As part of Crunchyroll‘s Summer 2026 anime lineup, many new series are currently airing on the platform, and one of them is the perfect replacement for Solo Leveling, with one major upgrade as well. Arguably, what made Solo Leveling one of the best anime of the modern era, even more than its fantasy power system, was Sung Jinwoo’s journey and the emotions that came with it. At the start of the series, Jinwoo was depicted as a nobody, an F-Rank Hunter with nothing going for him, doing his best to care for his mother and put his sister through school.
Videos by ComicBook.com
His drive to become a better person and provider for his family helped fans resonate with him, as the majority of people are striving for the same kind of success. This is exactly what made Jinwoo’s rise to the top and emergence as a hero feel like watching a dream come true. While seeing him achieve everything is satisfying, his background could have been given more depth, making his journey to becoming a hero even more rewarding. This is exactly where its replacement, Tomb Raider King, improves on the formula, featuring a protagonist who already has a more layered backstory that better justifies his retaliation against the system and makes his eventual success feel even more satisfying.
Tomb Raider King Is the Perfect Solo Leveling Replacement With a Better Protagonist
Tomb Raider King, based on the manhwa of the same name, debuted on Crunchyroll on July 8, 2026. It follows a protagonist named Jooheon Suh, who is seen fighting a giant serpent in a deadly battle, only to nearly meet his end before being given a second chance. He regresses 15 years into the past, back to a time when the world was still normal. It is revealed that mysterious tombs suddenly appeared one day, containing relics and special artifacts that grant extraordinary powers. Since then, people have ventured into these tombs to obtain relics and gain those abilities. Jooheon himself possesses the power of a relic, with his specialty being archaeology. However, for most of his life, he was forced to serve a major company that had monopolized access to the tombs.
This second chance, where Jooheon is the only person who knows what the future holds and has the archaeological knowledge to locate the best relics to strengthen himself, feels like a true jackpot. The first episode already showcases him beginning his path of retaliation against those who wronged him. This is the exact depth that Jinwoo’s journey was missing. While watching Jinwoo climb the ranks with his newfound powers is satisfying, Jooheon’s journey already carries greater emotional weight.
Since Jooheon knows what is going to happen in the future, he can take the right steps in advance and use that knowledge to his advantage. Every encounter he faces is likely to tie back to something that once went wrong in his life, with his second chance allowing him to set things right, making each victory feel far more personal. Essentially, Jooheon’s journey follows a similar path to Jinwoo’s, growing stronger with every challenge, but with the added benefit of every encounter carrying greater emotional depth. That is why Tomb Raider King, currently airing on Crunchyroll, is the perfect replacement for Solo Leveling, with an even better protagonist.
What do you think? Leave a comment belowย and join the conversation now in theย ComicBook Forum!
