Best Manga Like Solo Leveling

Solo Leveling is everyone’s favorite webtoon runaway success.

From bursting to everyone’s radar with its classic hero tale and eyegasmic art to having upcoming deals with Netmarble for an RPG game and A-1 Pictures for a 2023 anime, Jinwoo has undoubtedly come a long way from being humanity’s weakest hunter.

So it comes as no one’s surprise that unsated fans are seeking alternatives after the beloved webtoon ended. There are tons of mangas and manhwas out there, and there should be some, right?

Come get your fix as we present the best manhwas and mangas that are similar to Solo Leveling’s story and art style.

Nano Machine is a martial arts (or murim) manhwa with a distinct twist.

Cheon Yeo-Woon is down in his luck when a mysterious descendant from the future suddenly visits him and inserts a nanomachine in his body.

Yeo-Woon inherits a system that changes his life and helps him improve rapidly.

It’s a great story reminiscent of modern Chinese web novels, where notable isekais integrate systems in martial arts.

The zero-to-hero theme of a protagonist who gets a fortuitous encounter is very similar to Solo Leveling. After a dungeon mishap, Jinwoo also gets his own “system.”

Also, the art shouldn’t be slept on. It has glimpses of greatness, with great detail devoted to the panels.

Nano Machine being a lesser-known webtoon doesn’t do justice to its good art.

Fate Graphite has crap luck. After his father dies, his village kicks him out after being seen as useless because of his skill called Gluttony. The only thing he has going for him is his cool name.

The skill only makes him hungry. He would never have thought that it was an OP Mortal Sin skill.

This manga has great promise, especially if the author can establish a comprehensible path toward world-building and clear-cut characterization.

Berserk of Gluttony’s art is typical Japanese manga: great details but with ordinary manga-looking characters. The only colored parts are the covers and special splash artwork.

Manhwa has, thankfully, already opened our eyes to a world of full-colored pages.

Besides that, Destiny is a frail individual who strengthens later on, just like Jinwoo. Both protagonists are tough individuals who can be merciless towards their adversaries.

Lee Hyun, or Weed in the game Royal Road, is a slave to money. He is a penny-pinching devil incarnate who lives and breathes for cash.

But he’s so damn good at games. Thanks to his greedy nature, he is known to stay up for hours just to earn a single item.

Weed has the luck of becoming the legendary Moonlight Sculptor. His adventures become legendary, earning him admirers and enemies.

Despite Weed being what he is, he has a very soft spot for family and wants to take care of them to the best of his abilities.

The gaming mechanics and the character growth from weak to overwhelmingly strong are common in both manhwas.

Jinwoo also loves his family, with him entering dungeons despite grave danger to earn money for his mother’s medical bills.

Sword Art Online is the OG isekai, whether you like it or not. It’s the franchise that made fans for the isekai subgenre during its ubiquity in the early 2010s.

SAO is about Kirito, a swordsman in a death game. Kirito and all the gamers were suddenly ‘imprisoned’ on the first day of the controversial VRMMO game.

Kirito embarks on a journey to clear the floors, defeat dungeon bosses, and fulfill the ultimate quest of clearing the game itself.

Both have gaming mechanics and loner MCs who deal with business by their lonesome, although Kirito gains close acquaintances later on.

They have tasked themselves to end the game or the status quo, and both successfully entered and cleared dungeons until they fulfilled their destinies.

Just like how SAO attracted tons of fans for isekai and anime as a whole, Solo Leveling also did something similar for webtoons.

The Gamer tells the story of the easy-going and carefree Han Jihan. Jihan gains a game-like ability one day, and his life becomes like one in a video game.

Han Jihan starts leveling up his abilities and gains a crazy number of skills. He often falls into a combat area called the Abyss, meeting strong enemies and new acquaintances.

Both The Player and Solo Progression use game-like rules, with main characters advancing quickly in unique battle zones.

Jihan and Jinwoo also gain servants through their skills, though the latter’s Shadows are more extraordinary because they can grow and gain sentience.

32-year-old Kafka Hibino once dreamed of becoming a Defense Force member. Yet, he fails several times.

So, he decides to work as a crew member that cleans up after battles. You know, those people who clear away the graphic mess following kaiju fights. It’s an important job, isn’t it?

One day, Kafka is given an opportunity to fulfill his dream. A tiny monster suddenly parasitizes him and gives him kaiju powers.

Kaiju No. 8’s MC is just like Jinwoo: they’re underdogs who got kicked around a little before becoming OP heroes.

Both individuals are presented with the possibilities to alter their lives and take advantage of their opportunities. However, at present, Kafka is still progressing towards attaining his final destiny.

If you enjoyed Solo Leveling, you probably stumbled upon Second Life Ranker. They share a similar theme of badass main characters.

SLR is a top-tier manhwa about the vengeance story of Yeon-woo, who learns of the cause behind his younger brother’s mysterious death.

Yeon-woo then gets dragged into the mess that is the Obelisk, a mystical place where dimensions and universes intersect.

Jinwoo’s world is also dragged into chaos thanks to the Gates. Inside the Gates are trials of life and death, just like the Obelisk.

The adventures of these cool MCs are also painted in great manhwa colors, although Solo Leveling still reigns above most webtoons.

Don’t mind the long title; this trend is here to stay for a long time. This popular manga, thankfully shortened to DanMachi, is about Bell Cranel and his adventures in Orario.

In the story, gods come down to the human world with their powers limited to experience the hardships and thrills of being mortal.

The gods share their powers through familias. In Bell’s case, he was adopted into Hestia’s Familia.

The apparent game mechanics about dungeons and leveling up are the common ground between Danmachi and Solo Leveling.

And inside the dangerous dungeons, the MCs of both stories almost get killed but are able to overcome themselves. Though, Bell wins thanks to his epic-level willpower.

Additionally, Bell and Jinwoo are somewhat connected to divine beings in their respective realms. They admire and become familiar with dominant high-ranking women.

Omniscient Reader is the isekai you don’t want to snub and miss. It tells the story of a lonely office worker named Kim Dokja.

Dokja is drawn into his beloved web novel, “Three Approaches to Survive the End of the World”. Dokja is the sole individual aware of the impending apocalypse.

Both manhwas have thrilling paces and plots. In addition, Omniscient Reader’s game-like quests are similar to Solo Leveling’s system.

The dark themes of both webtoons are brought to life in breathtaking colors. Omniscient Reader also has impressive artwork, almost damn near Solo Leveling’s level.

Re:Monster is another isekai tale about the unlucky Tomokui Kanata, who gets killed by his yandere childhood friend. He then becomes a lowly goblin in his next life.

Kanata, now the goblin Rou, lives his new life one day at a time, at an unhurried pace. Still, he goes on an overpowered path, especially with the skill (aka cheat) he was born with.

Rou’s weak-to-overpowered story angle is just like Jinwoo’s. Dark themes are also prevalent, though the relaxed pace of Re:Monster is the opposite of Solo Leveling’s speed.

Though they differ in strides towards OP-ness goals, the readers can see and enjoy the hard work both the MCs put into their attempts at world domination.

Tower of God is one of the best manhwas out there. It is about Twenty-Fifth Bam and his adventures inside the mysterious Tower.

And when you have an MC with an unusual name like that, you should already expect that this isn’t some run-of-the-mill story. And you are right.

The webtoon lays out one mystery after the other on top of one massive grand storyline you can’t get enough of.

Great world-building and compelling storylines of considerable size? Solo Leveling has that too. The finely crafted power structure is also a captivating feature in both.

But of course, fans will say and agree that Tower of God is top-tier in story-telling, much like how Solo Leveling is superb in art.

Arifureta is not exactly the greatest isekai out there, but this one probably has the closest resemblance to Jinwoo’s loser-turned-hero story.

Hajime Nagumo is the unluckiest of the heroes summoned to a world where gods and magic rule. Hajime receives a mostly-useless skill called Transmutation.

Mocked and betrayed, Hajime falls into a deadly dungeon. He struggles and fights for his life, clawing his way back to the surface.

When he returns, he’s no longer the frail Hajime.

Both MCs are betrayed and left for dead by their companions, only to survive by putting their lives on the line. The two of them get their powers inside the dungeons, as well.

The transition from meek to OP in both characters is noticeable, as well as the change in their attitudes.

Their ruthlessness in their transformation adds an unruly charm to their all-around badassery.