Solo Leveling pulls off a Tokyo Ghoul by showing Sung Jinwoo's "weakness" in season 2

Modified Mar 20, 2025 20:22 GMT

Solo Leveling pulls off a Tokyo Ghoul by showing Sung Jinwoo — Sung Jinwoo and Kaneki Ken as seen in Solo Leveling and Tokyo Ghoul (Image via A-1 Pictures, Studio Pierrot)

With Solo Leveling slowly inching toward the second season's conclusion, the anime has broken several records on Crunchyroll. The anime has not only become the most-rated series on the platform surpassing One Piece and Demon Slayer but also had the most-liked premiere episode.

While these achievements are worth celebrating, the anime's second season saw its fans mirroring an unfortunate record that was once pulled off by Tokyo Ghoul fans. Needless to say, the record is sad and speaks volumes about what select Solo Leveling fans expect from its series.

Solo Leveling season 2 gets bombarded with dislikes for portraying Jinwoo's "weakness"

Park Kyung-Hye as seen in the Solo Leveling anime (Image via A-1 Pictures)

As fans must remember, Solo Leveling season 2 episode 9, titled It Was All Worth It, was bombarded with dislikes, making it the most disliked episode since the recap episode aired during the first season.

While fans may get confused over why Solo Leveling season 2 episode 9 received so many dislikes, it is to be noted that it was the same episode in which Sung Jinwoo finally saved his mother from Eternal Slumber using the Elixir of Life.

Unlike other episodes from the anime, this episode did not see Sung Jinwoo partake in a fight. Instead, the episode showed him bawling his eyes out after seeing his mother recover from her illness after a four-year-long wait.

Sung Jinwoo as seen in Solo Leveling anime (Image via A-1 Pictures)

Park Kyung-Hye was the reason why Sung Jinwoo wanted to become strong. He was a mere E-Rank Hunter, yet he persevered a lot to clear the S-Rank Demon Castle and attain the ingredients required to craft the Elixir of Life. So, it was quite natural for him to cry after realizing that all his efforts were worth it.

However, a select group of fans did not like this development. They liked Jinwoo's aura and how badass he looked during his fights. Thus, seeing him show emotions did not sit well with him. Therefore, they bombarded the episode with dislikes, making it the most disliked episode of the anime.

While some fans may want to argue how that may not be the case for the high number of dislikes, a similar case was previously seen while the Tokyo Ghoul anime was airing.

Kaneki Ken as seen in Tokyo Ghoul: re episode 19 (Image via Studio Pierrot)

Back when Tokyo Ghoul: re episode 19 was released, it became one of the most disliked episodes back then on Crunchyroll with over 3000 dislikes. As per fans, one of the main reasons behind this was a particular scene where Kaneki Ken, the protagonist, shows vulnerability and cries in front of Touka.

"They ruined his aura by showing him crying."

Some viewers believed that the moment disrupted the strong "untouchable aura" the protagonist had maintained since the start of the series.

It is quite worrisome that even six years after that incident some fans still dislike an episode because the protagonist behaved like a human being and acted vulnerable in front of a person they loved. The only good take from this development is that many fans showered Solo Leveling season 2 episode 9 with love, balancing the damage.