Solo Leveling will release a special side story, in honor of Solo Leveling’s artist’s passing.
As announced by REDICE Studio and translated by Manhwa Bang, the studio plans to release a new side story of Solo Leveling to honor the legacy of Dubu, the illustrator for Solo Leveling. Calling Dubu “a leader, teacher, and pioneer of painting,” REDICE Studio wrote, “The author was a respected person by everyone he worked with, and he left behind many outstanding pupils in the world while running a company and a studio.” A team of artists who worked with Dubu will illustrate the story in his name. At this time, the synopsis for the special story and whether there will be more than one is unknown.
Dubu’s Dual Role
Dubu, also known as Jang Sung-Rak, was not only the artist for the webcomic adaptation of Solo Leveling but also the CEO of REDICE Studio. He worked on the adaptation from March 2018 to December 2021. On July 23, 2022, REDICE Studio announced Dubu had died due to a cerebral hemorrhage from chronic illness.
Based on Chugong’s highly popular webnovel, Solo Leveling centers on the world’s weakest hunter, Sung Jinwoo. To provide for his family now that his father has mysteriously disappeared, Jinwoo starts working as a Hunter despite him often ending up severely injured. One day, he joins a D-Rank dungeon raid only to realize that there’s a second hidden, and much more dangerous, dungeon. Jinwoo manages to survive the encounter, resulting in the System choosing him to be a Player. In becoming a Player, Jinwoo has the ability to get stronger and ‘level up’ without any kind of limit. From the world’s weakest hunter to the strongest, Jinwoo must now use his newfound strength to stop countless monsters from destroying the world.
Dubu Expressed His Excitement Over the Anime Adaptation
A-1 Pictures announced the studio would adapt Solo Leveling into an anime with Shunsuke Nakashige as the director, and Noboru Kimura as the scriptwriter with Hiroyuki Sawano composing. Dubu issued a statement shortly after, expressing his excitement and anticipation for the anime. “It feels like only yesterday that we got the offer for the anime adaptation,” he said. “I feel so overwhelmed when I think that the anime is really being created right now. This is all thanks to you fans who love and support Solo Leveling. I’m filled with gratitude. Thank you very much.”
The webcomic concluded with 179 chapters on Dec. 29, 2021. At the end of the series, Dubu thanked his assistants, Chugong and the readers. He left his readers with, “Life is an endless quest, where you must level up constantly: sometimes alone, sometimes with company. Therefore, I’d like to wish luck to all my readers on their remaining journey! Thank you for showing Solo Leveling so much love. Until next time!”
The webcomic adaptation of Solo Leveling is available to read on Tappytoon. The novel is available on Yen Press.
Source: Twitter
Leave a Reply