There’s something stirring in the New York City subway, and it’s not just train delays.

To keep fans talking and bring even more eyes to one of anime’s most talked about titles, Solo Leveling, Crunchyroll partnered with creative agency SUPERHEROES to create a mixed reality video that brings the show’s iconic Shadow Soldiers into the real world.

Set in a real-life NYC subway station, the video plays with tension, curiosity, and fear as strange wisps of purplish-black smoke drifts across the platform, hinting that something “dark” is coming. Out of the shadows, the familiar armored shadow soldiers from the Solo Leveling universe begin to emerge - unmistakable, intimidating, and definitely eerie.

To bring this to life we partnered with Ghost3Dee (aka Alex), a VFX and mixed reality artist who loves fiction and fantasy and creates boundary-pushing work. His style doesn’t just enhance a scene, but it makes you question whether or not it was ever fake in the first place.

Whether you’re already deep in the Solo Leveling fandom or just getting pulled in, one thing’s for sure: when you see the shadow soldiers show up, you don’t just watch… you run!