Among all the big hits that have emerged in the modern era of anime, Solo Leveling tops the list of quite a few fans. Solo Leveling has been going strong ever since its debut in 2024, especially with the release of its second season. Ever since its conclusion, fans have even been flocking to its Manhwa and web novel to continue the story.
Solo Leveling: All Abilities Of Sung Jinwoo's System, Explained
The System and its abilities did wonders for Sung Jin-Woo in Solo Leveling.
Quite clearly, Solo Leveling has gained tremendous popularity over the last few years. Recently, a new anime was announced for release in July 2026, and while it doesn't have much to do with Solo Leveling, fans are quite surprised by it. This anime is Tomb Raider King, and many believe it to be a blatant copy of Solo Leveling. Even the main character of the anime looks like an exact copy of Sung Jinwoo. Solo Leveling precedes Tomb Raider King, and the similarities can’t be overlooked. However, this copycat anime could still be a fun way for fans to spend time while waiting for the next Solo Leveling project to be revealed.
Solo Leveling Is A Worldwide Sensation
- It was Anime of the Year in 2025
- It became Crunchyroll’s most popular anime
Solo Leveling quickly gained a lot of popularity immediately after the release of the first anime season in 2024, and its second season followed immediately after in 2025. In a span of just one year, Solo Leveling went on to become Crunchyroll's Anime of the Year in 2025, thanks to its first season. This feat is even more impressive when considering the fact that Solo Leveling was up against the likes of Frieren: Beyond Journey's End, Dandadan, and The Apothecary Diaries.
Nevertheless, Solo Leveling prevailed and went on to win a whole lot of other awards as well, such as Best Main Character or Best Action.
Even beyond that, Solo Leveling went on to shatter many records on the biggest anime platform overseas, Crunchyroll. On Crunchyroll, it became the most popular anime of all time. It has the most user ratings, along with the highest score, and that is definitely impressive on a platform that hosts the likes of One Piece or Demon Slayer. It can be said that Solo Leveling is a worldwide sensation, and one of the biggest new hit anime of this decade. Being such a hit, many copies have already started to emerge, and the latest one seems to have amused the fans quite a bit.
A Solo Leveling Copycat Replacement Is Coming In July 2026
- Tomb Raider King Blatantly Copies Solo Leveling
A new anime series is coming in 2026, and that's Tomb Raider King, which is set to premiere in July 2026. Tomb Raider King just received a trailer, and fans familiar with Solo Leveling were definitely shocked to see that it looks like a blatant copy of their beloved series.
What caught most fans' attention immediately was the resemblance between Sung Jin-woo and Tomb Raider King's main character, Seo Joo-Heon. Character design-wise, it could be said that Sung Jin-woo and this new main character are almost indistinguishable. They both feature the exact same haircut, hair color, eyes, and build. Even their clothes are almost the same. To most anime fans, especially those who aren’t the most familiar with Solo Leveling, it could even be said that it's almost impossible to distinguish between these two characters, apart from the slightly varied art style. To most, however, it would be clear that this anime goes beyond taking inspiration and is a blatant copy of the series.
While many fans are still not familiar with the plot of Tomb Raider King, unsurprisingly, even that holds many similarities to Solo Leveling. Both Sung Jin-woo and Seo Joo-Heon are on a quest to grow stronger, and both are overpowered main characters who fight terrifyingly powerful enemies but still come out on top.
New Chinese Anime Is The Secret Anime Of The Year Ahead Of Solo Leveling
Solo Leveling has a huge shot at winning the title of Anime of the Year, but it might face some competition from this Chinese anime.
Taking inspiration is fine, but it quite clearly goes beyond that. It can be said that when it comes to character designs, at the very least, fans cannot really blame Tomb Raider King too much.
The creator of the series did not choose his main character’s character design to be this indistinguishable from that of Sung Jin-woo. Instead, the real culprit is REDICE Studio, which is responsible for adapting both Solo Leveling and Tomb Raider King from novel to manhwa.
REDICE Studio is known for its relatively unoriginal designs that seem to overlap with multiple series. Of course, Tomb Raider King is far from being the only copy of Solo Leveling. With the level of success of this series, fans can expect many more copycats to emerge over the next few years.
Solo Leveling Precedes Tomb Raider King in Webnovel and Manhwa Release
- Solo Leveling’s Webnovel and Manhwa came out in July 2016 and March 2018 respectively
- Tomb Raider King’s webnovel and manhwa were released in November 2016 and 2019
While it is true that Solo Leveling's anime came out before Tomb Raider King, some fans do wonder which webnovel came out earlier. Taking a closer look at things, it is quite clear that Solo Leveling predates Tomb Raider King in all categories, be it anime, novel, or manhwa. Solo Leveling's web novel came out just a couple of months before Tomb Raider King. While the SL novel started in July 2016, Tomb Raider King came out in November 2016.
For the manhwa, it's even clearer which series started first. Solo Leveling's manhwa first came out in March 2018, while Tomb Raider King didn't get a manhwa until 2019. In other words, Solo Leveling is definitely the original series that has been copied multiple times over the years by other manhwa and web novels from South Korea.
Tomb Raider King Could Still Be A Fun Watch For Fans Missing Solo Leveling
- Solo Leveling Has No Confirmed Upcoming Anime Projects
It is understandable to see many Solo Leveling fans upset about Tomb Raider King’s plagiarism, but the anime doesn't seem to be something taken too seriously.
While both series overlap a lot, they are still unique in their own ways. Tomb Raider King still features its own story elements that Solo Leveling certainly doesn't have, and that makes it an interesting watch for many.
It must be said that, at the moment, with no Solo Leveling projects coming up, Tomb Raider King could be the perfect opportunity for fans to indulge in a new series and wait for the real King to finally return with new and exciting content. In that regard, this 2026 replacement doesn't seem like a bad one.
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. There have been no major announcements about a third season so far. Fans can get more Solo Leveling content via the Manhwa.