Solo Leveling is a sensational anime series by Aniplex and A-1 Pictures that has generated immense hype over the last two years in the anime community. Following the conclusion of Solo Leveling Season 2 on March 30, 2025, the series has been on a hiatus, but on June 9, 2026, a third season was officially confirmed to be in production for 2027-2028. In the meantime, Sung Jinwoo is making a comeback through his spiritual successor with a brand new anime that’s set to be a hit among all fans of Solo Leveling. This new anime character is none other than Seo Joo-Heon, the protagonist of Tomb Raider King.
Tomb Raider King is another Manhwa-based anime that’s heavy on action and is set to be released in July 2026. It recently released a new trailer, which shows the protagonist embody Jinwoo to perfection like no other anime character in the past.
Tomb Raider King’s Official New Opening Crowns Seo Joo-Heon As The Next Sung Jinwoo’s
Solo Leveling, originally a web novel by Chugong, is a series that was later adapted into a Manhwa by Redice Studio before getting an anime adaptation in 2024 by Aniplex and A-1 Studio. The anime adaptation turned out to be extremely successful and returned in 2025 with a second season to continue the story of Sung Jinwoo — a protagonist who started very weak, but ended up becoming a stunning, powerful figure after surviving the Double Dungeon and unlocking video game-like abilities with the System. With that being all said, Solo Leveling isn’t returning in 2026 with any new animated content, which means fans will not be able to enjoy new exciting content from the series.
While that’s unfortunate, at the very least, we can look forward to a similar project coming soon that’s reminiscent of Solo Leveling, so much so that fans have come to refer to it as the Solo Leveling copycat. This new anime series is Tomb Raider King. While Solo Leveling follows Sung Jinwoo as he levels up as a hunter, Tomb Raider King follows Seo Joo-Heon, another overpowered MC who also gets another chance with a System power, but he hunts down relics from tombs to grow in power. Both series are extremely heavy on action, and it’s one of their main appeals.
Tomb Raider King is also a Manhwa-based series, just like Solo Leveling. This story was originally written in web novel format by Sanji Jiksong and published between November 1, 2016, and May 4, 2018, before being made into a Manhwa by Redice Studio between June 30, 2019, and March 27, 2023. Redice Studio is the same company behind Solo Leveling, which only accentuates the similarities.
Earlier today, on June 13, 2026, the official anime opening for Tomb Raider King was released, and it showcased incredible action, surprising fans who expected little from this Solo Leveling copycat anime, and at the same time, hyping us all up for what’s to come next. For those who haven’t watched it yet, they can check out the new Tomb Raider King trailer right here:
Related
Solo Leveling Officially Sets Up An S-Rank Hunter On Jinwoo’s Level
Solo Leveling Season 2 made Jinwoo powerful, but an S-rank hunter has officially risen to his level in Japan.
Why Seo Joo-Heon Is The Spiritual Successor Of Sung Jinwoo
Image by GameRant
The primary reason why Seo Joo-Heon is called the next Sung Jinwoo is down to the fighting style and the immense aura he exudes in the new opening that was officially revealed on June 13, 2026. In this new release, Seo Joo-Heon is shown fighting using daggers, just like Jinwoo, and the close-quarters combat is reminiscent of our beloved Shadow Monarch. What’s more, the personality of this new main character is also extremely similar to that of Sung Jinwoo from Solo Leveling. Seo Joo-Heon looks bathed in overwhelming energy and an aura of invincibility right off the bat, and this is very evident in the new opening release. If anything, this strengthened the comparisons with Sung Jinwoo even further.
There are more similarities between Sung Jinwoo and Seo Joo-Heon, but a big part of it also comes from Redice Studio. This studio is especially known for creating similar designs across the various web novels they have adapted into Manhwa, with Solo Leveling and Tomb Raider King’s main characters being massive examples of that. Immediately upon the release of the first trailer for Tomb Raider King, many thought Seo Joo-Heon was Sung Jinwoo.
It must be said that Solo Leveling has definitely been revolutionary in the genre of Manhwa, so taking inspiration from it isn’t out of the question, but a lot of the similarities can also be attributed to coincidence or the work of Redice Studio. Either way, a series reminiscent of Solo Leveling will be exciting to have with the absence of Jinwoo due to project delays and future seasons still under work.
Who’s That Character?
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Tomb Raider King Is Officially Set For A Massive Release On July 8, 2026
The Tomb Raider King anime has been in the works for a while now. This series was first revealed to be in the works during Anime Expo 2024 in July. It has been in production for quite a while now, and now, we also have a precise release date for it. Tomb Raider King has been confirmed to be released on July 8, 2026, on TV in Japan and globally on Crunchyroll.
Just by looking at the new opening that was released today, it seems that this is a promising series. Its opening alone will attract fans of already established anime like Solo Leveling, but the brilliant showcase that it made today also stands strong on its own, and seems to have done enough to pique the interest of many others.
Tomb Raider King is being brought to life by Studio EEK, and it already looks quite solid. However, an opening alone isn’t enough to rate the whole anime. Reaching the level of what Aniplex and A-1 Pictures have managed to put out with Solo Leveling is going to be difficult. However, the signs do look good for this series based on the opening from the online screening event. Given how it’s shaping up to be, Tomb Raider King could definitely be a distraction for the time being, and it might even develop a big fanbase of its own, which we’re hoping to see happen.
Solo Leveling Will Not Return Until At Least 2027
While Tomb Raider King looks like an incredibly exciting release, many fans are eagerly waiting for the return of Solo Leveling Season 3 and Sung Jinwoo. Solo Leveling has been gone for over a year now, and while there was radio silence for a while from the studio, comments from producer Atsushi Kaneko, as well as Crunchyroll’s CEO, kept fans going with hope and excitement.
Recently, Solo Leveling’s next project was officially confirmed to be on the way by D&C Media, the original publisher of Solo Leveling and one of its biggest investors. Their recent investment report revealed Solo Leveling Season 3 to be a project they are currently investing in. On top of that, this report also confirmed Solo Leveling Season 3 to be set for a 2027 or 2028 release. This is exciting, but the wait is still long given that it won’t come before 2027.
For the time being, fans can instead rewatch prior Solo Leveling seasons, which are all available on the Crunchyroll platform. Alternatively, die-hard fans can also tap into Solo Leveling video games. Solo Leveling: Arise and Overdrive are already available and getting new content frequently, and Solo Leveling: Karma is a new release set to come sometime in 2026 to expand the lore of the series with new exciting storylines.
Tomb Raider King and Solo Leveling are both available to watch on Crunchyroll.
