Solo Leveling: The Elephant in the Room

28th May 2025

Solo Leveling conquered the Anime World!

*From a South Korean Web Novel to a multi-award-winning anime.*

Kudos Chugong! Despite fierce competition, notably from Frieren, Solo Leveling dominated the 2025 Crunchyroll Anime Awards, winning 9 of 13 nominations — a historic record. Notable wins include Anime of the Year and Best New Series. Originally a web novel, it was adapted into a KakaoPage webtoon with art by Jang Sung-rak. The anime, produced by A-1 Pictures, premiered in January 2024 on platforms like Crunchyroll. It is the first manhwa adaptation to claim the title of Anime of the Year.

*Sung Jinwoo was initially a low-level, weak hunter who provided support.*

It follows Sung Jinwoo, a weak “E-rank” hunter in a world where portals to dungeons filled with monsters appear, and hunters with special abilities fight them. After a near-death experience, Jinwoo gains a unique ability to level up like in a video game, becoming increasingly powerful. The story blends intense action, fantasy, and RPG elements, focusing on his rise from the weakest hunter to a legendary figure. So my question is: What genre is Solo Leveling? This has been a point of contention since its inception.

Solo Leveling is the Ultimate Genre Revolution!

Research shows that it is shipped as an action-fantasy specifically noted for elements like:

Action: Frequent, high-stakes battles, showcasing dynamic combat and character growth.
Fantasy: Incorporates magical systems, monsters, and supernatural abilities.
Adventure: Focuses on the protagonist exploring dangerous, unknown territories.
Game Mechanics (LitRPG): Characters grow stronger by leveling up, completing quests, and acquiring skills, reminiscent of RPG video games.
Dark Fantasy: Includes mature themes, violence, and intense scenarios.

But seriously, this is all fluff! An elaborate mask, constructed to sell, and it did indeed sell. What lies beneath is a finely tuned core made up of the best of two genres – isekai and reverse isekai. The two genres are so elaborately entwined that most fail to notice, let alone accept them. It is nothing new, but the secret of its success, and I will prove it!

WARNING: Spoilers for the full Solo Leveling manhwa are ahead!

Part 1: Stepping through Portals Makes Isekai

Let’s start with the basics. Isekai? It’s when people, through various means, visit different worlds, dungeons, or dimensions. Reverse Isekai? That’s when otherworldly beings, through multiple means, step into our world. Simple, right?

Anime-Planet definition for Isekai:

Isekai is a fantasy genre where a person from Earth is transported to, reborn, or trapped in a parallel universe or fantasy world.

Anime-Planet definition for Reverse Isekai:

In these anime, characters from another world find themselves on Earth through similar means as with Isekai.

Skeptics argue that Solo Leveling is not an isekai because Jinwoo is Earth-born and stays on a transformed Earth, and his portal trips aren’t terminal enough, just short trips to dungeons. This is a contradictory and false statement. It doesn’t need to be through reincarnation, it doesn’t need to be permanent, and it can even be Earth-centric. Isekai is not defined by the means of transport or the duration of stay, but by the simple act of stepping into or out of another world.

Gate: Jieitai Kanochi nite, Kaku Tatakaeri - Tokyo Portal. — *Gate: Jieitai Kanochi nite, Kaku Tatakaeri – Tokyo Portal.*

Do you know how many isekai protagonists do so through portals? I can name ten that pop straight off my mind:

Gate: Thus, the JSDF Fought There! (GATE: Jieitai Kanochi nite, Kaku Tatakaeri)A mysterious portal appears in Tokyo, and medieval troops invade Japan, only to get a spanking by the JSDF. The soldiers then step through the portal into the fantasy world to set the record straight.
Outbreak Company: A portal connects Japan with the Holy Eldant Empire. The Japanese government hires shut-in otaku Shinichi Kanou to help improve relations with this new world by introducing unique anime culture products into this unexplored market, thereby facilitating commerce.
Dog Days: Shinku Izumi, a student athlete, is summoned through a magical portal into the fantasy kingdom of Flonyard to participate in friendly wars for resources. He will aid the region of Biscotti in recovering from financial ruin, while trying to find a way back home.
The Familiar of Zero (Zero no Tsukaima). At Tristein Academy, struggling student Louise opens a portal and summons Saito Hiraga, an ordinary Japanese boy, as her familiar. With a complicated relationship, they must overcome challenges and find a way to send Saito home.
Restaurant to Another World (Isekai Shokudou): Western Cuisine Nekoya, a 70-year-old restaurant in a Tokyo basement, serves ordinary fare on weekdays. But every Saturday, magical doors open to a parallel world, welcoming diverse customers from elves to dragons.
Isekai Cheat Magician: High schoolers Taichi Nishimura and Rin Azuma are transported to a fantasy world, where they discover they possess extraordinary magical and physical powers. Becoming legendary “cheat magicians,” they embark on an adventure to save the world’s fate.
The Devil is a Part-Timer! (Hataraku Maou-sama!) After failing to conquer Ente Isla, the Demon Lord Satan escapes through a dimensional portal to Tokyo, becoming a human who works at a fast-food chain. As hero Emilia follows him, their comedic struggle begins.
Isekai Izakaya – Japanese Food from Another World: Izakaya Nobu, a Japanese pub in Kyoto, has a mysterious doorway to the fantasy world Aitheria. Chef Nobuyuki and server Shinobu serve cold beer and warm meals to curious locals, from palace guards to nobles.
Fushigi Yuugi: Miaka Yuuki is transported to the world of the “Universe of the Four Gods” after entering a magical book in a library, which acts as a portal. She becomes the Priestess of Suzaku in a fantasy world inspired by ancient China.
The Vision of Escaflowne: Hitomi Kanzaki is transported to the magical world of Gaea via a mystical light portal during a moment of emotional distress. Thrust into a war, she must aid Van Fanel, pilot of the mecha Escaflowne, against Zaibach’s tyranny in a land of destiny and romance.

Solo Leveling fits both genres easily. It is a traditional isekai because Jinwoo and others zip through portals to dungeons, other worlds, and dimensions. It is a conventional reverse isekai because beings from those worlds invaded Earth. Let’s break it down.

Part 2: Isekai, Portals to the Monarch Worlds

First, the isekai side. In Solo Leveling, Sung Jinwoo, our badass hunter, uses the System, a “gimmick game” crafted by the Architect, to access portals leading to otherworldly realms. These aren’t just random dungeons or caves. They’re full-blown dimensions tied to the Rulers and Monarchs, cosmic beings waging war. We’re talking:

Demon Castle: A 100-floor dungeon with demons like Baran (Demon Monarch) and encounters such as Esil Radiru, where Jinwoo grinds for months thanks to time dilation.
Red Gates: Unstable portals to realms with creatures like Baruka the ice elf, where time flows wonky.
Instant Dungeons: Self-contained spaces, like where Jinwoo snags Igris the knight.
Dimensional Rift: A cosmic battlefield for epic Monarch showdowns.
And the kicker? His Shadow Army builds a dimensional base, complete with barracks and a giant statue of Jinwoo, like he’s claiming real estate in another dimension!

These Monarch worlds are as distinct as Gate’s Special Region or Log Horizon’s various sectors. Temporary trips? Story’s Earth-centric? In Gate, Itami crosses portals, stays for missions, and rotates with other squads to go back to Japan, yet it’s an isekai. The Sasaki and Peeps anime follows the protagonists as they bounce between Earth and the fantasy world of Hertz. Welcome to Japan, Ms. Elf! is primarily set in Japan, with hops whenever they sleep. Even Restaurant to Another World is set in Tokyo, and its quick door trips count! Temporary? Earth-centric? It doesn’t matter. It’s stepping through the portals that makes it an isekai.

Jinwoo is not just popping in for coffee. Time dilation means he is living in these worlds for months, grinding levels, snagging gear (those Demon Castle daggers), and recruiting summons (Igris, Tusk, Tank, Jima). That dimensional base? It’s like Overlord’s Nazarick, a permanent foothold. Solo Leveling is traditional isekai, period! But Earth-centric? Jinwoo is indeed protecting Earth, not living elsewhere, but being Earth-focused doesn’t stop it from being isekai. Ask Chef Nobuyuki from Isekai Izakaya – Japanese Food from Another World, or Zhuge Kongming from Ya Boy Kongming! (Paripi Kōmei). It all screams: Reverse Isekai!

Part 3: Reverse Isekai, Invasions from Beyond

Now, the reverse isekai. Solo Leveling nails this because otherworldly beings step through portals into our world, turning our Earth into a cosmic battleground. That’s right, ten years ago in our world, portals appeared, and it split at a tangent into an alternate world full of mana, monsters, and dungeons.

The gates unleash invaders from the Monarchs’ realm:

Body Snatchers: Both Rulers and Monarchs invade and take control of human bodies.
Monarchs: Baran, Ant King (Jeju Island nightmare), Frost Monarch, Beast Monarch invade Earth.
Architect: The System’s creator and puppet master, a metaphysical entity, servant to the Shadow Monarch, Ashborn.
Noble demons like Esil Radiru from the Demon Castle.
Beast Lord forces: Savage invaders tearing up Earth.

*Rakan: The Monarch of Fangs, the King of Beasts.*

This is straight-up reverse isekai, like Gate’s legion of Roman-styled medieval soldiers and monsters invading Tokyo or Restaurant to Another World’s elves popping into a diner. The Hunter Associations, defending Earth, are like Gate’s JSDF, battling otherworldly threats. Jinwoo’s summoning of shadow soldiers (Igris, Bear) from these realms adds flair, but the real reverse isekai is the invasions themselves. Gate’s reverse isekai status originates from Rory and the other girls, not Itami, and Solo Leveling’s Monarchs, Summons, and Esil Radiru are the counterparts to Rory in this regard.

Jinwoo’s Shadow Monarch destiny, prophesied by his dad, Il-Hwan, and rigged by the System, ties him to the Monarchs’ realm, and in the reset timeline, his memories and essence make him an outsider, like The Devil Is a Part-Timer!’s Maou, who hides his demonic side. Jinwoo may not be from another world, but the Monarch within surely is. Reverse isekai is all about invaders, and Solo Leveling delivers.

Super Isekai: The Genre Revolution

Here’s where my theory gets wild: Solo Leveling isn’t just isekai and reverse isekai – it’s a super isekai, a next-generation beast that blends both genres whilst hiding behind a unique sub-genre coating. It is not ripping off the Gate or Restaurant to Another World. It combines the best elements from various genres and evolves, thus avoiding cookie-cutter plagiarism. Say that again! What makes it super?

Isekai Powerhouse: Jinwoo’s portal trips to Monarch worlds, with months-long stays (time dilation) and a dimensional base, outshine Gate’s outposts or Sasaki and Peeps’ hops. The gate-transformed Earth and reset timeline are “new worlds” he has been displaced into, along with the rest of humanity.
Reverse Isekai Epic: Invasions by Rulers in human hosts, Monarchs, the Architect, and demon knights rival Gate’s chaos and Restaurant’s visitors, with the Hunter Associations and Jinwoo’s summons cranking the stakes. His cosmic role, per Il-Hwan and the System, is pure reverse isekai swagger.
Unique Flavor: The System’s RPG mechanics (leveling, quests with rewards and punishments), cosmic war (Monarchs vs. Rulers), and time-manipulation are unlike anything in Gate’s military vibe, Inuyasha’s time-slip, SAO’s pseudo-isekai, or Restaurant’s cozy diner. It’s Jinwoo’s personal, cosmic journey that seals the deal. It’s Action Fantasy!

The Elephant Revealed

The elephant in the room? Solo Leveling is a super isekai, smashing traditional isekai and reverse isekai into a genre-defining masterpiece. Portals to Monarch worlds make it isekai; invasions by Monarchs and demons make it reverse isekai. Add the System, cosmic stakes, and reset timeline, and it’s a revolution, not another clone. Why make it complicated? I cannot speculate what was on the creator’s or publisher’s minds, but if it were me, and I had a good story at hand, the Action Fantasy move is a bright idea to jump straight over the isekai farm into the limelight! Enough to be the number 1! I sincerely hope Solo Leveling will spark fresher isekai stories.

So, what do you think? Are you Team Super Isekai? Grab your portal key, summon your shadows, and join the debate on this epic May 28th, 2025! Let’s hear your theories in the comments!