Solo Leveling: Is the Show Setting Up Jinwoo to Become Evil?

Summary

Jinwoo easily justifies killing, suggesting a potential dark path in his future.
However, the future story in the manhwa does not seem to steer towards Jinwoo turning evil

The following contains spoilers from the Solo Leveling manhwa.

Sung Jinwoo’s character in Solo Leveling has several moments of setup for a possible heel turn later in the series. In the anime, we see him grappling with a killer instinct and a lust for battle that he develops after rapidly gaining immense power.

While at the beginning of the series, Jinwoo is more empathetic and open, we see his emotions become colder as he is continually burdened by the responsibility of saving everyone on his own. Jinwoo himself admits that he is losing his humanity the stronger he gets. Is the story setting up Jinwoo to turn evil as he sheds his humanity and ascends to the realm of powerful god-like beings later in the Solo Leveling story?

Solo Leveling: Were Cha Hae-In’s Feelings for Jin-Woo Too One-Sided?

Over time, Cha Hae-In’s feelings for Sung Jin-Woo grow deeper, but is it too one-sided?

Jinwoo Easily Justifies Killing

The Pieces Are There For His Fall

Initially, Jinwoo seemed to adhere to stricter morals regarding the killing of other humans, which were slowly eroded. During his first dungeon raid with Yoo Jin-Ho, he was forced to kill an entire party of hunters in self-defense.

“There are people present who want to kill the Player. Defeat them all and ensure your safety. WARNING: If you do not complete this quest, YOUR HEART WILL STOP.” -The system’s message to Jinwoo in Episode 6.

He was initially resistant, but was surprised to discover just how easy it was and how little killing affected his conscience. While an act of self-defense doesn’t go against the spirit of his morals, the feeling he got after killing the hunters made him question just how much he had lost his humanity from gaining the powers of the system.

“Everything about that moment was easy. When the time came, I didn’t hesitate for a second. If anything, I resented them for thinking they were even close to my league. The old me definitely would’ve tried to find a way out of it.” -Sung Jinwoo

We see in the aftermath of him massacring the hunter group in self-defense that Jinwoo has developed an ego from his powers and now feels nothing when killing other humans. These traits, together, could be the perfect foundation for a dark turn for Jinwoo as he loses his attachment to humanity. This is later reinforced when Jinwoo saves his mother, and he feels like he can’t enjoy the moment because of what he has done.

“I wanted this for so long… and yet, I feel so anxious. Since the reawakening, I’ve crossed a line I don’t think I can come back from.” -Sung Jinwoo.

Turning Evil Is Unlikely

The Story Goes a Different Direction in the Manhwa

However, though all the pieces are set up for Jinwoo to fall down the path of evil, the future story in the manhwa does not seem to go in this direction. These early moments, where the audience is invited to question Jinwoo’s morals, are not followed up with as he continues fighting stronger beings.

“I feel like something within me is lost every time I get stronger.” -Sung Jinwoo

In the end, Jinwoo chooses to isolate himself further by turning back time and taking on the entire war against the monarchs on his own shoulders. He uses the Cup of Reincarnation and tells the Rulers not to open the gates, meaning there would be no awakened hunters on Earth besides him. Instead of turning evil, Jinwoo turns inward to protect humanity while separating himself from them. This trend continues in future series stories, where he leaves for long periods to battle the Itarim, leaving his family and friends alone in his absence.

Of course, the anime for Solo Leveling doesn’t have to adapt the exact same story as laid out in the manga. However, so far, the anime has been a pretty faithful adaptation. It has only made a few subtle changes here and there to improve the anime viewing experience. This means that it is unlikely that the anime will follow through on the early seeds of doubt to give Jinwoo an evil arc. Still, it’s worth keeping these scenes in mind from now on, as they showcase the texture of Jinwoo’s character and what he easily could have been had circumstances been different.

Solo Leveling can be streamed on Crunchyroll and Amazon.