Solo Levelingis aonce-in-a-generation smash-hit anime series, and Jinwoo’s Shadows have played a large role in the show’s success. After the Job Change Arc towards the end of the first season of the anime, Jinwoo gained the ability to resurrect his enemy’s Shadows. The Shadows in his possession are immortal, and as long as Jinwoo has mana, he can resurrect them infinitely.
It’s one of the most broken powers in anime. Not only is the ability itself absurdly strong, but Jinwoo has access to some ofthe strongest characters inSolo Leveling.While Jinwoo already has some of the strongest characters around in his Shadow Army,there are a few more characters that could have made his army even stronger.These characters weren’t added for a variety of reasons, but that doesn’t mean that they wouldn’t have made for amazing additions.
8Kamish
Humanity’s Greatest Calamity Would Have Been a Great Shadow
Kamish was the boss of the first ever S-Rank Gate inSolo Leveling,and he earned his title brutally. He’s known as “Humanity’s Greatest Calamity”, and when his feats are taken into account, it’s easy to see why.Kamish appeared before the main events of the series, destroying most of North America when he appeared.The Hunters that defeated him were given the National Level Rank to symbolize just how far above S-Rank they were.
Kamish is an interesting character inSolo Levelingbecause he was added to Jinwoo’s Shadow Army, at least for a little bit. It had been quite some time since Kamish had died, so Jinwoo wasn’t able to add his Shadow for more than a few minutes. Still, it’s interesting to think of Humanity’s Greatest Calamity fighting once again, and under Jinwoo, Kamish would have been even stronger.
7Yuri Orloff
The Strongest Barrier User in the World Would Have Been Even Stronger as a Shadow
Yuri Orloff isthe strongest Russian Hunter inSolo Leveling. The series also implies that he might be the strongest barrier magic user in the series, as Japan hires him at an exorbitant rate to protect their country from the massive Gates that appear on their soil. Yuri is incredibly confident in himself, but when the giants appear, he’s destroyed swiftly.
Jinwoo doesn’t add too many Hunters to his Shadow Army. Out of his named Shadows, only two were actually Hunters (Iron and Greed). It would have been interesting to see Jinwoo not only add a barrier user to his arsenal, but one of the strongest in the series.It could have given the Second Shadow Monarch a whole new way to fight, as Yuri’s barriers would have stopped any enemy around, bar the giants.
6The S-Rank Japanese Hunters
The Ant King Unwittingly Gave Jinwoo an Opportunity to Obtain Several Strong Shadows
The Jeju Island Arc isthe best arc inSolo Leveling,and the Japanese Hunters add to it immensely. They’re a little subdued in the anime, but in the Webtoon, they’re arrogant, selfish, relatively evil characters who don’t care much for their Korean counterparts.To their credit, they’re shown to be stronger than Korea’s S-Rank Hunters.On Jeju Island, however, they’re the ones to die to the vicious Ant King.
The Ant King killed several of Japan’s strongest Hunters. Jinwoo could have taken advantage of this brutal opportunity and added them all to his Shadow Army. Since they were all S-Rank, he would have had Shadows stronger than any in his army at that time in the series (bar Beru). It would have been interesting to see Jinwoo add more Hunters to the mix, but the series didn’t make it clear whether Jinwoo knew of their deaths or not, so he didn’t.
5Min Byung-Gyu
This S-Rank Hunter Showed off the Greatest Healing Abilities in Solo Leveling
Min Byung-Gyu is one ofthe most tragic characters inSolo Leveling. He’s an S-Rank Korean Hunter who lost one of his closest friends, Eunseok, during a raid on Jeju Island. He then chose to retire from a life of being a Hunter because the trauma was too much for him to handle. When he heard his other close friend, Baek Yoonho, was heading back to the island, he gathered his resolve and joined.
Min Byung-Gyu was shown to be the greatest healer in the entire series.He brought Cha Hae-In back from the brink of death. Jinwoo initially obtained him as a Shadow, but that wasn’t what Min Byung-Gyu or Baek Yoonho wanted. Baek Yoonho asked Jinwoo to release his friend, and in a rare moment of humanity, Jinwoo obliged.
4Baruka
The Magic Beast with the Most Personality Would Have Been a Great Addition to the Shadow Army
There are plenty of characters stronger than Baruka (known as Barca in the anime and light novel). Even though he got outscaled later in the series,there are few characters inSolo Levelingwith Baruka’s charisma.He’s smooth, powerful, and one of the few characters that Jinwoo couldn’t add to his Shadow Army.
Baruka is also one of the few characters in the series that was actually stronger than Sung Jinwoo when they fought. Jinwoo needed Igris' help, and even then, that wasn’t enough. He had to goad Kim Chul into attacking him so he could kill him and make a Shadow out of him, creating Iron. Jinwoo only beat Baruka because he was fighting 3v1, showing just how strong the leader of the Ice Elves really was.
3Goto Ryuji
The Strongest Hunter in Japan Could Have Been Jinwoo’s Shadow
Goto Ryuji was the strongest Japanese Hunter and the Guild Master of the strongest Japanese Guild, the Draw Sword Guild. He’s a cold, stoic character who might have had less than noble intentions during the Jeju Island Arc. His fight against Jinwoo pushed the Second Shadow Monarch more than almost anyone else, forcing Jinwoo to actually take him seriously.
“He’s definitely a step above the other S-Ranks.” - Jinwoo talking about Goto Ryuji.
Most of the Japanese Hunters that died to the Ant King couldn’t even see him coming. Goto Ryuji was able to defend himself for a little bit, showing that he was stronger than the rest of his country’s S-Ranks. After the Ant King killed Ryuji, Jinwoo had an opportunity to resurrect him as a Shadow. It would have been awesome to see Goto Ryuji fighting for Jinwoo instead of against him,and even more awesome to see the name that Jinwoo gave his former adversary.
2Thomas Andre
Jinwoo Should Have Made Thomas a Shadow After Their Fight
Thomas Andre is ranked asthe strongest Hunter inSolo Leveling. He’s one of the characters who was able to kill Kamish when he appeared years before the series starts. While he endsSolo Levelingas an ally to Jinwoo, he doesn’t start that way. He was the antagonist of the International Guild Conference Arc, and his fight with Jinwoo will be incredible once it’s animated.
Thomas Andre was never really a villain. He was doing what he thought was right by defending Hwang Dongoo from Jinwoo, but he was no match for the Second Shadow Monarch. With the power of the Rulers, Thomas Andre probably would have evaporated into light if he died. If Jinwoo was able to take Thomas Andre’s Shadow, however,he would’ve had an absolute tank at his disposal with limitless firepower.
1Sung Il-Hwan
Sung Il-Hwan is Sung Jinwoo’s lost father inSolo Leveling.Before the series started, Il-Hwan was one of the first Korean Hunters. He was trapped in a Dungeon for 10 years and was only released when he agreed to work with the Rulers as their emissary. He’s lurking behind the scenes for most of the series, only popping out at the most important moment.
Sung Il-Hwan finally makes his big appearance during one of the final arcs of the season when he saves his son’s life from the Monarchs. He uses too much power while defending Jinwoo, costing him his life. As an emissary of the Rulers, Il-Hwan’s body dissolved into shards of light when he died. Jinwoo never got a chance to recover his father’s body as a Shadow, but if he had,Il-Hwan could have been stronger than Bellion himself.
