Solo Leveling Faces Controversy in South Korea

The anime adaptation "Solo Leveling" has drawn heavy criticism for including a controversial studio in its production, resulting in the studio's total removal from the credits. The so-called Studio PPURI, tasked with animating the well-received opening sequence of "Solo Leveling," was pulled from the anime's credits following fan protests in South Korea. According to a post on Naver Blog, this only affected the South Korean broadcast of the series, and the decision was likely also motivated by the drop in shares of "Solo Leveling" publisher D&C Media.

Studio PPURI has gained a negative reputation in certain parts of Korea due to perceived 'anti-man' gestures in its works and its links to the feminist group MEGALIAN. This group has gained attention in Korea in part because of its strategy of exposing misogynistic behaviors by investing them in online communities. The symbol of this movement, "🤏", attracted strong criticism because it is often used to say that South Korean men have small penises. Studio PPURI is accused of including this gesture in numerous works, including "Dungeon Fighter Online," "Dungeon & Fighter: Spirit," "Blue Archive," and "MappleStory." Some claim that the opening of "Solo Leveling" also features the reference.

However, News Tomato agrees that the decision to remove Studio PPURI from the credits was likely motivated by financial concerns. It reports that D&C Media's stock price on Jan. 15 was down more than 6% from the previous trading day and suffered a 10% drop during the day.

This situation is a setback for Studio PPURI after the excellent reception of the opening. The video currently has more than two million views and was the topic of conversation in Japan and overseas this month, along with the premiere of "Solo Leveling."

An insider from the anime world in Japan detailed how the industry discriminates against Chinese animators, noting that many outsourced foreign companies, such as South Korea's Studio PPURI, are already on the same level as major Japanese anime studios.

Source: Naver Blog