5 Solo Leveling Characters Who Deserved Better

Spoiler warning: This article discusses major story developments from Solo Leveling and Solo Leveling: Ragnarok.

Solo Leveling is built around an irresistible power fantasy. Adapted from Chugong’s web novel and its acclaimed webtoon, the series follows hunters who use supernatural abilities to defend humanity from dangerous creatures. Hunters are ranked by ability, while a video-game-like interface known as the System allows Sung Jin-woo to grow stronger at an extraordinary pace.

Jin-woo begins as a vulnerable E-Rank hunter trapped in a cycle of barely surviving each assignment. His steady rise into an overwhelmingly powerful fighter is the series’ central appeal, supported by spectacular battles and the mystery surrounding the source of his abilities.

That focus also leaves several fascinating characters underdeveloped. Some are removed from the story just as their potential becomes clear, while others are pushed aside so Jin-woo can remain at the centre of every major conflict. Here are five characters whose stories could have offered much more.

1. Esil Radiru

Esil is the eldest princess of the Radiru Clan and a demon noble, making her an intriguing figure from the moment she appears. Jin-woo meets her after her knights attack him on the 80th floor of the Demon Castle. He defeats them easily, but Esil pleads for her life and offers to help him continue his ascent.

Her decision is more than simple self-preservation. Esil later shows real courage during the battle against the Demon King Baran, and her lighter personality adds welcome humour to an otherwise tense storyline. Unfortunately, her original arc ends before that potential can be fully explored.

She receives a larger role in Solo Leveling: Ragnarok, the sequel focused on Jin-woo’s son, Sung Suho. Esil returns as Suho’s ally, takes the title Monarch of Gluttony and eventually gives him the rare Demon King’s Purified Blood, an ingredient he needs to create the Holy Water of Life. That expanded role helps, but Esil still deserved more time alongside Jin-woo.

2. Christopher Reed

Christopher Reed is one of America’s two strongest hunters and one of only five National Level Hunters. His story begins with a prophecy warning that he will die, prompting him to seek Jin-woo’s help in the hope that the predicted fate can be avoided.

Reed’s abilities are showcased during the International Guild Conference Arc, when three Monarchs ambush him inside a dimensional gap. He fights bravely, yet dies soon afterwards. His mutilated body is found among the ruins of his mansion, leaving the story with little opportunity to explore his fire magic or the true limits of a National Level Hunter.

Ragnarok revisits Reed in its altered timeline, but the reprieve is short-lived. The Itarim, a race of gods responsible for creating all existence, target him, and he dies again. Across both versions of events, Reed is defined more by his doomed fate than by the remarkable hunter he could have become.

3. Lee Joohee

Lee Joohee is a B-Rank Healer and one of Jin-woo’s closest friends from his days as an E-Rank hunter. During the D-Rank Dungeon Arc, she repeatedly protects him by treating his injuries throughout the dangerous raid.

The events inside the Cartenon Temple, also known as the Double Dungeon, leave Joohee with severe psychological trauma and a crippling fear of dungeons. She eventually retires from the hunter life, choosing a safer and quieter existence.

That choice is understandable, but the series uses it to remove one of its most compassionate and grounded characters. Joohee had been an emotional anchor for Jin-woo, while his relentless pursuit of greater power carried him in the opposite direction. Their mutual separation reflects incompatible lives, yet it also makes the story’s lost possibilities particularly painful.

4. Sung Il-Hwan

Jin-woo’s father, Sung Il-Hwan, left his career as a firefighter and became what would later be recognised as one of Korea’s first S-Rank Hunters. Because the ranking system did not yet exist, he never received the status or privileges normally associated with that level.

During a raid, Il-Hwan became trapped in a dungeon for more than ten years. His family believed he had died, and even his eventual return could not restore the life he had lost. After the Rulers, an ancient race of angelic warriors, rescued him, they made him their vessel and tasked him with killing the future Shadow Monarch.

Il-Hwan’s reunion with Jin-woo ends almost immediately in another tragedy: he dies and disintegrates into dust before he can properly explain his disappearance or the mission forced upon him. His sacrifice is important, but both father and son deserved a longer, more meaningful chance at emotional closure.

5. Goto Ryuji

Goto Ryuji is introduced as Japan’s strongest hunter and the Guild Master of the Draw Sword Guild. He is not especially sympathetic: Goto is ruthless, politically ambitious and willing to treat human lives as expendable. Those qualities, however, make him a compelling contrast to Jin-woo.

During the Jeju Island Raids, Goto loses contact with his guild and discovers the bodies of his members. He is unmoved because he had secretly intended to eliminate the Korean S-Rank Hunters rather than help retake Jeju Island. His survival-of-the-fittest outlook makes him an intriguing potential antagonist.

Instead, the Ant King ambushes Goto and quickly beheads him and his allies. The death suits his arrogance, but it arrives just as the character’s abilities and political motives begin to matter. Goto’s removal clears the way for Jin-woo to take the spotlight as the true figure capable of challenging the Ant King.

Power Comes at a Cost

Jin-woo’s solitary progression is the defining feature of Solo Leveling, and the series’ spectacular action rarely loses momentum. Still, Esil, Christopher, Joohee, Il-Hwan and Goto each point to stories that could have added greater emotional or political depth.

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