Solo Leveling continues to fail in sales in Japan
Active members of a commentary forum have sparked online debate about the reception of the "Solo Leveling" anime in Japan, especially after the Blu-ray/DVD sales of the series were revealed. Despite the great anticipation and expectations surrounding the anime adaptation of the popular South Korean webtoon, it seems that the series failed to capture the attention of Japanese audiences, as reflected in Blu-ray/DVD sales.
Although Volume 2 of the Blu-ray/DVD "Solo Leveling" has already been released in Japan, the series is nowhere to be found in the sales charts. This means that it sold less than the last spots on the list, which include 629 copies of "MASHLE: Magic And Muscles 2nd Season Vol. 2" on the Blu-ray and 164 copies of "Ao no Exorcist 3rd Season" on the DVDs.
While it's true that Blu-ray/DVD sales are no longer the sole determining factor in deciding whether a series will get a second season or not, they're still an important indicator for measuring an anime's popularity in Japan and the number of fans who are willing to pay for merchandise related to that franchise.
In this sense, it's hard to deny that "Solo Leveling" hasn't achieved the expected success in Japan. Despite its massive international popularity and confirmed sequel, it seems that the series failed to connect with Japanese audiences in the same way.
Comments on the forum reflect a variety of opinions, with some users expressing disappointment with "Solo Leveling's" performance in Japan, while others point out that Blu-ray/DVD sales are not the only indicator of success and that the series may still have a large fan base in the country.
- "How did it fare in terms of viewership, social media trends, and other business aspects? Because it had decent traction in America."
- "Solo Leveling worked very well outside of Japan, but in Japan its presence has already disappeared. I'm currently in Japan and there is absolutely NOTHING of Solo Leveling in Akihabara and other anime-related places. Meanwhile, Frieren and other popular anime/games are everywhere as you'd expect. And Korean things can be popular in Japan (before anyone thinks this is: "because it's not Japanese"). Popular Korean gacha are everywhere, the same with some popular Manhwa for girls (which my knowledge about the genre is very limited for example). I'm not saying they didn't stream it, just that the presence and reception in general is pretty poor. It went by as if it barely existed. And as some other people pointed out in other comments in the thread: this was already the expectation of the producers, that Solo Leveling would not be popular in Japan, but very popular around the world."
- "They never expected Solo Levelling to work well in Japan. That's why 2 out of 3 Solo Leveling producers are foreign companies. Crunchyroll (America) and DnC webtoon (Korea) are both foreign companies, Aniplex is the Japanese one and yet it is in the last position among these 3. And both foreign companies benefited greatly from this franchise. Leveling alone is currently the 6th most popular anime on Crunchyroll and Manhwa's sales have increased a lot."
- "Come on, guys. Didn't they learn anything from Chainsaw Man? Everyone was freaking out over the failure of CSM's Blu-rays, but recently, MAPPA has come out to say that the series was a huge success. Blu-ray sales are no longer the measure of success."
- "Are Blu-ray sales still the benchmark for success or not? Is the biggest revenue still coming from Blu-ray sales?"
- "While BDs don't mean much when it comes to success, it's a lot of fun to live in a world where Gushing Over Magical Girls sells more than Solo Leveling."
- "Aside from decent animation and, to be fair, an excellent final fight... The show wasn't that good."
- "'Solo Leveling' was greatly exaggerated by readers for what it really is."
- "I wonder how much of Japan's lack of interest is due to the anti-Japanese bias of the manhwa/novel."
