Solo Levelinghas quickly become one of the most popular anime around. At its core, it’s not the most original series.Solo Levelingis about someone who starts the series as the weakest character in it before quickly becoming the strongest. It’s a trope that’s been done time and time again, butSolo Levelingknocks the trope out of the park thanks to a few key qualities. While its concept might not be inherently original, it doesn’t need to be.
Solo Levelingsucceeds in being an edgy, angsty series where other genres fail miserably. The anime feels like a consecutive series of wins, with every piece of the story not only fitting perfectly but complimenting one another to create a succinct harmony. There’s no fat onSolo Leveling,no boring moments, and enough darkness to make it a killer series within the shōnen genre.
7Sung Jinwoo is Incredibly Intelligent
His Intelligence Stat Gets Higher and Higher
On paper, shōnen protagonists don’t seem like they need to be smart. In edgy shōnen series especially, most characters really only need to fight to progress both their individual story and the series as a whole. In reality, a dumb character can be a boring character. Main characters don’t need to know everything about the world around them, but a basic understanding at the very least adds a lot to the story. Jinwoo exceeds in this category exceptionally.
He’s one of thesmarter characters in anime, and not just because he’s been leveling up his intelligence stat within the System. He’s smart enough to understand social settings just as well as he understands dangerous dungeons. When he’s around his sister or people he doesn’t trust, he has the wherewithal to hide his newfound ability to get stronger.
When he’s in dungeons,he’s smart enough to fight enemies much stronger than him physically, figuring out their weaknesses quickly. His overall intelligence adds a much-needed element to a series that focuses on fights. There’s nothing worse than an edgy anime with a one-dimensional character that thinks with their fists. Luckily, Jinwoo fromSolo Levelingis far from that.
6Jinwoo Fights Like a Beast
Jinwoo Loves to Fight
An edgy anime without great fights is terrible. The best part of an edgy anime series are the fights, and thefights inSolo Levelingare better than most. Jinwoo starts the series as the weakest character in the world, and he fights like it. When he starts to get stronger, his fighting style changes. He becomes much more aggressive, flying into battles with daggers that force him into close combat.Solo Leveling’scombat is one of the biggest reasons to watch it, and Jinwoo himself is a big reason why the fights are so gripping.
In season 2 ofSolo Leveling,Jinwoo starts using his Shadow Army a lot more, and it’s a visual treat every time he does. His Shadow Warriors all fight like him, going into battle headfirst and thinking of the consequences later. Tank, Iron, and especially Igris dart towards their enemies fearlessly whenever Jinwoo calls upon them.
Solo Leveling Season 2 Is Here, And Its Latest Episodes Proves the Animation Is on Another Level
Solo Leveling season 2 Red Gate arc shows all the quality and potential of the series' incredible animation.
Edgy anime are defined by their fights, and it’s yet another category thatSolo Levelingknocks out of the park. The animation is supreme, the choreography is tight, and Jinwoo’s aggression is palpable. He hasn’t been scared of anything since he died in the Double Dungeon, and it shows every time he’s in battle.
5Solo Leveling Has Great Interactions Between Characters
The Characters Begin to Revere Jinwoo
Edgy anime series can fall into the trap of not having a believable world. It’s already hard to pull off an edgy character that seems somewhat realistic, and the world they live in and interact with plays a key role in their believability. While the events inSolo Levelingare obviously unrealistic, there’s a part of the story that feels real. If Jinwoo was real, and the world ofSolo Levelingexisted with its gates and monsters and more, it doesn’t seem too far-fetched that someone likeJinwoo would exist.
Solo Leveling Makes a Big Change From the Manhwa, Leaving Jinwoo a Much Stronger Character
Solo Leveling Season 2 made a significant change in a major event in the Demon Castle to give more meaning to Sung Jinwoo’s journey from the start.
The fact thatSolo Levelingpulled this off shouldn’t be understated.Jinwoo feels like someone anyone could understand, and he’s entirely fictional. A huge part of his relatability comes from the interactions between the characters within the story. When Jinwoo meets the leader of the Ice Slayers, Barca,their conversation is exceptional.They speak like two regular people in a regular situation, even though that couldn’t be further from the truth.
4Jinwoo Becomes the Coolest Guy Around
His Personality Changes With the System
Within a single season, Sung Jinwoo established himself as one of thecoolest characters in anime. He died, came back to life, and devoted himself to getting stronger. He worked out consistently, accepted the responsibility given to him, and pushed on. Not only is he cool in his struggles, but he’s cool with everyone around him. His sister, Jinah, could barely recognize him, and not just because he started to get more muscles than a bodybuilder.
While most people might crumble under the pressure Jinwoo often finds himself under, he thrives. He loves it when his back is against a wall in a tough battle, and there’s not much more he looks forward to than fighting someone stronger than him. There are a couple of different ways a character’s coolness can be measured, andJinwoo maxes out every category.
3Jinwoo’s Shadow Army
Any Edgy Character Needs Loyal Soldiers
Part of an edgy anime iscommand and control.It’s not enough for a character to be able to control themselves in battle, they need loyal soldiers that will act as an extension of their will. Jinwoo couldn’t have asked for more when he got his Shadow Army. His Shadows are intelligent soldiers who fight to the death without question, and thanks to Jinwoo’s ability to revive them continuously, not even death can stop them.
He has a range of Shadows at different strength levels, reflecting their strengths when they were alive. Most, if not all, of Jinwoo’s Shadowswere actually his enemieswhen they were alive. The fact that they now serve him makes him and his ability even edgier. Igris the Bloodred was one of the strongest characters in the first season of the anime. Now, he’s Jinwoo’s strongest Shadow, leading the rest of the foot soldiers and acting as Jinwoo’s strongest weapon on the battlefield.
Having loyal followers is essential for an edgy anime. Jinwoo’s forces are equal parts bloodthirsty and undying, the edgiest combo that there could be. As the series progresses, Jinwoo only has more chances to gain even more Shadow warriors,deepening his statusas one ofanime’s best edgy characters.
2Jinwoo Gets a Makeover
He Gets Jacked
It’s not enough for Jinwoo to get a new personality after he dies - he needs to get a new body too. After he comes back to life, he begins a training regiment assigned to him by the System. He runs, does push-ups, squats, and sit-ups, and gets a body even the Greek Gods would be jealous of. He has a six-pack, defined muscles all over, and a slender face that makes him look like an entirely different system.
While a lot of anime series are defined by theirabsolutely wild transformations, Jinwoo’s isn’t a temporary one like Goku’s Super Saiyan or Luffy’s Gear Five. He just looks like an entirely different person.It’s a great way forSolo Levelingto show his change and growth as a character. It’s also a great way to set the series apart from other edgy series that want the audience to understand that the main character went through a lot. InSolo Leveling,viewers don’t need to do any thinking. The amazing visuals do it for them.
1The Series Opens With His Death
There’s Nothing Edgier Than Solo Leveling’s First Episode
Solo Leveling’sfirst episodemade anyone who watched it want more. It told an intriguing story in just 23 minutes, and it told its story better than most other anime do in an entire season. In the first episode,Solo Levelingestablished its world succinctly, introduced Jinwoo and all of his shortcomings, and killed him off quickly. Before he died, however, Jinwoo raged. He was furious at his own physical powerlessness, but his mental fortitude made him the perfect candidate for the System.
Because of how angry he got, the System chose him. It couldn’t have been just anyone that was selected. Jinwoo’s self-sacrifice mixed with his burning rage made him both the perfect person for the System’s powers and his status as a great, edgy character.
“There Is a Meaning to Everything”: Solo Leveling Star Teases the Secret Behind Jinwoo’s Undead Powers
Jinwoo’s abilities as a necromancer carry a deeper meaning, blurring the line between humanity and becoming a monster as he continues on his journey.
Killing off major characters is one of the edgiest things an anime can do, and killing off its main character is the cream of the crop. Jinwoo’s death in the first episode cementedSolo Levelingas a series that wasn’t planning on holding back.
Solo Leveling
Cast
Solo Leveling follows Sung Jin-woo, the world’s weakest hunter, who gains extraordinary powers through a mysterious program after surviving a brutal monster attack. As he navigates his newfound abilities, Jinwoo embarks on a quest to uncover the secrets of his powers and the dungeon that altered his fate.
