Solo Leveling: All 17 Deaths in the Anime Ranked by Importance

Solo Leveling is a South Korean novel series that has recently seen an anime adaptation. Arguably the most popular manhwa in the world, Solo Leveling is sure to attract a lot of attention, especially because the anime adaptation is truly great. While we’re enjoying the episodes, we have decided to cover some basic elements from the story. In this article, we are going to talk about death in the series, as we bring you a list of all the deaths in the Solo Leveling anime series, as they happened so far.

Now, as we have said, what we are going to do in this article is provide you with a list of all the deaths that occurred in the Solo Leveling anime. We are going to list the major characters who have died so far (both on- and off-screen) and explain what happened to them in the series and how exactly they died. The article will only focus on those deaths that have occurred in the anime so far, so we’ll regularly update the article with new information as they arrive.

1. Stone Golem

The Stone Golem was a mid-tier monster that appeared briefly in Episode 4 of the anime series while Jinwoo was in the Instant Dungeon. It appeared through a Dungeon Break, and it caused some problems for the gathered Hunters, mainly because of its exceptionally sturdy defense and strength.

But, Jinwoo arrived just in time, and with one precisely placed throw, he was able to bring down the Stone Golem’s defense, all thanks to his new powers. This was enough for the other Hunters to tackle the monster and defeat it. Due to the death having no impact whatsoever, we decided to place it so low.

2. Unnamed Hunters in the Cartenon Temple

The tragedy of the Double Dungeon was horrible, and alongside killing many, it also severely traumatized those who managed to survive. While most of the victims are known, there is a small group of Hunters whose identities have not been revealed, and while their deaths are a tragedy, they are not as impactful.

This is a group of five unnamed Hunters who were burned by the Statue of God during the First Trial of the Cartenon Temple and whose burned remains were briefly seen, scarring those who were lucky enough to survive this brutal attack.

3. Goo Juntae

Goo Juntae was one of the six “Lizards” in the series, the first one to actually die. The “Lizards” were truly vile and despicable characters and while Juntae was equally horrible as the others, we listed him first simply because he was the first one to die in the end.

He taunted Jinwoo, not knowing his true powers and his new Quest, thinking stupidly that he would be able to kill him, but ended up being decapitated by Jinwoo, who did not want to kill other people but had to because it was the only way for him to survive his new surprise Quest. Also, the “Lizards” would have killed him otherwise.

4. Lee Chul-jin

The next “Lizard” to die was Lee Chul-jin, the one with the short hair. Along with Sukmin, he charged Jinwoo, stupidly believing that he would be able to kill him. But that did not happen. Jinwoo avoided his attack and stabbed him in the neck from the back.

Moments later, he started to suffer the effects of the poison of the King of the Swamp and started bleeding from his pores, dying moments later due to the intense effects of the poison he had been injected with by Jinwoo.

5. Sukmin

Sukmin’s story is tied to Chul-jin’s, as the two of them attacked Jinwoo at the same time. As we’ve said, all the “Lizards” were equally horrible, but Sukmin was the third one to die chronologically, and that explains the current order of things. He also stupidly believed he could defeat Jinwoo.

Jinwoo ended up stabbing him in the stomach with the same toxic blade, so moments later, he suffered Chul-jin’s fate and ended up on the floor, bleeding and dying soon after. And that is the whole story of his death and his fate in Solo Leveling.

6. Jinsuk

Jinsuk was the guy with the spiky hair and the goggles. He had a crossbow with which he attacked Jinwoo, but the latter simply deflected his attacks and then proceeded to kill Chu-jin and Jinsuk. He then charged at Jinsuk, who thus became his next victim. What happened?

Well, the actual scene was not shown, but we can assume that Jinwoo sliced his neck, as the scene showed him bleeding from the front side, and since it only took one slice, we assume that Jinwoo had hit a vital point and that it was enough for him to eliminate Jinsuk with one simple attack.

7. Kim Guhyun

Going back to the Cartenon Temple, Kim Guhyun was the large, sturdy hunter who became the first victim of the statues. After the gates had closed, he foolishly believed that he could get out easily. Saying goodbye to the others, he went to the door, but as soon as he touched it, one of the statues guarding it started moving.

The Mace State then raised its weapon and, in a moment, cut off half of Guyhun’s upper body, effectively killing him and preparing the others for the horror that they were about to experience in the Double Dungeon. And while his death was brutal, it was quick and painless.

8. Joo Jae-Hwan

Joo Jae-Hwan foolishly believed that he could escape even though he witnessed both Guhyun’s death and the burning of the unnamed Hunters. He was a Hunter who took a lot of pride in his speed, so he believed that he could reach the door faster than the Statue could react. Oh, how wrong he was.

He did charge, but he had only managed to move several meters before the Statue noticed him and fired one blast at him. The blast was so strong that Jae-Hwan was destroyed in mid-air, and the only thing that was left of him were his two feet, which were not caught in the fire.

9. Yoon Sungchul

Yoon Sungchul’s death was truly tragic, as he was actually obeying the rules. Or, well, he thought that he was, really. When the second trial began, God had to be revered and Sungchul, seeing how he was a religious person, thought that he needed to say a prayer.

As he went down on his knees to pray, the moving statue was approaching it with a maniacal expression. Everyone thought it might work, but the statue simply stomped over Sungchul, killing him to the horror of others.

10. Cho Myung

Cho Myung was one of the victims of the second trial, as he ended up in front of the wrong statue. He needed to find a musician while running away from the rampaging God but ended up beneath the Axe Warrior, which ultimately proved to be his final move.

The Axe Statue cut him in half and then mauled his body in a brutal fashion, making his death one of the more brutal ones during the Second Trial, and that is why we thought that it was so impactful to rank it here.

11. King of the Swamp

The King of the Swamp was a giant snake with tough armor that Jinwoo met in the Instant Dungeon. The King of the Swamp was the boss of the Instant Dungeon, and he was ready to kill Jinwoo, who was still not strong enough to face it.

And while the young Hunter was weak, he managed to find enough hidden potential in him to activate a surge of new power, which helped him overcome this opponent. He was able to kill the King of the Swamp, clear the Dungeon, and obtain some valuable objects, which is why this death is so important for his character development.

12. Giant Arachnid Buryura

The giant spider was another monster that almost killed Jinwo, and had it all gone according to Dongsuk’s plan, Jinwoo and Jinhoo would have died in that dungeon, as the spider would have mauled them and eaten them. But they did not know about Jinwoo.

Jinwoo was quite powerful at the time, and while the Giant Arachnid Buryura was undoubtedly a strong and difficult opponent, Jinwoo was ultimately able to defeat it. This was an important death for Jinwoo’s story, similar to how the death of the King of the Swamp influenced his development.

13. Park Beom-Shik

Park Beom-Shik was definitely the most important victim of the Double Dungeon. He was a friendly Hunter and was liked by the others. He also had a family, a child, and a pregnant daughter, which makes his death even more tragic. He wasn’t even supposed to be there, as he was quite old, but he came because he needed the money.

During the second trial, as the Hunters scattered while running away from the statue, he sadly ended up in front of the Sword Statue, which raised its weapon and cut Beom-shik vertically in half, thus killing him immediately.

14. Cho Kyuhwan

The penultimate “Lizard” on this list, Cho Kyuhwan was a Mage and he was Dongsuk’s right-hand man in the group, as well as the second strongest member of the party. His spells really did pack a punch, and he was as wicked and as vile as Dongsuk was, which is why he was so important to him.

His death is significantly more important as it allowed Jinwoo to kill Dongsuk, who had – with this death – lost all the defense he had. He was sliced by Jinwoo and died rather quickly, although the anime did not show how exactly Jinwoo cut him with his weapon.

15. Hell’s Gatekeeper Kerberos

The death of Hell’s Gatekeeper Kerberos was an important moment in the evolution of Jinwoo’s story. It proved that he was ready to take on A-Rank monsters, but also that he was on his way to becoming the strongest. Hell’s Gatekeeper Kerberos was the toughest opponent that Jinwoo had faced until that point, and he was very close to killing the young Hunter.

Still, Jinwoo ultimately managed to find a way to use what he had and to trick Hell’s Gatekeeper Kerberos, effectively killing the first guardian of the Demon’s Castle Dungeon and finding the formula to make the Elixir of Life.

16. Hwang Dongsuk

The last member of the “Lizards” on this list, Hwang Dongsuk was their leader and a powerful Hunter. His goal was to sacrifice Jinhoo and Jinwoo, but it all backfired, and he had to witness Jinwoo kill his teammates. And while he himself was ready to kill the young Hunter, he ended up beheaded as well, dying in that same Dungeon.

His death is important because of the impact it had on Jinwoo’s personality and evolution as a character, but also because it was the beginning of a revenge story that we are going to talk about later.

17. Eunseok

Eunseok was an S-Rank Hunter who participated in the third Jeju Island raid. He was skilled, he was quite powerful and while his death has not been shown on-screen, it has been confirmed that he died during that raid, which was a major and impactful moment.

It changed a lot – two of his fellow S-Ranks were shocked and still want revenge, while the third ended up retiring. His death is going to be explored more, which is when it will become clear why we have placed it on top of this list as the most important death so far.

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