40 Fun Facts About Solo Leveling

Which pen-named author wrote the original Solo Leveling web novel, serialized from July 2016?

Chugong is a pen name, and when the sequel Ragnarok went to a new writer in 2023 he publicly backed it, saying it stirred the same feelings as his own first chapters.

Which studio, set up by Aniplex in 2005, produced the Solo Leveling anime that premiered in January 2024?

A-1 Pictures was unveiled as the studio in July 2022 with a 2023 debut planned, but the show slipped and did not reach Japanese television until January 2024.

Which S-rank swordswoman finds every other hunter smells foul, yet thinks Sung Jin-woo smells nice?

Cha Hae-in is the only female S-rank in the country, and in the revised timeline she and Jin-woo marry and have a son.

Which grade does Sung Jin-woo hold at the start of the story, when he is mocked as the weakest hunter alive?

E-Rank is the bottom of the hunter scale, and because a hunter's abilities are fixed at awakening, a bottom-grade hunter who keeps getting stronger is unheard of.

Which talking shadow does Jin-woo raise from the Ant King after killing the creature on Jeju Island?

Beru can speak because of his high rank, rises to Marshal alongside the knight commander, and grows fond of Jin-woo's son.

Which publisher, also behind Seven Knights and Lineage 2: Revolution, released a Solo Leveling action RPG in May 2024?

Netmarble followed that release with another game, Solo Leveling: Karma, revealed in July 2025 and built around a story the webtoon never showed.

Which Shadow Monarch, weary of an eons-long war, chose Sung Jin-woo as the successor to inherit his power?

Ashborn, the King of the Dead, began as the strongest of the Monarchs' enemies before becoming a Monarch himself, and his heir Jin-woo is the only Monarch who fights for humanity.

Which digital comic and fiction platform first serialized the Solo Leveling web novel, with its webtoon following in March 2018?

KakaoPage also launched the sequel Ragnarok in April 2023, putting more than a hundred chapters online on its first day.

Under which pen name did Jang Sung-rak, head of Redice Studio, draw the Solo Leveling webtoon before his death in 2022?

Dubu died of a brain haemorrhage at 37, and the following January a group of artists launched a webtoon side story in his honour.

Which Japanese comic app ranked Solo Leveling its No. 1 webtoon of 2019 on its way to 650 million reads?

Piccoma has logged over 650 million cumulative reads of the webtoon in Japan, and the app's operator is a co-producer of the sequel anime film announced in 2026.

The Monarchs have fought an ancient war against which beings, whose seven chosen human hosts are called vessels?

The Rulers want to protect humanity, yet they opened the gates themselves to soak the world in mana, so the lives lost to monsters are partly on them.

Which King of Dragons and Monarch of Destruction leads the Monarchs as the story's final villain?

Antares invades the human world to draw Jin-woo out after three fellow Monarchs die, and in the original timeline it is the Monarchs' ancient enemies, not Jin-woo, who kill him.

Which King of Demons, the White Flame Monarch, rides a dragon into his battle with Jin-woo?

Baran's defeated mount is resurrected as the wyvern shadow Kaisel, and Jin-woo also gains the power to swap places with any of his shadow soldiers.

Which dungeon, reached past a guardian Cerberus, does Jin-woo clear to win the potion that finally cures his mother?

The Demon's Castle lies behind a guardian Cerberus that nearly kills Jin-woo several times, and a demon noble he defeats on the 80th floor guides him to the top.

Which American hunter nicknamed Goliath, ranked first in the world, befriends Jin-woo after losing a fight to him?

Thomas Andre is a National Level Hunter and a vessel, and after the fight he travels to Korea to hand Jin-woo a prized weapon as thanks for sparing his guild.

Which weapon, forged from a dragon's fang, does the hunter nicknamed Goliath give Jin-woo after their fight?

Kamish's Wrath is a pair of daggers its owner never used himself, and he hands them over to repay Jin-woo for sparing his guild members' lives.

Which hunter, ranked second in the world, is Asia's strongest until Jin-woo overtakes him?

Liu Zhigang seeks Jin-woo out after the International Guild Conference, shakes his hand and congratulates him on beating the world's top-ranked hunter.

Which ageing S-rank chairs the Korean Hunters Association and is killed by the Monarchs despite hidden vessel powers?

Go Gun-hee's age and ill health stop him using the power at full output, and he is one of seven humans the Monarchs' enemies chose as hosts.

Which A-rank, once the surveillance team's chief inspector, becomes chairman of the Hunters Association?

Woo Jin-chul takes the post after the previous chairman is killed, and in the sequel Ragnarok he has some awakened people designated 'Villains'.

Which White Tiger Guild master, a transformation-magic user, is the first S-rank to realise Jin-woo can grow?

Baek Yoon-ho's staffer Ahn Sangmin is the one who notices Jin-woo surviving mission after mission and deduces he has reawakened.

Which Japanese guild master, his country's strongest hunter, is killed in a single hit by the Ant King?

Goto Ryuji had challenged Jin-woo to a duel that was called off when it escalated, and other Japanese hunters die alongside him in the raid.

Which S-rank based in America hunts Jin-woo to avenge his brother and ends up as the shadow nicknamed Greed?

Hwang Dong-soo abducts Jin-woo's guild vice-chairman to learn who killed his brother Dong-suk, and pays for it with his life.

Which first-timer D-rank, kitted out by family wealth in pricey gear, becomes vice-chairman of Jin-woo's guild?

Yoo Jin-ho calls Jin-woo his sworn brother, dresses in fancy armour as a running gag, and in the revised-timeline epilogue marries Jin-woo's sister.

Which S-rank, trapped in a gate for ten years and presumed dead, escapes through a gate in the United States?

Sung Il-hwan is a vessel who dies in his son's arms after pushing that power past what his body can take, and is revived when Jin-woo rewrites the timeline.

Which item rewinds time after Jin-woo's war with the Monarchs, creating a new timeline?

The Cup of Reincarnation creates a revised timeline in which he marries and has a son, and in the sequel the gates start opening again once that son has grown up.

Which writer replaced the original author for the sequel web novel Solo Leveling: Ragnarok, which began in April 2023?

Daul launched Ragnarok with more than a hundred chapters at once and closed it in July 2025, while Dangdo and the artist Jin adapted it as a webtoon.

Who is the protagonist of Solo Leveling: Ragnarok, whose inherited powers were sealed so he could live a normal life?

Sung Suho gets his memories back and the same System his father used, then sets out to find his missing parents while fighting the Itarim.

Which Blood-Red Commander does Jin-woo barely manage to slay during his job-change quest?

Igris falls only narrowly, and once the quest makes Jin-woo the Shadow Monarch, the knight is among the dead he raises into his shadow army.

Which shadow does Jin-woo raise from the A-rank Kim Chul, who attacked him during the fight with Baruka?

Iron is known as the dim-witted shadow; he copies the knight commander's habit of bringing Jin-woo a head, much to the knight's annoyance.

Which shadow, taken from an ice bear in a snowbound dungeon, can kill a Naga in a single hit?

Tank is a Knight Grade shadow about as strong as an A-rank hunter, and he plows through hordes of demons as if they were bowling pins.

Which Grand Marshal, born from the fruit of the World Tree, is the strongest shadow and the first ever created?

Bellion served the previous Shadow Monarch as lieutenant, and on joining Jin-woo's army he proves his rank by easily beating the ant king's shadow in a sparring match.

What happens to Jin-woo the first time he skips the System's daily goals?

He gets a penalty quest and nearly dies in it, after which he dutifully completes the daily goals and starts getting stronger.

Which actor was announced in July 2025 as Sung Jin-woo in Netflix's live-action adaptation of the webtoon?

Byeon Woo-seok was attached before anyone else: Netflix's announcement named no other actor, and the remaining roles were still being cast weeks later.

What subtitle did the second anime season carry when it aired from January to March 2025?

Arise from the Shadow reached cinemas before television: its first two episodes screened with the recap film ReAwakening from late November 2024.

What subtitle was announced in 2026 for the sequel anime film, with Tao Tajima named as director?

Beyond the System continues the story after the second season, unlike the earlier compilation film ReAwakening, and keeps the studio behind both TV seasons.

In the anime's Japanese-language version, Sung Jin-woo goes by what localised name?

Shun Mizushino is the Japanese-dub name, and the localisation renames the Korean cast, turning sister Jin-ah into Aoi Mizushino.

Which King of Giants and Monarch of the Beginning was the hidden boss of the Tokyo S-rank gate?

Legia was the gate's secret final boss, and soon after Jin-woo cleared it three other Monarchs teamed up to kill one of America's top hunters.

Which surveillance-team inspector, secretly a hitman for hire, tries to kill Jin-woo to hide his crimes?

Kang Tae-shik exploited the lawlessness inside gates to kill for money, and Jin-woo overpowers and kills him.

Which C-rank kumdo teacher, the senior hunter leading the party among the killer statues, loses an arm but survives?

Song Chi-yul is one of only six survivors and is expected to retire after losing the arm, yet he joins the later C-rank dungeon run with the other survivors.

Which actress was reported in August 2025 to have joined Netflix's live-action Solo Leveling as its S-rank swordswoman?

Han So-hee had already handled action in Netflix's My Name and Gyeongseong Creature, which is why the report tipped her for the part.