Akari Shimizu's backstory amplifies her tragic fate in Solo Leveling season 2 episode 10

Modified Mar 10, 2025 20:02 GMT

Solo Leveling season 2 episode 10 was released on March 8, 2025, and featured the ruthless death of Akari Shimizu, the S-rank healer from Japan. As expected, the fandom felt bad for the healer given how she met her end even before the 4th Jeju Island Raid started. However, her backstory featured in the series' game made her death even more tragic due to the burden she carried.

Solo Leveling: ARISE showcased Akari's origins as a playful child born into a religious family. However, despite her parents' urging, she didn't forget her dreams and continued thinking outside the box. After the birth of her little sister Himari who couldn't achieve what was expected from her, Akari's awakening happened and carried the burden of her little sister's expectations.

Disclaimer: This article contains potential spoilers from the Solo Leveling season 2 episode 10.

Solo Leveling season 2 episode 10: Exploring why Akari's origins made her death even more painful

Akari Shimizu as seen in the anime (Image via A-1 Pictures)

Akari Shimizu is a supporting character who debuted in Solo Leveling season 2 episode 10. She is a Japanese S-rank Hunter who traveled to Korea to participate in the 4th Jeju Island Raid. Before her first appearance, fans knew nothing about her, and for good reason as the series' source material, manhwa, didn't explore her past.

However, her origin story was detailed in Solo Leveling: ARISE, a mobile game. The series' game explored the origin story of some characters through some chapters illustrated by Dubu from ReDICE studio (the illustrator of the main manhwa series), making these chapters 'arguably' canon. Akari Shimuzu's origin story was divided into six chapters.

Akari as seen in the anime (Image via A-1 Pictures)

Born into a family of religious people who always worshipped the Sun God, Akari was an oddball who was always free-spirited and believed in her actions rather than prayers. Even though her family expected her to inherit their beliefs, Akari dreamed about becoming something else. At 7, Akari became a big sister with the birth of Himari Shimizu.

Moreover, Himari Shimizu was also expected to be the chosen one (presumably a people that would undergo 'awakening' in the future). So, Akari went out of her way to protect her sister at any cost. When Himari joined the school, she spent the majority of her time alone due to her parents' upbringing. So, Akari was her only friend.

Moreover, Himari's grooming extended to restricting her entry into festivals because she wasn't considered 'disciplineless' by her parents. So, eventually, Akari reached a boiling point and took her sister to a festival in their parents' absence. For the first time, Akari saw Himari enjoying her life. However, the bliss couldn't last long as Akari's parents found out.

As these two were getting scolded, giant magic beasts attacked the festival and even the nearby Hunters couldn't defeat them. At this moment, Akari 'awakened' and easily defeated the magic beasts. Moreover, Himari also called Akari her 'Sun,' after which she fell into Eternal Slumber. So, Akari took Himari's burdens and joined the 4th Jeju Island Raid to prove her worth.

Four days after this incident, the 4th Jeju Island Raid started in Solo Leveling season 2 episode 10 and as fans already know, Akari was brutally decapitated by the Ant King, marking her as the first causality of this raid. Her death was heart-wreaking in itself, but considering how she was carrying the burdens of her entire family, Akari Shimizu's death might be an injustice to her character.

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About the author

Umer is an anime and manga expert at Sportskeeda with a Bachelor's degree in Industrial Biotechnology. He chose to deviate from his original career path due to his love for anime, and wishes to encourage more people to experience the genre through his work. He has previously worked at niche anime-centered media website Anime Senpai for around 1.5 years.

Umer believes in cross-checking facts with official sources and strives to produce well-rounded articles through thorough research. He is a fan of anime series like 'Made in Abyss,' 'One Piece,' and 'Clannad,' and also loves indulging in manga including 'Monster,' 'Yotsubato!,' and any series by Junji Ito. He admires 'One Piece' author Eiichiro Oda and is inspired by how he intricately weaves a narrative and seamlessly connects loose links.

Apart from immersing himself in a wide array of anime and manga, Umer also collects physical copies of manga series to support his favorite authors. When he's not working, he enjoys reading classic literature and watching soccer.

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Edited by Bharath S