by Mirza Aaqib Beg & Mark Sammut
Stories of underdogs are abundant in popular culture, and their origins can be traced back to ancient folklore and myths. Characters from disadvantaged backgrounds who battle against all odds for their ambitious goals strike a chord with people and often end up leaving a lasting impression.
A-1 Pictures' Solo Leveling is one such story that follows the exciting journey of a young adult named Sung Jinwoo who jumps at the opportunity to turn his fate around and rewrite his destiny. The anime explores recurring themes of ambition, redemption, identity, and purpose to weave an intriguing tale. Solo Leveling, with its action-packed fight sequences, gives viewers an adrenaline rush that they can also experience in the anime listed below. Let's highlight the best anime like Solo Leveling.
Updated October 19, 2025 by Mark Sammut: Who knows if Solo Leveling season 3 will ever become a reality? In the meantime, you might want to check out some of the currently airing shows, like a Fall 2025 series that has an opening episode that is surprisingly similar to Solo Leveling.
My Gift Lvl 9999 Unlimited Gacha: Backstabbed in a Backwater Dungeon, I'm Out for Revenge!
An OP MC Who Is Left For Death And Then Becomes, Essentially, A Summoner
Fall 2025 is currently underway, and the lineup has quite a few power fantasies that could fill the void left by Solo Leveling. That said, most of them do not share any major similarities outside of having very powerful protagonists, so I would only recommend something like A Wild Last Boss Appeared if you are specifically craving an OP MC. The one major exception is My Gift Lvl 9999 Unlimited Gacha: Backstabbed in a Backwater Dungeon, I'm Out for Revenge, which has an opening episode that is so "Solo Leveling" that Sung should make a guest appearance.
Now, the show's setting is quite different, as My Gift Lvl 9999 Unlimited Gacha takes place in a fantasy world with many, many species, and humans are generally considered to be the weakest and least developed. They are basically discriminated against, and Light has it worse than most since his ability, Unlimited Gacha, seems to only pull worthless items.
So, here come the similarities. Light joins a powerful group and goes along with them to an extremely dangerous dungeon, where he is betrayed and left to die. Beaten and facing a threat that is bound to destroy him, Light desperately uses his gacha and summons a Level 9999 warrior named Mei, and she will not be his only strong soldier. Now, Light seeks revenge and is the master of an army of strong summons.
OK, I should say that My Gift Lvl 9999 Unlimited Gacha has not been all that great so far, and the fight sequences/animation are definitely not on the same level as Solo Leveling. However, if you are looking for an anime about a weakling who, on the verge of death, unlocks an incredible power, this is it.
Gachiakuta
Slowly Learning To Master Incredible Power (Also, Great Action)
OK, Gachiakuta is a Summer 2025 anime, so it only has a couple of episodes by this point; however, I've seen enough to recommend it to pretty much any action fan, and that naturally includes Solo Leveling. The shows share some similarities beyond their genre, too. So, what is the basic story? Well, Rudo lives in the slums that neighbor the upper-class town, with the latter treating the former as dirty criminals who have no rights. Also, they live in the sky. One day, Rudo is framed for murder, and he is sentenced to be flung into the dump below, which should spell death. However, he survives, learns that people live in this area, and that he has special powers that make him a cleaner.
Gachiakuta has quite a lot going for it. The world-building has been fascinating so far, as we gradually learn more about this world alongside Rudo. Speaking of the MC, Rudo is just awesome. Yes, his default state is anger, but that makes sense considering his situation. He wants revenge, but he is willing to learn from other cleaners and contribute to the society he finds himself in. He also has a power that he does not understand, and, similar to Sung, he must master it if he hopes to survive.
Overlord
An OP Evil MC Summoner
Solo Leveling is not isekai, but it honestly shares quite a few tropes with the genre. Overlord should not need much of an introduction for anyone remotely familiar with isekai, but if you have never tried the series but are looking for something similar to Solo Leveling, you should give it a go.
Just to set expectations, they are hardly copies of each other, but they both follow powerful MCs who use magic and summons to win most encounters. Furthermore, they are both driven by a desire to protect their own, and they try to keep a low profile to avoid attracting too much attention. However, they eventually have to make their presence felt. Also, Overlord's protagonist gets stuck as his video game avatar in a dark fantasy world, and he gradually begins to lose his humanity as he becomes more and more like the evil mage he created. The arc is not identical to Sung's journey in Solo Leveling, but they are not that far removed either.
To Be Hero X
From Zero To Hero
Solo Leveling was likely a lot of people's introduction to manhwa, even though the adaptation was handled by a Japanese company. The anime's success might spark an increase in projects based on Korean stories, or it might inspire fans to check out similar manhwa. While not quite as mainstream, Chinese donghua are starting to gain a foothold as well, and To Be Hero X is a great entry point into this world. Yes, it is technically the third season under the To Be Hero brand, but the series tells anthology stories that can be enjoyed as standalone pieces. More importantly, To Be Hero X shares a surprising number of things with Solo Leveling.
Both stories revolve around weak/ordinary protagonists who are handed overwhelming power after coming face-to-face with death. In the case of To Be Hero X's Lin Ling, he is forced to take the place of a superhero named Nice, and he gains his abilities because the public believes in him. Like Sung, Lin goes from a nobody to somebody special in an instant, although he is not quite as OP as Solo Leveling's MC. More importantly, this donghua has jaw-dropping animation and action sequences, comfortably among the best of the year. While the art style is completely different from Solo Leveling, To Be Hero X looks stunning, particularly the environments. Nearly every episode features a big fight that sees Lin going up against a different villain, and they play out relatively differently. The show even has a superhero ranking system that is not too far removed from Solo Leveling's Hunters classification.
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This article originally appeared on GameRant and is republished here with permission.
