There is sometimes bias in the anime/manga industry, meaning that they prefer not to adapt media from outside of Japan. This is the case with manhwas, the Korean comics. Despite this, some pieces of work become so popular, the major publishers decide on adapting said content. This happened to Solo Leveling, a manhwa that received a manga adaptation years ago, but the anime adaptation is yet to come.
The story revolves around a Hunter, namely Sung Jin-Woo, who is considered as one of the worst at his activity. Once a mysterious gate appeared, it connected their world with a dimension of monsters. Sung decided to try his luck and combat these entities, but he continuously got damaged and did very poorly on the battlefield. That continued up until the point when he got a little help from higher powers, and then he started his journey to become the strongest Hunter!
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Sounds like every isekai, right? Well, the protagonist doesn’t just teleport to another world and stay there until the end of the story. Here it’s a little different, as mostly the other word interacts with the real one. This makes it somewhat of a reversed isekai, but that term is controversial as well. Anyway, if you are here to find some recommendations on what to watch if you like the theme of Solo Leveling, then let’s jump right into it!
Read More: Anime Like To Your Eternity
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14. I’m a Spider, so What?
Weird concepts were never unfamiliar to the anime scene, so this is nothing new under the sun. The story of this anime follows a girl reincarnated as a spider, being the weakest of all beings, and her struggle to make it bearable. This underdog status makes the connection with Solo Leveling, and with many others.
There are a lot of shared aspects of the two anime, not only the „weakest” status but also the RPG elements of their worlds. Kumoko, our protagonist, works hard to get up to the top, which is something Sung wants as well.
13. Sword Art Online
Not the most well-received anime of the decade, to go easy on it at least. SAO is one of the big guns of the isekai genre, and despite its low points, somehow it retained a huge fanbase. It shares the gaining strength and prestige aspect with Solo Leveling.
Sword Art Online is about a more-or-less virtual reality experience, with a twist: you can’t exit. The players have to go and play until they die, or until they complete every level of the game. Now even though this is an interesting concept, sadly SAO has bad pacing and questionable storytelling options. You can still enjoy the fun premise, so give it a try!
12. That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime
If you thought the isekai genre can’t bring out more crazy ideas, then you were wrong. Their titles get more and more obnoxious, while the quality somehow bounces from amazing to meh. It’s up to you whether TenSura deserves one of these labels, but it is surely like many other works of its kind, for example, Solo Leveling.
The protagonist in this rare case doesn’t just teleport into a new world, or gets hit by a truck, but happens to be stabbed. As he regains consciousness, he discovers that the new body bestowed upon him is just a goop of slime. He begins his journey with the idea of being free to do anything.
11. The Rising Shield Hero
Have you ever dreamed of starting a career as a hero in a real-life RPG? Well, if you ever happen to be in a situation like that, make sure to choose your companions wisely. Shield Hero is similar to Solo Leveling in many ways, even to its structure with the basic RPG elements.
In one of the rare instances where the protagonist is actually in college, Naofumi gets summoned to a world as a Hero. His duty is to save the world from monster invasion events, and he would get a nice salary for that. Sadly, the king and his daughter plotted against the Shield Hero from the start and accused Naofumi of many crimes. His job got very difficult, but he stood strong, at least morally, as a Hero.
10. My Hero Academia
Most shonen anime depends on the quality of the main character. The stories are built up in a way that the protagonists just have to carry the events themselves, or else everything will collapse. My Hero has the same starting point as Solo Leveling: weak MC in the beginning, who got a boost and grew steadily.
Yes, Deku is not a great protagonist. His linear thinking and embarrassing actions were pointed out by many fans already. But the supporting characters make up for the fact. They provide much better entertainment than the adventures of Midoriya and are loved universally. A society with a competitive hero industry makes a great premise, and it’s very fun to watch!
9. Overlord
I believe I’ve already told you about a few isekais, and don’t be surprised that there are more! This situation has to do with the fact that isekais and semi reverse isekais have common aspects. Overlord, on the other hand, gives a new light to the scene.
We follow the story of Momonga, a dedicated fan of a video game, who decided to spend the last moments playing it before the servers shut down. He happens to be trapped inside the game in the role of the Overlord and now has the obligation to discover what really happened.
8. Tower of God
We have another manhwa coming up! Tower of God is similar to Solo Leveling in many ways, including the way the protagonist is dedicated to rising to the top. He, someone who wasn’t chosen to enter the Tower, still wanted to do it, and got in just right!
Tower of God is the story of a life saved by a stranger, and the impact this relationship had. It’s a story of relentlessly moving forward to achieve your goals, even if everyone around you looks down on you. One thing for sure, the names in this show are kind of complicated!
7. God of High School
Again, a manhwa adaptation! And it also looks like they just can’t stop using the word „god” in the title either. This fact is further proven with the Fall 2020 season release of The Day I Became a God. God of High School still has an interesting tournament arc, well, it is only a tournament arc.
The concept of this anime is fairly simple, as God of High School is basically a martial arts showdown in a high school. This event showcases interesting characters and, most importantly, amazing fights. Everything is pleasant to look at, the fights are well-choreographed. Not a deep work, but surely something worth checking out.
6. Chain Chronicle
Chain Chronicle was a mobile game adaptation released as a full-length TV show in 2017, showcasing a very simple story. It’s similar to Solo Leveling as a mysterious monster invasion happened, disrupting the life of the continent of Yggdra.
Well, we can’t really tell who is the monster, as the continent was already inhabited by many different entities, including ogres, giants, etc. The Holy King ruled over the land, but he was killed during the invasion. It was up to the protagonist to stand up against the enemy with his newly formed Volunteer Army.
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5. Log Horizon
Log Horizon is another anime based around a video game, where the players find themselves unable to leave the game. Despite its similarity to some previous shows on this list, Log Horizon is actually regarded as a great show and universally loved by the community.
The principles of regular isekai apply here as well, but Log Horizon is filled with geopolitical action, adventure, and the mind games of the master strategist of Shiroe, the protagonist. I can wholeheartedly recommend this show, it is a true gem of the genre.
4. Black Clover
Every fantasy anime has its own power system, and Black Clover cleverly named it „magic”. This genius idea is reflected all the way through the show, which tells us the story of how Asta, a boy without magic powers – meaning the weakest – struggles to become the Wizard King – the strongest of all.
Asta is an orphan, and even though he was all hyped up to see his grimoire, the magic book all humans receive eventually, it turns out he has no magic. That doesn’t stop him, he happens to acquire the five-leaf grimoire, and thus being able to use anti-magic, the power of a devil. He joins the Magic Knights and starts his journey to the top. As the story progresses, he learns the true story of the world, and how it was almost destroyed by the very kind of beings he was given his power by.
3. Digimon Tamers
You might be surprised right now, but trust me, Digimon is actually good! If you can put up with the painful cringe of some scenes, Tamers will show you unexpected beauty. Just like many before on this list, this anime starts out with Takato being a weak Digimon card player, and after finding his own real-life digimon, he goes down the path of being the strongest Tamer.
Humanity created the digital world, and digital monsters to inhabit that. They eventually developed their own will and started to cross the border of the human world, to terrorize their creators. Yet another similarity with Solo Leveling! Takato and other Tamers team up to defend the world, and they make friends with these weird entities along the way. During their expedition to the digital world, the humans finally understand that digimons are just as living as they are, and need to be granted freedom.
2. Bottom-tier Character Tomozaki-kun
Came as a real underdog of the Winter 2021 season, this anime took a weird turn from a gaming-oriented slice of life to an actually respectable slice of life. The main character usually referred to himself as a bottom-tier character from the video game of life, but he „leveled up” fast after having been trained by his classmate, a popular kid.
Unlike Sung, Tomozaki is only the worst at being an average high school kid, he otherwise excels at playing a Smash Bros-like duel game. His popular girl classmate decides to help him live life to the fullest, but as he follows all of her orders, Tomozaki slowly realizes he lost his personality on the way. He learns that staying true to himself and self-improvement are both possible. It is indeed important to balance these two things out, as honesty is above all positive aspects of a person. There is a lot to learn from this underrated anime!
1. Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?
Yes, it is. Jokes aside, authors nowadays seem to have a hard time naming their works, as they have questionable baits and are too long. Despite its weird appearance, DanMachi is actually scarily similar to Solo Leveling.
Many overlook this anime for how it’s presented and let’s be honest, it’s not a big hit. But Solo Leveling shares many aspects of this show! These details are all tied together in the adventure theme, although DanMachi is more of a comedy. It serves an entirely different demographic, this anime turns out to be pretty enjoyable for a cold action-lover too!
Conclusion
There are loads of fun shows when it comes to isekai and other fantasy genres, and I hope you’ve found something to enjoy! Check out our other lists if you still need some recommendations!
