Wins as the Best Anime of the Year in 2025
Solo Leveling was crowned Best Anime of the Year at the 2025 Crunchyroll Anime Awards, marking a historic achievement for the series. This adaptation of Chugong’s Korean webtoon did not only clinched at the top honor, but also secured a record-breaking nine awards — the most ever won by a single Anime in one year at the event. (1)
Major Awards
Solo Leveling gained some major awards, which do include the Best Anime of the Year in 2025, Best New Series, Best Action, Best Score (Hiroyuki Sawano as the composer for the series), Best Ending Song (request by krage), Best Main Character (Sung Jin Woo), and Best in Voice Acting Performance in its English dub (Aleks Le as Sung Jinwoo). (2)
The series’ compelling narrative, dynamic animation, and international appeal contributed significantly to its sweeping success.
Solo Leveling’s triumph is particularly noteworthy as it is the first anime adaptation based on a manhwa to win the Anime of the Year award, underscoring the growing influence of Korean content in the global Anime industry.
Despite facing stiff competition from critically acclaimed series like Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, which won four awards including Best Drama and Best Director, and Dandadan, which secured three awards including Best Character Design, Solo Leveling stood out for its global resonance and storytelling prowess. (2)
Mixed reactions and thoughts of Solo Leveling
The announcement of Solo Leveling as Anime of the Year at the 2025 Crunchyroll Anime Awards has sparked a spectrum of reactions within the Anime community.
Enthusiastic Support
Many fans celebrated the series’ triumph, attributing its success to high-quality animation, exhilarating action sequences, and a compelling underdog narrative. Some viewers expressed surprise at how much they enjoyed the series, despite initial skepticism. The show’s popularity is further evidenced by its impressive ratings on Crunchyroll, where it has become one of the most reviewed Anime on the platform. (3)
Critical Perspectives
Conversely, some critics and viewers have voiced concerns over the series’ storytelling and character development. Critics argue that while the animation is commendable, the narrative lacks depth and originality. Some fans of the original manhwa expressed disappointment with the Anime adaptation, citing rushed pacing and omitted content. (4)
As a manhwa reader, never in my wildest dreams did I foresee SL get a top-notch adaptation, let alone the fact it’s become this popular! Like, yeah, I know the manhwa is insanely popular, but this is still just mind-blowing.
Arigato A-1 sama
Makes it that much worse seeing how Tower of God got fucked by that pathetic adaptation *sigh*
94Temimi said on Reddit.
I’m curious if this is going to still be the case when the second half of the story gets adapted.
I remember a lot of people jumping off the manhwa because the series became way too repetitive and predictible.
We could have another AOT scenario, where a lot of people who read the finale didn’t like it but with the anime it was the oposite.
killyjoker said on Reddit.
The protagonist is 100% no nonsense and does exactly what makes sense most of the time. Dispatches enemies without question, doesn’t monologue endlessly, doesn’t LET enemies monologue endlessly. He is very proactive. It is not just a great action show and a power fantasy, but it’s a power fantasy where the protagonist has zero scruples doing exactly what he has to do.
littlecolt said on Reddit.
The fervent enthusiasm of Solo Leveling‘s fanbase has also been a point of contention. Some community members feel that the intense praise and comparisons to classic Anime titles may be overstated. This has led to debates about the series’ place within the broader anime landscape.
Summary and Conclusion
While Solo Leveling‘s recognition at the Crunchyroll Anime Awards underscores its significant impact and popularity, it also highlights the diverse opinions within the Anime community regarding storytelling, adaptation fidelity, and fan culture.
