Summary
- Jinwoo is Korea’s 10th S-Rank Hunter, causing the various major Korean guilds to compete for his signature.
- Hunter Rankings are based on Mana concentration, with S-Rank Hunters having immeasurable levels thereof.
- The Hunter Association is crucial in maintaining the delicate balance among the country’s top guilds, aiming to recruit Jinwoo to avoid upsetting this balance.
In the fourth episode of Solo Leveling Season 2 -Arise from the Shadow-, Sung Jinwoo has his Rank reassessed, and it is revealed that his Mana cannot be measured, indicating that he is an S-Rank Hunter. His presence has the potential to upset the delicate balance maintained between the top five Hunter Guilds in Korea, which is also kept in check by the Hunter Association.
Over the course of the episode, we come to learn more about the purpose of the Hunter Association, the value of the S-Rank status to the few Hunters who wield it, as well as the first-ever Korean S-Rank Hunter.
The nation’s greatest advocates right now are not the government, but the Hunters who protect people from magic beasts. The core of this is the five largest guilds. It’s like five great dinosaurs maintaining a delicate stalemate against each other. But should you join any of them, the balance will collapse. The Hunter Association is vital to the nation as a deterrent to them, a sixth power, essentially.
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Solo Leveling Season 2, Episode 4 Review: Sung Jinwoo Becomes Korea’s 10th S-Rank Hunter
Jinwoo gets his Rank reassessed, and is revealed to be Korea’s 10th S-Rank Hunter, kicking off the Guilds’ race for his signature.
Let’s Recap Hunter Rankings
A Measure of Magic Power
Hunter Rankings are an at-a-glance measure of a Hunter’s magic power, more specifically, a measure of the concentration of Mana in their bodies. The Rank is measured using specialized technology, enabling the Hunter Association to get a numerical measure of a Hunter’s Mana concentration. The higher the value, the higher the Rank, with E-Rank being the lowest tier of Mana concentration, and thus the Rank of the weakest Hunters, while S-Rank is the highest tier.
For one to be considered an S-Rank Hunter, their Mana levels must be immeasurable by usual means, meaning that the equipment used to perform this appraisal must be unable to do so for those individuals. Rankings cannot change, an individual’s potential as a Hunter is set the moment they awaken, and there’s a significant gulf in ability between each tier, so while E-Rank is the weakest among Hunters, an E-Ranker could easily defeat a normal human, and it is incredibly difficult for a Hunter of a lower Rank to best one of a higher Rank in combat.
This is where things get pretty hazy, as there’s no real way to compare S-Rankers unless they duke it out, and their doing so is highly undesirable for the potential damage such a battle would cause. There could be an unbelievable gulf in class between two S-Rank Hunters, and this is what we’re shown through the introduction of Sung Jinwoo’s father, Sung Il Hwan, and his subsequent humbling of Hwang Dongsoo. The Hunter Ranking System has been in place for several years since the initial appearance of the Gates; however, we know that the system wasn’t around when Sung Il Hwan was a Hunter ten years prior to the events of the series, which is why he is relatively unknown despite his strength.
Introducing Korea’s First S-Rank
The Hunter Association As a Sixth Korean Power
Jinwoo gets a lot of attention after his Rank reassessment, as the various major guilds in the country strive to get his signature. Big names like the Hunters’ Guild leader Choi Jong In and even the White Tiger Guild’s Baek Yoonho; whom Jinwoo met briefly following the Red Gate Incident, were basically falling over themselves to sign the newest Korean S-Rank Hunter. Even the Hunter Association’s interest was piqued, with the Chairman Go Gunhee tracking down Jinwoo at the hospital where his mother was admitted to have a conversation about the importance of Jinwoo’s decision.
Should he join any of the top five Guilds, the delicate stalemate being maintained between them will collapse, ushering in an age that is overwhelmingly dominated by whichever guild he selects. The Chairman aims to recruit Sung Jinwoo for the Hunter Association, giving him a stable career track while also ensuring that the aforementioned balance is maintained.
He describes the Hunter Association as a de facto sixth power in this delicate balance, one that keeps the five in check given the inherent power Hunters have over those who are not. He has immense insight into the social ramifications of the emergence of Hunters, not only because he’s the Chairman of the Hunter Association, but because Go Gunhee is the first-ever S-Rank Hunter in Korea’s history.
Including Sung Jinwoo, the country has only ever had ten, and the Chairman himself doesn’t engage in Raids anymore because he’s retired. While the Chairman’s character design and demeanour are meant to give the impression of the “strong elderly” archetype that is especially prevalent in shonen anime, manga and video games, the confirmation that he was the first S-Rank Hunter in Korea gives more credence to the impression of strength.
Solo Leveling Season 2 -Arise from the Shadow- is available on Crunchyroll.
Solo Leveling
- Release Date
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January 7, 2024
- Directors
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Shunsuke Nakashige
- Writers
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Noboru Kimura
Cast
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Taito Ban
Shun Mizushino (voice)
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Genta Nakamura
Kenta Morobishi (voice)
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Haruna Mikawa
Aoi Mizushino (voice)
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