Summary
Solo Levelingwas one of thebiggest shows of 2024, and it ensured that the 2025 anime year started with a bang. The series has become iconic due to its crisp animation, incredible fights, and the charisma of the world it is set in. One of the more fascinating aspects of Sung Jinwoo’s powers is his ability to call up shadows who fight for him and are basically immortal.
The first season ended with him extracting his very first powerful shadow, Igris, and so it was fitting that season 2 ended with another powerful shadow, Beru. With fans chomping at the bit for a third season, what are some of the more powerful shadows that could make an appearance in the new season? There are several worth highlighting that could really get the blood pumping by the time the next season rolls around.
Origin
Boss Naga
One of the most prominent shadows that Sung Jinwoo obtained after the Jeju Arc was Jima, the boss Naga which he faced off against during anA-Rankdungeon raid. Sung Jinwoo had gone into that dungeon along with Woo Jin-chul who had been tasked with ‘protecting’ Jinwoo. It was here that Jin-chul saw firsthand just how powerful Jinwoo was.
Jinwoo faced Jima himself and recalled his shadows, which Jin-chul asked about, and he responded that he wanted to fight Jima alone so as not to rely on his shadows too much and lose touch. Jima, when awakened as a shadow, was immediately set to level 13 and took on the rank of an Elite Knight. This is impressive as an Elite Knight is about on par with an S-rank hunter.
Giants
A major arc that showcases the growth in Sung Jinwoo’s powers was theJapan Crisis arcwhere a dungeon break takes place in Japan which spews forth huge giants who start to tear the country apart. The giants were able to take down some S-class hunters and there was panic everywhere. Sung Jinwoo stepped in with the hopes of increasing his powers and averting disaster around the world.
He and his shadows faced off against giants and, with their overwhelming numbers, were able to take down the giants. The giants are incredibly powerful, as only 31 of them were able to wreak so much havoc in Japan to the point where the country was begging for help from National Level hunters. Upon defeating the giants, Sung Jinwoo extracted their shadows and didn’t even bother naming them, instead simply calling them numbers ‘1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6’.
Kamish
Kamish was a dragon that appeared with the first everS-rank gateand was essentially the dragon that gave Thomas Andre his fame around the world. In a bid to curry favor with Sung Jinwoo, the American government tried to tempt him with a rune stone from Kamish’s hide. It was said to have incredible powers and the hope was that this would be enough to win Sung Jinwoo’s allegiance.
Ultimately, all Jinwoo wanted was to see the corpse and while the American Hunters Association was against him having a shadow as powerful as Kamish, they were powerless to stop him. Jinwoo, extracted Kamish, and his strength was like nothing Jinwoo had encountered. Unfortunately, the passage of time between its death and extraction meant that it could not hold itself together for long, and soon, Kamish disintegrated. It was a huge loss for Jinwoo, and he was visibly angry at his inability to procure Kamish as a soldier.
Hwang Dongsoo
Sung Jinwoo rarely turns humans into shadow soldiers, and there are only three examples in which he did this. First to suffer this fate was Kim Chul, the A-rank from the Red Gate incident. The other was Min Byung-Gyu, but this was because of an emergency, and once Byung-Gyu had healed Cha Hae-in, he released him and let him rest in peace. The most prominent was, of course, Greed, formerly Hwang Dongsoo.
Dongsoo, enraged that Jinwoo had killed his brother, sought revenge and kidnapped and tortured Yoo Jinho to get Jinwoo to act. It was no use as Jinwoo ended up killing Dongsoo despiteThomas Andre’sinterference. He became a shadow and was immediately a Knight Commander. Considering this happened around chapters 145-146, it is likely to appear in the third season.
NA
Bellion is the first shadow ever created by theShadow Monarch, Ashborn and as the inheritor of Ashborn’s power, Sung Jinwoo is Bellion’s master. An immensely powerful shadow, he towers over every other shadow in existence and his fierce loyalty means that he is a dependable shadow for Sung Jinwoo.
Bellion is perhaps the last shadow of note that Sung Jinwoo acquires and some might question if he will appear in season 3 of theSolo Levelinganime. But considering that the first two seasons of the show ended with Sung Jinwoo adding asignificant shadowto his army, it makes sense that Bellion could be the final shadow to end the season with and make way for a fourth and possibly final season for this titanic series.
