Solo Leveling: Ragnarok - Can you start the spinoff without reading the main series?

Solo Leveling: Ragnarok, the series directly succeeding Solo Leveling, often serves as the continuation of the original series' narrative. Although many address Ragnarok as a story existing as a side story to the original series, Ragnarok is a direct continuation and sequel of the series. It follows the son of Sung Jinwoo, directly after the events of the main series.

The main conflict within the continuation is driven by the disappearance of the Shadow Monarch following the appearance of the Itarim apostles. While the new main character alongside the lack of older characters makes it seem like a spin-off, it should be noted that Solo Leveling: Ragnarok is a direct sequel. Many of the plotlines and characters, along with plotlines, directly descend from the main story.

So, starting off the sequel before reading the original series might leave the readers confused about certain plotlines and events that take place.

Disclaimer- This article contains spoilers for the Solo Leveling series and reflects the author's opinions.

Solo Leveling: Ragnarok - The original series is integral for a full experience

Sung Jinwoo as seen in the Solo Leveling anime (Image via A-1 Pictures).

Solo Leveling: Ragnarok starts off with Sung Suho spending his days as a regular human. This is after his father, Sung Jinwoo, sealed away his abilities in hopes of giving him a regular human life.

Sung Jinwoo managed to defeat and remove the rulers and their minions following the timeline reset in the original series. However, new threats are now springing forth due to the Absolute Being's absence ending up ushering in the age of hunters once again. The story of Ragnarok mainly revolves around the Itarim, outer gods who belonged to the same race as the Absolute Being.

Given the Absolute Being's elimination from Sung Jinwoo's universe, it essentially became an ownerless universe. It then became the prime target for invasion by the other Itarim who aimed to claim the ownership for themselves.

Cha Hae-In as seen in the anime (Image via A-1 Pictures)

Sung Jinwoo engages the Itarim's unending horde of monsters in space. Suho and Chae Hae-In are left behind on Earth. Chae Hae-In eventually goes missing as well, with Suho being left alone as a regular human in a world full of hunters.

Although the story remains rather slow throughout the earlier parts of the series, they mainly serve to flesh out characters such as Lee Minsung. He only appeared in the original series for a couple of chapters.

Ashborn, the original Shadow Monarch (Image via Chugong, D&C Media)

The power progression of Solo Leveling: Ragnarok closely follows the original run. Suho is assisted by a system conjured by his father to serve as a trainer that slowly unlocks the full extent of his abilities inherited from the Shadow Monarch. While Suho lacked the usual ability to conjure a horde of unending shadows, his ability centered around creating familiars and directly borrowing their abilities for combat.

Many of the characters appearing in Ragnarok serve as examples of characters from the original series. Chae Hae-In's disappearance alongside the appearance of S-Ranks holds significance after the original series has been experienced, thus making the original series integral in order to fully experience the story.

Final Thoughts

Solo Leveling: Ragnarok recently concluded its season 1 with the appearance of Thomas Andre. It simultaneously established Chae Hae-In's eventual return. The manhwa currently spans 47 chapters, with most of them being centered around Sung Suho and his encounters with the Itarim apostles.

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About the author

Anupam is an anime and manga writer at Sportskeeda. Currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Logistics & Transportation, Anupam has simultaneously gained professional experience of almost 2 years as a content writer, having worked previously for Otakukart and Sportslumo.

Being part of the anime fandom for over a decade, Anupam believes his greatest strength lies in theorycrafting around animanga series and predicting their plots. His personal experiences have guaranteed him detailed knowledge about the reputation, reception, and plot points of several anime, which he combines with extensive research to report on a topic. They have also taught him the significance of respecting and accurately reporting on community sentiments attached to a particular series, which has now become a non-negotiable part of his writing process.

Anupam’s favorite artist is video game designer Hideo Kojima, whose ability to nonchalantly embed deep messages in his games he deeply admires. When not debating fresh anime theories, Anupam can be found reading or playing combat games.

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Edited by Madhur Dave