Solo Leveling Is A Huge Success Globally, But It Is A Different Story In Japan

This article contains spoilers from Solo Leveling Season 2.

Summary

Solo Leveling is a global hit, receiving awards and breaking records.

Despite international success, Solo Leveling did not blow up in popularity in Japan.

The anime was received like any other random anime and did not stand out locally.

Solo Leveling is one of the biggest names in the anime industry at the moment, but that’s probably the case only outside of Japan. Japan is where this anime was produced, and recent comments from the Solo Leveling producer seem to hint at the anime not being all that much of a hit locally. This has come as a shock to many fans, especially when compared to its international success.

Solo Leveling Is Crunchyroll’s Most Watched Anime Of All Time, But One Anime Is Far Superior

Solo Leveling has broken records, but it has yet to surpass this one series in quality.

Solo Leveling is a Huge Success Globally

The Series Swept Awards and Broke Records

Solo Leveling was definitely one of the biggest successes of the last few years, if not the biggest one. Solo Leveling’s first anime season came out in 2024, just last year, and was received very well. Its second season came out this year, in early 2025, and its popularity has only grown since. Solo Leveling’s story might not be over the top, but the concept and the battles have definitely kept fans wanting more. Its success was certainly not anticipated to be this huge, so it has definitely turned a few heads and shocked many with the staggering growth. While this success is true for the global stage, it might be a different story when it comes to its Japanese reception.
Solo Leveling Was Received Like Any Other Anime in Japan

It Did Not Blow Up In Popularity In Japan

Solo Leveling’s original media, the light novel, is of South Korean origin by the creator Chugong. However, the anime was produced in Japan. The Solo Leveling anime was, surprisingly, nothing out of the ordinary in Japan. It was received like any other random anime, and did not get the crazy level of success that it did abroad. This was all revealed by one of the producers of the anime during a recent interview. Here’s what he said exactly concerning this matter:
“The way the Solo Leveling anime was received in Japan was no different from any other anime. So when we learned how the series exceptionally blew up in popularity for our global Solo Leveling fans, honestly speaking, this difference in reaction was very unexpected. It’s not exactly a temporary hype, but I do wonder who reacts more to the episodes first between the Japanese and global fans.” — Atsushi Kaneko
Atsushi Kaneko even talks about how surprising this difference in reception was. It’s not exactly the norm for an anime to do amazingly well abroad but not in Japan. Fans outside of Japan have definitely been carrying the hype for the Solo Leveling series, but that could perhaps change with the third season, as it focuses more on some major plot points of the story.

Solo Leveling Producer Drops A Big Message For The Fans Ahead Of Season 3

Ahead of season 3, fans of the Solo Leveling series receive a new message from one of the producers of the series.

Where To Watch Solo Leveling?

Available on Crunchyroll

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.

One Piece

Release Date

October 20, 1999

Network

Fuji TV

Directors

Hiroaki Miyamoto, Konosuke Uda, Junji Shimizu, Satoshi Itō, Munehisa Sakai, Katsumi Tokoro, Yutaka Nakajima, Yoshihiro Ueda, Kenichi Takeshita, Yoko Ikeda, Ryota Nakamura, Hiroyuki Kakudou, Takahiro Imamura, Toshihiro Maeya, Yûji Endô, Nozomu Shishido, Hidehiko Kadota, Sumio Watanabe, Harume Kosaka, Yasuhiro Tanabe, Yukihiko Nakao, Keisuke Onishi, Junichi Fujise, Hiroyuki Satou

Writers

Jin Tanaka, Akiko Inoue, Junki Takegami, Shinzo Fujita, Shouji Yonemura, Yoshiyuki Suga, Atsuhiro Tomioka, Hirohiko Uesaka, Michiru Shimada, Isao Murayama, Takuya Masumoto, Yoichi Takahashi, Momoka Toyoda

Mayumi Tanaka

Monkey D. Luffy (voice)

Kazuya Nakai

Roronoa Zoro (voice)