Anime Like Solo Leveling: 3 Must-Watch Anime for Power-Scaling Fans
The year 2024 was defined by the rise of Solo Leveling. It gave us the ultimate “zero-to-hero” journey, following a weak protagonist as he climbs the power ladder, levels up, and transforms into a powerhouse. In my opinion, Sung Jin-Woo played a massive role in popularizing the “Aura Farming” trend that dominated the anime community.
Whether you were on Team Solo Leveling or Team Frieren during the Anime of the Year debates, one thing is certain: Jin-Woo’s journey brought a massive new audience to the medium. If you’ve finished the series and are craving more, here are three anime like Solo Leveling that, arguably, do it even better.
Key Highlights
- The Power Grind: All three shows feature protagonists who dominate their respective worlds through skill, leveling, or sheer mystery.
- Aura Farming: Each series leans into the “cool factor,” providing those high-stakes moments where the MC flexes on their enemies.
- Game Mechanics: From VR worlds to literal leveling systems, these picks satisfy the itch for “system-based” progression.
The Eminence in Shadow: Cid Kagenou Defines "Aura"
Imagine a protagonist with delusions of grandeur who is also oddly realistic. Minoru Kageno is a high school student who has trained his entire life… not to be a hero or a villain, but to be the “mastermind in the shadows” who controls everything from the sidelines. Why? Simply because it’s cooler.
One question always bothered him: what happens if someone drops a nuke on him? He trains to overcome that physical limit, and during a trance-like training session, he meets “Truck-kun” and is isekai’d to a world of magic. Now reborn as Cid Kagenou, he finally has his answer to the nuke problem.
The Ultimate Power Fantasy Satire
What ensues is something completely unique. The show is absurd, filled with fan service, and has an innate ability to never take itself too seriously. Cid and his alter ego, Shadow, are among the most powerful characters in anime history. His organization, Shadow Garden, fights the “evil” Cult of Diablos.
It sounds like a generic isekai premise, but here is the twist: Cid thinks his friends are just playing along with his roleplay game. He believes the cult is a lie he made up to look cool, while in reality, every nonsense story he tells turns out to be 100% true. To him, a terrorist attack is just an opportunity to “Aura farm” on some villains to look epic.
To the girls of Shadow Garden, Shadow is a god-like figure whose every word is gospel. Cid is one of anime’s biggest flexers, and his signature attack, “I AM ATOMIC,” is as epic as it gets. You have to watch it to believe it. Check out our detailed breakdown of The Eminence in Shadow here.
Sword Art Online: The Blueprint for Leveling Up
Without exaggeration, Sword Art Online (SAO) is the show that brought immense popularity to the isekai genre, especially for Western audiences. The premise is a classic: a game tester gets stuck in a VR world where the only way to escape is to climb to the highest level. The catch? Death in the game means death in real life.
Kirito is as OP as they come. If you loved watching Sung Jin-Woo “mog” every NPC and boss in his path, you need to meet Kirito. He knows the game inside out and is the only player capable of dual-wielding swords.
Why It’s Still Worth the Watch
We have to address the issues. The second half of the first season is problematic for many, and the shift to guns in the second season turned some people off. However, the series truly finds its peak in Season 3: the Alicization Arc.
Alicization brings back the high-stakes action and top-tier visuals that made the series famous, but it also allows the side characters to shine. It deviates from “Kirito fixes everything with one swing” and gives him genuine character development. If you want to see an overpowered protagonist in a black trenchcoat dominate a digital world, SAO is a mandatory watch.
Shangri-La Frontier: The Anime For Gamers
I call Shangri-La Frontier the better version of Sword Art Online. Once again, we follow a player in a full-dive VR world, but this isn’t a life-or-death scenario. Rakuro Hizutome (Sunraku) is a top-tier gamer with a weird specialty: he loves “trash games.” These are games filled with glitches, terrible plots, and broken mechanics.
After burning out on bad games, he decides to try the “God-tier” title Shangri-La Frontier. Wearing nothing but a bird mask, he enters the world and begins to tackle its toughest challenges.
The Gamer Mentality
What makes this show special is how it captures the true gamer mentality. Sunraku isn’t magically powerful; he is experienced. His time spent suffering through broken “trash games” gave him the reflexes and creative thinking needed to exploit the mechanics of a perfect game.
Sunraku is an “Aura farmer” in a different way than Sung Jin-Woo. He earns every achievement through planning and skill. If you loved the “System” aspect of Solo Leveling and enjoy watching a solo player take down massive bosses with daggers and grit, Shangri-La Frontier is your next obsession.
Final Thoughts
If Solo Leveling scratched that power fantasy itch for you, these three shows take that idea in different directions.
The Eminence in Shadow turns it into self-aware chaos.
Sword Art Online builds the foundation and expands it over time.
Shangri-La Frontier refines the concept into something earned and smart.
Different flavors, same dopamine hit. If aura farming, overpowered leads, and system-based progression are your thing, you can’t go wrong with any of these.
You can watch most of the anime mentioned above on Crunchyroll. And for more such anime recommendations, breakdowns and reviews click here.
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