EXCLUSIVE: Crunchyroll President Rahul Purini has talked about hopes for extra Solo Leveling and given the newest on the brand new Demon Slayer trilogy of films and Ghost of Tsushima, the upcoming anime sequence primarily based on the PlayStation recreation of the identical identify.
Solo Leveling has popped on Crunchyroll, the anime SVOD service that has over 15M subs. It was the Sony-owned service’s hottest present by means of 2024. Season 2 dropped in January, turning into Crunchyroll’s high sequence within the first quarter of 2025. Followers are clamoring for extra.
Purini attributes the success of the sequence to the power of the supply IP — it was already a preferred manhwa (Korean comedian) — in addition to the standard of the visuals and manufacturing. A-1 Footage animated the sequence and Shunsuke Nakashige directed.
Noting that the majority anime followers are additionally avid gamers, Purini went on to pinpoint another excuse he thinks the sequence has resonated so strongly. “A very powerful factor is the theme of the story, it has lot of themes from gaming. If you’re an RPG participant, or play first-person-shooting video games, you perceive it. When individuals see these themes in a story story format like this, it’s new and it’s completely different, and it’s a language they converse and that makes it far more compelling.”
Given the success is Season 3 coming? “We hope so,” Purini mentioned when requested a couple of third outing. “The [series] creators need to work on lot of reveals. Anime is admittedly widespread, so there’s quite a lot of demand, and so we have now to search out the correct time to get began on the subsequent season.”
Ghost Of Tsushima & Demon Slayer
Purini mentioned the success of Solo Leveling is shaping Crunchyroll’s wider programming technique, highlighting Ghost of Tsushima, the upcoming mission primarily based on the Sucker Punch-produced PlayStation videogame a couple of Samurai warrior.
“It undoubtedly makes us need to take extra experiments. Ghost of Tsushima is an instance. It’s a recreation IP that we all know gaming followers love, and that’s one of many causes we need to deliver it to anime; to see if we will recreate that very same phenomenon.”
Crunchyroll, Aniplex, Sony Music and PlayStation Productions have teamed for the sequence, which is slated to bow in 2027.
The Sony household connections additionally reveal themselves within the new Demon Slayer films. Sony is releasing Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Citadel in U.S. theaters in September. Hopes are excessive for Haruo Sotozaki’s adaptation of the Koyoharu Gotouge story after earlier Demon Slayers notched sturdy openings. 2021’s Mugen Prepare debuted to $21.2 million and 2023’s Swordsmith Village opened to $10.1M.
“The trilogy films are the ultimate arc of the story and, for followers, in the event that they need to end it, they’ve to observe it,” Purini mentioned. Requested concerning the following chapters he added: “The manufacturing groups haven’t introduced the precise launch date, however they are going to be pretty evenly positioned proper after the primary film.”
