‘Solo Leveling’ Season 3? Ten Anime Awards Nominations Would Say Yes

Solo Leveling is still leaving viewers reeling after its excellent season 2, but it’s a bit strange that season 3 has not been officially confirmed, with those working on the show saying they “hope” it will return, and being coy about that idea.

But if you wanted another indicator other than it being, you know, the most-rated series in Crunchyroll history, it has landed a boatload of Anime Awards nominations, many of which it will no doubt win. Here’s the full list of its nominations:

• Anime of the Year
• Best New Series
• Best Animation
• Best Action
• Best Main Character: Sung Jinwoo
• Best Anime Song: LEveL
• Best Score
• Best Opening Sequence: LEveL
• Best Ending Sequence: request
• Best Voice Artist Performance (English): Aleks Le’

The voting link is here, and it’s open until April 14. The actual show will be on May 25 in Tokyo.

Again, while we don’t know exact viewership numbers for Solo Leveling season 2, between both seasons, the show has already become the most-reviewed series in Crunchyroll history with a 4.9/5 score. Its 730,000 reviews are more than Attack on Titan, Demon Slayer and even a decade of One Piece. The service really has not seen anything like this.

It’s unclear what the delay is in announcing a renewal, if its popularity and its slew of award nominations weren’t enough. Previously, the animation producer of the series, Atsushi Kaneko, has said season 2’s finale will be the end of the series, for now, and said it “may or may not” continue from here.

It’s sort of nonsense. The source material is in place. The season ends on a clear cliffhanger. It’s enormously well-liked and massively viewed. The main question is not whether season 3 is happening, announced or not, but how long it may take to get here. If they’re not actually working on it now (we don’t know that for sure) it seems likely the gap between seasons 2 and 3 will be longer than the one between 1 and 2, which was exactly a year.

As for its awards, it’s not clear if Solo Leveling will sweep, but due to fan voting and its huge audience, it certainly seems possible. I have little doubt it will not take categories like Best Main Character, Best English Voice Performance (it’s a dub that’s actually good) or probably Anime of the Year itself. Personal preference aside, it just seems like the most likely scenario.

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