Solo Leveling snubbed: Japan crowns a surprise anime for 2025’s Top Award

We really thought Solo Leveling was the moment. It still is, don't get us wrong, but it has some strong competitors.

Ever since Solo Leveling hit screens, it’s been the anime flex internationally. The first season was a global juggernaut, sweeping awards at this year’s Crunchyroll Awards — basically the Oscars of anime for the rest of the world — and snagging Anime of the Year 2025. Fans were hyped. Merch flew off shelves. Sung Jinwoo became the unofficial hero of our hearts.

However, something else happened in Japan. MAKEINE: Too Many Losing Heroines! — a series that, if you’re not living under a rock in Japan, you’ve probably heard of, but internationally, not so much This anime swooped in and stole Japan’s Newtype Anime Awards’ Anime of the Year crown right out from under Solo Leveling’s nose.

Furthermore, Makeine: Too Many Losing Heroines’ leading man, Kazuhiko Nukumizu, completely charmed voters, snagging the Best Male Character of the Year title. This 2024 rom-com isn’t your usual sugar-and-swoon affair; it flips the genre on its head by diving into the messy, hilarious, and oddly relatable fallout of a failed confession. Basically, Kazuhiko isn’t just winning hearts on screen — he’s winning them in the polls too.

Meanwhile, our boy Sung Jinwoo ended up in a humbling 4th place. Ouch.

Yes, Solo Leveling is still king overseas. Crunchyroll audiences continue to worship it, and it’s likely to dominate awards outside Japan again next year. But in its home turf of anime royalty, it had to take the backseat.

Solo Leveling may not have snagged Japan’s top spot… yet. But ending up 4th isn't exactly a disaster — it’s more like a gentle nudge that the series is growing in Japan, one award ballot at a time.

So while Solo Leveling fans clutch their merch and sigh at the results, the international audience can still crown Sung Jinwoo their ultimate champion. And who knows? Solo Leveling might just flip the script and finally conquer Japan too.