Solo Leveling: Arise from the Shadow (2025)

Solo Leveling: Arise from the Shadow is the second season based upon the South Korean web novel and is 13 episodes long. Takes place in a world where some of the population awaken latent abilities (magical, physical etc) and they are ranked as Hunters from S class to E class. The reason being that gates open with monsters inside. These Hunters need to enter the gates and clear the dungeon inside, otherwise the monsters would get out and destroy the world.

The anime follows Sung, who was a Hunter of the weakest class. However, in the previous season, after a near death experience, he can “level up”, the only one to do so, and rapidly gains strength. By the end of the first season, he was already overpowered, and, in this season, he continues to be overpowered. Early on, the anime teases about the secret behind his powers, as well as the gates and monsters. You have some suspicions based on the clues provided.

The anime makes it appear that leveling up is easy for Sung, given that we’re shown that he gains multiple levels every time he defeats some enemies and a boss. It severely cheapens the result, and makes it feel that he doesn’t deserve the power. The first season had this issue, where Sung can just take on anything that are much more powerful than him with little issues (yes, he’s shown to be “struggling”, but that’s all for a minute or two). While the issue still exists this season, it manages it a bit better.

In fact, the season starts off strong. Sung joins a raid and shows off his new powers. It tries to paint him as the underdog, where higher ranks look down upon him given he’s still officially an E rank Hunter. Sung proves them wrong and it paints a bleak picture where most of the Hunters are horrible terrible people. One thing though is that the anime shouldn’t have used a ranking system, as it’s just pointless when the protagonist doesn’t fit into any of those ranks and can easily mow down anything and everything.

The anime also tries to play it cool, to the point where it feels like it’s trying too hard. Compare Sung from before to now, and you can see that he has completely changed from the scrawny kid into the super cool guy that’s powerful, handsome, and popular. It’s a dramatic change whereby he’s a completely different person that is unrecognizable from before. He then just… stays there without developing much more as a character. Despite what the plot tries to show, there are no stakes and no effort. We know that Sung will easily overcome all those that go against him.

The second half of the season becomes more predictable with its plot developments though. When Sung sets out to complete what he started, and clears a massive dungeon, the anime skips through most of it until the final dungeon boss. Even the final dungeon boss isn’t important enough to have more than a third of the episode, so it feels incredibly rushed and underwhelming. All the powers that Sung rapidly gained feels like you were told he got them, rather than seeing him earn them.

Given Sung’s basically cheating with his powers, there are no stakes or tension anymore. Everyone else is rendered useless and is easily overpowered by the enemies that appear. Only Sung can save the day and while every protagonist has plot armor, it’s just too obvious here that there is no challenge anymore (and to make matters worse, he continues to severely outclass others when he gains even more convenient powers each time). His personality is now too cool and stoic (perfect for a self-insert protagonist) but this makes him too bland and generic.

The anime consistently pulls scenarios from other anime but doesn’t do much with it. It feels cliched and generic, and the plot can feel like a mishmash of ideas that doesn’t coherently gel together. Despite its attempts, there is no overarching goal or objective, apart from Sung encountering more enemies so that he can get stronger. That lack of objective is what makes the fights, no matter how flashy they are, somewhat pointless and lack any sort of stake.

Overall, Solo Leveling: Arise from the Shadow is an improvement over the first season in many ways. However, it doubles down on all its flaws as well. Sung lacks personality, and every other character is a “hi and bye” moment because as soon as that story arc is over, they are regulated into the background. Sung far outclasses everyone else so much that it’s boring, because before the fight even starts, you’d know Sung will save the day and win without any issues. While a power fantasy can be fun and enjoyable, Solo Leveling trends more towards the generic side.

---------------------------------------------

For other reviews, have a look at this page and this page.

Support this blog by purchasing from Amazon using this affiliate link.

(As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases)

Toy Review: Transformers Earthspark Hashtag (Deluxe)

Review:  #871

Name:  Hashtag

Brand:  Transformers

Allegiance:  Terran

Line:  Earthspark

Year of Release:  2025

Size Class:  Deluxe (Wave 7)

Mold Status:  new

VEHICLE MODE:

Hashtag transforms into a purple pick up truck, and this is a decent vehicle mode, all the windows and the headlights are painted.

The back is pretty decent as well, apart from the robot feet sticking out.  Even the taillights are painted, which is rare in this size class...

Size-wise, she is a little bit small for a Deluxe.

The robot weapon can peg onto the back.

The sculpted detailing is quite good, and the numerous paint applications continue with the grill, the bumpers and even the hubcaps.

While the exposed bed has robot parts, this is still a great vehicle mode.

TRANSFORMATION:

It's not too hard to transform her into robot mode.  The back splits and then the sides fold out to form the legs, so that she has slim limbs.  The sides are the arms, and then the hood folds onto the roof.

ROBOT MODE:

Hashtag's robot mode is pretty decent too, she has a slim profile, giving her an athletic look.

There is some kibble, being the roof and the hood, but it sits very close to the torso and doesn't get in the way.

The head sculpt is nice, and her massive visor is painted.

The articulation is good, with joints for her head, shoulders, elbows, waist, hips, knees and ankles.

She comes with two weapons, a crossbow type weapon, and a small pistol.

She has hold both in her arms, although the pistol is a tiny bit too small.

She carries a faux windshield as her torso, which isn't unexpected for this toyline and this size class.

Both weapons can store away in robot mode, the pistol in the same place as vehicle mode, and the crossbow weapon on her back.

Hashtag can feel a little bit cheap in the hand, there's just something about the hollower limbs, and the type of plastic used, it feels "squishier".

Otherwise, this is a good robot mode, with a unique design.

OVERALL:

Hashtag is a solid figure in the Earthspark line.  It's not to the quality of the Generations mainline, but it's still very decent, and the best representation we'll get for the character in the Earthspark line.  Even if you don't want the show, this is still a nice figure.

-----------------------------------------------------------

For other Transformers reviews, have a look at this page and this page.

Support this blog by purchasing from Amazon using this affiliate link.

(As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases)

Toy Review: Transformers Age of the Primes Megatronus the Fallen (Leader)

Review:  #870

Name:  Megatronus the Fallen

Brand:  Transformers

Allegiance:  Decepticon

Line:  Age of the Primes

Year of Release:  2025

Size Class:  Leader (Wave 1)

Mold Status:  new

TANK MODE:

Primarily based upon his War Within appearance, Megatronus the Fallen transforms into a tank.

At first glance, this looks like a fairly solid and decent tank, and it is, although it does have its own set of flaws and you can tell that the robot mode was prioritised.

This is a decently sized Leader figure, not as big as what Leaders used to be many moons ago, but one of the bigger ones we've had recently.  Above is a comparison against Voyager Siege Optimus.

The turret can rotate, and this is where the flaws kind of come into play, since it's the robot weapon along with the arms.  They're pegged together, but doesn't feel as solid as it could be.  The pivot point is also situated fairly far back.

Given that the cannon is a separate piece for robot mode, it can also tilt up, which is a nice touch.

He comes with a few flame effects, and a spear for robot mode, all of which can still attach to tank mode.  The flames are a nice touch.

There's a splash of yellow here and there, and while it is more obvious in robot mode, this yellow paint is apparently UV reactive!

To be honest, this is still a fantastic tank mode, and one where there aren't many obvious robot parts.  The dark purple highlights used are very nice.

TRANSFORMATION:

Transformation scheme is surprisingly more complicated that you would expect, but in a good way, as it is a fun transformation that isn't overly hard or intuitive.  The turret splits into two for the robot arms, with the cannon being the robot weapon.  The arms are on a swivel joint so there are a few twists to get it into place.  The back extends to form the legs, and the front forms the backpack that satisfyingly locks into place.

ROBOT MODE:

Robot mode is absolutely fantastic, and he is pretty much perfect here.  He has an imposing bulky look to him that's suitable of a character named "The Fallen".

There's little in the amount of kibble either, with only the backpack, but it feels more like a feature than something that's in the way.

The head sculpt continues with the awesome feeling, and is nicely highlighted with the yellow.

As mentioned, he's big and imposing, and he feels really solid and hefty in your hands.  He's actually one of the rare Leader figures that does not feel like it was costcutted to oblivion and is worth the cost.

He has plenty of articulation with joints for his head, shoulders, elbows, wrists, waist, hips, knees and ankles.

He comes with a plethora of accessories, including a big and small gun, a spear, a short sword, and four flame effects.

The flame effects are probably one of the cooler pieces too, and while there are only four, which attach to his shoulders and the back, it's enough to give the illusion of him in flames (like the iconic comic appearances).

Next is the giant cannon, which pegs onto his forearm, similar to Megatron.

The spear isn't as cool, given that he tends to hold it at the tip, rather than the middle.

The short sword is surprisingly painted in silver, and once again, can be held in either hand.

Finally, the smaller gun pegs behind his head as a type of shoulder cannon.

All the weapons can store at once on his backpack.

Megatronus has gigantic feet, so you can be sure he'll be stable in plenty of poses.

He doesn't have many hollow parts.  As mentioned, he feels so solid and hefty, with big chunky parts that's satisfying to move.

You don't usually think about this much, but he uses some nice shades of plastic, the purple in particular is really good, that helps in giving the figure a slightly more premium feel.

Despite all that, he doesn't feel unwieldy at all, and this is a near perfect robot mode.

OVERALL:

Megatronus the Fallen is one of the best figures we've had in a long while, and definitely one of the best Leader figures in many years.  He feels that he is finally worth the Leader class pricing.  The tank mode is solid enough, but the robot mode is amazing, both in looks and playability.  He has plenty of accessories that's fun to fiddle around with and doesn't compromise the figure at all.

-----------------------------------------------------------

For other Transformers reviews, have a look at this page and this page.

Support this blog by purchasing from Amazon using this affiliate link.

(As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases)