From the weakest hunter to the Shadow Monarch

Solo Leveling began as a Korean web novel by Chugong in 2016 and became a global phenomenon as a webtoon, illustrated by the late artist Dubu of Redice Studio, between 2018 and 2021. In a world where mysterious gates open to dungeons full of monsters, Sung Jinwoo is the weakest hunter alive, an E-rank who barely survives each raid. After a nightmarish double dungeon, he alone begins to see a strange System that hands him quests and lets him level up, and he rises, step by brutal step, to become something no one has ever seen.

The anime adaptation by A-1 Pictures, which premiered in January 2024, brought the story to millions of new fans and made Solo Leveling one of the most talked-about series of the year. A Solo Leveling rug carries its dark, electric look into your room. Ours are printed into short velvet, so deep blacks, glowing purple and blue auras and sharp linework come out with real depth, and they go in the washing machine.

Sung Jinwoo

Jinwoo's transformation is the heart of the series: from a frail, desperate young man to a calm, unstoppable figure in a long black coat, eyes glowing blue, shadows rising at his feet. Fans love both versions, but it's the later Jinwoo who defines the series' look. A Jinwoo design, standing alone against a dark sky or striding forward with his army behind him, is the signature Solo Leveling rug, and a striking centerpiece for a gaming room.

Arise

Jinwoo's most famous power is a single word. When he commands the dead to rise, the fallen become his shadow soldiers, loyal forever. That moment, black smoke and purple light pouring up from the ground, is the series' signature image. A design built around it is dramatic and atmospheric, especially effective on a dark rug in a room with purple or blue lighting.

The Shadow Army

Jinwoo's soldiers are as beloved as he is:

• Igris, the crimson-plumed knight, the first great shadow, kneeling in perfect loyalty.
• Beru, the ant king from Jeju Island, terrifying and fiercely devoted.
• Iron, Tank and Tusk, each with their own personality and fan following.
• Bellion, the grand marshal of the army, and the countless soldiers marching behind.

Igris is the favorite for rugs: his red plume and black armor make a bold, graphic design, and a kneeling Igris on a round rug is one of the most elegant pieces in the collection.

The System window

Every Solo Leveling fan knows the glowing blue status window that appears in front of Jinwoo: his level, his stats, his daily quest of push-ups, sit-ups, squats and a run, with a penalty zone waiting if he fails. It's a gamer's interface brought into the real world. A System window rug, translucent blue panels on black, is one of the cleverest designs for a gaming setup: it looks like part of the UI, and it's a daily reminder to complete your quest.

The daily quest at home

Jinwoo's daily quest, a hundred push-ups, a hundred sit-ups, a hundred squats and a ten-kilometre run, has inspired plenty of fans to start their own routines. A System window or Jinwoo design in a home workout corner is a fun bit of motivation. An honest note, though: a velvet rug is fine for stretching, sit-ups and bodyweight work on a carpet-soft surface, but it isn't a yoga mat or a gym floor. For weights or jumping, put a proper exercise mat on top.

Gates and dungeons

The gates, swirling portals of blue and red light that open suddenly in cities, and the dungeons beyond them, from crumbling temples to the Demon Castle, give Solo Leveling its sense of danger. A gate design, a glowing portal in the middle of a dark rug, is a striking, almost abstract piece that suits a modern room, and it looks fantastic under a gaming chair, as if you were sitting at the edge of a raid.

Hunter ranks

In Solo Leveling's world, hunters are ranked from E to S, and the rank defines everything: which gates you can enter, how much you're paid, how people look at you. A rank-themed design, a bold letter badge or the hunter's license, is a fun choice for fans who like to declare where they stand, and a round S-rank badge makes a cheeky gift for a friend who thinks they're the strongest in the room.

The hunters

Around Jinwoo, Solo Leveling has a cast of hunters fans love: Cha Hae-in, the S-rank swordswoman; Yoo Jinho, his loyal, rich and slightly hopeless friend; Thomas Andre, Choi Jong-in, Go Gun-hee and the guild masters; and Jinwoo's sister Jinah, the reason he keeps fighting. A hunter design suits fans who love the wider world as much as the main character.

The webtoon's art

Dubu's art is one of the reasons Solo Leveling became a sensation. Built for vertical scrolling, it uses huge, dramatic panels, deep blacks, glowing color and a sense of scale that makes every fight feel enormous. That style translates beautifully to a rug: bold contrast, a strong central figure and a dark ground. Fans who read the webtoon before the anime often prefer designs that echo its painted, high-contrast look.

Season two and beyond

The anime's second season, subtitled Arise from the Shadow, followed in 2025 and brought some of the webtoon's most anticipated battles to the screen, with the Shadow Army growing episode by episode. The franchise has also spread into games, including the action RPG Solo Leveling: Arise, where players take control of Jinwoo themselves. Whichever version you came in through, the shadow look is the same: black, blue and violet, with one red plume.

Colors of the shadow

Solo Leveling's palette is unusually consistent: black, deep navy and charcoal, with electric blue and violet light and a single sharp red for Igris's plume. That makes it very easy to build a room around. Pair a Solo Leveling rug with black furniture, LED strips in blue or purple and a single red accent. Avoid warm wood and bright colors, which dull the shadow aesthetic.

A gaming setup

Solo Leveling is a gamer's story, and it looks most at home in a gaming setup. Under the gaming chair, choose Standard in 3.3×5 or 4×6 ft: its 5 mm crushed velvet on a non-slip faux leather back lets the wheels roll freely and stays put through long sessions. A Jinwoo or System window design under a black desk with purple lighting turns the whole corner into a hunter's base. For more ideas, see our gaming rugs.

Streaming and photos

If you stream or post photos of your setup, a dark Solo Leveling rug with one glowing focal point, a gate, the System window, Igris's plume, reads clearly on camera and gives the frame a strong identity. Keep the room's lighting in the same blue and violet family as the rug, so the colors stay true on screen instead of turning muddy.

Bedrooms

For a bedroom, choose a calmer design: Igris kneeling, Jinwoo silhouetted against the moon, or a single gate glowing in the dark. Premium, 7 mm plush velvet on a bamboo and cotton back, is softer and warmer for bare feet, in 2.6×3.9 ft beside the bed or 4×6 ft at its foot.

Sizes and shapes

Where	Design idea	Size and level
Under a gaming chair	System window or a gate	3.3×5 or 4×6 ft, Standard
Middle of a game room	Jinwoo with the Shadow Army	5×7 ft, Premium
Beside the bed	Igris kneeling	2.6×3.9 ft, Premium
By the door	A rank badge on a round rug	3.3 to 3.9 ft (100 to 120 cm) round, Standard

A blue-and-black design echoes the game-like system screens of the story, and it looks sharp under a gaming chair.

More from the new wave of anime

Solo Leveling fans often love the other dark, high-energy series of recent years. If your shelf also holds Jujutsu Kaisen, Chainsaw Man or Demon Slayer, a Solo Leveling rug fits right in. Browse every series in our anime rugs.

Gifts for hunters

A Solo Leveling rug is a great gift for a friend who binged the anime in a weekend or read the whole webtoon in a week. If you aren't sure which design to choose, Jinwoo or Igris is the safest. Every rug is printed to order in 1–3 business days and ships from Turkey; US delivery usually takes 2–5 business days after that.

Care

Vacuum on a low setting each week, blot spills with cold water straight away and wash the rug on a gentle, cold cycle when it needs it; let it air dry flat. The design is printed into the fibers, so the shadows stay deep and the blue stays electric over time.

A note on the series

Beru, the Ant King

One of Jinwoo's most powerful shadows comes from the Jeju Island raid, where hunters face the monstrous ants that have overrun the island. Their king, after his defeat, rises as Beru, a towering black ant soldier with glowing eyes and wings, fiercely loyal to his new master. A rug of Beru's silhouette against a violet sky, or a swarm of shadow ants marching across dark stone, is a dramatic design for fans who know that arc.

Violet LED lighting brings out the shadow army's glow and makes the room feel like a dungeon gate.

Padrift is an independent studio. Solo Leveling and its characters are named to describe what our designs are inspired by; we are not affiliated with, sponsored or endorsed by Chugong, Redice Studio, D&C Media, Kakao Entertainment, A-1 Pictures or Crunchyroll.