Summary
Solo Leveling’shuntersare individuals with great powercapable of fighting beasts and closing dungeons. Wherever they go, hunters are respected as individuals who could match a country’s military might on their own. While it is necessary to undergo a magic awakening to become a hunter, not all awakened individuals pursue a character as a hunter despite remaining so.
Some who do pursue a career as hunters end up being too weak to participate in raids or generally unfit even with great power, as their natural disposition makes them more of a liability. Overall,Solo Leveling’swide hunter repertoire has shown that some hunters would’ve made more effect and resonance with fans as retirees rather than active hunters.
Some entries contain spoilers from the Solo Leveling manhwa, proceed with caution.
6Park Heejin
A Hunter Overshadowed And Outclassed
One would think this B-rank hunter would be sufficiently strong and have a role to play in the series after she appeared and easily demonstrated excellent perceptive senses. Unfortunately, all fans are left to do is speculate, as Park Heejin barely ever appeared again. Moreover, her primary appearancewas during the Red Gate incident, one in which she solely and completely relied on Sung Jin-Woo.
As a B-rank, Park Heejin is not expected to be weak but her over-reliance on Sung Jin-Woo didn’t put her in the best light, as it makes her unknown abilities seem insufficient for high-level dungeons. With her lack of impact and her portrayed dependence on others, retirement might have been a better choice for this hunter.
5Min Byung-Gu
A Return To The Frontlines That Cost Him Everything
Asthe only known S-rank healerin theSolo Levelinguniverse, Min Byung-gu was highly coveted when it came to raids, as few healers could keep up in S-rank battles. Unfortunately, being a healer, even if S-rank, meant Min Byung-gu was constantly on the frontlines, in the places with the most tension. While battles/raids generally occur in teams, S-rank battles meant each individual had their hands full, so protecting others was more of a luxury. However, even knowing the associated risk, Min Byung-gu continued to function as a hunter.
This continued until a close friend of his died during the first Jeju Island raid, and he was left traumatized. However, Min Byung-gu was recalled to the frontlines after his retirement and unfortunately died, showing that he should have remained retired. In the end, his inability to fight offensively made him a vulnerable target once discovered.
4Yoo Soohyun
Her Shift In Priorities Made Her Go From Dungeons To Red Carpets
Despite being an A-rank hunter, a rank that would’ve earned the respect, fear, and admiration of countless individuals, humans, and hunters worldwide, Yoo Soohyun had little interest in working as a hunter. However, she very much used her hunter status to acquire fame and promote herself as a model and Korean actress.
As a hunter, Yoo Soohyun wasn’t interested in any actual ‘hunting’, and that ironically made her theperfect candidate to join Sung Jin-Woo’s guild, to which she became its third member. While theSolo Levelingmanga series doesn’t portray much of her backstory, theHunter: Originnovel showed that she initially had an interest in being a full-fledged hunter but lost interest after her first raid.
3Kim Chul
A Liability Among Hunters That Does More Harm Than Good
When it comes to pure ability, Kim Chul definitely serves asan above-average hunter as an A-rank. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for his competence levels. Despite his natural ability as an A-rank, Kim Chul was highly ineffective, and his decisions led to the deaths of various B-rank hunters under his command. A B-rank hunter with guile and highly focused abilities like Kang Taeshik proved to be more capable than him.
Kim Chul was a danger to his teammates and himself, as he showed himself to be poor in decision-making and quick to abandon teammates without ever taking responsibility. He also portrayed himself as prioritizing taking revenge on fellow hunters rather than defeating monsters, showing that he wasn’t suited to being a hunter overall. He simply basked in the pride and arrogance that it gave him.
2Hwang Dongsuk
The True Cost Of Hwang Dongsuk’s Greed Could’ve Been Avoided
This C-rank hunter and older brother of S-rank hunterHwang Dongsooproved himself to be nothing but a lizard, an individual who kills or cuts off its weaker members to survive. As a C-rank hunter, Hwang Dongsuk heavily relied on dirty tactics to survive.
His combat abilities were a little over average for a C-rank, but if effectiveness, moral standing, and competence were put into play rather than simply ranking, Hwang Dongsuk was heavily unfit to be a hunter. The cost ofhis dirty tactics and overall greedinesswas the lives of many hunters, and he was more of a liability than an asset as a hunter, and retirement even if forceful would’ve done better for the world.
1Siddharth Bachchan
An Absence That Could’ve Been Turned Into Retirement
Despite being the fourth-ranked national-level hunter and India’s strongest, many believe itwould’ve been better to introduce Siddharth Bachchanas a strong but retired hunter rather than an active one. This is because, despite bearing the rank of fourth-strongest in the entire world, he makes no appearance in theSolo Levelingseries. His strength is left to be speculated on, and his importance, considering the world was destroyed and saved without him playing a role, is questionable at best.
Having Siddharth Bachchan as a retired hunter, one who stepped away due to a form of injury or whatnot would have at least created a form of depth about the hunter world and explained his absence. This would’ve also made his position as “India’s strongest and fourth in the world” more impactful, rather than leaving it as an unfilled vacuum.
