Since the massive success of Solo Leveling, Korean webtoon adaptations are very much on the rise. It was recently announced that Overgeared, a webcomic drawn by the same studio (Redice) that adapted Solo Leveling from its original webnovel, is getting an anime adaptation. It’s headed to Crunchyroll this October. We also received the show’s first teaser trailer.
Overgeared follows Shin Youngwoo (a.k.a. Grid), a low-level player in a popular VR game who finds a powerful item that changes his fortunes by granting him new powers. Having gained the abilities of a skilled blacksmith, he becomes capable of forging powerful equipment, which he uses to pursue fame and fortune.
The core staff announced thus far is quite impressive. The show will be directed by Ayako Kouno. She previously helmed Sword Art Online: Progressive, handled episode direction for series like Makeine: Too Many Losing Heroines! and Your Lie in April, and storyboarded for shows like 86. Kenta Ihara (Vinland Saga, Death Parade, Sentenced to Be a Hero) is in charge of series composition, Yoshikazu Iwanami (JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, Baccano!) is the sound director, and Yoshiaki Fujisawa (Revue Starlight: The Movie, Love Live!, Land of the Lustrous) is in charge of the music. Tatsumaru Tachibana (Mo-Ri Jin in The God of High School) will voice Shin.
The studio handling the series animation will probably be a bit more controversial. J.C. Staff, which was recently criticized for the dismal production quality of One Punch Man season 3, will animate Overgeared.
It’s important to note that J.C. Staff has also handled plenty of well-received series over the decades, from Toradora and Food Wars to the seminal Revolutionary Girl Utena. Given that most animators in the anime industry are actually freelancers, a particular studio being involved doesn’t guarantee success or failure. That said, there is definitely a correlation. For instance, A-1 Pictures, which animated Solo Leveling, has been on a bit of a hot streak as of late with Kaguya-sama Love Is War, Fate/strange Fake, and Makeine: Too Many Losing Heroines!
Another barrier for Overgeared will be that it’s an additional entry in an incredibly crowded genre, following the approximate millionth main character who stinks until he finds some special item and/or ability that makes him very good at stabbing guys in a video game. While this isn’t a premise that inspires a whole lot of confidence, we’ll find out if the series’ execution makes up for it this fall.