How Much Has Sung Jin-Woo Changed Since Season 1?

Solo Leveling‘s Sung Jin-woo is an underdog protagonist who starts as arguably the weakest hunter in the world and undergoes a dramatic transformation after being chosen by a system that helps him evolve constantly. His journey is marked by relentless growth but the origins of his mysterious powers are shrouded in secrecy, adding a layer of intrigue to the show’s narrative.

Underdog anime protagonists with emotional backstories often draw the fascination of fans, who are keen to witness their journey from weakness to strength and beyond. Sung Jin-Woo is no different in this regard, and here’s how he used to be before his awakening, what he became after gaining powers beyond his wildest imagination, and what could be in store for him in the future.

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Sung Jin-woo Origins: Humanity’s Weakest Hunter

Much of Jin-woo’s Adulthood Was Spent Making Sacrifices for Others

Ever since the gates to alternate dimensions appeared, people, who later became known as hunters, began awakening powers that allowed them to fight beasts on the other side. Ranked in descending order as S, A, B, C, D, and E-rank, hunters grew in power and stature in society. But not all of them enjoyed special privileges by awakening magical powers.

South Korean hunter Sung Jin-Woo’s father disappeared many years ago, and after his mother was diagnosed with Eternal Slumber, his world started to fall apart. Forced to shoulder the responsibility of financially supporting his family, Jin-woo was elated when he realized that he had an awakening, which meant he could work as a hunter and hopefully earn more money. Unfortunately for him, his powers were too underwhelming.

After becoming a hunter, Sung Jin-Woo’s dedication to his family never waned, despite facing several life-threatening injuries during raids. He even became a joke for other hunters, who mocked him as humanity’s weakest hunter. Jin-woo never showed even a hint of anger for being looked down upon. He silently ignored all the comments made to him and never planned on retaliating.

Selflessness and industry were second nature to Sung, who pushed himself far beyond his physical limits for the sake of his family. In the D-Rank Dungeon Arc, when he was asked to cast the decisive vote for or against exploring the double dungeon, Jin-woo did not hesitate to reply in the affirmative, even though he knew that he was potentially putting his life on the line.

Playing with his life just for some extra money to pay his mother’s hospital bill and support his sister was a risk worth taking for Sung Jin-Woo. But this should not fool anyone into thinking that his compassion and kindness were limited to his family. Sung agreed to get killed on the altar in the double dungeon to save his comrades. Although the circumstances played a role in shaping that decision, Jin-woo did not hesitate to make the call himself and demonstrated that although he was humanity’s weakest hunter, he was also perhaps one of the bravest.

Sung Jin-woo’s Second Awakening and Early Acquaintance With the System

The Paradox of Sung’s Personality

After surviving the double dungeon mysteriously, Jin-woo experienced a second awakening. He was also acquainted with the System, a magical program that picked him as a player and helped him become more powerful by assigning him different missions and tasks. Sung was thrilled by the transformation that he achieved in just a few weeks. With the System constantly testing and empowering him, it appeared that there was no limit to his powers.

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Soon, Sung Jin-woo gained the confidence to go hunting solo. In the Dungeon & Lizards arc, when he joined Hwang Dongsuk’s strike team for a C-Rank dungeon, he underwent a life-changing experience. Until this point, Sung had only fought magical beasts and killed even somewhat strong dungeon bosses, which had started becoming second nature to him. But when Hwang Dongsuk and his men betrayed him and tried to take his life on more than one occasion, Jin-woo was instructed by the System to eliminate all of them, with the warning that failure would lead to his death.

Sung Jin-woo realized that the System wanted to keep him alive for some inexplicable reason and was obviously using him. With that insight, he decided to use the magical program for his benefit as well. Acting on the System’s command, Sung single-handedly massacred Hwang and his team. The act of murder bothered Jin-woo, who never tried to justify the killing even to himself. Even though Hwang’s raid team had attacked first and endangered his life, Sung felt he had never truly despised them but also felt no hesitation.

Jin-woo’s transformation undoubtedly emboldened him to the point that he felt no hesitation in taking someone’s life. In at least one regard, he was nothing like the person he once used to be when he first became a hunter. Sung even felt that an older version of him would have fled the scene instead of fighting back against Hwang Dongsuk. Unfortunately, this did not turn out to be the last occasion when he took a person’s life. Jin-woo had to kill Kang Taeshik in the Dungeon & Prisoners arc when the hunter killed three prisoners along with Kim Sangshik and Kang Jeongho.

While his actions in the C-rank dungeon saved Song Chi-yul and Lee Joohee’s lives, they also desensitized him to some degree. So, when Kim Chul abandoned low-ranking hunters in the Red Gate dungeon and later tried to attack Sung, infuriated by his own failures, Jin-woo murdered the hunter and turned him into Iron, a member of his shadow army. Knowing the power difference between the two, Sung could have avoided resorting to such a drastic measure, but he still made a violent decision. He later appeared to ponder over his actions, but it was already too late. The once weakest hunter had now turned into a dangerous combatant who resorted to ethically questionable means for his victory.

However, it is noteworthy that Sung kept people in his group safe in the Red Gate dungeon. He made sure that everyone was warm and well-fed. Furthermore, even when he faced the dungeon boss Baruka, none of them had to pick up a weapon to defend themselves. Interestingly, Jin-woo even ended up in the situation because he wanted to acquaint Han Song-Yi with the harsh reality of a hunter’s life so that she returned to school and graduated. So, he was not expecting to gain anything from the mission and was only looking out for Han.

The dichotomy of his actions in a related series of events hinted at an internal turmoil and subconscious darkness in the depths of his soul that never existed before his second awakening. Once upon a time, Sung Jin-woo would have never killed a human being, but now, under specific circumstances, he not only murdered but also showed the desire to include the person in his shadow army. While most of his actions still remained considerate of people around him, there was also a darkness inside him that grew with each day, threatening to eventually consume his humanity.

Sung Jin-woo’s Public Ascension As a Hunter

Humanity’s Weakest Hunter to the Most Sought-After Hunter

Sung Jin-woo had already started drawing attention even before the Red Gate incident, but surviving the tragedy when all the other higher-ranked hunters died raised many questions. Everything changed when he decided to get his rank re-evaluated. Soon, it became public knowledge that he was South Korea’s 10th S-rank hunter, which catapulted him into the spotlight. Jin-woo had kept a low profile until this point, but he had started feeling emboldened enough to flex his muscles and reveal his true strength.

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Sung’s position brought many lucrative offers, but he rejected them all, remaining focused on gathering all the ingredients from Demon Castle to make the Elixir of Life so that he could finally wake up his mother from Eternal Slumber. Around the same time, he also started contemplating the idea of starting his own guild. Meanwhile, Jin-woo’s strong presence and unique personality appealed to Korea’s top hunter Cha Hae-in, who quickly became infatuated with him. Once struggling to support his family financially, Sung Jin-woo had now transformed into a one-man army, gaining fame, respect, money, power, and perhaps even love.

The Path Ahead: Sung Jin-woo’s Rise to Unprecedented Power

Jin-Woo Might Become Humanity’s Strongest Soldier

Sung Jin-woo’s ascension opened many gates for the young hunter, who was still evolving into a far more dangerous combatant with each mission. Meanwhile, his influence, both in South Korea and outside, reached new heights as stories of him single-handedly defeating dungeon bosses became popular. But Sung was never carried away by his achievements and remained grounded, still curious about the origins of his powers and trying to make sense of the System’s true intention.

Even before his second awakening, Sung had demonstrated in the double dungeon that he was a deep thinker who could think outside the box. That hadn’t changed now as he actively sought to fully understand his bizarre situation. Jin-woo also wished to fully exploit the System since it also appeared to use him. With the intention of the magical program still shrouded in secrecy, it was obvious that Sung Jin-woo would continue to try and decipher its mysteries. Meanwhile, as he continued to evolve at a frightening pace, Jin-woo could very well surpass a national-level hunter soon, perhaps becoming the most powerful hunter on the planet.

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Solo Leveling

Release Date

January 7, 2024

Directors

Shunsuke Nakashige

Writers

Noboru Kimura

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  Taito Ban

  Shun Mizushino (voice)

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  Genta Nakamura

  Kenta Morobishi (voice)