Crunchyroll Lines Up Its Next Solo Leveling For April 2027 Release

Crunchyroll has enjoyed quite a lot of incredible hits over the last few years, but few have managed to achieve success on the same scale as Solo Leveling. Having begun its journey with its first season in 2024, Solo Leveling has established itself as the most reviewed anime on the platform, with the highest ratings as well. It also went on to win Crunchyroll's Anime of the Year 2025, thanks to a stellar first season.

Unfortunately, Solo Leveling is currently on break, with no confirmation on a return date. In the meantime, quite a few exciting anime have stepped up to fill in the void, but none are as well-equipped as the next big hit that's headed to Crunchyroll in April 2027 — Kagurabachi, based on the incredible manga by Takeru Hokazono.

Kagurabachi Will Come To Crunchyroll in 2027 Amid Uncertainty Surrounding Solo Leveling

Kagurabachi quickly established itself as one of the biggest modern manga series after it began its serialization in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump and was made available to read for fans all over the world on Manga Plus. The premise of the series is a story of vengeance where Chihiro, the protagonist, sets out on a quest to fight a mysterious organization responsible for the death of his father, a world-famous swordsmith who created the best and most powerful blades.

As the story of Kagurabachi continued in the manga, it continued to draw more fans. Its popularity reached such a level that, according to Oricon, it currently has over 4 million copies in circulation already, and that is without it even having an anime adaptation. With manga chapters piling up, an adaptation for Kagurabachi was just around the corner, and on April 27, in the Jump Press Livestream, the anime was officially announced. Now, it has also been announced that Kagurabachi anime will head to Crunchyroll in April 2027, making it one of the most anticipated releases on the streaming platform. In a time when the future of Solo Leveling remains uncertain, Kagurabachi will be the perfect successor for the time being and deliver high quality, thanks to an immense adaptation by CyPic, headed by Tetsuya Takeuchi.

Why Kagurabachi Is The Perfect Anime To Succeed Solo Leveling

Not many anime series carry a similar vibe to Solo Leveling, but Kagurabachi certainly excels in this department. At its core, Solo Leveling is a rather simple story with immense fights that drive the popularity. Kagurabachi is somewhat similar. The action featured in this story is absolutely sensational, and under the guidance of Tetsuya Takeuchi, who has previously worked on some of the most iconic anime fights such as Rock Lee vs Gaara, the fights in this series are going to be next level. Kagurabachi is the spiritual successor of Solo Leveling in the fighting department, but there are more similarities between these two series than just that.

"You know, Rock Lee vs Gaara fight in Naruto? The Manga version is great of course, but isn't the anime version incredibly cool? Well the very person who brought that scene to life is our Director!” — Takeru Hokazono, April 27, 2026

Breaking Down The Major Similarities Between The Two Anime Series

Sung Jinwoo and Chihiro share quite a lot of similarities. Both of them are known to be extremely calm and composed protagonists who exude a commanding aura at all times. Chihiro is driven by nothing but vengeance, while Sung Jinwoo’s motivations can change, going from wanting to save his mother to figuring out the truth about the powers of the System that he was blessed with. In either case, a cool and composed protagonist, which is rare to see in shonen anime, drives both the series. As such, fans of Solo Leveling will find it easy to adjust to Kagurabachi.

The pacing of the two series is also very similar. Both series are incredibly fast-paced. In Solo Leveling, there is action in just about every episode, and Takeru Hokazono's masterpiece is similar in that regard, featuring a lot of fast-paced action, with the plot jumping from one battle to another. What's more, the plot is intricately woven into this action by the brilliant mangaka.

“I would like you to not only watch the action scenes get even hotter, but also see where Jinwoo's growth will take him through the encounters, farewells & battles with powerful enemies that await him.” — Atsushi Kaneko, Solo Leveling Director

All things considered, Solo Leveling has a perfect successor for 2027 in Kagurabachi, regardless of whether it comes back or not. What's more, the plot of Kagurabachi is more intricate and exciting, adding a unique level of depth that can often be missing from Solo Leveling. In that sense, this anime is sure to be an incredible watch when it drops officially on Crunchyroll next year.

Kagurabachi anime will stream on Crunchyroll upon release. The manga can be read officially on Manga Plus.