveling, which is that everyone loves a hero who levels up. Solo Leveling depicts the world’s weakest hunter, Sung Jin-woo and after being brutally slaughtered by monsters in a high-ranking dungeon, Jin-woo came back with the System – a program only he could see – which levels him up in every way. Now, he’s inspired to discover the secrets behind his powers and the dungeon that spawned them. They do say whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, I guess that’s the case for Jin-woo.

 

During the screening, two episodes were screened, and afterwards, a trivia quiz was given to test the audience on how much they know about Solo Leveling, with Red Bull as a prize. However, due to technical difficulties the trivia was cut short, and instead, Red Bull was then given to people at random, whose seat numbers were guessed. After the screening, we caught up with Oliver and Thabethe to get a review of how everything went and their thoughts on the anime.

 

“My expectations of the screening of season two for Solo Leveling, is that it will further grab my attention, and I am excited to see what the future development of the story between Sung Jin-woo and the company he keeps around him will be.” Oliver responded.

 

“I expect to see his social life develop a bit more, and I am excited to see him resurrect his mother,” Thabethe said.

 

We asked both members for their favourite quotes from the anime, who they would like to be in Solo Leveling, and if they would change any choices or actions these characters have made.

 

Oliver said he didn’t have a quote, but resonated with the word Arise because it made it clear that Sung Jin-woo is the main character. He mentioned that he would love to be Sung Jin-woo, as he has a wonderful screen presence and aura, especially when fight scenes come up on the screen. He mentioned that he wouldn’t change any choices made as he doesn’t disagree with any of them, so he would follow the storyline as is.

 

Thabethe mentioned that he didn’t have a favourite quote, but would love to be Yoo Jin-ho because he has a lot of money and as a friend, he is a powerful asset to have. He has a similar opinion to Oliver in that he would not change a single thing about the actions or choices taken.

 

It is clear that this anime screening was a true success, which changed people’s minds about Solo Leveling and even expanded other people’s tastes in anime. Although anime fans may debate passionately about certain aspects of anime or who the New Gen Big Three are, we can still all come together and enjoy a good and top-tier anime. Solo Leveling inspires us to always reach for the stars no matter how rock bottom you are. In the words of Sung Jin-woo, “Because I was at rock bottom, I longed for the highest place. I know the sadness of being weak more than anyone.” Therefore, make sure to reach for the highest rank in all your ambitions!

 

 

 

Edited by Isabel Burgers