Solo Leveling's Sung Jinwoo has already joined the same league as Aizen, Sukuna, and others as an ‘aura farmer’

The word, aura, was invented for the main character of Solo Leveling, Sung Jin Woo. Since Solo Leveling season 1 dropped, fans have gushed about how the webtoon-inspired anime is a breath of fresh air in the Shonen series. Despite its brilliant action choreography, amazing color palettes, and riveting plot; what draws viewers to Solo Leveling is Sung Jin Woo.

Unlike most anime main characters who stay the same in aura and steeze, Sung Jin Woo differs. In the same way that he levels up in power throughout Solo Leveling, he also grows in aura. Those who read the Webtoon are familiar with his game, but, every episode is a discovery for anime viewers.

If Solo Leveling keeps going on its current trajectory, anime viewers would have to finally give the aura crown that the likes of Zoro, Sukuna, and Aizen have contested over to Sung Jin Woo.

Here is why Sung Jin Woo plays in the same aura league with the Sukuna, Toji, Zoro, and Aizen and is the first in that league.

Disclaimer: This article reflects the opinions of the author and may contain spoilers.

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Why Sung Jin Woo’s aura in Solo Leveling might be unmatched

Sung Jin Woo starts Solo Leveling with an extremely high aura (Image via A-1 Pictures)

To start with why Sung Jin Woo’s aura is unmatched in anime, one must first dive into the definitions of aura. Most definitions of aura center around a person doing something cool. In Shonen anime, various characters have had moments of high aura. An example of a high-aura moment in anime comes from Naruto, and it is when Naruto returns from Mount Myoboku to a destroyed Konoha. Everything about Naruto’s entrance screamed aura and from that point onwards, Naruto was him. Itachi was another character from Naruto that never seemed out of touch—aura-wise.

What makes Sung Jin Woo an outlier among anime characters is the duration that he has aura farmed. Most anime characters—especially main characters—start their series with no aura and remain aura-less for most of the series' runtime until they have one sudden growth spurt. This usually involves external circumstances that change who they are.

Like Aizen from Bleach, Sung Jin Woo’s aura is heavily reliant on his power level and the fact that he never looks like he is about to lose. When viewers see Sung Jin Woo in battle, they are terrified, but not for Sung Jin Woo!

Every viewer fears that the battle will end too quickly. Aizen possessed that ability at some point, and the best example of this was when he fought against the Gotei 13. Soul Society’s strongest warriors were beaten like children.

Aizen's aura doesn't fade with incarceration (Image via Pierrot Films)

Aizen is not the undisputed aura king as he has looked auraless for a large portion of his screen time in Bleach. This is not his fault, as he had to blend in, but it still contributed to his not being taken as the King of Aura in anime.

Sukuna from JJK, also suffers from the same problem with Aizen, as he had looked pathetic at various points in his story. A good example of this was when he squared off against Gojo in Yuji Itadori’s body. The King of Curses was toyed with and found it hard to drop a single hit.

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Final thoughts

When it comes to who the undisputed King of Aura in anime is, the only rightful name is Sung Jin Woo. Not only does he age like wine and become more graceful in each action, but he never has a moment where he looks out of it. Gojo from Jujutsu Kaisen was a close competition, but his death at the hands of Toji and later at Sukuna, sully his claim to the throne.

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