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Fans ofSolo Levelinghave taken to social media to voice their satisfaction and admiration of the voice-acting performance of Aleks Le, voice of series protagonist Sung Jinwoo, in episode 9 of the English Dub ofSolo Leveling Season 2 -Arise from the Shadow-. It was an immensely emotional moment for the character to see his mother awake and well after everything it took to get to this point.
While the original Japanese performance by Taito Ban was brilliant, Aleks Le’s voice acting performance during the heart-rending reunion between Jinwoo and his mother was nothing short of exceptional, with the scene being given a little something extra in the English dub. Aleks Le revealed in a number of tweets posted shortly after the episode aired, that he contributed to the episode’s script; writing the lines of Jinwoo’s mother, Park Kyung Hye, voiced by legendary voice actor and ADR Director, Colleen Clinkenbeard.
About Solo Leveling Season 2, Episode 9
The Brilliant Most Disliked Episode of the Series
For those who are unaware, the 9th episode of the second season ofSolo Levelingis a major turning point in the series as Sung Jinwoo returns from the Demon Castle Dungeon, having cleared all 100 floors,defeated the Monarch of White Flames, Baran, and crafted the elusive Elixir of Life. The potion is capable of curing all ailments with 100% success, and after administering it to his comatose mother, Sung Jinwoo has a rare burst of emotion as he sobs upon seeing his mother awake and well for the very first time in four long years.
It’s a brilliantly executed moment in the Japanese version of the episode, but there’s a little extra something in the English dub version that Aleks Le brings with his performance, which worked incredibly well with Colleen Clinkenbeard’s rousing performance as Park Kyung Hye, which might go down as one of the best pieces of voice acting in the series. The quality of theSolo Levelingdub partly comes from the synergistic relationship between its cast, which includes Aleks Le, Christopher R. Sabat, Emi Lo, SungWon Cho and Trina Nishimura; and the dub’s crew, which includes:
He has a keen eye for detail. He can really pick up a lot of subtleties of multiple things at once.
– Solo Leveling ADR Director Caitlin Glass on Aleks Le’s biggest strengths as a voice actor
The Torrent of Positive Fan Reactions Is a Triumph
Another Major Moment For a Series on the Up and Up
It isn’t hard to imagine that the performance was elevated by the fact that Le was responding to lines that he’d written himself, lines that perhaps the voice actor had longed to hear in his own life.In an interview with GameRant, Aleks Le expressed a personal connection to theSolo Levelingnarrative and journey of its protagonist, and it’s in moments of brilliance such as the episode 9 performance that a statement like that really hits home. The lines contributed by Le were also written with the help of series ADR Director Caitlin Glass and his scene partner, who actually kept their alterations a secret, which meant that his reactions to the lines as they were heard in the show were genuine. “No wonder it was so well done, you really cooked”, responded one fan, adding to the avalanche of compliments for Aleks Le, but there were also a number of fans who were equallyblown away by Colleen Clinkenbeard’s performance, with another fan saying she “is delivering the lines on a golden dish”, and honestly, that’s the best way to put it.
Solo Leveling Season 2 -Arise from the Shadow- Season 2 is available onCrunchyroll.
Solo Leveling
Cast
A-1 Pictures' Solo Leveling is an anime based on Chugong’s popular web novel. Set in an unforgiving fantasy world where hunters explore dungeons filled with monsters, the vulnerable Sung Jinwoo gains a significant power boost after he is picked to be a solo player by the System.
