Solo Leveling, also alternatively translated as Only I Level Up (Korean: 나 혼자만 레벨업; RR: Na honjaman rebereop) is a South Korean fantasy web novel written by Chugong. It was serialized in Kakao's digital comic and fiction platform KakaoPage beginning on July 25, 2016, and was later published by D&C Media under their Papyrus label since November 4, 2016. The novel has been licensed in English by Yen Press.
A webtoon adaptation of Solo Leveling was first serialized in KakaoPage on March 4, 2018; it was illustrated by Jang Sung-rak (Dubu) and the webtoon's first season concluded on March 19, 2020, followed by its second season, which was released from August 2020 to December 2021.[1] The webtoon has been licensed in English by Yen Press. Its individual chapters have been collected and published in 14 volumes by D&C Media, as of June 2025.[2]
An anime television series adaptation produced by A-1 Pictures aired from January to March 2024. A second season, subtitled Arise from the Shadow, aired from January to March 2025.
A Korean drama adaptation is currently in development, with actor Byeon Woo-seok confirmed to star. Additionally, a spin-off webtoon Solo Leveling: Ragnarok premiered in July 2024. A role-playing video game titled Solo Leveling: Arise has been released by Netmarble.[3]
In a world where hunters—human warriors who possess supernatural abilities—must battle deadly monsters to protect all mankind from certain annihilation, a notoriously weak hunter named Sung Jin-woo finds himself in a seemingly endless struggle for survival. One day, after narrowly surviving an overwhelmingly powerful double dungeon that nearly wipes out his entire party, a mysterious program called the System chooses him as its sole player and in turn, gives him the unique ability to level up in strength. This is something no other hunter is able to do, as a hunter's abilities are set once they awaken. Jinwoo then sets out on a journey as he fights against all kinds of enemies, both man and monster, to discover the secrets of the dungeons and the true source of his powers. He soon discovers that he has been chosen to inherit the position of Shadow Monarch, essentially turning him into an immortal necromancer known as the "King of the Dead" who has absolute rule over the dead, created by a god while in the middle of the war between its two creations of light and dark, the Rulers and the Monarch. He is the only Monarch who fights to save humanity, as the other Monarchs, who are actually the leaders of all monsters, are trying to kill him and wipe out the humans.
An immortal race of soldiers resurrected by the power of the Shadow Monarch. Unlike summons from other hunters, they are capable of growth and speech. There are multiple grades of shadow soldiers, including basic grade, normal grade, elite grade, knight grade, elite knight grade, commander/general grade, marshal/commander grade, and Grand Marshal grade. Only soldiers of commander/general grade can speak.
Solo Leveling was first serialized in Kakao's digital comic and fiction platform KakaoPage since July 25, 2016, and later published by D&C Media under their fantasy fiction label "Papyrus" in 14 volumes in its first edition and in 10 in second.[13] The novel was licensed in English by Webnovel under the title Only I Level Up and released from December 21, 2018, to June 24, 2019.[14]
The second edition of the novel was published in English by Yen Press from February 16, 2021, to July 18, 2023.[15][16]
A webtoon adaptation launched in KakaoPage on March 4, 2018,[45] and concluded its first season on March 19, 2020; its second season began on August 1, 2020, concluding on December 29, 2021 with its 179th chapter. It was illustrated by Jang Sung-rak (aka Dubu), the CEO of Redice Studio, who died on July 23, 2022, after suffering from a cerebral hemorrhage.[46] Its first collected volume was released by D&C Media on September 26, 2019. In Japan, Solo Leveling launched in Kakao Japan's digital comic service Piccoma, and has accumulated over 650 million cumulative readership.[47][48] It was also selected as the No. 1 webtoon in Piccoma's "Best of 2019".[49][50][51] The webtoon has been published digitally in English by Webnovel and Tappytoon since May 7 and June 4, 2020, respectively.[52][53] It is also published on Tapas in English.[54] The collected volumes have been licensed and published in North America by Yen Press since March 2, 2021.[2]
A side story was published between January and May 2023, with Chugong returning as writer and featuring a new art team following the death of Dubu.[46][55]
An anime television series adaptation was announced at Anime Expo 2022. It is produced by A-1 Pictures and directed by Shunsuke Nakashige, with Noboru Kimura writing the scripts, and Tomoko Sudo designing the characters.[83] It was originally scheduled for 2023,[83] but was later delayed and eventually aired from January 7 to March 31, 2024, on Tokyo MX and other networks.[7][a] The first episodes were screened from December 2023 in Tokyo, Seoul, Los Angeles, India, and Europe.[84]
Crunchyroll is streaming the series.[83] Medialink licensed the series in Southeast Asia and Oceania (except Australia and New Zealand).[85][86]
After the broadcast of the first season finale, a second season titled Solo Leveling: Arise from the Shadow was announced.[87] It aired from January 5 to March 30, 2025.[88][89][b] A compilation film of the first season, titled Solo Leveling: ReAwakening, was screened along with the first two episodes of the second season in Japan from November 29 to December 12, 2024.[90][91] Crunchyroll had acquired the North American and select international rights for the compilation film, screening it in the United States and Canada on December 6, 2024.[92]
The original music of the series is composed by Hiroyuki Sawano.[83] The series' opening theme song is "Level", performed by SawanoHiroyuki[nZk] and Tomorrow X Together,[93] while the ending theme song is "Request", performed by Krage.[94] The original soundtrack was released in Japan by Aniplex and in the United States by Milan Records on March 27, 2024.[95][96] Milan Records released the soundtrack on vinyl records in the United States on October 4, 2024.[97]
For the second season, the opening theme song is "Reawaker", performed by Lisa (feat. Felix of Stray Kids),[98] while the ending theme song is "Un-Apex", performed by TK from Ling Tosite Sigure.[88]
In July 2025, Netflix was announced to be producing a live-action television series based on the manhwa with Byeon Woo-seok starring as Sung Jin-woo.[6]
In April 2023, Kakao announced a sequel titled Solo Leveling: Ragnarok. The web novel began releasing through KakaoPage on April 10, 2023.[103][104]
The story is set after the events of Solo Leveling; the side story acts as a prelude. Sung Su-ho, the son of Sung Jin-woo and Cha Hae-in, inherited his father's powers as the Shadow Monarch. However, his powers and memories were locked as a child, so he can have a normal life. But when Gates started to open up around Earth again during his third year of university, Su-ho is chosen as a Player by the System. Therefore, Su-ho must become a Hunter in order to face the new threat that is related to his parents' disappearance.[105]
The web novel is written by Daul, who replaced Chugong, the writer of the original Solo Leveling web novel. Chugong revealed he decided to support Daul, saying he still experienced the same emotions he felt when he first began serializing the original web novel.[106] The first 104 chapters debuted on KakaoPage on April 10, 2023.[104] The web novel ended in July 2025 with 357 chapters.[107]
The webtoon adaptation premiered on July 31, 2024, being developed by Redice Studio. Dangdo is the main writer adapting Daul's story, while Jin is the main artist.[108][109]
Since 2016, the novel has garnered 2.4 million readers in KakaoPage.[110] Since its release, the web novel has received constant positive reception.[111][112] Eun Yoon of Fugue ranked the book fifth in her list of best web novels, describing it as "a stand-out in the genre, offering thrilling and enjoyable reads for fans of action-packed fantasy".[112] Adam Symchuk from Asian Movie Pulse called it a "page turner", stating, "at 315 pages I found myself getting through the series in a couple days. There is a great sense of reward as you get to see Jinwoo level up and the new problems that arise as he heads towards godlike power. The only negative, having to wait for the next book as two major conflicts get introduced in the closing chapters."[111]
Timothy Blade of Comic Book Resources, however, had a more negative review of the novel's ending, commenting on its "controversial" nature and calling out the number of plot holes and inconsistencies. He also described the comic's ending as a "more rushed version" of the novel's ending, further stating, "Jinwoo seemingly didn't need a grand, heroic reason for having power, making the reason as simple as wanting to live with and protect those he loved in the Solo Leveling ending."[113]
On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the first season of Solo Leveling holds an approval rating of 100% based on nine reviews, with an average rating of 7.7/10.[114] The series premiere received generally positive reviews by the writers of Anime News Network. Rebecca Silverman felt that the gore in any scenes was not "excessive" and found the story interesting. Nicholas Dupree praised the writing, action scenes, score, and execution, but criticized the exposition and characters. Richard Eisenbeis praised the world-building while James Beckett praised the storytelling and execution, noting that Sung Jin-woo is a “likable" enough lead that "his nondescript niceness is much preferable over the edgy dweebs that you sometimes get as the heroes of these kinds of fantasy power trips."[115] Rafael Motamayor of IGN gave the first season a score of 8/10, praising its animation, action sequences, visuals, choreography, soundtrack, and world-building, while criticizing the tedious mechanics and the lack of "nuance" in writing.[116]
Redice Studio
