The Band Behind Tokyo Ghoul’s Hit Opening Strikes Again With Solo Leveling’s New Ending

The Japanese post-hardcore progressive math rock band Ling tosite sigure (pronounced “rin to-shi-te shi-gu-re”) is quite well known, and their reputation grew significantly internationally after their lead singer, Toru Kitajima (or rather, “TK from Ling tosite sigure”) created a smash-hit song in the anime community with “unravel”, which was used as the opening theme song to the first season of the anime adaptation of Sui Ishida’s massively successful dark fantasy manga, Tokyo Ghoul.

TK from Ling tosite sigure, who also produced the first season’s ED, has struck gold once more with “Un-Apex”, the ending theme song to Solo Leveling Season 2 -Arise from the Shadow-, and the visuals that it goes with are just as good.

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Background Information About TK and Ling tosite sigure

“Cold as a rain shower in late autumn”

Ling tosite sigure is a Japanese rock trio that formed in Saitama in 2002 by guitarist and vocalist Toru “TK” Kitajima and bassist and vocalist Miyoko “345” Nakamura, who first had NodaMEN on drums before Pierre Nakano joined the band in 2004. Their music style can be described as resembling post-hardcore and progressive rock and math-rock, with focus on rapid tempo and mood changes, and technical drumming. They also use both male and female vocals with singing that ranges from soft and melodic to screaming and wailing. Ling tosite sigure released a number of demos before starting their own record label, Nakano Records, and releasing their debut album, “#4”.

The band’s name, Ling tosite sigure, written in Japanese 凛として時雨, literally translates to “cold as a rain shower in late autumn”. In 2011, the band’s lead guitarist, TK, began releasing solo material under the moniker “TK from Ling tosite sigure” and he currently has four albums and three EPs. TK’s new offering for the ending of the second season of Solo Leveling is coupled with visuals that are rich in foreshawdowing and thematic significance, not to mention how well the musical repertoire of TK and Ling tosite sigure fit the narrative and atmosphere of the Solo Leveling anime so well.

How The Ending Sequence Fits the Story

The Visuals Tell the Story of Sung Jinwoo and The Shadow Monarch

The visuals to the Solo Leveling Season 2 -Arise from the Shadow- ending sequence are really well thought-out and even feature a reference to the previous season’s ending sequence. The sequence features Sung Jinwoo in his current form calmly walking through a huge empty white castle dressed in white robes, which is contrasted with his past self frantically running through corridors with a blood red filter over the scene. He sits down at a neatly set dinner table and eats purple grapes before we catch a glimpse of wine being poured into a glass, and a wine glass falling off the table before the series title appears. The spilling wine looks like blood, and the “dinner” in question possibly refers to Sung Jinwoo’s horrible end in the Cartenon Temple, the event that is the trigger of the main story of Solo Leveling. The visuals also show various images of Sung Jinwoo as he appeared in the past before becoming a Player of the System, in despair as he was in the previous season’s Five Nights At Freddy’s-inspired ending sequence.

Scenes that feature Past Jinwoo show him at the end of long-running corridors, clutching at his head and gritting his teeth in frustration and despair, looking like he is in the middle of losing his mind. The current Jinwoo navigates the castle and there are images of countless knights, mages and other “subjects” arranged very uniformly in a manner that is reminiscent of the Terracotta Army, the collection of terracotta sculptures depicting the armies of Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China, which dates back to around 200 BCE. The comparison is meant to create a connection between Jinwoo and royalty, which is a reference to the nature of being he has become after the Job-Change quest of the previous season, especially with how they stand at attention when he walks into the room.

How Does “Un-Apex” Connect to Solo Leveling and the Ending Visuals?

Lyrics Reflecting Jinwoo’s Perspective From Both Sides

In the visuals of the Solo Leveling Season 2 ED, there is also an interesting contrast between the narrow corridors in Past Jinwoo’s surroundings and the vast space available to Jinwoo after “sitting down to dinner”, which is a metaphor for Jinwoo’s offering up of his body as a vessel for the Shadow Monarch’s power – hence the part of the sequence with the broken wine glass before Past Jinwoo lies sprawled on the table like he did on the altar of the Cartenon Temple. What the ending sequence depicts is Jinwoo’s initial weakness and frustration at being the weakest Hunter, with the Shadow Monarch being depicted as the current Jinwoo navigating the castle and finding his despairing former self before sitting down again, this time not at a table, but at the castle’s empty throne.

TK from Ling tosite sigure’s lyrics connect to the visuals as they reflect Jinwoo’s growth in the pre-chorus, which goes, “Sorry, sorry, I’m leaving you guys behind, Solo, solo leveling, I’m surpassing my limits?”, an overt reference to the series’ core theme: evolution. The first verse of “Un-Apex” sounds like it is from the perspective of Past Jinwoo, with lyrics like “I’m rock bottom, but I yearn for the top, I’ll savor victory, no matter the cost” and “With mad pleasure, I’m hacking my mind, letting go of my weakness”, lyrics which appear shortly after Jinwoo sits down at the dinner table and eats the grapes and drinks the wine. The purple colour of the grapes reflects the colour of the Shadow Monarch and after eating, Jinwoo continues walking through the castle, eventually finding his past self hidden away within its depths. After reaching out to his past self, Jinwoo sits on the castle’s empty throne, signifying his achievement of strength and the truth behind his infinite power.

Further Reading: TK from Ling tosite sigure profile on Crunchyroll

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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.