Power Fantasy Done Right: 5 Anime to Watch if You Loved Solo Leveling

Solo Leveling is pure, unadulterated hype. Watching Sung Jinwoo grind from the weakest hunter in the world to an unstoppable necromancer with a digital RPG system is a massive adrenaline rush.

If you loved the video-game mechanics, the dark aesthetic, and the sheer satisfaction of an overpowered main character dominating his enemies, here are 5 anime you need to binge next.

1. Sword Art Online (Aincrad Arc) You cannot talk about RPG anime without the classic. While it shifts genres later, the first season features Kirito dual-wielding his way through a deadly tower where if you die in the game, you die in real life. It defined the "cool, black-clad soloist" trope.

2. Overlord If you loved the "Shadow Army" aspect of Solo Leveling, you will love Overlord. A gamer is trapped in a fantasy world in the body of his max-level undead avatar, ruling over a massive tomb of terrifying monsters. He is instantly the strongest being in the world.

3. Shangri-La Frontier Don't let the bird mask fool you. This is currently one of the best "gaming" anime ever made. The animation in the boss fights is movie-quality, and it perfectly captures the feeling of min-maxing stats and dodging impossible attacks.

4. The Rising of the Shield Hero (Season 1) If you want the "weakest character gets betrayed and aggressively levels up out of spite" storyline, Naofumi’s journey from a hated outcast to the most powerful hero in the kingdom is incredibly satisfying.

5. Kaiju No. 8 Instead of hunters fighting monsters in gates, it’s a defense force fighting Kaijus in modern cities. The twist? The protagonist can transform into a monstrous Kaiju himself. It shares the same gritty, high-stakes urban fantasy vibe as Solo Leveling.