20 Best Anime Like Solo Leveling

Solo Leveling is a top-tier fantasy manhwa that had fans brimming with, waiting for the anime to drop. Now that it’s in its second season, the Solo Leveling anime has exceeded expectations in bringing Sung Jinwoo’s story from page to screen. As an E-Rank hunter with little to offer other than his boundless determination to become more powerful, Jinwoo develops a reputation as the Weakest Hunter in the World, but he slowly becomes incredibly overpowered as the series goes on.

Chugong’s Solo Leveling has everything fans could hope for from a great story, from terrifying monsters to political intrigue. Solo Leveling has proven itself as one of the most exciting new series to watch, but there are plenty of other series just as thrilling to keep fans occupied while they wait for new episodes to be released.

Updated on January 21, 2025, by Timothy Blake Donohoo: Given how popular the series is, it’s no surprise that anime fans are looking for anime like Solo Leveling to fill the gap between episodes and seasons. This has several qualifications, from focusing on similarly overpowered protagonists to simply utilizing other tropes. From newer shows to the classics that paved the way for Solo Leveling to become a modern hit, there are plenty of exceptional anime out there similar to Solo Leveling to tide fans over. This list has been updated to include more anime and meet CBR’s most current standards for formatting.

20

Kaiju No. 8 Features Massive Monsters and an Underdog Hero

Streaming On: Crunchyroll

Adapting the manga of the same name, Kaiju No. 8 explores concepts and archetypes seen in giant monster movies such as the Godzilla franchise. Protagonist Kafka Hibino works as a clean-up agent after Kaiju battles, but an unexpected incident sees him turn into the eponymous title monster. Using his new powers, he fights other kaiju and dedicates himself to joining the task force charged with bringing them down.

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Kaiju No. 8 is an anime similar to Solo Leveling, with the kaiju akin to the giant monsters that hunters in the latter series face. Likewise, Kafka is something of a loser at the beginning of the series, no different from how Sung Jinwoo starts. Compared to Sung Jinwoo, however, Kaiju No. 8 isn’t quite as overpowered, despite his immense size.

Kaiju No. 8

Release Date

2024 – 2023

Directors

Shigeyuki Miya, Tomomi Kamiya

Writers

Ichirō Ōkouchi

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19

Now and Then, Here and There Is One of the Darkest Isekai Ever

Streaming On: N/A

Now and Then, Here and There was an isekai from before the current isekai boom—and it shows. The series focuses on a young boy suddenly transported to another world, but this reality is far from a power fantasy. Forced into becoming a child soldier, the main character Shu fights alongside his friends in his harsh new world while trying to find a way back.

Now and Then, Here and There does the idea of an isekai underdog better than any modern series, which includes a similar setup for Sung Jinwoo in Solo Leveling. He and his friends are put through the wringer, with all of them suffering horrendous fates by the end. Those who want to see an anime hero struggle should check it out, but it’s not for the faint of heart.

18

Dandadan Is Already a Major Shonen Hit

Streaming On: Crunchyroll, Netflix

On the surface, there’s not much similarity between Solo Leveling and Dandadan. They’re both action and adventure-oriented anime released in 2024, but more elements make the new hit series Dandadan an anime like Solo Leveling. The series also has something of an underdog hero in the form of Ken Takakura, who’s similar to how Sung Jinwoo is at the beginning of his series.

Ken and his friend Momo develop their special powers, similar to what Sung gains when he experiences his Second Awakening. There’s also an element of there being more to the world than what it seems in both shows, which certainly turns out to be the case. While Dandadan is arguably slightly more lighthearted, it’s still a series that might interest those who like Solo Leveling.

Dandadan

Release Date

September 13, 2024

• 

  Natsuki Hanae

  Ken Okarun Takakura

• 

  Shion Wakayama

  Momo Ayase

• 
• 

  Ayane Sakura

  Aira Shiratori

17

Death Note Has Some Odd Similarities With Solo Leveling

Streaming On: Netflix

Death Note is a macabre yet universally popular anime, having gained fans through those who might not otherwise enjoy anime. Given the lack of action, it doesn’t immediately seem similar to Solo Leveling. However, they still have a lot in common, namely when it comes to the protagonists and the anime’s dramatic cat-and-mouse game they play with others.

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Sung Jinwoo games the system while arousing the suspicions in others, which is much like Light Yagami in Death Note. The titular tome gives him incredible power, similar to the “control over life and death” that Sung Jinwoo has. They’re both examples of urban fantasy anime and while Death Note is much more low-key in this regard, fans of one will likely enjoy the other.

Death Note

Release Date

October 4, 2006

16

Failure Frame Is Just Fantasy-Themed Solo Leveling

Streaming On: Crunchyroll

One anime especially similar to Solo Leveling is Failure Frame, which is essentially the same concept in a more traditional fantasy setting. The isekai series has Touka Mimori reborn in a medieval-style world, but his skills are deemed useless by a goddess. Condemned to a cave to die, it’s there that he discovers how useful his powers are as he plans to seek revenge.

Failure Frame and Solo Leveling share the premise of the heroes discovering or gaining great powers after facing certain death in a cave. Touka Mimori wants people to believe he’s dead, whereas Sung Jinwoo similarly tries to keep his skill a secret. The only real difference is the lack of video game and HUD elements, but beyond that, this is a must-watch for those looking for an anime like Solo Leveling.

Failure Frame: I Became the Strongest and Annihilated Everything with Low-Level Spells

• 
• 

  Mariko Suzuki

  Stat Screen Voice

• 

  Hana Tamegai

  Ikumi Kariya

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  Ryōta Suzuki

  Touka Mimori

15

Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End Sets a New Standard for Fantasy Anime

Streaming On: Crunchyroll

The acclaimed fantasy series Frieren follows the story of Frieren and her internalized quest to understand the complexity of humans and the passage of time. Frieren is an elven mage who’s lived over 1,000 years, and because of that, she has struggled to see value in the littlest of moments. As an elf, she can spend years simply studying one thing before moving on to the next, and it hardly feels like time has passed.

The story follows her in the present with her apprentice Fern and other companions such as Stark. However, her past companions are also the driving motivation that she has to move forward, as she is haunted by their shorter-lived human lives. Those who are most enthusiastic about the magic systems in Solo Leveling will be able to appreciate the craft in this anime.

Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End

Release Date

September 29, 2023

Directors

Keiichirô Saitô

Writers

Tomohiro Suzuki

• 

14

I’m In Love With the Villainess Is a Refreshing GL

Streaming On: Crunchyroll

Any fan of GL will have already heard about I’m In Love With the Villainess, but its story is more complex than just a silly villainess romance. The main character is Rae Taylor, a promising young magic user whose goal is to effectively romance the haughty antagonist, Claire. Like Solo Leveling, Rae has been reincarnated into her favorite romance game after her real-world self, Rei Oohashi, passes away from overwork.

Instead of following the game’s given romance options, the three princes, Rae is determined to romance Claire—the video game’s main character’s biggest rival. This anime has some exciting cool magic systems and interesting fight scenes, but it’s also full of political unrest and growing tension between classes.

I’m in Love with the Villainess

Release Date

2023 – 2023

Network

Tokyo MX

• 

  Yu Serizawa

  Rae Taylor (voice)

• 

  Karin Nanami

  Misha Jur (voice)

• 

  Ciarán Strange

  Claire François (voice)

• 

  Daisuke Namikawa

  Thane Bauer (voice)

13

Hell’s Paradise Is a Brutal Story of Love

Streaming On: Crunchyroll, Netflix

As a member of the “dark shonen trio,” Hell’s Paradise is as gritty as its name implies. As rumors about the recipe for immortality circulate, a group of prisoners on death row are sent to a frightening island to return the secret to the Shogunate. The prisoners, attended by trained executioners, must fight against one another because only one prisoner will be pardoned if they manage to return from their quest.

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While there is a decently sized cast of characters, most of which are morally gray criminals, the story mostly focuses on Gabimaru and his assigned executioner, Sagiri. If fans of Solo Leveling enjoyed dark themes and characters with incredible animation, Hell’s Paradise is a must-watch.

Hell’s Paradise: Jigokuraku

Release Date

April 1, 2023

Network

TV Tokyo

Directors

Kaori Makita

• 

  Chiaki Kobayashi

  Gabimaru

• 

  Yumiri Hanamori

  Yamada Asaemon Sagiri

• 

  Ryōhei Kimura

  Aza Chobei

• 

  Kensho Ono

  Yamada Asaemon Toma

• 

12

Sword Art Online Is an RPG-Style Classic

Streaming On: Crunchyroll, Hulu, The Roku Channel

Sword Art Online isn’t exactly a new title, and it’s certainly gathered its massive fanbase since it began airing. There are spin-offs and movies and even video games, but on the chance a fan of Solo Leveling hasn’t seen it, they should. The setting of SAO takes place in a seemingly not-too-far-off world where virtual reality has been taken a step further: online video game players can enter into the game they are playing.

The main story follows Kirito, who gets trapped in the video game along with every other person who was playing at the time. Dying was no big deal before because players would simply respawn. However, the respawn mechanic disappears and turns every fight into a high-stakes battle for survival.

11

Delicious in Dungeon Brings Flavor to High Fantasy

Streaming On: Netflix

Delicious in Dungeon has been one of the best recent anime to air. It’s silly and hectic but also sits on top of a rather grim storyline. At first glance, this anime might look like a typical dungeon crawler with monsters and magic. It is, of course, all those things, but the heart of the story lies within home-cooked meals. These meals are carefully prepared from the very monsters that the characters are fighting and killing.

The Dungeons & Dragons-style party of adventurers must delve back into a dungeon to rescue their fallen party member, Falin, who was eaten by a dragon. The party lost all of their loot and gold, but with little time to waste, they must venture right back in. Without the means to buy food, the party picks up Senshi, a dwarf with a divine taste for monster meat.

Delicious in Dungeon

Release Date

January 4, 2024

Directors

Yoshihiro Miyajima

Writers

Ryoko Kui, Kimiko Ueno

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10

Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody Marches to an RPG Beat

Streaming On: Crunchyroll

Ichiro “Sato” Suzuki is a programmer who finds himself transported into a world made up of all the games he was tirelessly debugging in real life. His new world, essentially a fantasy role-playing game, makes Sato younger while giving him little-to-no time to settle in and find his way.

Early on, Sato defeats a horde of lizardmen, and his level immediately boosts to 310. Afterward, he sets out to explore this new world as the classic overpowered isekai protagonist. Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody follows this exhausted programmer in a world he cannot get out of — but like Sung Jinwoo, Sato continues to level up to survive.

9

Akashic Records of Bastard Magic Instructor Deals With Magic & Beyond

Streaming On: Crunchyroll

In Akashic Records of Bastard Magic Instructor, Glenn Radars reluctantly becomes a teacher at the prestigious Alzano Imperial Magic Academy. Unfortunately, his carefree and easygoing attitude doesn’t sit right with his students.

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When evil stirs in the school, Glenn and two of his students, Sistine Fibel and Rumia Tingel, become entangled in their academy’s political power struggle. As students strive to be the best magicians they can be, they face life-or-death situations. Fans of the more magic-oriented aspect of Solo Leveling will surely find their fix following Glenn’s high-stakes adventures.

8

Cautious Hero Proves Heroes Can Be Too Careful

Streaming On: Hulu, Crunchyroll

Some heroes recklessly do whatever it takes to achieve their goals. Others, like Cautious Hero’s Seiya Ryuguin, are careful to a fault, despite being overpowered with unparalleled abilities. Ryuguin is transported by the Goddess Ristarte to protect the mystical world of Gaeabrande with his raw natural talent, but Ryuguin has other plans. Even though Ristarte provides Ryuguin with everything he could need to defeat the Demon King, he is always far too careful to get anything done.

He fights the weakest monsters with the strongest spells and never enters even the easiest fight without a thorough plan of escape. Like Sung Jinwoo, Ryuguin puts all of his effort into leveling up, but it’s often to his detriment. These characteristics easily make it an anime like Solo Leveling, with fans finding plenty to like in Cautious Hero.

Cautious Hero: The Hero Is Overpowered but Overly Cautious

Release Date

October 2, 2019

7

The Devil Is a Part-Timer Features a Devilish MC With Big Dreams

Streaming On: Crunchyroll, Hulu

The Devil is a Part-Timer tells the story of Sadao Maou, a part-time worker at MgRonald’s in Japan, which is a far cry from his previous life as the all-powerful Devil, Satan. Having fled his old world after losing a battle to the hero, he is forced to adapt to the human world with no magical power. Maou dreams of rising to a prominent position within the corporation so that he can take over the world.

While learning to be a responsible citizen of the human world, Maou protects civilians from the threats who come to fight and kill him. In some ways, Maou is the complete opposite of Sung Jinwoo. While Maou has to learn to live with minimal power despite having once been strong, Jinwoo has to learn to live with his newfound strength in a world that once ridiculed him for his weakness.

6

Attack on Titan Was Among the Biggest Modern Shonen Hits

Streaming On: Hulu, Crunchyroll

Hajime Isayama’s Attack on Titan is one of the most gruesome and thrilling stories in shonen anime. Eren Jaeger loses his mother to a Titan in the first episode, and everything goes south from there. Eren wages war and plays both sides like a true mastermind who knows what play to make next. The anime portrays the struggles of both warring sides, along with the politics and emotional turmoil that follows.

There are many parallels between AOT and Solo Leveling, especially insofar as concerns the two series’ protagonists. Eren swears to end all Titans but ends up becoming the thing he despises most, while Jinwoo is nearly killed numerous times by magic beasts only to lead a dark army of them. Both heroes are given great power to enact real change over their worlds; it’s what they do with it that’s most important.

5

The Rising of the Shield Hero Shares a Loose Premis With Solo Leveling

Streaming On: Hulu, Crunchyroll, Netflix

The Waves of Catastrophe threaten the Melromarc kingdom’s peace in The Rising of the Shield Hero. Four civilians from modern-day Japan find themselves transported to Melromarc as the Four Cardinal Heroes, driven by fate to keep the Waves at bay and maintain order in the kingdom.

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The Waves in Shield Hero are fairly similar in premise to the Gates of Solo Leveling, as monsters from parallel dimensions attack the world. Unlike Naofumi, though, Sung Jinwoo embraces his role as the hero with his newfound power, even as the world around him grows increasingly suspicious of his strength. Still, it’s an anime like Solo Leveling in enough ways, making it a series worth checking out.

The Rising of the Shield Hero

Release Date

January 9, 2019

4

Is It Wrong to Pick Up Girls In a Dungeon? Is a Harrowing Dungeon Crawler

Streaming On: Crunchyroll, Hulu

Gods and humans coexist in the lively city of Orario in Is It Wrong to Pick Up Girls in the Dungeon? Bell Cranel, the main protagonist, is a naïve young man with big dreams, hoping to become the mightiest adventurer. When Cranel meets the lonely goddess, Hestia, he finds himself a lot closer to his goal than he ever thought possible.

Bell’s story of dungeons, monsters, and determination is not too far off from Sung Jinwoo’s. In pursuit of his simplistic goal, Bell faces untold struggles and life-or-death threats, the likes of which Jinwoo knew all too well as the weakest E Rank Hunter. This premise makes the anime similar to Solo Leveling, namely through the setting.

Is It Wrong To Try To Pick Up Girls In A Dungeon?

Release Date

April 4, 2015

Network

AT-X, Tokyo MX, Sun TV, KBS Kyoto, BS11, ABEMA

Directors

Yusuke Onoda, Hideki Tachibana, Mitsuo Hashimoto, Yoshihiro Mori, Risako Yoshida

Writers

Hideki Shirane, Miya Asakawa

Cast

• 

  Daisuke Namikawa

  Dix Perdix (voice)

• 

  Ken Narita

  Zanis Lustra (voice)

• 

  Hitomi Nabatame

  Tsubaki Collbrande (voice)

• 

  Jun’ichi Yanagita

  Rudra (voice)

3

Overlord Follows A Veteran Gamer Through a Game He Can’t Escape

Streaming On: Netflix, Hulu, Crunchyroll

Overlord has made a lot of noise in the anime community thanks to its beloved, morally questionable protagonist, Ainz Ooal Gown. The anime follows Ainz, a veteran gamer who goes by the name Momonga, through the terminal moments of the virtual reality game Yggdrasil. When the game is supposed to go offline, Ainz finds himself trapped inside the game, left to accept his favorite video game world as his new reality.

Solo Leveling has a lot in common with Overlord, as the former leans fully into RPG concepts after Sung Jinwoo is reborn as a “Player.” Both series follow their OP heroes as they try to uncover the mystery of their new situations, but whereas Ainz is a regular person trapped in a video game world, Jinwoo becomes more like a video game character trapped in the real world.

2

Demon Slayer Follows a Determined Hero on a Righteous Path

Streaming On: Hulu, Crunchyroll, Netflix

Ufotable’s Demon Slayer is one of the most popular shōnen anime series worldwide. A wide range of heroes and villains with incredible powers and moving origin stories make the tale an immersive experience for fans. The series’ protagonist, Tanjiro Kamado, is on a mission to find a cure for demonism and reclaim his sister’s humanity.

As Tanjiro trains to become a Slayer, his sister Nezuko slowly uncovers her demonic powers. The two work together to fight demons and get closer to the Demon King, Muzan Kibutsuji. Tanjiro’s willingness to face certain death in his quest to gain strength to protect his loved ones bears a strong resemblance to Solo Leveling‘s Sung Jinwoo.

1

Tower of God’s Main Character Is a Special Case Like Jinwoo

Streaming On: Crunchyroll

Tower of God is an anime adapted from SIG’s manhwa of the same name, and it’s one of the many anime like Solo Leveling. The Tower of God summons people, called Regulars, and grants them whatever they wish for — as long as they reach the top. Bam follows Rachel, the literal light of his life, to the Tower, where she insists she must go.

Although the Tower didn’t summon Bam, he goes all the same, determined to stick with Rachel. Bam somehow opens the gates by himself out of sheer will. His kind, called Irregulars, are notably rare, and the story follows Bam bravely embarking on a journey against impossible odds. Like Jinwoo, Bam will do whatever it takes to protect those he loves, even if it means carrying the brunt of the burden on his shoulders.

Tower of God

Release Date

2020 – 2023

Directors

Takashi Sano

Writers

Erika Yoshida