The Solo Leveling anime is back, though it’s not the Season 3 fans were hoping for. At least not yet. A recent trailer animated by A-1 Pictures, the same studio that produces the Solo Leveling anime, was released for the upcoming Solo Leveling: Karma game. What’s so exciting about this trailer is that it shows many canonical scenes from the manhwa, making this the first look at what Solo Leveling’s end game will look like when it finally comes out in the anime.
Importantly, Netmarble, the company that created Karma, recently invested big money into the anime production committee, so this new trailer (which is technically the opening sequence for the game) is now the first look fans get at what A-1 has been cooking behind the scenes. As the first brand-new anime content officially released since Season 2 ended, the fact that the Solo Leveling: Karma opening looks utterly amazing is a great indicator of what’s to come when Solo Leveling does finally release Season 3 or the rumored Solo Leveling movie.
Sung Jinwoo’s Child Form Shows Where The Trailer Takes Place in the Solo Leveling Timeline
Sung Jinwoo as a child in the Solo Leveling: Karma opening scene
Importantly, Solo Leveling: Karma tells the canonical story of what happened to Jinwoo in a part of the original story that was infamously glossed over in the manhwa: his 27-year war against the Monarchs. After Jinwoo set the timeline back with the Cup of Reincarnation, he then went on to singlehandedly fight and defeat the Monarchs in a war that lasted 27 long years.
Solo Leveling: Karma’s new opening scene shows a much younger version of Sung Jinwoo anime-only fans will be used to, mainly because it’s depicting the child form he took on at the end of the manhwa. Ironically, Sung Jinwoo taking on his child form in the trailer is an indicator that he’s at his absolute most powerful and mature.
The New Solo Leveling Trailer Recreates Jinwoo’s Most Tragic Losses From the Manhwa
Sung Jinwoo remembers Go Gunhee’s death in Solo Leveling: KarmaNetmarble
In the Solo Leveling: Karma opening, an artfully composed scene depicts Sung Jinwoo walking through a dark abyss with memories of his past appearing in the background behind him. It’s as though Jinwoo is carrying these burdens with him into his major war against the Monarchs.
The trailer shows the deaths of both Go Gunhee and Sung Ilhwan, as Jinwoo recalls these sad losses from his past. They’re amazing recreations that are extremely close to what fans saw in the manhwa’s depictions of these scenes. It’s great to see A-1 Pictures still showing so much love to the manhwa and staying faithful to the source material, even for a video game release. It serves as an excellent indicator of what’s to come at some point around Solo Leveling Seasons 4 or 5, since most of these scenes likely won’t be depicted in Season 3.
Jinwoo Travels to the Dimensions of the Monarchs in Solo Leveling: Karma
Jinwoo and and his Shadow Army in the Solo Leveling: Karma OPNetmarble
The start of the trailer shows young Jinwoo walking into a gate, and this is actually an exciting scene. It’s the first look at Jinwoo beginning his fight against the Monarchs, traveling through a gate into their dimensions to chase and hunt them down. Throughout the trailer, Jinwoo is shown in various landscapes.
At first, he’s depicted fighting in a cold tundra: clearly the home of the Frost Monarch. Later, he’s seen fighting a gigantic armored Magic Beast, who is very likely one of the minions of Tarnak, the Monarch of Iron Body and King of Monstrous Humanoids. Solo Leveling: Karma could very well provide a deeper look into the lore of each individual Monarch, making it a must-play for any fan of the source material.
Fans Get Their First Look at Bellion in the New Solo Leveling Trailer
Bellion swings his sword in the Solo Leveling: Karma OPNetmarble
With Solo Leveling: Karma portraying Sung Jinwoo at the pinnacle of his power as the Shadow Monarch, it also shows him with the full extent of his Shadow Army as it’s seen at the end of the manhwa. And of course, that means he’s joined by the Grand Marshall, Bellion, on the battlefield.
This is the first look at A-1 Pictures’ interpretation of what Bellion will look like in the anime, and he’s just as cool as expected. His design is largely the same as his manhwa counterpart, though with greater detail on his armor. It’s a slightly edgier take on Bellion that really fits the entire atmosphere of this endless war that Jinwoo has to fight against the Monarchs in Karma.
Sung Jinwoo Uses Many Never-Before-Seen Weapons During the 27-Year War
Sung Jinwoo holds a bow in the Solo Leveling: Karma opening
One of the most intriguing details in the Solo Leveling: Karma opening by A-1 Pictures is that Jinwoo has access to numerous weapons he never used in the manhwa. He uses a bow and arrow, a scythe, and a spear in the trailer – marking a clear departure from his signature daggers and swords.
This actually makes sense, because Karma explores an entire period of 27 years that fans never saw in the original Solo Leveling manhwa or light novel. Whereas Jinwoo’s alternative weapons in Solo Leveling: Arise were a bit closer to the idea of being non-canon, it’s much more reasonable to assume Jinwoo might’ve used various other weapons during the long war against the Monarchs that readers just never got to see in the manhwa because this period wasn’t shown.
Solo Leveling: Karma will be released for PC and Mobile Devices in 2026.
