There’s no denying thatSolo Leveling’s protagonist, Sung Jinwoo, is one of the strongest characters in all of anime. The power Jinwoo exhibits in the anime, on its own, is one thing, but as the novel and manhwa keep going, Jinwoo quickly grows to become someone who can fight on a planetary scale, possibly universal, and few anime characters can boast that level of power.
Jinwoo is one of anime’s strongest heroes, but how well he would do against the likes ofShonen Jumpis another story. In addition to being the biggest name in manga for decades,the heroes ofShonen Jump’s anime and mangaare often some of the strongest characters in the demographic, and with how popularSolo Levelinghas become,there’s a question to be had about how well Jinwoo would fare against the strongest heroes inShonen Jump’s history. Any comparisons are hypothetical, of course, but that doesn’t make it any less fun to think about.
The following list will focus specifically on the protagonists ofShonen Jumpstories and not their supporting cast members.
Yuji Itadori from MAPPA’sJujutsu Kaisenis a primarily physical fighter, relying on his inhuman strength, speed, and reflexes in most fights in addition to his Divergent Fist and his ability to unleash powerful Black Flashes almost at will.Jujutsu Kaisen’s final arc sees Yuji gain even more power as he develops Blood Manipulation, Simple Domain, Shrine, and a Domain Expansion, all of which were vital in the final battle against Sukuna.
While Simple Domain might give Yuji some defense against Jinwoo’s attacks, he doesn’t have the skill to keep it up indefinitely, or even to incorporate it into his attacks, and as strong as Yuji is, even at the end ofJujutsu Kaisen, he’s far from being the strongest character in the story. Add in how much higherSolo Levelingscales compared toJujutsu Kaisen, andthere’s no conceivable way for Yuji to even come close to defeating Jinwoo.
Izuku Midoriya starts fairly weak in Bones’My Hero Academia, and even after being given One For All, he’s still greatly brought down by his inexperience and lack of control. Izuku does gradually learn to master One For All’s super strength, however, and with the power of the six additional Quirks granted by the previous users of One For All,Izuku endsMy Hero Academiaas someone who should be just as strong as All Might, if not stronger.
With the raw power of One For All and the versatility of his additional Quirks, Izuku is undeniably one of the strongest characters inMy Hero Academia, if notShonen Jumpas a whole. That being said, as powerful and varied as Izuku’s skillset may be, it offers little that can work as a deterrent for Jinwoo’s abilities, and as such,Izuku is another character who would easily lose to Jinwoo.
After becoming a hybrid for the Pochita the Chainsaw Devil, Denji, as the eponymous hero of MAPPA’sChainsaw Man, becomes an incredibly powerful fighter through his immense physical strength and virtual immortality. All of those abilities are further enhanced when Pochita takes control of his body, asPochita’s status as one of the strongest Devils and the Hero of Hell makes him someone who can defeat nearly any villain inChainsaw Man.
With Denji’s regenerative abilities and functional immortality, it’s virtually impossible for someone to kill him without going through the complicated steps of turning him back into a human, but while that would make things complicated for Jinwoo, at the same time, neither Denji nor Pochita have the strength to hurt him or his most powerful Shadows. As such,while Jinwoo might have trouble killing Denji, it’s a moot point since Denji has no way of defeating Jinwoo.
Monkey D. Luffy has yet to become the strongest character in Toei Animation’sOne Piece, but he’s nonetheless a force to be reckoned with. Not only is Luffy a master of Haki and his Gum-Gum Fruit, but in the most recent arcs,Luffy’s new Gear 5 formtakes his power to new heights by not only drastically boosting his abilities, but by possibly making him a reality warper who can weaponize toon force, as well.
In terms of physical strength, Luffy is someone who could handle a good number of Jinwoo’s Shadows, but the strongest among them, and especially Jinwoo himself, would be far above what Luffy is capable of.A fight between Luffy and Jinwoo would depend solely on how far the reality warping abilities of Gear 5 go, and with how vague they still are, it would be far too premature to write it off as Luffy’s win.
Naruto
Naruto Uzumaki, the hero of Studio Pierrot’sNaruto, gradually grows to become one of the strongest characters in the entire story. Between his mastery of Shadow Clones and the Rasengan, both of which are further bolstered by his Jinchuriki abilities and Sage Jutsu, Naruto is nearly invincible in terms of both offense and defense, andNaruto’s Baryon Mode outright makes him the strongest character in the series for the brief time he can maintain it.
Overall, Naruto’s skillset leaves him as someone who could at least put up a fight against Jinwoo, especially if he uses Baryon Mode to become at least on par with the powerful members of the Otsutsuki clan. Unfortunately, even Naruto at his strongest should be far below Jinwoo at his strongest, soeven if Naruto fought at full power, Jinwoo would likely still come out on top, albeit not without taking a few good hits.
Ichigo Kurosaki, the hero of Studio Pierrot’sBleach, is a powerful fighter from day one, and only becomes more powerful as the series goes on. As simplistic as Ichigo’s Soul Reaper abilities may be, he always takes them to incredible heights, especially as he starts developing Hollow and Quincy abilities to go along with them, and by the end of the series,Ichigo becomes one of the only characters who can hold his own against Yhwach, one of the strongest characters in all ofBleach.
As powerful as Ichigo is, Jinwoo would, unfortunately, still surpass him, but the scaling ofBleach’s universe is surprisingly close to the scaling ofSolo Leveling, especially by the end of the series. Based on that,while Ichigo would lose to Jinwoo, it would still be a tough fight on Jinwoo’s end, and that’s interesting to think about.
Giorno Giovanna is the fifth protagonist of David Production’sJoJo’s Bizarre Adventureand the possessor of the Stand Gold Experience. By itself, Gold Experience is a powerful Stand thanks to the versatility of its ability to transmute inorganic matter into living things, but its true strength lies in its ability to use the Stand-giving Arrow to turn intoGold Experience Requiem, a Stand with the power to erase even the concept of death and arguably thestrongest Stand inJoJo’s Bizarre Adventure.
The full abilities of Gold Experience Requiem have never been explored, and the fact that Giorno needs the Arrow to activate it is a very fatal flaw, as someone like Jinwoo could easily just take the Arrow from him. That being said,if Giorno finds an opportunity to summon Gold Experience Requiem, what little is known about how it works would all but assure his victory over Jinwoo.
Dark Schneider is one of the most legendary figures of Liden Films’Bastard!! Heavy Metal, Dark Fantasy, and he more than earns his status. As Dark Schneider slowly regains his full power, he exhibits increasingly massive feats of strength against the strongest of opponents, and sure enough,it isn’t long until Dark Schneider’s physical and magical power is established to exist on a universal scale.
Few characters in and out ofShonen Jumphave a skillset as varied and powerful as Dark Schneider, and the few times he does lose a fight, it’s almost always for reasons that have nothing to do with his power. Jinwoo would certainly give Dark Schneider a tough fight, especially with how powerful he’s become inSolo Leveling’s sequel,Solo Leveling: Ragnarok, but ultimately,Dark Schneider’s incredible power would likely be too much, even for someone like Jinwoo.
Dragon Ball
Son Goku of Toei Animation’sDragon Ballhas a reputation for being the strongest character in anime, if not all of fiction, and it’s easy to see why. Goku’s power quickly escalates from being simply a little over the top to being utterly ridiculous in scale, and by the most recent story arcs,Goku, despite not being the strongest character inDragon Ball, is someone who undeniably fights on a universal scale.
As ridiculous as Jinwoo’s feats of strength can get, they’re still nothing compared to Goku, as destroying the universe in a fight is something within his capabilities even when he’s not in his strongest forms. Someone like Jinwoo would certainly give Goku a good fight, but the depths of Goku’s power are almost too much to quantify, and as such,Goku is someone who would destroy Jinwoo, even if it wouldn’t be the easiest fight for him.
Toei Animation’sBobobo-bo Bo-bobois a gag story with little to no sense of realism, and because of that, its eponymous hero has plenty of amazing feats of strength. Whether it’s shrugging off fatal blows, destroying stars and planets, or flat-out manipulating reality, there’s nothing Bobobo can’t do if it’s for the sake of a gag, and because of that,Bobobo is virtually invincible because his powers have no rules.
Bobobo perfectly embodies the comedic nature of his story with all the ridiculous things he can do, and even if he didn’t have utterly ridiculous feats of strength,Jinwoo wouldn’t be able to so much as scratch Bobobo by virtue of him being a gag character.Bobobo is probably Jinwoo’s strongest opponent, but the fact that so many ofShonen Jump’s strongest heroes fall to Jinwoo still illustrates just how strongSolo Leveling’s hero is.
