Solo Leveling Episode 8 Review: Back With The Gang

A new episode is here, and now, we will see Jinwoo going on a mission with his past crew. Read ahead to find out more. 

Solo Leveling Episode 8 Overview

Solo Leveling, also known as Only I Level Up or Ore dake Level Up na Ken (俺だけレベルアップな件), is a South Korean web novel written by Chugong. It started on KakaoPage on July 25, 2016, and was later fully published by D&C Media on November 4, 2016. The English version is licensed by Yen Press.

The story was turned into a webtoon on March 4, 2018, illustrated by Jang Sung-rak. The first season of the webtoon ended on March 19, 2020, and the second season ran from August 1, 2020, to December 2021. D&C Media has published seven volumes of collected chapters as of February 2023.

An anime TV series produced by A-1 Pictures is premiering soon in January 2024. Additionally, there’s a Korean drama adaptation in the works, and a spinoff webtoon called Solo Leveling: Ragnarok is scheduled to come out in 2024.

I have tried my best to keep the review as spoiler-free as possible, but there are certain elements that I had to mention to give proper feedback.

– Minor Spoilers –

Solo Leveling Episode 8 Review and Recap: Jinwoo Must Be More Powerful

We get more clarity in this episode as to why Jinwoo is desperately in need of leveling up. He must become as strong as possible and that too as soon as possible because he needs that elixir of life so that he can finally save his ailing mother. His mother is suffering from a strange disease that puts her in eternal sleep, and only with the help of the elixir can she regain consciousness. 

But to get this elixir, Jinwoo must go inside the dungeon from the previous episode again. This dungeon was not something you could just walk into, as only one monster in this dungeon almost killed Jinwoo. Hence, before making any rash decision, he must complete more quests.

Perhaps this is why he re-approaches Jinho and accepts the offer he made in the previous episode. Jinwoo will join Jinho’s guild, and he will complete 19 missions. This way the guild can become a successful one, and Jinwoo will get the experience and power-ups he needs to complete the dungeon where he will get the elixir. But things are not that simple. In a C-rank dungeon, one guild must have eight people, as it is very difficult to complete a quest of that level.

And even though it is very easy for Jinho to gather 6 more people, the problem is they will find Jinwoo’s powers too strange to keep that a secret from the outside world. Hence, they decided they would pick a route just like Hwang Dongsuk, who also gathered people just to fill in spaces. How they will do it is something that we will have to see later.

Also Read: Solo Leveling Season 2 Reviews

But the highlight of this episode was how the previous gang, who had their lives in danger at the very first double dungeon, got together for another mission. Here, we see Mr Song, Juhee, Mr Kim, and Mr Kang. Things are a bit awkward between everyone as they all previously left Jinwoo in that double dungeon to die. But, more problems other than this awkwardness are coming in their direction. I have a feeling this mission will not go as easily as everyone is predicting.

Verdict 

This episode was again great but, it also lacked intense fights. Here, we get more information on how the hunter association works, how the guilds are the actual centres of power, and how they are facing a problem with monsters on Jeju island.

And even though we missed the action, not once do you get bored as you are flooded with important details that are going to be very crucial in the future. From what we saw toward the end, I can guarantee more difficulties will follow in the next episode.

Also Read: All of Our Solo Leveing Reviews