Solo Leveling Creator Officially Confirms His Worst Jinwoo Regret That the Anime Can Redeem

Sung Jinwoo‘s journey from the weakest E-Rank Hunter to the Shadow Monarch is one of anime’s most spectacular glow-ups. But somewhere between the Double Dungeon and commanding an army of shadows in Solo Leveling, the frightened young man who fought for his family began to look increasingly like something else. That transformation was not accidental. In a newly revealed interview from The Art of Solo Leveling, creator Chugong explains that Jinwoo’s growing detachment was tied to his connection with Ashborn and admits he wishes he had developed that aspect more effectively.

His original plan was not simply for Jinwoo to become colder. It was for him to struggle between his human instincts and the mentality of a being shaped by an immeasurable war. That revelation could give the anime a fascinating opportunity to make Jinwoo’s most important transformation feel as powerful emotionally as it does physically.

Solo Leveling’s Creator Regrets Leaving Jinwoo’s Humanity in the Shadows

Jinwoo’s emotional shift has always been one of the quieter changes in Solo Leveling. Early on, survival is personal. His mother is hospitalized, his sister Jinah depends on him, and even the absurdly dangerous life of an E-Rank Hunter is worth enduring because someone has to keep his family afloat.

Then comes the System. Every level-up pushes Jinwoo further away from the Hunter who entered the Double Dungeon. His body changes, his confidence explodes, and his relationship with danger becomes almost unrecognizable. He eventually gains Shadow Extraction, builds an enormous army, and steps into the role of Shadow Monarch. Yet Chugong’s newly revealed comments show that there was a deeper mechanism behind this transformation.

According to the interview published in the official The Art of Solo Leveling, Jinwoo’s connection with Ashborn was designed to affect more than his combat abilities. As the two became increasingly synchronized, Ashborn’s nature as a being forged through endless warfare influenced Jinwoo’s emotional state. Chugong said:

If I were to write Solo Leveling again, I would like to develop that aspect properly. The mind of a war machine that had spent an immeasurable amount of time fighting enemies became intertwined with the mind of an ordinary human, so I thought it was only natural that he would change. He became cold and composed, even reaching the point where he enjoyed the thrill of confronting powerful enemies.

Chugong explains that he wanted to portray an ongoing conflict between Jinwoo’s human side and the increasingly inhuman mentality inherited through Ashborn. The intended destination was not Jinwoo simply becoming emotionless.

“Amid that intense tug-of-war between his inhumanity and humanity, I wanted to depict him gradually reclaiming his human side, ultimately culminating in a scene where the two minds assimilated into a single being,” Chugong added.

And this is where the creator’s worst regret about Jinwoo becomes significant. Chugong says that, if he were writing Solo Leveling again, he would develop that aspect properly. In other words, the problem was not that Jinwoo’s transformation lacked a purpose. It was that the story did not communicate that purpose as clearly as Chugong wanted.

How Solo Leveling Anime Can Restore Jinwoo’s Original Plan by Chugong

Solo Leveling already contains the ingredients for Jinwoo’s emotional story. The anime simply has more room to let them breathe. In the first episode of Season 1, Jinwoo had more humanity, empathy, and facial expressions compared to how he turned out as he kept on getting stronger. He went from a boy full of empathy to a man whose emotions are as responsive as a doorknob. Obviously, Chugong has a lot of room to turn Jinwoo from a flashy aura-farming hero with no depth into a character with whom viewers could connect.

That is especially valuable because Jinwoo’s relationships provide the clearest measuring stick for his humanity. His mother represents the reason he entered the Hunter profession. We have no clue about his father, Sung Il-Hwan, and how he became the vessel for the Rulers. There’s so much to unpack, and the anime is the right cauldron that can bring forth Jinwoo’s past, his father’s past, Ih-wan and his mother’s journey, and how Jinwoo grew up in the absence of his father. There’s a plethora of things to play with.

Additionally, since we know that Jinwoo and Cha Hae-In will end up together and their son, Suho, will become another monstrously powerful being, shouldn’t there be more human emotions involved? If Chugong can’t give us a strong backstory, perhaps the anime could give us a profound love story. Plus, every S-Rank Hunter has killed numerous others, but the way Jinwoo portrays the whole “killing made me a stone-cold monster” is getting a little too on the nose.

Meanwhile, the franchise is also continuing beyond Season 2 with Solo Leveling: Beyond the System, an officially announced theatrical continuation produced with Aniplex, Crunchyroll, and A-1 Pictures.

Tell us what you think in the comments.

Solo Leveling (both seasons) is available on Crunchyroll.