Why Can’t Jin-Woo Name All of His Shadows?

Perhaps one of the most fascinating things about Jin-Woo in Solo Leveling is his naming sense when it comes to his elite shadows. He gets inspiration from the shadow’s original name, appearance, or even its personality. While these shadows feel honored to receive a name, others, including the foot soldiers, receive nothing. As such, many are wondering why Jin-Woo can’t name all his shadows in Solo Leveling.

Jin-Woo receives the ability to extract shadows from deceased foes back in Season 1. After completing the job-change quest, he has been promoted to the Monarch of Shadows, gaining the job-exclusive skill, Shadow Extraction, in the process. Since then, he has extracted top-notch shadows from Igris, Tank, Iron, Tusk, and Beru from different places. All of these elite shadows received a new name, but what about the others?

It’s Not Because Jin-Woo Is Too Lazy To Give a Name

He Doesn’t Avoid Shadow Naming at All

Jin-Woo has extracted most of the powerful opponents he defeated in Solo Leveling as shadow soldiers. Except for Baruka and Baran, he has been successful in turning his foes into his allies with a single command in the anime. Upon extraction, the shadows receive a unique but meaningful name, gaining a new identity and making them closer to their master than before.

However, it’s noticeable how Jin-Woo only gives names to powerful soldiers, almost as if he has no regard for others. These include foot soldiers, high orcs, ice bears, and even the mages in the army. Unlike That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime’s Rimuru Tempest, who can spend all day naming his underlings, Jin-Woo only awards names to shadows who seem to have proven their worth.

This doesn’t mean Jin-Woo is too lazy to do anything about it, as there’s a better explanation as to why he would leave the rest of the shadows without a name. However, there are times in the series when he thinks it’s taxing to come up with a name. For instance, he did not have any particular reason why he gave the name Jima to the Boss Naga. At the spur of the moment, he chose the name, unlike the others, where he had to think more about it.

It’s Not a Memory Issue Either

Their Number Is Not the Problem

While some fans would assume that Jin-Woo avoids naming all his shadows because it would be hard for him to memorize and remember each one, that’s not the real reason either. Given his connection to his shadows through shared senses, it’s unlikely he’d have any difficulty memorizing their names. On top of that, Sung Jin-Woo has the System that could easily display and remind him of all his shadows’ names whenever he needs them.

In other words, the number of shadows isn’t a problem at all. The real concern might lie in Jin-Woo’s potential attachment to the rest of the shadows once he gives them names. While he isn’t particularly sentimental, it could still be hard for him to terminate the shadows he extracted into the world of nothingness when the time comes to replace them.

Jin-Woo Can’t Name All of His Shadows Due to Their Grade

There’s an Existing Class Distinction

As revealed in Solo Leveling chapter 45, Jin-Woo can only award names to shadows who attain the rank of Knight or higher. The first ever shadow he named in Solo Leveling was none other than Blood Red Commander Igris, the formidable knight who was guarding an empty throne in the job-change dungeon. He chose the name Igris because it’s simpler and less cringy than his original name.

From there, Jin-Woo continued naming his elite shadows, including the Ant King, the Naga Boss, and even the S-rank hunter Hwang Dong-Soo. This means that all of these shadows had attained a rank higher than the rest at the time of extraction. Since the shadows can level up alongside Jin-Woo, it’s unclear whether he could also provide names for those foot soldiers who were able to level up to the rank of knight. Most likely, he could do it, given the conditions applied in Solo Leveling.