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Solo Leveling, a phenomenon among anime enthusiasts worldwide, continues to face challenges in capturing the hearts of its Japanese audience. This was highlighted once more when a significant popularity poll in Japan overlooked the series’ main character, leaving them absent from the top rankings.
In honor of Reina Ueda’s birthday, the Japanese pop-culture platform Anime!Anime! conducted a survey to determine fans’ favorite characters voiced by Ueda. The poll, which took place from January 9 to January 13, attracted 1,366 responses from fans eager to celebrate the accomplished voice actress. Ueda, a recipient of the Best New Actress Award at the 9th Seiyu Awards and Best Supporting Actress at the 15th Seiyu Awards, has an impressive array of roles, including Cha Hae-in, the leading female character in the Solo Leveling anime.
Despite Cha Hae-in’s popularity among international audiences, she failed to make a mark in the Japanese survey. Instead, the rankings were dominated by Ueda’s other characters, such as Reze from the Chainsaw Man movie and Kanao Tsuyuri from Demon Slayer, who claimed the top positions. Cha Hae-in did not even reach the top 20, let alone the top 10, despite her pivotal role in Solo Leveling Season 2 and the anticipation surrounding her future appearances.
The full list of top characters voiced by Reina Ueda, as chosen by Japanese fans, is available below.
The complete top characters voiced by Reina Ueda as selected by Japanese fans can be seen below.
Solo Leveling’s Cha Hae-in Misses Out in New Official Survey
1. Reze (Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc)
2. Chinatsu Kano (Blue Box)
3. Kanao Tsuyuri (Demon Slayer)
4. Mayu Nekoyashiki/Cure Lilian (Wonderful Pretty Cure!)
5. Hinako Yaotose (This Monster Wants to Eat Me)
6. Honami Mochizuki (Colorful Stage! The Movie: A Miku Who Can’t Sing)
7. Sparkle (Honkai: Star Rail)
8. Akane Shinjo (SSSS.Gridman)
9. Ganyu (Genshin Impact)
10. Miyo Saimori (My Happy Marriage)
11. Shizuka Kuze (Takopi’s Original Sin)
12. Miyako Hoshino (Wataten!: An Angel Flew Down to Me)
13. Scarlet (Goddess of Victory: Nikke)
14. Umi Kosaka (The Idolmaster Million Live!)
15. Gigi Andalusia (Mobile Suit Gundam: Hathaway’s Flash)
15. Lemon Irvine (Mashle)
17. Haruno Akiyama (Mono)
17. Miach Mihie (Harmony)
19. Naru Sekiya (Hanayamata)
20. Ajimi Kiki (PriPara)
20. Gray (The Case Files of Lord El-Melloi II)
Solo Leveling Season 3 Updates (Or Lack Thereof) Could Be Down to More Mediocre Japanese Reception
The omission of Solo Leveling from this ranking aligns with the trend of the series receiving lukewarm domestic reception. Earlier last year, Atsushi Kaneko, the animation producer for Solo Leveling, admitted that the series was treated as just “another anime” in Japan. “So when we learned how the series exceptionally blew up in popularity for our global Solo Leveling fans, honestly speaking, this difference in reaction was very unexpected,” Kaneko said.
His comment was validated later in the Tokyo Anime Award Festival (TAAF) annual “Top 100 Favorites” poll, voted on by Japanese fans, in which Solo Leveling Season 2 plummeted to 61st place. This low ranking stands in stark contrast to its performance on global platforms like Crunchyroll, where it has shattered viewership records and claimed “Anime of the Year” accolades.
However, in a surprising deviation from this disappointing run, the Japanese streaming platform U-Next reported that Solo Leveling was its third most-watched anime of 2025, bested only by Sakamoto Days and The Apothecary Diaries. In light of the latest poll results, though, the third-place finish seems like an oddity. Fans are speculating that the series’ mediocre reception in Japan could be why the third season does not have any definitive updates, while the franchise is pivoting towards other projects, including the Korean live-action adaptation by Netflix.
- Release Date
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2024 – 2025-00-00
- Network
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Tokyo MX, Gunma TV, BS11, Tochigi TV
- Directors
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Tatsuya Sasaki, Toru Hamasaki
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Genta Nakamura
Yoo Jin-ho
