List of Solo Leveling Season 1 Episodes Explained: From E-Rank Nobody to Monster Slayer

Solo Leveling Season 1 aired from January 6 to March 30, 2024, delivering 12 thrilling episodes that began Sung Jinwoo’s epic transformation from the weakest hunter to the powerful Shadow Monarch. Solo Leveling Season 1 follows Sung Jinwoo, who begins as the weakest hunter alive, struggling through low-rank dungeons. In this world, mysterious “Gates” connect our world to dimensions full of monsters, and hunters fight them.

Early on, Jinwoo miraculously gains a secret power that lets him “level up” on his own. Over 12 episodes, we see Jinwoo go from underdog to hero. Below is a casual, episode-by-episode recap focusing on the biggest battles, emotional moments, and especially how Jinwoo grows stronger. A recap film, Solo Leveling: ReAwakening, also released ahead of Season 2, teasing fans with what was to come. You can watch the exclusive episodes on Crunchyroll Mod APK.

The Awakening of Sung Jinwoo: Solo Leveling Season 1 Unleashed

Solo Leveling Season 1 begins with Sung Jinwoo as the weakest hunter, but each episode below shows his rise through brutal trials, shocking twists, and the awakening of a hidden power that changes everything.

No.overall	No. inseason	Title	Directed by	Written by	Storyboarded by	Chief animation directed by	Original release date
1	1	“I’m Used to It”	Shunsuke Nakashige	Noboru Kimura	Shunsuke Nakashige & Hirotaka Tokuda	N/A	January 7, 2024
2	2	“If I Had One More Chance”	Yūya Horiuchi	Fūka Ishii	Yūya Horiuchi	Chiaki Furuzumi	January 14, 2024
3	3	“It’s Like a Game”	Takayuki Kikuchi	Shingo Irie	Takayuki Kikuchi	Tomoko Sudo	January 21, 2024
4	4	“I’ve Gotta Get Stronger”	Tōru Hamazaki	Shingo Irie	Ikurō Morimoto & Yoshihiro Kanno	Hirotaka Tokuda	January 28, 2024
5	5	“A Pretty Good Deal”	Makiko Hayase	Norimitsu Kaihō	Makiko Hayase	Chiaki Furuzumi	February 4, 2024
6	6	“The Real Hunt Begins”	Takashi Sakuma	Norimitsu Kaihō	Takashi Sakuma & Yoshihiro Kanno	Tomoko Sudo	February 11, 2024
7	7	“Let’s See How Far I Can Go”	Yūya Horiuchi	Shigeru Murakoshi	Yūya Horiuchi	Hirotaka Tokuda	February 18, 2024
8	8	“This Is Frustrating”	Hiromu Ōshiro	Shunsuke Nakashige	Hiromu Ōshiro	Chiaki Furuzumi	March 3, 2024
9	9	“You’ve Been Hiding Your Skills”	Hirotaka Tokuda	Shingo Irie	Hirotaka Tokuda	Tomoko Sudo & Hirotaka Tokuda	March 10, 2024
10	10	“What Is This, a Picnic?”	Yūya Horiuchi & Takashi Sakuma	Yoshikazu Tominaga	Kōki Onoue	Hirotaka Tokuda	March 17, 2024
11	11	“A Knight Who Defends an Empty Throne”	Takayuki Kikuchi	Noboru Kimura	Takayuki Kikuchi	Chiaki Furuzumi	March 24, 2024
12	12	“Arise”	Shunsuke Nakashige	Noboru Kimura	Shunsuke Nakashige	Tomoko Sudo	March 31, 2024

Episode 1: I’m Used to It

Jinwoo joins a routine dungeon raid as the team’s comic relief, he’s known as the weakest hunter and even jokes that he’s “used to” being called that. After they defeat the dungeon boss, a second level suddenly appears and the party votes to proceed. Feeling braver than ever, Jinwoo casts the deciding vote to push on.

They enter a huge chamber filled with statues, and then disaster strikes: the statues suddenly spring to life and slaughter the hunters. This intense battle scene ends with Jinwoo and a few others barely surviving. The episode establishes that Jinwoo is willing to stick with the team and face danger, even though he’s always been underestimated

Episode 2: If I Had One More Chance

Now alone with Joohee (his healer friend) and their leader Mr. Song, Jinwoo realizes the statues attack by a strict rule: hunters must “revere God,” then “praise God,” and finally “prove your faith” to survive. It’s a deadly puzzle. One by one the statues kill the hunters who guess wrong. In the end only Jinwoo, Joohee (collapsed from stress), and Mr. Song remain.

Jinwoo bravely tells Mr. Song to escape with Joohee through the portal he holds open. He stays behind alone and rage-fights the statues, even knowing he’s probably dying. Just as Jinwoo accepts his fate, the screen flashes a strange message: he’s completed a secret quest and can become a special “Player” if he accepts the offer. This cliffhanger is huge, dying in the dungeon turns out to unlock a mysterious new power for Jinwoo.

Episode 3: It’s Like a Game

Jinwoo wakes up days later in a hospital, thinking it was all a fever dream. The Hunters Association confirms the double-dungeon really happened (poor Joohee is traumatized and Mr. Song lost an arm). They test Jinwoo for a “second awakening” (a rare power-up) but he has no extra stat boost. Instead something new appears: daily quests on a floating screen (yes, it really is like a game).

Each day he has goals to meet for stat points and loot. Jinwoo skips the first day’s quest and almost dies during the penalty quest that night, a random monster attack throws him to the ground. After that wake-up call, he starts knocking out the daily missions one by one. He literally gains strength: the quests give him bonus stats and treasure chests. One reward is a key to a secret dungeon instance.

When Jinwoo uses it, he’s confronted by a gigantic lone wolf, the toughest monster he’s ever faced. That battle ends the episode on a tense note. Jinwoo’s life really feels like a game now, and he’s just leveled up into this dangerous system.

Episode 4: I’ve Gotta Get Stronger

Inside the wolf’s dungeon, Jinwoo fights for his life. He slays the giant wolf and several smaller wolves, earning his first level-up. You can see the change on his face, he’s proud and a little surprised that he’s become that strong. At that moment back in the real world, a dungeon break happens (a boss monster escapes when its dungeon is left uncleared). A massive stone golem stomps into the city, and normal hunters, including a still-shaken Joohee, can’t hurt it.

Hearing the alarm, Jinwoo bursts out of his instance just in time to help. Thinking quickly, he hurls his broken sword at the golem’s glowing shield, shattering it. The rest of the hunters then topple the beast. It’s an epic showdown: Jinwoo, once considered useless, just delivered the final blow that saved everyone. This moment shows Jinwoo truly proving himself on the battlefield as he reflects, “I’m getting stronger.”

Episode 5: A Pretty Good Deal

Next, Jinwoo joins a C-rank raid led by Hunter Hwang Dongsuk. The deal is shady: Jinwoo is told he can enter but must not fight at all (so he’d earn nothing from drops). Sensing something’s off, Jinwoo reluctantly goes along. The team also includes rich rookie Yoo Jin-ho, who has absurdly powerful gear. They smash through a wave of giant ants and reach the boss room, a cavern with a huge spider and valuable mana crystals.

Jin-ho points out that crystals aren’t battle drops, so by the contract rules Jinwoo should get a full share. Furious at losing his loot, Dongsuk betrays them: he and his group ambush Jinwoo and Jin-ho in the boss room and wake the spider. The screen cuts to black with Jinwoo glaring at the giant spider, ready to fight for his life. This cliffhanger makes clear: Jinwoo’s suspicions were right, and now he’s in real danger.

Episode 6: The Real Hunt Begins

Jinwoo takes on that spider boss and wins without breaking a sweat, he’s far stronger than anyone knew. Dongsuk’s team storms back into the room, but they panic when they see the spider dead. Dongsuk tries to bribe Jin-ho to kill Jinwoo out of gratitude, but Jin-ho refuses. Right then the system pops up a secret quest: kill Dongsuk’s group or die by penalty. Suddenly Jinwoo grins.

Alone, he swiftly eliminates each member of the traitorous group and even beheads Dongsuk himself. The gameplay box vanishes and Jinwoo and Jin-ho slip out. To the outside world they spin a cover story that monsters got the culprits. In reality, Jinwoo has just unleashed lethal fury on those who betrayed him, proving once again that he’s no longer helpless.

Episode 7: Let’s See How Far I Can Go

With confidence soaring, Jinwoo is offered a deal by Jin-ho: help him start a hunters’ guild and he’ll get a building. But Jinwoo is focused on something else. His daily quests strangely start “maxing out”, they keep incrementing as if he’s overachieving. Eventually he completes all of them and is given another instance dungeon key, this time to an S-rank dungeon. 

The prize promised is a legendary potion that can cure any disease. Jinwoo’s heart leaps, this potion could heal his sick, comatose mother! Determined, he enters the S-rank dungeon. The first floor pits him against a massive, three-headed Cerberus. In a brutal, near-death battle, Jinwoo barely manages to slay the beast. Shaken but victorious, he takes the next key, the castle Cerberus was guarding knowing it leads to the potion ingredients.

Exhausted, Jinwoo decides to rest and return later, since pushing on now would surely kill him. This episode shows Jinwoo fighting not just for himself but for his family. His love for his mother drives him to survive the deadliest fight yet. Meanwhile, in the background, investigators learn Dongsuk (the betrayer) is dead and his S-rank brother Dongsoo is angry. A storm is brewing for Jinwoo.

Episode 8: This Is Frustrating

Frustration and determination mix in Episode 8. Jinwoo visits his comatose mother in the hospital and vows to get stronger so he can cure her. He agrees to team up with Jin-ho on building the guild, since more power and resources will help. To clear a C-rank dungeon for guild certification, they need a full party of seven hunters. So Jin-ho rounds up Jinwoo, Joohee, Mr. Song, plus the other two survivors (Sangshik and Jeongho) from the statue dungeon.

They even recruit three imprisoned hunters, promising reduced sentences for participating. A B-rank escort is sent to supervise the prisoners. Thus a strange new guild forms; a mix of friends, allies and freed felons, all ready to clear dungeons together. The episode ends with this ragtag team heading into a new dungeon, under Jinwoo’s quiet leadership. (In the background, official hunters are still puzzled by the Dongsuk murder, unaware of Jinwoo’s role.)

Episode 9: You’ve Been Hiding Your Skills

The dungeon run takes a dark turn. The group splits up at a fork in the path. Kang Taeshik, the B-rank guard, shocks everyone by murdering the prisoner-hunters, he’s been secretly bribed by the father of one victim. He even slays Jeongho and Sangshik when they see the carnage. Jinwoo, Joohee and Mr. Song stumble on the bloody scene. Furiously, Jinwoo reveals one of his deadly new powers: he instantly kicks Kang’s ass, killing him to protect the rest.

The other hunters never see this reveal. Instead, Mr. Song rushes to the group and claims he alone killed Kang to save the team. Jinwoo lets it stand; his secret remains safe. This tense episode shows Jinwoo’s hidden strength bursting out, he just saved his friends by slaying a powerful foe and he carefully keeps his awesome new shadow abilities under wraps.

Episode 10: What Is This, a Picnic?

After the last dungeon, Joohee announces she’s retiring from hunting, feeling the dangers are too much. Jinwoo and Jin-ho carry on. Jin-ho actually buys the rights to several more C-rank dungeons and sets up dummy teams to meet entry rules, so that Jinwoo (and Jin-ho) can clear them all. Jinwoo breezes through these solo raids, further maxing out his skills. 

Word gets around Ahn Sangmin (manager in the prestigious White Tiger Guild) notices how only Jinwoo survives these deadly runs and figures he must have reawakened (meaning he’s unbelievably strong). Sangmin tries to recruit Jinwoo but Jinwoo politely declines. At the very end, the system issues a new message: Jinwoo has hit the level requirement for a job-change quest. In other words, the game is finally asking him to take the next big step in his powers. Episode 10 ends teasing the dangerous trials ahead.

Episode 11: A Knight Who Defends an Empty Throne

Jinwoo begins the job-change quest by teleporting into a massive castle realm. He must survive wave after wave of knights, assassins and mages enemies he’s already fought before, but now many at once. The music ramps up as Jinwoo battles on. Finally he meets Igris, the Blood-Red Knight Commander. Igris is shockingly fast and strong, it’s like fighting a mirror. They clash in an epic duel; Jinwoo is nearly cut down multiple times. In the end he barely manages to slay Igris, ending the brutal fight on a furious high.

But winning Igris isn’t the end of the quest in fact, it triggers the real challenge: a seemingly endless horde of knights and sorcerers pours forth. (Meanwhile, in a quick side scene, Korea’s top S-rank hunters have arrived on Jeju Island to deal with the massive S-rank dungeon there.) The episode closes with Jinwoo standing alone against an overwhelming army, sweat dripping, determination in his eyes.

Episode 12: Arise

In this season finale, Jinwoo is swarmed by wave after wave of armored knights and magic-users. It seems hopeless, even he starts to panic under the flood of enemies. Then a flash: he suddenly notices the daily quest timer on the side of his vision has expired. The system dumps him into a Penalty Zone for missing a quest that day. The Penalty Zone is a blank training ground, where Jinwoo can heal and regain energy with no enemies to fight. 

When his health and mana are fully restored, he returns to the castle. Now the tide turns. Jinwoo storms through the horde with renewed strength and defeats every last enemy. The system congratulates him. He not only completes the job-change quest, but is granted a new title: “Shadow Monarch”. Even more amazingly, Jinwoo gains the power to revive the slain foes as loyal shadows, including bringing Igris back from death as one of his shadow knights. 

Elsewhere, S-rank hunters on Jeju have a horrifying realization: the remaining monsters there are mutating and growing even stronger. Season 1 ends with Jinwoo standing atop a hill of fallen enemies, a glowing new title over his head. He’s come a long way from the weakest E-rank hunter, now he commands his own army of shadows and faces an even bigger threat ahead.

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Conclusion

Wow, what a journey! In these 12 episodes, Sung Jinwoo transforms from humanity’s weakest hunter to a near-godlike Shadow Monarch. He dies and comes back stronger, beats one monster after another, and even slays humans who betray him. Along the way we see his heart: he fights to protect Joohee, to save his mom, and for justice.

By the finale he’s surpassed every expectation and unlocked incredible powers. But the season also leaves big questions: Jeju’s S-rank monsters are evolving into a continent-threatening force, and Jinwoo will have to be ready. The ending teases that Season 2 will test our hero even harder. We can’t wait to see what’s next for the newly risen Shadow Monarch!