One Piece and Solo Leveling, two titans of the contemporary anime scene, captivate audiences in vastly different ways. The epic journey of Monkey D. Luffy and his Straw Hat crew is a staple of the shonen genre, originating in the 1990s and standing as a classic Big Three series. In contrast, Solo Leveling offers a thrilling power fantasy, charting Sung Jinwoo’s rise from underdog to hero, and began as a Korean web novel in 2016. Despite their distinct origins, One Piece is poised to challenge one of Solo Leveling‘s most remarkable records.

Not even the blockbuster hits of Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle or Chainsaw Man: Reze Arc films can claim to rival the success of Solo Leveling quite like Eiichiro Oda’s original One Piece anime from the ’90s. The next major milestone for Solo Leveling is imminent, but whether or not One Piece overtakes it, it’s the only anime with the potential to surpass Solo Leveling‘s impressive milestones over the long haul, given its expansive legacy.

In 2025, Solo Leveling was honored as Anime of the Year at the 9th Crunchyroll Anime Awards, a recognition many fans and critics regard as the apex of the anime’s achievements. While this accolade is a significant triumph for the fans and creators of Solo Leveling, it’s not the series’ most remarkable feat. The saga of Sung Jinwoo and his exploration of The System continues to dominate as a favorite among audiences, with its exceptional ratings on Crunchyroll solidifying Solo Leveling as a standout in modern anime.

Solo Leveling’s Biggest Achievement Isn’t Anime of the Year

When Solo Leveling became 2025’s Anime of the Year at the 9th Crunchyroll Anime Awards, many fans (and critics) asserted this achievement as the pinnacle of the anime’s legacy. Although winning Anime of the Year is an undeniable cause for celebration for Solo Leveling fans and everyone who had a hand in making the series, it’s still not the anime’s most impressive achievement. The story of Sung Jinwoo navigating the mysteries of The System reigns supreme as the people’s choice for best modern anime, and Solo Leveling‘s striking ratings on Crunchyroll make this action series’ popularity undeniable.

Solo Leveling has a near-perfect rating on Crunchyroll with 4.9 out of 5 stars and over 892.4K user ratings. Unlike Solo Leveling‘s awards and critical praise, Crunchyroll ratings are a direct reflection of the opinions of a huge collection of individuals. It’s not just impressive for a series to be within reasonable striking distance of 1 million user ratings because it’s such a high number — it’s because it will mean that (almost) 1 million people agree that Solo Leveling is a perfect series. Even between the two closest competitors — Demon Slayer at 4.9 out of 5 stars with 693.1K ratings and One Piece at 4.8 out of 5 stars with 727.3K ratings on Crunchyroll — only Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece empire stands a chance at eclipsing this Solo Leveling record.

With Solo Leveling Season 3 officially on the horizon, the overnight global sensation that Chugong’s manhwa has become will have the perfect opportunity to create the momentum needed for the final push to get over the 1-million mark in Crunchyroll ratings. However, Solo Leveling lacks the kind of long-term momentum that defines One Piece and takes decades to cultivate. This important characteristic will be the deciding factor in not only the race between Solo Leveling and One Piece to reach 1 million Crunchyroll ratings, but also in One Piece‘s ability to pass this impressive Solo Leveling achievement at all.

Only One Piece Can Beat Solo Leveling’s Ratings on Crunchyroll

Demon Slayer and One Piece both look relatively close to Solo Leveling‘s Crunchyroll ratings at a glance, but the deficit between them isn’t as easy to cover as it may seem. There’s a hefty 34.2K user ratings difference between Demon Slayer and One Piece on Crunchyroll, and one of those two franchises is guaranteed to grow in ways the other simply cannot. The success of 2025’s Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle movie is just the beginning of the end for this beloved anime franchise. On the other hand, One Piece‘s massive fandom has been collecting since the 1990s and keeps growing larger, even without a clear end to the story in sight. The entire One Piece franchise is only picking up momentum, and as exciting as Demon Slayer‘s final saga may be, it also means that the story only has so far left to go.

One Piece manga fans don’t even seem to suspect an ending any time soon, so it will be an even longer time before anime fans will have to say goodbye to Monkey D. Luffy and the Straw Hat Pirates. As the One Piece anime prepares to wrap things up on Egghead Island, fans are already looking ahead to the highly anticipated Elbaph Arc, located on the legendary island of Giants where Usopp will (supposedly) finally become the warrior he’s always dreamed of being. On top of all the anime and manga hype, Netflix’s live-action One Piece series is once again picking up steam heading into the second season, especially following the casting announcement for Luffy’s beloved brother, Portgas D. Ace. With so much for fans to enjoy, look forward to, and reminisce on, One Piece still has much more to give than Solo Leveling has to offer.