Solo Leveling is set in a world where, years before the story begins, portals called Gates started opening across the planet. They lead to dungeons full of monsters. Some people "awakened" with powers at the same time, becoming hunters who clear the Gates before monsters can spill out. Hunters are ranked from E to S, and the rank you awaken with is supposed to be permanent.
Sung Jinwoo is an E-rank, a hunter so weak that he's known as the weakest in the world, and he only keeps working to pay for his mother's hospital care. Then a raid goes wrong in a hidden "double dungeon," and he wakes up as the only person who can see a game-like System that gives him quests and lets him level up. The cast grows around him as he rises: friends who knew him when he was weak, guild leaders who want to recruit him, the shadows he raises from fallen enemies, and the ancient Monarchs who explain where the Gates came from.
- Original story
- Chugong (Korean web novel)
- Webtoon art
- DUBU (Redice Studio), 2018–2021
- Anime studio
- A-1 Pictures
- Anime seasons
- 2024; Arise from the Shadow, 2025
- Setting
- Present-day South Korea and beyond
Sung Jinwoo and his circle
For a story with "solo" in the title, Jinwoo's small circle carries a lot of weight. These are the people who knew him before the System, and his reason for getting stronger.
Sung Jinwoo
Protagonist · The Shadow Monarch
Jinwoo starts out as a tired, decent young man taking dangerous E-rank jobs to cover his mother's medical bills. After the double dungeon he becomes the System's "Player." He clears daily training quests, levels up and eventually takes the hidden class of Necromancer, which lets him turn the dead into loyal shadow soldiers. As his power grows he becomes colder and more self-contained, and much of the story's tension is whether he can stay the person his family remembers.
- Voice
- Taito Ban (JP), Aleks Le (EN)
Sung Jinah
Jinwoo's younger sister
Jinah is a sharp, teasing student who keeps their household running while their mother is in hospital. She is one of the few people who sees Jinwoo as a brother, not a hunter. Scenes with her show what he is fighting for, and she's the first to notice he's changing.
Park Kyung-hye
Jinwoo's mother
Jinwoo's mother has fallen into Eternal Sleep, a mysterious illness that leaves its victims unconscious. Curing her drives Jinwoo's early choices, including his climb through the Demon's Castle in search of the Holy Water of Life.
Sung Il-hwan
Jinwoo's father · Missing hunter
Jinwoo's father was a powerful hunter who vanished during a Gate incident years before the story. He's mostly an absence at first, but the question of what happened to him becomes important later on.
Yoo Jinho
Vice-master of the Ahjin Guild
Jinho is the good-natured son of a construction chairman. His father has promised him a guild if he can clear a dungeon on his own, but Jinho is only D-rank. He hires Jinwoo to clear raids with him, sticks around out of genuine admiration, and ends up as the cheerful, loyal vice-master of the guild Jinwoo starts. He's the warmest friendship in the story.
Cha Hae-in
S-rank · Vice-master of the Hunters Guild
Hae-in is a reserved S-rank swordswoman who can sense mana as a smell. Every other hunter smells unbearable to her, which has kept her distant from people all her life. Jinwoo is the one exception. She is one of Korea's strongest fighters in her own right, and her slow, careful connection with Jinwoo is the series' main romance.
- Voice
- Reina Ueda (JP)
Lee Joohee
B-rank healer
Joohee is a gentle healer who looks out for Jinwoo when he is still the weakest member of every party. She survives the double dungeon with him. The trauma makes her rethink whether she should be a hunter at all, and her choice shows the human cost of the hunter world.
Song Chiyul
Veteran hunter
Song Chiyul is an older hunter in the double-dungeon raid who keeps his head when others panic. He's one of the few who treats the weaker members as people worth protecting, and his part in that raid stays with Jinwoo.
Guilds, the Association and Korea's top hunters
Most hunters work for guilds, private companies that bid for Gates and recruit the strongest awakened people. The Korean Hunters Association keeps watch over all of them. As Jinwoo's power becomes impossible to hide, every major guild wants him, and he eventually founds his own, the Ahjin Guild.
Choi Jong-in
Master of the Hunters Guild
Choi Jong-in is a dignified S-rank mage who fights with fire and leads the Hunters Guild, generally seen as Korea's best. He's honest about wanting Jinwoo on his side and respects strength wherever he finds it.
Baek Yoonho
Master of the White Tiger Guild
Baek Yoonho is a beast-type S-rank who can take on a tiger-like form. His eyes let him judge a person's mana. He's one of the first to realise that Jinwoo's rank doesn't match what he's seeing, and he becomes a wary ally.
Go Gunhee
Chairman of the Korean Hunters Association
Go Gunhee is the elderly head of the Association. Behind his calm manner he is quietly worried about where the Gates are heading. He sees early on that Jinwoo could matter more than any guild, and he tries to win his trust rather than control him.
Woo Jinchul
Association surveillance chief
Woo Jinchul is a serious A-rank who investigates crimes involving hunters. Usually he's the one who arrives after Jinwoo has quietly dealt with someone. He moves from suspicion to loyalty and becomes one of Jinwoo's steadiest contacts in the Association.
Hwang Dongsuk and Kang Taeshik
Hunters who prey on other hunters
Two of Jinwoo's early human enemies. Hwang Dongsuk leads a raid that plans to use Jinwoo as bait, and Kang Taeshik is a hunter who murders others inside dungeons where nobody can see. Both show that Gates aren't the only danger in this world.
Hwang Dongsoo
S-rank · Scavenger Guild
Dongsuk's older brother is a violent S-rank working in America. He blames Jinwoo for his brother's death and comes to Korea looking for revenge. He's one of the most hateful human villains in the story.
Thomas Andre
National Level Hunter · Scavenger Guild
Thomas Andre, nicknamed "Goliath," is the master of America's Scavenger Guild and one of the strongest hunters in the world. He's blunt, proud and loyal to his people, which puts him in Jinwoo's way. Their meeting is the first time Jinwoo measures himself against the world's top tier.
Liu Zhigang
National Level Hunter · China
Liu Zhigang is China's strongest hunter, quiet and very capable. He's one of the few top-tier hunters who comes to treat Jinwoo as an equal rather than a rival.
Goto Ryuji
Japan's top hunter
Goto Ryuji is the leader of Japan's strongest hunters. He arrives in Korea for the joint Jeju Island raid, sure that his team can take charge of it. The raid shows how badly the world's strongest people have underestimated the ants.
Kim Chul
A-rank hunter
Kim Chul is an arrogant A-rank who leads a raid that goes wrong inside a Red Gate, where nobody can leave until the boss is dead. He turns on the weaker hunters, Jinwoo stops him, and he comes back as a loud, cheerful shadow named Iron.
| Guild or group | Leader | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Ahjin Guild | Sung Jinwoo | Founded with Yoo Jinho as vice-master |
| Hunters Guild | Choi Jong-in | Korea's top guild; Cha Hae-in is vice-master |
| White Tiger Guild | Baek Yoonho | Major Korean guild |
| Korean Hunters Association | Go Gunhee | Regulates hunters; Woo Jinchul runs surveillance |
| Scavenger Guild (USA) | Thomas Andre | Hwang Dongsoo is a member |
The shadow army
Jinwoo's defining power is Shadow Extraction: when a strong enough enemy dies, he can command it to "arise" and make it a loyal shadow. Shadows can be stored in his own shadow, revived when they fall, and given names. They grow stronger as he does. Over the story the army grows from a handful of knights into thousands of soldiers, and several of them develop real personalities.
Igris
The Blood-Red Commander
Igris is the crimson knight Jinwoo defeats in his job-change trial. He's the first boss Jinwoo raises with Shadow Extraction. He's a silent swordsman who acts like a loyal retainer, and he serves as Jinwoo's knight-commander for much of the story.
Beru
The former Ant King
Beru is the king of the ants that overran Jeju Island. He's a terrifying monster who devours his enemies to take their abilities. Raised as a shadow, he becomes Jinwoo's most fervent soldier, prone to dramatic speeches and devoted to "my king." He's one of the strongest shadows and a fan favourite.
Bellion
Grand Marshal
Bellion is the highest-ranking soldier of the original Shadow Monarch's army, so he's stronger than any shadow Jinwoo raised himself. He's formal and calm, and he joins Jinwoo late in the story.
Tusk
High Orc Shaman
Tusk began as Kargalgan, a high orc shaman Jinwoo kills during an orc raid. As a shadow he serves as the army's mage, using magic for both attack and support.
Tank
Ice bear
Tank is a huge ice bear Jinwoo raises inside a Red Gate. He's the army's frontline bruiser, made to take hits and hold ground.
Iron
Former A-rank hunter
Iron is the shadow of Kim Chul, the hunter who betrayed his raid team. He's loud and enthusiastic, and he's the comic proof that a shadow keeps a little of who it used to be.
Kaisel
Flying mount
Kaisel is a great winged beast Jinwoo takes from the Demon's Castle. He serves as Jinwoo's mount whenever he needs to cross a city fast.
Greed
Former S-rank
Greed is the shadow raised from a human S-rank who made the mistake of attacking Jinwoo. He's proof of how far Jinwoo is willing to go to protect his family.
The Monarchs and the Rulers
Later in the story, Solo Leveling reveals that the Gates aren't random. They are part of an ancient war between two sides: the Rulers, beings of light, and the Monarchs, kings of different kinds of monsters. Each side needs human vessels to act fully in our world. The Monarchs below are the ones you'll hear named most often.
Ashborn
The original Shadow Monarch
Ashborn is the first wielder of the shadow power Jinwoo now uses, and the strongest of the Monarchs. His connection to the System and his reason for choosing Jinwoo answer most of the story's early mysteries.
Antares
Monarch of Destruction · King of Dragons
Antares is the strongest of the hostile Monarchs and the leader of their side of the war. He's built up as the final threat Jinwoo has to face.
Baran
Monarch of White Flames · King of Demons
Baran is the demon king Jinwoo meets at the top of the Demon's Castle, and his first glimpse of what a Monarch really is.
Querehsha
Monarch of Plagues · Queen of Insects
Querehsha rules the insect monsters, and her connection to the ants of Jeju Island makes her one of the Monarchs most closely tied to Jinwoo's story.
Rakan
Monarch of Fangs · King of Beasts
Rakan commands beast-type monsters. He's a hunter who feels a predator's pride, and that makes him one of the more aggressive Monarchs.
Sillad and Legia
The Frost Monarch and the King of Giants
Sillad, the Frost Monarch, rules the ice elves and creatures of cold. Legia, King of the Giants, leads the colossal giants. Both are part of the Monarchs' push into the human world in the later arcs.
Solo Leveling voice cast
The anime keeps the original Korean names in both its Japanese and English versions. Only credits we're sure of are listed below, so smaller roles are left out. For more on the actors themselves, see our voice actors guide.
| Character | Japanese | English |
|---|---|---|
| Sung Jinwoo | Taito Ban | Aleks Le |
| Cha Hae-in | Reina Ueda | — |
How hunter ranks work
Rank is the backbone of Solo Leveling's world, and Jinwoo's story is about breaking it. A hunter's rank, from E up to S, is measured once when they awaken, and it decides their pay, which guilds will take them and which Gates they're allowed to enter. Gates are ranked on the same scale.
- E and D — the bulk of hunters. They can clear low Gates but are often treated as disposable support.
- C and B — solid professionals who make a good living in guild raid teams.
- A — elite fighters who lead raids and serve as officers in the big guilds.
- S — a handful of people per country. Treated like celebrities and strategic assets.
- National Level — the few hunters, such as Thomas Andre and Liu Zhigang, who are far beyond even other S-ranks.
Two special cases come up again and again. A Red Gate traps everyone inside until the boss is killed. A dungeon break happens when a Gate isn't cleared in time and its monsters spill into the city. Several of the story's biggest moments come from both.
Where to start and watch order
- Season 1 (2024) Twelve episodes covering the double dungeon, Jinwoo's first levels and his job-change quest.
- Solo Leveling -ReAwakening- A theatrical compilation of season one with the first episodes of season two. It's optional if you've seen the series.
- Season 2, Arise from the Shadow (2025) Jinwoo's rise past E-rank, the Red Gate and the lead-up to the Jeju Island raid.
- Webtoon If you want to keep going past the anime, the webtoon is the most popular way to read the rest of the story, and the web novel goes into more of Jinwoo's thoughts.
Start with season one of the anime or chapter one of the webtoon. Both start at the same place and follow the same order. The anime fleshes out early chapters with some new scenes and is a good entry if you've never read a manhwa. Our manga vs anime guide covers the trade-offs, and the watch order guide explains how compilation films like ReAwakening fit around TV seasons.
What the characters are about
On the surface, Solo Leveling is a power fantasy: the weakest man in the world becomes the strongest. The characters around Jinwoo keep it from being only that.
- Rank as class. The hunter system is a thinly disguised class system. Low-rank hunters risk their lives for scraps, and powerful ones are treated like national treasures. Jinwoo's rise is satisfying because he remembers being at the bottom.
- Power and isolation. The stronger Jinwoo gets, the fewer people can stand beside him. Jinho, Jinah and Hae-in matter because they keep him connected to ordinary life.
- Loyalty you earn. The shadow army is technically bound to obey, but the story gives Igris, Beru and the others personalities that make their devotion feel like a reward rather than a rule.
If you enjoy that slow climb from weakness to overwhelming strength, try One-Punch Man for the comic version of the same idea and Sword Art Online for another game-system story. Fans who like ranked hierarchies of sorcerers and curses should look at Jujutsu Kaisen. For "who would win" arguments, see our power scaling guide.
All Solo Leveling character names A–Z
A–B
- Antares — Monarch of Destruction
- Ashborn — Shadow Monarch
- Baek Yoonho — White Tiger Guild
- Baran — Monarch of White Flames
- Bellion — Shadow, Grand Marshal
- Beru — Shadow, former Ant King
C–G
- Cha Hae-in — Hunters Guild
- Choi Jong-in — Hunters Guild
- Go Gunhee — Hunters Association
- Goto Ryuji — Japanese hunter
- Greed — Shadow
H–I
- Hwang Dongsoo — Scavenger Guild
- Hwang Dongsuk — Hunter
- Igris — Shadow, Blood-Red Commander
- Iron — Shadow
K–L
- Kaisel — Shadow mount
- Kang Taeshik — Hunter
- Kargalgan — High orc shaman (Tusk)
- Kim Chul — A-rank hunter (Iron)
- Lee Joohee — Healer
- Legia — King of Giants
- Liu Zhigang — National Level Hunter
P–R
- Park Kyung-hye — Sung family
- Querehsha — Monarch of Plagues
- Rakan — Monarch of Fangs
S
- Sillad — Frost Monarch
- Song Chiyul — Hunter
- Sung Il-hwan — Sung family
- Sung Jinah — Sung family
- Sung Jinwoo — Protagonist
- Sung Suho — Ragnarok protagonist
T–Y
- Tank — Shadow
- Thomas Andre — Scavenger Guild
- Tusk — Shadow
- Woo Jinchul — Hunters Association
- Yoo Jinho — Ahjin Guild
Frequently asked questions
Who is the main character of Solo Leveling?
Sung Jinwoo, a hunter known as the weakest E-rank in the world. After nearly dying in a hidden dungeon, he becomes the only person who can see a game-like System that lets him level up without limit. He gains the power to raise the dead as shadow soldiers and becomes the strongest hunter alive.
Who is Igris in Solo Leveling?
Igris, the Blood-Red Commander, is a knight Jinwoo defeats during his job-change quest. He becomes one of Jinwoo's first and most loyal shadow soldiers. He fights with a sword, and fans love how human his loyalty feels.
Who is Beru?
Beru is the Ant King from the Jeju Island raid. He's a monster who nearly wipes out the strongest hunters in Korea and Japan. Jinwoo turns him into a shadow, and Beru becomes one of his strongest and most devoted soldiers, known for calling Jinwoo "my king."
Who does Sung Jinwoo end up with?
Cha Hae-in. Their relationship builds slowly through the story, and the epilogue and side stories show them married with a son, Sung Suho. Suho is the main character of the sequel, Solo Leveling: Ragnarok.
What are the hunter ranks in Solo Leveling?
Hunters are ranked from E (weakest) through D, C, B and A to S. Gates use the same scale. A handful of hunters are so strong that they're treated as national assets on top of their S-rank; the story calls them National Level Hunters.
Is Solo Leveling a manhwa or anime?
Both. It began as a Korean web novel by Chugong, became a hugely popular webtoon (manhwa) drawn by DUBU of Redice Studio, and was adapted into an anime by A-1 Pictures starting in January 2024.