Yesterday, May 27, 2026 Solo Leveling became the first animated series ever to surpass one million ratings on the on-demand streaming platform Crunchyroll; not only that, but 95% of those ratings are a perfect 5 out of 5 stars: this is truly a landmark achievement!
Although it is possible (and even likely) that another anime will one day reach one million ratings on Crunchyroll, Solo Leveling will forever remain the first to have achieved this feat. By reaching one million ratings on Crunchyroll, Solo Leveling has surpassed all other major anime series, such as the hugely popular Demon Slayer or the legendary Dragon Ball Z; to date, the only two anime that come close to Solo Leveling’s record are Jujutsu Kaisen and One Piece, but even they still have a long way to go to reach the same milestone.
As of this writing, Jujutsu Kaisen has reached 785,000 views, while One Piece has 818,000. Although these are high numbers, they pale in comparison to the massive surge in viewership that Solo Leveling experienced following its second season. At the start of the second season, the series had around 400,000 viewers, but that number skyrocketed to over 900,000 immediately after the season finale aired. One of Solo Leveling’s advantages over anime like Jujutsu Kaisen or One Piece is that it has been largely a Crunchyroll exclusive throughout its run. In fact, it’s still a Crunchyroll exclusive in the U.S., being available on Netflix only in certain regions (incidentally, the Netflix remake of One Piece is about to be released, which will further contribute to “scattering” the audience).
Unlike Jujutsu Kaisen or One Piece, both of which are available to stream on multiple platforms, fans are practically forced to watch Solo Leveling on Crunchyroll. This does not, however, diminish the enormous success of Solo Leveling: after all, series like JJK and One Piece have many more episodes and have been airing for much longer than Solo Leveling. By its third season, Jujutsu Kaisen had released 59 episodes and 3 movies. So far, Solo Leveling has released just one movie and 25 episodes. This attests to the meteoric rise to popularity that Solo Leveling has achieved in a very short time. The fact that the series continues to attract hundreds of thousands of new viewers more than a year after the second season aired is further proof of Sung Jinwoo’s ability to establish himself as a new anime icon.
Whether you love it or hate it, it’s clear that Solo Leveling is the new breakout hit. But that doesn’t exempt it from criticism. In fact, its rapid rise to fame has largely contributed to generating a wave of hatred toward it. Many criticize Solo Leveling for being superficial and for its nonsensical action, even going so far as to call it a product crafted specifically to achieve such success, and many label it “mid-tier.”
However, there are concrete and objective reasons for the success of Solo Leveling, and it’s not just about the quality of the animation (although A-1 Pictures did an excellent job adapting the fight scenes). The real reason Solo Leveling is today’s most popular action anime lies in its deliberate rebellion against shonen anime clichés: Sung Jinwoo is not the classic kind-hearted shonen hero. He is a dark, ruthless anti-hero who takes no prisoners and has no qualms about killing his enemies. Witnessing the slow agony of Sung Jinwoo’s glimmer of humanity is a wholly unique experience for most anime fans, which makes his “superficiality” more of a virtue than a flaw.
Another element contributing to Solo Leveling’s success is its pacing. Unlike traditional shonen fighting series, which often drag out battles over several episodes, Solo Leveling’s most important fights tend to last just one episode or even less. They are short and spectacular, never dragging on excessively. Although this aspect of the series is criticized for being merely flashy and superficial, one could argue the opposite: Solo Leveling’s action spurs the viewer to keep up, asking them to decipher what is happening in real time rather than slowing down the pace and explaining every detail step by step.
Solo Leveling has set a new standard for action anime, and the industry is already being forced to adapt. Now that it’s indisputably the most popular anime on Crunchyroll, it’s time for anime fans to bow down to their new king… whether they like it or not!
Seasons 1 and 2 of Solo Leveling are currently available to stream on Crunchyroll.
Source: x.com
