Shows Like Solo Leveling: 8 Anime You’ll Love If You’re Obsessed With Powerful Heroes

If you’ve spent even five minutes on anime Twitter, TikTok, or Reddit recently, chances are you’ve heard people screaming about Solo Leveling. Solo Leveling is an action-packed fantasy anime based on a South Korean web novel written by Chugong. It began as a web novel in 2016, later became a hugely popular webtoon (illustrated by the late Dubu of Redice Studio), and eventually evolved into a global anime phenomenon.

At its core, Solo Leveling is about Sung Jin-Woo, the weakest hunter in a world where mysterious gates open and unleash deadly monsters. Hunters are humans with supernatural abilities who fight these creatures, but power levels are usually fixed because you’re either strong or weak, and that’s it. Jin-Woo, however, breaks the rules. After surviving a near-death experience in a dungeon, he gains a mysterious ability to “level up” like a video game character.

What comes next is one of the most satisfying power journeys in modern anime as we watch an underestimated, ordinary character slowly become terrifyingly powerful while uncovering secrets about the system controlling his abilities and the true nature of the gates.

Solo Leveling uses dark fantasy, dungeon battles, RPG mechanics, and emotional stakes, which is why fans of intense action, morally complex heroes, and expansive fantasy worlds can’t get enough of it. If that’s your vibe, here are anime shows that hit the same emotional and adrenaline-fuelled notes.

Imagine a world where an enormous, mysterious tower exists, and climbing it promises anything you desire: power, fame, revenge, answers, or even godhood. That’s the premise of Tower of God. The story follows Bam, a quiet boy who has lived his entire life in darkness with only one friend, Rachel. When Rachel enters the Tower to chase her dreams, Bam follows her, despite knowing nothing about the brutal trials inside.

Each floor of the Tower is a deadly test, filled with strange creatures, rival climbers, political schemes, and morally ambiguous characters. Much like Solo Leveling, the show explores power growth, betrayal, and the cost of ambition. Bam starts as an innocent outsider, but as he climbs higher, he’s forced to confront harsh truths about himself and the people around him.

If Solo Leveling is about fighting monsters, Attack on Titan takes that idea and turns it into an existential nightmare. The story begins in a world where humanity hides behind massive walls to survive against giant humanoid creatures called Titans. Eren Yeager, a hot-headed boy who witnesses the destruction of his city, vows to eradicate every Titan.

At first, the anime feels like a straightforward survival story, but it evolves into something much deeper with political conspiracies, moral dilemmas, shocking revelations, and questions about freedom, identity, and war. Like Sung Jin-Woo, Eren’s journey is not just about gaining power; it’s about what that power does to him. The transformation from idealistic hero to morally complex figure is one of the most gripping arcs in anime history.

If you loved the dark tone and high-stakes battles of Solo Leveling, Attack on Titan will emotionally wreck you in the best way.

Despite its playful title, Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? (often called DanMachi) is a rich fantasy adventure. The story takes place in the city of Orario, where gods live among humans and grant them abilities through “Familias.” Bell Cranel, a rookie adventurer with big dreams, joins the Familia of the goddess Hestia and begins exploring deadly dungeons filled with monsters.

Much like Solo Leveling, Bell starts weak but grows stronger through hard work, battles, and sheer determination. The anime mixes RPG-style progression, emotional character moments, and epic dungeon fights.

What makes DanMachi special is its warmth. While Solo Leveling leans into darker themes, DanMachi balances action with optimism, friendship, and hope, making Bell’s growth feel genuinely inspiring.

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In a world where magic is everything, Asta is born without any magical ability, an impossible condition in a society built on spells and power. While everyone else uses magic effortlessly, Asta trains his body relentlessly and eventually gains anti-magic powers that defy the rules of the world.

His journey is classic underdog storytelling. It is loud, stubborn, emotional, and full of relentless ambition. Like Solo Leveling, the show thrives on watching a character break limitations imposed by society. Black Clover also excels at team dynamics, rivalries, and large-scale magical battles, making it perfect for fans who love explosive action mixed with emotional growth.

At first glance, One Punch Man seems like the opposite of Solo Leveling. Instead of a weak hero struggling to become strong, Saitama is already so powerful that he defeats every enemy with a single punch. That’s where the genius lies.

Saitama’s overwhelming strength leaves him bored, disconnected, and searching for meaning in a world where nothing challenges him anymore. The anime cleverly deconstructs the typical power fantasy while still delivering spectacular fights, hilarious moments, and surprisingly emotional scenes.

This isekai (another-world) anime flips expectations most delightfully. After dying in the real world, Satoru Mikami reincarnates as a slime in a fantasy universe. Instead of being weak, he gains unique abilities that allow him to absorb powers, evolve, and build an entire civilisation of monsters.

Like Solo Leveling, the story is about exponential growth, but instead of a lone hunter, Rimuru Tempest becomes a leader, strategist, and nation-builder. The anime effectively combines action, politics, humour, and world-building, which makes it feel both epic and comforting.

If Solo Leveling explores power, Overlord asks a dangerous question: what if the most powerful character doesn’t care about being a hero? The story follows Momonga, a gamer trapped in a virtual MMORPG world after the servers shut down. Now existing as his powerful undead avatar, Ainz Ooal Gown, he decides to conquer the world rather than save it.

Unlike Sung Jin-Woo, whose morality remains mostly heroic, Ainz gradually becomes colder, more strategic, and morally ambiguous. The anime explores domination, fear, loyalty, and the psychology of absolute power. If you loved the darker aspects of Solo Leveling, Overlord takes that darkness and pushes it even further.

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Shangri-La Frontier is for anyone who loves the RPG mechanics of Solo Leveling. The story follows Rakuro Hizutome, a gamer obsessed with “trash games”, buggy, broken, low-quality titles. When he finally tries a top-tier VR game called Shangri-La Frontier, his unconventional skills and instincts make him an unexpectedly formidable player.

Instead of dungeons and hunters, the anime focuses on gaming strategy, skill progression, and the joy of mastering impossible challenges. Like Jin-Woo, Rakuro thrives in danger and difficulty, turning obstacles into opportunities. It’s less dark than Solo Leveling, but equally thrilling if you love watching characters grow through skill and intelligence rather than luck.

What connects all these anime isn’t just action; it’s transformation. They’re about characters who start small, misunderstood, or ordinary and gradually evolve into something extraordinary. They explore power, identity, ambition, morality, and the price of becoming stronger. If Solo Leveling makes you feel that addictive rush that makes you say “just one more episode”, then these shows will do the same thing.