2025 has been an exciting year for anime fans. Blockbuster anime releases such as Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle, Solo Leveling, Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War, Blue Lock, Dandadan, and The Apothecary Diaries have had a dramatic influence on the anime landscape. With the Fall 2025 season still to come, it appears that this year will be remembered as one of the best in anime history.

While there have been quite a few good anime released so far, most conversations have primarily revolved around Solo Leveling and Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba. Sung Jinwoo’s heroic antics and ruthless evolution have made him one of the most loved modern-day anime characters. So it should not come as a surprise that many feel that he is the best anime protagonist of this year. While Jinwoo is undoubtedly brilliant and awe-inspiring, he is unfortunately not as complete as Tanjiro, and here’s why that matters.

Sung Jinwoo: Humanity’s Weakest Soldier to Korea’s Best

Jinwoo’s Lonely But Transformative Journey is Inspiring

Sung is a Great Anime Protagonist Whose Triumphs Feel Personal to Fans
Unfortunately, Jinwoo’s Lonely Journey Hinders His Growth Into an Ideal Main Character

Solo Leveling’s Sung Jinwoo is introduced to the viewers as a lanky and underpowered hunter who is the butt of the jokes for his colleagues. Struggling to support his family and putting his life on the line to earn enough to keep his mother alive, he often seemed hopeless to change his fate. Because of the rigid nature of the hunter ranking system itself, his frustrations were understandable, as it provided little to no hope of escaping rank limitations and turning his life around. But even then, his struggles and self-sacrificial nature made him stand out and were perhaps one of the reasons his struggles resonated with the fans, helping him emotionally connect with them.

When Jinwoo experienced a second awakening, his evolution was as dramatic as his journey as a hunter had been up to that point. Sung rose to prominence and established himself as one of Korea’s best hunters in just a few weeks. Those who knew him were perplexed by his transformation as he became unrecognizable and seemed to have an infinite potential for growth. Even the most established Korean hunters could not make sense of the path he had walked to outgrow them in such a short span of time.

Jinwoo’s rise to power was riddled with acts of heroism and selflessness that make him stand out as a great anime protagonist. Even before his second awakening, he was putting his life on the line for his family and colleagues, despite his own struggles. Upholding the spirit of heroism, despite one’s inherent powerlessness, is a common trait shared by many great anime protagonists, such as My Hero Academia’s Deku. Jinwoo is great in this regard, but he also struggles with an inner darkness that appears to grow in him as he evolves into a stronger character. His lonely journey, though exciting and filled with adventures, often makes his achievements less fulfilling, as other characters are presented as just pawns and not his equals.

Tanjiro Kamado: A Special Shonen Protagonist

Kamado’s Kindness For His Arch-Enemies and His Unique Bond With His Friends Make Him a Memorable Hero

Once upon a time, Tanjiro’s life was quite peaceful. He lived with his family and survived on his earnings as a coal burner. The Kamado family was not ambitious and leaned more towards simplicity and harmony. But following the tragic attack on them, Tanjiro’s life was never the same. Having lived an isolated life, Tanjiro was ignorant of the outside world, but driven by his desire to turn his sister into a human being and avenge his family, he decided to join the Demon Slayer Corps, a path that was set to put him through grueling trials.

Like Jinwoo, Kamado put his life on the line on quite a few occasions as he fought for the greater good. Even when he was not a demon slayer, he did his best to restrain his sister without harming her and challenged a Hashira when he feared that he could hurt Nezuko. Each battle he fought helped Tanjiro evolve into a better version of himself, a somewhat similar transformation that Solo Leveling’s protagonist also underwent. While there were parallels between their journeys, Tanjiro’s growth and achievements were far more fulfilling, as his journey was not a lonely one.

Unlike Jinwoo, who made ethically questionable decisions on quite a few occasions, Tanjiro always led with empathy and forgiveness, even for his worst rival. His triumphs encapsulated his willingness to walk the extra mile and help demons reclaim their humanity in their last moments. This gave even the villains closure and helped Tanjiro retain the inner moral consistency and peace to not give into his dark instincts, something Jinwoo frequently failed to do.

Tanjiro’s other great trait is his ability to put his life on the line for others without ever thinking about himself. Now, Jinwoo has also fought for the greater good on quite a few occasions, but his lonely journey does a great disservice to him. Since Solo Leveling is so hyper-focused on Jinwoo’s evolution and triumphs, viewers barely ever connect with other characters, which makes his sacrifices seem that much more ineffective, as it's hard to truly connect with the emotional impact of even some of his most selfless acts.

Tanjiro, on the other hand, has made friends in his long journey who are an inseparable part of his identity. They give the story and Tanjiro’s character development more depth, allowing the audience to feel as if his failures and sadness were personal. There cannot be a better example of this than Kamado’s bond with Kyojuro Rengoku. The Flame Hashira was the central character in the battle against Akaza in the Mugen Train arc. His death was a painful memory for Tanjiro and fans alike. It is noteworthy that the series did not give viewers an emotional resolution until several arcs later. This created the emotional tension that made the protagonist’s journey as a demon slayer and his evolution feel more impactful.

When the battle eventually turned to the Infinity Castle, Kyojuro’s selfless sacrifice and Tanjiro’s desperation for vengeance set the stage for an epic clash with Akaza. As an ideal anime protagonist, Kamado fought valiantly against the Upper Rank Three and demonstrated the true ideals of heroism along the way. But perhaps the most beautiful aspect of it all was Tanjiro’s sympathetic nature towards his own enemy once the dust settled. While there have been quite a few great anime protagonists who have shaped 2025, Kamado has stood out as the most memorable by displaying what a true hero is like and the values he stands for. Unfortunately, despite his brilliance, Sung Jinwoo falters as a protagonist in far too many ways to ignore.

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