One Piece has been going incredibly strong for 28 years now, as far as the manga is concerned, and 26 years for its anime adaptation. Through all these years, One Piece has stayed strong, and remained one of the most popular series globally. After all, it is the best-selling manga ever, a title that is unlikely to ever be taken from it. That said, while the manga is almost perfect, its anime has its issues, such as slow pacing, and until the Wano arc, mediocre animation. This makes it hard for new fans to get into One Piece, and has resulted in the One Piece anime being beaten by another series in 2025, Solo Leveling. Solo Leveling is Crunchyroll’s most reviewed anime, and has won various awards this year, including the title of Anime of the Year. This doesn’t mean that Solo Leveling is more popular than One Piece, but the anime is better produced and more liked by fans.
One Piece: Oda Officially Confirms The Strongest Yonko Crew In The Current Era
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One Piece Is Big, But Solo Leveling is The Highest Reviewed Anime on Crunchyroll
Over 600k Reviews for Solo Leveling
Solo Leveling took the world by storm, and it did so out of nowhere. The series debuted in 2024 with its first season, which had just 12 episodes. The success was almost instant, and it came back even stronger this year with Season 2, which was also a short season of 13 episodes. Solo Leveling has attracted the attention of fans with very short seasons. With just 25 episodes, the series became Crunchyroll’s highest-rated anime ever, which is no small feat. After all, Crunchyroll is the biggest anime streaming platform, and features iconic series like One Piece and Demon Slayer.
2025's Best Anime Has Officially Been Decided, And It's Not Solo Leveling
Solo Leveling was huge, but this other series was a bigger hit.
One Piece is, however, right behind Solo Leveling. But it has been ongoing for almost 3 decades, so Solo Leveling beating it with just two short seasons is definitely impressive. Solo Leveling has shown to be an amazing starter anime, something even non-anime watchers can get right into with its fast pace and flashy fights. Meanwhile, One Piece is a series that requires a great time investment, and might not be an anime that is easy to get into.
Is Solo Leveling More Successful Than One Piece?
- One Piece is the Best Selling Manga in the World
- One Piece Is Also The Most Pirated Anime
While Solo Leveling did beat One Piece on Crunchyroll, that doesn’t mean it’s bigger. Crunchyroll aside, One Piece is the most-streamed anime, but sadly, most of that comes from pirating, which definitely impacts its numbers on legitimate platforms.
Solo Leveling’s director himself, Atsushi Kaneko, has stated that One Piece is a bigger series than Solo Leveling. He said that Solo Leveling is not on the level of One Piece in popularity, especially in Japan. One Piece is an anime he aspires for Solo Leveling to get close to if anything.
“While thrilled with the response, I personally don't feel like the series is known by everyone at this point. Solo Leveling isn't as universally recognized in Japan yet. As a Japanese person living in Japan, the anime is not at the level of Dragon Ball, One Piece, or Naruto. But if season three happens, that’s when I want to truly break that boundary.” - Atsushi Kaneko
Additionally, with The One Piece Remake, more new fans will be able to get into the series as the anime restarts and fixes glaring issues, like animation and pacing. Solo Leveling will not be able to compete once this happens.
Solo Leveling has two seasons out right now, one with 12 episodes, and the other with 13, for a combined episode count of 25 episodes available to watch right now. The series can be streamed on Crunchyroll for fans to enjoy while awaiting any more news concerning the third season. For fans who can’t wait for season 3 to come out, checking out the Manhwa might be a great option.
One Piece
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget Display card main info widget end Display card media widget start Display card media widget end- Release Date
- October 20, 1999
- Studio
- Toei Animation
- Creator
- Eiichiro Oda
- Streaming Service(s)
- Crunchyroll, Netflix, Hulu, Pluto TV
