Published Jun 6, 2026, 11:07 PM EDT
**Collier Jennings is an entertainment journalist with a substantial amount of experience under his belt. **Collier, or “CJ” to his friends and family, is a dedicated fan of genre films - particularly science fiction, fantasy and comic book adaptations, not to mention all forms of animation animation. This stems from a close bond with his father, who introduced him to these genres via copies of X-Men comics and reruns of the original Ultraman series. Using his near-encyclopedic knowledge and bottomless love of genre, he’s been able to tackle a wide variety of articles.
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Anime has grown into a force to be reckoned with in the past few years, with series like ***Jujutsu Kaisen ***and ***Demon Slayer ***drawing in audiences week after week. Actors like **Michael B. Jordan **and **Timothée Chalamet **have publicly expressed their love for anime classics like ***Naruto ***and Yu-Gi-Oh! Even streamers are getting in on the anime craze, as Netflix’s live-action adaptation of ***One Piece ***has become just as much of a hit as the original anime. However, it turns out that one anime series has reached a new level of popularity, and proven its naysayers wrong in the process.
This anime is Solo Leveling, which just trumped its competition in one major arena. According to a report, *Solo Leveling *has surpassed 1 million ratings on Crunchyroll, making it the most watched anime series on the platform. Furthermore, 95% of these ratings are at the 5-star level, which proves that fans can’t get enough of Solo Leveling. Part of this success is thanks to the fact that Crunchyroll is the only streaming platform where fans can watch the series. The rest lies in the premise of the anime and the original webtoon novels by **Chugong **and Jang Sung-rak, which takes place in a world full of magic and monsters.
*Solo Leveling *is centered around a society of hunters, who use their supernatural abilities to protect humanity from eldritch abominations. Hunter Sung Jin-woo, after surviving a near-fatal battle that wipes out a group of his fellow Hunters, is selected by a magical program called “The System” which allows him to increase his abilities with every monster he slays. What makes this noteworthy is that each Hunter is born with base abilities that they can’t increase, making Sung Jin-woo special. If the idea of a teenage demon hunter becoming more and more powerful wasn’t enough of a draw, *Solo Leveling *also boasts some gorgeous animation and epic fight scenes courtesy of A-1 Pictures. Anime fans might recognize A-1’s work from other beloved anime series like ***Fairy Tail ***and Black Butler, which adds an extra level of prestige to Solo Leveling.
Despite Solo Leveling’s increase in popularity, there’s also been an equal amount of backlash. Most detractors often point to the fact that Sung Jin-woo easily wins every fight he enters, or that he lacks the personality of other beloved anime protagonists. Others say that while it might not be an isekai story, it carries the tropes that have run that genre into the ground. These detractors are missing out on the fact that what they see as less than desirable elements might appeal to other fans, and from the Crunchyroll ratings it seems like a *lot *of fans enjoy this series for going so over the top. An argument could also be made that other iconic characters like Batman and James Bond serve as power fantasies, which proves that some things are truly universal.
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Although the original *Solo Leveling *novels have wrapped up, the series is continuing to thrive in multiple ways. Season 3 of the anime is currently in production, while a sequel novel titled ***Solo Leveling: Ragnarok ***was released in 2023 to the same critical acclaim as its predecessor. Perhaps the biggest news is that *Solo Leveling *will be receiving a live action adaptation from Netflix, starring **Byeon Woo-seok **as Sung Jin-woo. Considering the massive success that Netflix’s had with the live-action *One Piece *and Korean-language programming after Squid Game’s blockbuster ratings, it’s no surprise that the streamer would want to adapt such a popular series. It would also give Netflix a leg up on Crunchyroll, and *Solo Leveling *fans another version of their favorite story.
Solo Leveling growing into the most watched anime of all time on Crunchyroll is proof that the anime business is here to stay. It also shows that the “next big thing” isn’t always what you expect.
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