Entertainment
The Best Sci-Fi Anime of the Decade Officially Shatters a Crunchyroll Record
Four days ago, the 10th Crunchyroll Anime Awards ceremony was held in all its glory, celebrating deserving anime titles that have left a major impact over the past year. Earning the top prize for Anime of the Year was the eighth and final season of the mega-hit series, My Hero Academia, while the other nominees included The Apothecary Diaries Season 2, Dandadan Season 2, Gachiakuta, The Summer Hikaru Died, and Takopi’s Original Sin.
Much to fans’ disappointment, and despite its immense popularity, Solo Leveling Season 2–Arise from the Shadow failed to secure a nomination in the category, immediately sparking intense debate and outrage. This was especially surprising considering it won Anime of the Year last year. The fantasy series still earned 10 nominations across other categories, including Best Action, Best Animation, Best Continuing Series, and Best Main Character, while taking home wins in the first two categories.
On top of that, Solo Leveling appears to have now achieved another impressive milestone on Crunchyroll, becoming the first series in the platform’s history to surpass 1 million ratings as of May 27, 2026. Plus, 95% of those ratings are a perfect 5 stars. Much of that surge came from the sophomore season, which reportedly added over 900,000 ratings to the roughly 400,000 accumulated by Season 1. With that achievement, Solo Leveling now stands ahead of several major anime titles, including Jujutsu Kaisen and Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba. One Piece and Jujutsu Kaisen are currently the closest to Solo Leveling‘s record, though both still trail behind. As of this publication, Jujutsu Kaisen sits at over 785,000 ratings, while One Piece has about 818,000.
‘Solo Leveling’ Is Still One of the Best Anime Ever
Boasting a 100% critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes, Solo Leveling will always be one of the best anime of all time. The series originally premiered on January 7, 2024, and Season 1 ended after 12 episodes on March 31, 2024. Season 2 came about on January 5, 2025, but it wasn’t until March of this year that it was released stateside on Crunchyroll.
As an adaptation of the popular South Korean web novel, Solo Leveling follows Sung Jin-woo, a notoriously weak hunter in a world where superpowered warriors battle deadly monsters to protect humanity. After surviving a catastrophic dungeon raid, he gains a mysterious ability that allows him to grow stronger continuously, something impossible for other hunters. As Jin-woo rises in power, he uncovers dark secrets about his abilities and becomes the Shadow Monarch, an immortal ruler of the dead caught in a war between powerful forces threatening humanity’s survival.
Solo Leveling streams on Crunchyroll. Stay tuned at Collider for more updates.
- Release Date
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2024 – 2025-00-00
- Network
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Tokyo MX, Gunma TV, BS11, Tochigi TV
- Directors
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Tatsuya Sasaki, Toru Hamasaki
- Writers
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Shigeru Murakoshi, Shingo Irie, Fuka Ishii
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Genta Nakamura
Yoo Jin-ho
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