With the Solo Leveling Season 2: Arise from the Shadow coming towards its conclusion, fans of the Manhwa and Anime cannot wait for more. But unfortunately, masterpieces like this take time to perfect and loyal fans know that their patience would be richly rewarded.
In the meantime, it is best to find more series that are on par with or are better than Solo Leveling itself to keep us satisfied. As rare as those may be, they are not non-existent and you can jump right into them while you await the new big installation from Solo Leveling. So here are our top five picks for Must-Read Manhwa Series for Solo Leveling fans in no particular order, all of which are oozing in Solo Leveling-like aura and hype!
Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint
Starting the list off with a bang is “Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint”! When the Solo Leveling Anime was just announced, all my Manhwa-loving friends kept bringing this one up and emphasizing how it can break the internet like nothing has before. Naturally, I found the title itself to be intriguing and thought I’d give it a go; here’s what you need to know!
This is a Manhwa series by author sing N song and artist Sleepy-C, which began publication on the 26th of May 2020. Featuring our blood-pumping genres of Action, Adventure and Urban Fantasy, it is still ongoing and serialized in Naver Webtoon.
It follows the story of Kim Dokja, who ironically doesn’t even consider himself the protagonist of his own life at first. Much like the name his parents bestowed upon him, he lived a solitary life of simply reading web novels for over a decade, where he vicariously lived through the protagonist of the web novel “Three Ways to Survive the Apocalypse” (TWSA), Yoo Joonghyuk. Thanks to this, Dokja obtained secondhand experience of trials owing to repeatedly regressing in time, all in search of the means to end life-threatening "scenarios" which force people to act out narratives for the entertainment of god-like "Constellations." 3,149 Chapters in and even Dokja accepts story ending, while most other readers had moved on. This is when he suddenly receives an enigmatic message from the author saying that the story will be monetized soon…. This is when everything goes dark and our MC realizes that his fiction and reality had swapped places, placing him within TWSA! Being the only omniscient reader of the events yet to unfold, not even Dokja’s success in these “scenarios” are guaranteed, but he certainly possesses an advantage. Will this knowledge empower him to finally become the protagonist he never was before?
The Beginning After The End
Yet another title avid web readers cannot seem to stop talking about is “The Beginning After The End”. I have often heard the phrase “Every ending is actually a new beginning”, and nothing drives it home as well as this series does. It is often spoken of in conjunction with Solo Leveling thanks to the number of similarities, but rest assured the two tales follow completely different power systems set in different worlds.
Based on the web-novel by TurtleMe, this reincarnation story outlines the life of King Grey following his untimely and mysterious death. Reincarnated as Arthur Leywin, our MC wishes to rectify his past mistakes in the new continent of Dicathen, a world brimming with magic and mythical creatures. Armed with a wealth of knowledge, he lives the life of a magic-wielding child who gains purpose through each new experience, resolving to be a sincere, kind, and courageous person for those he loves. Aided by the lost elf princess and the Elven Kingdom of Elenoir, he begins his long journey to find his place in the world. But when a war looms over the horizon against Vritra, a clan of banished deities from a faraway continent, people need him to become the leader he was always meant to be. His fear of becoming a war-hardened monster again holds him back, but he soon realizes his reincarnation was not by fate and he certainly isn’t the only one.
Tower of God
You may have already heard of this one or perhaps even watched the Anime, but this is your calling to check out the Manhwa. I know for a fact that many people were dissatisfied with the Anime adaptation, but the original series written and illustrated by SIU is another matter! This series began publication on the 5th of July 2010 and got serialized in Naver Webtoon, where readers are treated to an intriguing new and robust power system which is comparable to Solo Leveling.
The story follows Twenty-Fifth Bam who had been a loner his entire life until he met Rachel. But she is more than ready to leave him behind to climb the Tower of God, disappearing in a veil of light and causing Bam to follow after to reunite with her. However, the Tower is a very dangerous place filled to the brim with ancient secrets, monsters, and irredeemable humans. Each floor is guarded by an Administrator who unleashes challenges and tests made to push all contender to their limits. It is here that Bam discovers that he is an ''Irregular,'' someone able to enter the Tower despite not being chosen by it, which is an extremely rare occurrence. This doesn’t change much for our MC, because he is determined to have his desires granted at the top of the Tower.
Second Life Ranker
With a bunch of similarities to Solo Leveling, the “Second Life Ranker” the manhwa also brings much to the table but with a darker and tragic tone. The story revolves around Yeon-woo, whose twin brother suddenly disappeared five years prior the events of the series. But when his brother’s pocket watch falls into his hands, he finds a diary hidden within stating, "By the time you hear this, I guess I will already be dead...". All of this leads our MC to Obelisk, the Tower of the Sun God, a bizarre world where several universes and dimensions intersect. His brother brother had apparently died after getting betrayed within the Tower and after learning the truth, which prompts him to ascend the tower himself with his brother's diary….. "From now on, I am Cha Jeong-woo."
Embodying some of the best best aspects of isekai and reincarnation genres without bending to the overused tropes, this series is about a brother’s quest for revenge while uncovering one mystery after another. Our MC strives for transcendence while employing cheat-like mechanics gained from his legacy, requiring him to carefully regulate his identity within the tower. Progressively gaining formidable powers and magical abilities, Yeon-woo is now fighting Solo Level-tier battles but all in a different setting, making it seem like an awesome mix of Tower of God and Solo Leveling!
Solo Leveling: Ragnarok
Last but not least, how about a sequel to Solo Leveling itself? Whether it lives up to the legacy of the prequel series or not is ultimately up to you to judge, but it is worth a shot regardless! This Manhwa began publication on the 31st of July 2024 and features the genres of Action, Adventure, Adult Cast and Urban Fantasy. It is the work of author Daul and artist Jin, getting serialized in KakaoPage.
It follows the story of Sung Jin-Woo’s son, Sung Suho, who embraces his awakening within a power fantasy that focuses on the already established and beloved world and characters. While there are many parallels between father and son, Suho had a completely different upbringing and one of the key players here is Beru, one of Jin-woo's most memorable shadows.
The Absolute Ones are the creators of the many universes and they are now frantically seeking the means to fill the power void left by their fallen brother. This endangers life on earth once more as gates continue to send hordes of monsters out, leading Sung Suho to conquer the shadow dungeon in his own way. With a great emphasis on Solo Leveling's mythology, this is fascinating and creative series despite being a sequel where the talented son of the Shadow Monarch follows a journey to investigate his father's legacy and create a unique path for himself.
Thus concludes our short but concise list! Needless to say there are countless other great Manhwa and series out there that absolute treats for Solo Leveling fans, but trying to condense them all into one article only waters down each individual work’s value.
So while you eagerly await for the next addition to Solo Leveling, check out these masterpieces and draw your own conclusions; who know, you might even discover your new favorite series of all time! Whether these works get buried in the ashes or rise from the Shadows is for the readers to decide, and what appeals to you is what’s most important.