Solo Leveling’s Webtoon Replacement Is An All-Time Classic That’s Still Near-Perfect

Despite having a sizable fanbase even as a manhwa, Solo Leveling exploded in popularity after its anime’s release, almost to an immeasurable extent. And, while many other webtoons have been adapted into anime since, it’s hard to think of a single series that has come close to achieving the same success as Solo Leveling.

That said, despite its success season after season, Solo Leveling’s anime has seemingly hit a mysterious roadblock, with no confirmation of Season 3 even an entire year later. The manhwa has, of course, long concluded while its sequel, Solo Leveling: Ragnarok has also unfortunately gone on hiatus, leaving fans desperately looking for something to fill the void, and one upcoming webtoon-turned-anime might just be the answer.

Solo Leveling Has Many Successors, but Only One’s a True Frontrunner

Custom Image by Ana Nieves 

When it comes to discussing Solo Leveling’s potential successors or straight-up replacements, a long list of titles come to mind, such as Omniscient Reader, Return of the Disaster Class Hero, Tomb Raider King, Pick Me Up: Infinite Gacha, or even The Greatest Estate Developer. There are, of course, even webtoon-turned anime that have sadly missed the mark for whatever reason despite their stories having the potential, such as The God of Highschool, The Beginning After the End, and Tower of God, to name only a few.

That said, pinning down a proper replacement calls for examining Solo Leveling and what exactly it is about the series that appeals to many. It cannot be the series’ protagonist, who has time and time again been criticized as being void of characterization and growth outside of the blatant power fantasy disguised as character growth. In fact, protagonists like Sung Jinwoo are a dime-a-dozen.

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If so, perhaps the main appeal of Solo Leveling is its fast pacing, action-packed story, and visually appealing fights. Quite simply, Solo Leveling’s an easy watch. The story gets going rather quickly and doesn’t drag at any point. As amazing and popular as Omniscient Reader is, its story does take much longer to lay its foundation and hook viewers, though it does steadily get better and better from then on out. In that sense, Omniscient Reader is much like the One Piece to Solo Leveling’s Dragon Ball Z.

Much like Demon Slayer, Solo Leveling’s also all about the spectacle. The manhwa was already beloved for its amazing art, and the anime only enhances these visuals with gorgeous high-octane fights that get viewers hyped. As such, series like The Greatest Estate Developer, which has a similarly huge fanbase, could come close with a good anime adaptation.

But, even so, the series might just be a little too different in tone and missing the pure action and hype factor that defines Solo Leveling. That said, there may just be one series that checks all these boxes. Webtoon’s Eleceed might just be the perfect successor to Solo Leveling, and it also has an anime releasing in 2026.

Eleceed’s Kayden Break Will Be Anime’s New Sung Jinwoo

Announced back on July 1, 2025, Eleceed is set to receive an anime adaptation in 2026, though an exact release window has yet to be determined. Based on the 2018 webtoon of the same name by Jeho Son, the creator of Noblesse, and Zhena, Eleceed’s anime is being produced by Dandelion Animation Studios, and judging by the key visual and short teaser shared so far, the anime looks incredibly promising and could very well steal Solo Leveling’s empty throne in 2026.

While the series certainly has more of a comedic tone at times with all its cat shenanigans and gags, it also has everything else Solo Leveling fans could possibly want from a replacement, whether that’s gorgeous “aura-farming” characters or fast-paced fights that get readers’ blood pumping. Eleceed’s noir world of secret yet powerful individuals known as the Awakened, and its rather intricate power system is also one that will appeal to fans of Solo Leveling and Omniscient Reader alike.

Meanwhile, characters like Kayden Break, who is dubbed one of the strongest of the Awakened will also surely scratch that power fantasy itch. Lastly, for fans of Jinwoo’s journey from the weakest to the strongest, Eleceed also has that avenue covered with its protagonist, Seo Jiwoo, and in fact, the latter’s hard-earned strength might even be more satisfying than Jinwoo’s in the end.

Release Date

2024 – 2025-00-00

Network

Tokyo MX, Gunma TV, BS11, Tochigi TV

Directors

Tatsuya Sasaki, Toru Hamasaki

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  Genta Nakamura

  Yoo Jin-ho