Solo Leveling is an iconic power fantasy story that’s enthralled its fans across its web novel and webtoon formats. With its imminent anime release, fans might wonder just how strong Sung Jin-Woo is, and what his potential is throughout the series.
How Strong is Sung Jin-Woo (Jinwoo Sung / Shun Mizushino) in Solo Leveling?
Sung Jin-Woo, aka Shun Mizushino in the Japanese translation, is the infamous weakest hunter in the world at the start of Solo Leveling. His rank at the beginning is suitably E-Rank, the lowest possible position for hunters, and he was seen as a burden in anything above the bare minimum difficulty dungeons.
Spoiler warning! Beware as details of the plot and Jin-Woo’s growth are shown beyond this point!
How Does Jin-Woo Become Stronger in Solo Leveling? [SPOILERS]
Through completing the quest ‘Courage of the Weak,’ Jin-Woo could take on tasks and quests allowing him to level up and ascend massive new heights in strength. He did so by approaching an esoteric riddle with his sharp wit instead of trying to fight his way out of the double dungeon. While this resulted in most of his party being brutally killed, it also gave Jin-Woo a new lease on life and the potential to contribute to the world in a meaningful way.
Enemies he defeated would have their shadows extracted so they could join his side, which is part of his fascinating connection to the Shadow Monarch. He’s capable of enormous feats of strength by the end of the series, with great agility and durability. He can even create armor around himself, become effectively invisible, intimidate his foes into submission, use telekinesis, and even induce panic.
Jin-Woo becomes increasingly strong — even OP in the game tropes Solo Leveling trots about. It’s fantastic to see it happen without quite the same gimmick as similar series, such as Berserk of Gluttony.
If you’re interested in checking out the webtoon, you can via a Pocket Comic subscription. If physical media is more your fancy, Yen Press has the series available in English across 8 volumes (so far) of its planned 13 main installments.
