Solo Leveling Turns Its Funniest Meme Into a Reality With Help From... AXE?

Solo Levelingisn’t a stranger to collaborations, having previously worked with Marvel’s franchise for the film Venom: The Last Dance, proving its conquering beyond the barriers of anime. However,Solo Leveling’s latest crossover isn’t only it's most hilarious one, but also caught fans by surprise by bringing to life one of the most popular memes of the franchise.

In commemoration of the release of Solo Leveling Season 2 episode #5, which features the first interaction between Sung Jinwoo and Cha Hae In in the anime, the series made an unexpected appearance in a post shared on X by AXE, a recognized brand of body care products, much to the delight of fans who praised this clever and funny publicity as a powerful acknowledgment of Solo Leveling's rise in popularity.

Solo Leveling’s Greatest Meme Creates the Perfect Marketing for a Popular Deodorant Brand

The Crossover Gets Funny Response by Sung Jinwoo’s Voice Actor

Fans wanting to smell like Solo Leveling’s protagonist might now have the opportunity to do so following a clever promotion from AXE posted on X with the title “Smell great for the true Shadow Monarch”, where one of its products, the body spray Black, features the characteristic glowing eyes of Sung Jinwoo. This funny publicity comes from a popular meme of the franchise back during the serialization of the manhwa born after Cha Hae In smells Sung Jinwoo during their first encounter, and she is pleasantly surprised after realizing that he doesn’t stench like the other hunters and instead has a nice smell.

However, even though the series explains this with the fact that Jinwoo isn’t a regular hunter but a player who is being favored by the system, many fans have been sharing memes on social media of Solo Leveling's characters promoting AXE over the years, which has recently been acknowledged by the brand itself. Sung Jinwoo's English voice actor Aleks Le even replied to AXE’s post with “what’s going on” to which the brand teasingly claims to be getting ready for saturday, referring to the release day of the new episodes of Solo Leveling Season 2.

Even though this isn’t a real collaboration, this hilarious post—which got almost 1 million views and over 8K likes—had a great reception among fans, with many expressing through social media their praise for the brand, sharing their own memes and claiming they will buy the product as a result of the advertisement which proves how Solo Leveling became a powerful tool of marketing for AXE.

Solo Leveling Has Become A Cultural Phenomenon

Solo Leveling Season 2 Incredible Adaptation Is Conquering Fans Worldwide

Although this type of interaction between global brands and animes is becoming more common—which is proof of the explosion of the medium—the fact that an international brand not related to the series has even acknowledged a popular meme of the franchise confirms Solo Leveling’s status as a cultural icon. Not only did Solo Leveling Season 2 stole an impressive Crunchyroll record, but it has been widely praised by viewers due to its high quality and incredible animation, becoming a potential contender for anime of the year.

Solo Leveling was already considered the most influential manhwa ever who opened the door for other works to get the recognition they deserved, but thanks to its anime adaptation, it has attracted new international audiences, even gaining the title of best anime series at the Astra Awards in 2024. With Solo Leveling Season 2 still being in the first half of its run, the anime’s popularity could keep increasing, and its influence could further extend beyond the anime community.

Source: AXE Official Account