This article contains spoilers from Solo Leveling.
No anime beats Solo Leveling in pouring all the character development into its main protagonist, Sung Jinwoo. From beginning to end, Sung Jinwoo has been blessed by series creator Chugong, letting him receive all the love, attention, and character growth.
While many fans admire Solo Leveling for its commitment to building up Jinwoo, there exist characters who also deserve more screen time. Jinwoo isn’t the only compelling individual in the story, as other characters, from S-rank hunters and ordinary civilians to demons, Monarchs, and Rulers, also deserve the same treatment as the main protagonist.
Solo Leveling's Sung Jinwoo Has Officially Been Beaten By An Overpowered MC
Jinwoo is strong, but he is far from being anime's strongest MC.
Kang Tae-Shik
- Hunter Rank: B
- Hunter Type: Assassin
Kang Tae-Shik is one of those Solo Leveling characters who died early at the hands of Sung Jinwoo. When he first appeared in the story, he exuded a mysterious vibe that no other hunter had emitted after his untimely demise. He was also the only character who talked about the false rankers, a concept that the series failed to dive into until the end.
Kang Tae-Shik is known as a corrupt hunter working for the Korean Hunters Association (KHA), but little is known about his past. He claims that he is a B-rank assassin who enjoys killing fellow hunters, especially those criminals who have committed grave crimes. His fighting style is similar to Jinwoo's, relying on speed and precision to strike enemies before they can even react.
Sung Jin-Ah
- Hunter Rank: N/A
Sung Jin-Ah is a recurrent character in Solo Leveling yet she never stepped foot inside a dungeon nor killed any magical beasts. She remains a civilian until the end of the story, despite demands to see her awaken her magic abilities and become a powerful hunter just like her brother.
Sung Jin-Ah is one of Jinwoo’s biggest supporters who’s willing to go above and beyond just to prevent his death. She may not be a powerful female hunter like Cha Hae-In, but her role as Jinwoo’s sister is enough to draw attention from the fans.
Liu Zhigang
- Hunter Rank: National Hunter
- Hunter Type: Fighter
Outside of Korea, Liu Zhigang reigns supreme in China for his extraordinary skills and abilities as a national hunter. Fans have seen him wipe out an army of flying ants in the blink of an eye in Solo Leveling Season 2, posing no challenge to Liu Zhigang at all.
While this phenomenal display of power is impressive, it doesn’t compare to Jinwoo’s or any other national-level hunters in the story. Moreover, there are little to no details about Liu Zhigang and his fellow Chinese hunters at all.
Cha Hae-In
- Hunter Rank: S
- Hunter Type: Fighter
The anime adaptation of Solo Leveling deserves credit for giving Cha Hae-In more original content in both seasons 1 and 2. She deserves more build-up, considering her relevance in Jinwoo’s life later in the series. Still, these anime-original contents don’t erase the fact that she needs more development to keep up with Jinwoo and stay by his side.
Like most of the S-rank hunters in Solo Leveling, Cha Hae-In is sidelined for the sake of Jinwoo’s growth. After her disappointing performance on Jeju Island, she needs to redeem herself as the strongest female hunter in Solo Leveling.
Choi Jong-In
- Hunter Rank: S
- Hunter Type: Mage
Choi Jong-In is yet another S-rank hunter who started off strong as Jinwoo’s potential rival but later became irrelevant in the presence of far superior characters. He had so much potential as a fan-favorite character thanks to his ability to manipulate fire, but Jinwoo extinguished his flames after the fourth Jeju Island raid.
Choi Jong-In is known as the Ultimate Soldier of Korea, but none of his feats in Solo Leveling can truly justify his powerful moniker. If only he had more screen time, it would have been easier for fans to see why he had that title. Unfortunately, even his flashy character entrance in Solo Leveling Season 2 got deleted, further reducing his exposure in the series.
Yoo Soo-Hyun
- Hunter Rank: A
- Hunter Type: Marksman
Yoo Soo-Hyun was supposed to debut in Solo Leveling Season 2, but her scene with her cousin, Yoo Jin-Ho, was surprisingly omitted, likely due to the episode’s pacing. She works as an actress and model full-time, but she is also an A-rank hunter with so much potential. According to her backstory, she is a talented marksman capable of killing her targets in one shot.
In comparison to other female hunters in Solo Leveling, Yoo Soo-Hyun possesses more confidence and belief in herself. She is also an independent woman, the type of girl who won’t be attracted to Jinwoo because of his handsome features alone.
Lee Joo-Hee
- Hunter Rank: B
- Hunter Type: Support Healer
Female healers are rare in Solo Leveling, especially those who hold higher ranks, just like Lee Joo-Hee. When she decided to walk away from the battlefield, no other female healer emerged to support Jinwoo in the same way she did. Her last moment with Jinwoo, where she bid him goodbye, was the last time she was in the spotlight.
Fortunately, Joo-Hee recovered from her trauma, but the series clearly accomplished this off-screen. The story failed to give fans the information they needed from Joo-Hee, especially about the traumatic event she experienced even before she met Jinwoo and became his healer.
Esil Radiru
- Hunter Rank: N/A
Esil Radiru is a fan-favorite character in Solo Leveling, yet she disappeared from the spotlight after Jinwoo cleared the 100th floor of the Demon Castle. Unlike the characters in this list, Esil is unique for being the only demon who experienced what it was like to be in a party system with Jinwoo.
The party system was supposed to be an intriguing concept introduced by the System, but the story never explored it further. Following the successful completion of the Demon Castle quest, Esil stayed out of the spotlight, despite her obvious chemistry with Jinwoo.
- Release Date
- 2024 - 2025-00-00
- Network
- Tokyo MX, Gunma TV, BS11, Tochigi TV
- Directors
- Tatsuya Sasaki, Toru Hamasaki
- Writers
- Shigeru Murakoshi, Shingo Irie, Fuka Ishii
Cast
-
Taito BanSung Jin-woo -
Genta NakamuraYoo Jin-ho
- Creator(s)
- Chugong
