Greetings, readers. Today I’ll ramble about Solo Leveling episode 22 (AKA Season 2 episode 10). Ever since hearing about Jeju Island, I thought this all seemed quite familiar. Now the feeling is stronger. It’s too similar to Hunter x Hunter (2011). The powerful “heroes” in that anime are also called Hunters. Additionally, there is an entire arc about them fighting a species of Chimera Ant. As the invasion of Hunters started, the Queen Ant birthed the most powerful Chimera Ant ever. Yep, it all happened in Hunter x Hunter first.
I find it difficult to believe that this is coincidence, so I hope the creator of Solo Leveling acknowledges that he took inspiration from the older shounen classic. Regardless, let’s take a few minutes and review this episode more closely.
Episode 22: We Need A Hero
Episode Rating: 8/10
Several S-Rank Hunters from South Korea agreed to spar with the S-Ranks from Japan. During the sparring, a Hunter went berserk and almost injured Cha. Fortunately, Jinwoo broke it up, recognizing it was no longer friendly sparring. The guildmaster from Japan – Ryuji Goto – then suggested a one-on-one match with Jinwoo. The protagonist accepted the challenge as it would let him get a feel for Goto’s strength.
Jinwoo and Goto both got heated during the fight and decided to go at each other with full strength. It was turning into a serious, intense fight. Fortunately, the other S-Ranks intervened and broke them apart. Jinwoo calmed down quickly. He managed to get an idea of the strength of all the S-Rank Hunters. He also sent members of his undead army into some of the Hunters’ shadows to keep an eye on them.
As everyone prepared for the raid on Jeju Island, the Queen Ant lamented the fact that her children were eating each other to survive. They needed a strong warrior to help them secure better hunting grounds. In other words, they needed someone strong enough to slaughter Hunters. Just then, the biggest ant egg cracked open, and out came the strongest ant monster yet. I wouldn’t be surprised if this new ant was as strong as an S-Rank Hunter, though this hasn’t been confirmed yet.
The raid on Jeju island finally began, but Jinwoo decided not to go. He needed to take care of his mother. In other news, Byung-gu the retired healer decided to go on the raid after all. Baek was happy to see his old friend. There were a few other Hunter interactions and raid details as well, but I’m in a hurry and can’t mention them all right now.
As the ships carrying the Hunters approached Jeju Island, an army of flying ants flew toward them, ready to attack. Choi proceeded to destroy the entire fleet of enemies with a disturbingly powerful fireball attack. As his power surged through him, Choi was glad to be back. Here on Jeju Island, he could finally avenge his fallen friends and destroy the enemies that threatened his home.
The Hunters landed on Jeju Island and split up. Most of the the Japanese Hunters had the job of fighting the ant armies. Meanwhile, the Korean team would locate and infiltrate the nest. Their job was to kill the Queen. It didn’t take long for them to enter the giant ant nest. On the way to the queen, they passed an extra large cracked egg. They now knew there was a new threat, but their main duty had not changed, so the group pressed onward.
Meanwhile, one of the Japanese S-Ranks got injured while killing a group of monster ants. He asked the healer, Shimizu, to fix up his wound. However, Shimizu only healed people after they promised her favors or money. She demanded something from the other Hunter in exchange for healing. Before Shimizu could say what she wanted, her head was blown completely off her body and she died instantly. The new monster ant was beginning his attack on the Hunters. To be continued.
~Thanks for reading~
Written by 7Mononoke
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