Solo Leveling: Will Ashborn appear in anime season 1? Possibilities explored

Solo Leveling season 1 has been performing well so far in the Winter Anime Season of 2024, as fans are satisfied with all its aspects, from the animation quality to the adaptation rate of the series.

However, there is one thing that has left fans desiring more, and it is the episode count. The series is set to have 12 episodes, meaning that there is a chance it will conclude before animating some fan-favorite moments. Fans were also pondering over a question: Will Ashborn appear in Solo Leveling season 1?

However, there could still be a silver lining as Solo Leveling season 1 is including anime-original content in the series. This may mean that fans will get a chance to see the Shadow Monarch in the upcoming episodes. However, the same has not been confirmed yet.

Disclaimer: This article contains potential spoilers from the Solo Leveling manga series and might contain the author's opinion.

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Exploring the chances of Ashborn's appearance in Solo Leveling season 1

Ashborn was the strongest Ruler of ancient times and the first Shadow Monarch of this series. During the war with the Monarchs, where Ashborn blindly followed the Absolute Being, the other Monarchs berated the latter for using them as playthings for his entertainment.

Ashborn, being the loyal shadow soldier he was, decided to stop his fellow Rulers from going against such a divine personality. Due to this, he was killed by his own brethren. As he was about to die, his inner powers awakened, which transformed him into the Shadow Monarch. These powers were imbued inside his body by the Absolute Being.

After being awakened into a much more powerful form, Ashborn decided to enter the war again and stop the fighting. Unfortunately, the war had ended, and the Absolute Being had been killed. Ashborn then tried to neutralize the powers by joining the enemy, the Monarchs, but his immense power only brought forth suspicion.

Rakan and Baran, two of the strongest Monarchs, attacked him in hopes of defeating him. Ashborn took care of them pretty easily and killed Baran as a symbol of his anger. The Rulers then decided to plead before him for forgiveness, and after a lot of convincing, Ashborn went into hiding to form his Shadow Army again.

Ashborn as seen in the manhwa (Image via Chugong, D&C Media)

Centuries later, he followed the Monarchs onto Earth, where they hunted humans. Ashborn was a man of peace, so he came to this planet in search of a peaceful environment and a vessel to whom he could transfer his powers. He had the assistance of the Architect, and luckily, Sung Jinwoo was found suitable as the next vessel for him.

The Architect rejected his selection, but Ashborn still chose Sung Jinwoo and started training him to receive the powers of the system. During the Double Dungeon arc, the Architect summoned Jinwoo, thinking that Ashborn would transfer his powers and take over him as a vessel.

Much to his distress, the Architect got locked out of the system, and Ashborn gave Sung Jinwoo his heart. This made Jinwoo the next Shadow Monarch after Ashborn. However, the former wasn't aware of all of this until the Monarch's War arc, where Ashborn took his time explaining everything to him.

Sung Jinwoo (left) and Ashborn (right) (Image via Chugong, D&C Media)

Ashborn gets introduced in the story in chapter 128 (webtoon) and chapter 217 (novel, which is the source material for Solo Leveling season 1). The adaptation rate of the anime is 4-5 chapters per episode, so it is unlikely that he will make an appearance, according to the source materials.

However, Solo Leveling season 1 has been featuring a lot of anime-original content. This included Cha Haein getting escorted by a guild and even joining one in Solo Leveling season 1, episode 9. So, there could be a foreshadowing of Ashborn in the upcoming episodes, which would be an anime original scene.

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Was Ashborn foreshadowed in Solo Leveling season 1, episode 8?

In episode 8, as Sung Jinwoo gets ready to kill Hwang Dongsuk and his companions, the soundtrack Dark Aria starts to play in the background. As the protagonist keeps killing, the soundtrack intensifies.

Fans have noticed an interesting detail in the lyrics of this soundtrack. The lyrics of this song could be Ashborn's words to Sung Jinwoo as he transfers his heart to him.

This could be his foreshadowing that most fans are not aware of, or could be a sign that he will appear in the series in the upcoming episodes.

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