Edgerunners Is Secretly Netflix's Official Answer To Solo Leveling (No, Really)

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There's no denying Solo Leveling's place as one of the most powerful shōnen series released in the past decade. It's done more for the genre than most of the series that claim to be better than it, and that's no small feat.

There's a new shōnen series on Netflix that has a lot of the same elements as Solo Leveling with one major difference: depth. There isn't any depth to the hit manhwa adaptation, and that's exactly where this brutally exciting series thrives.

Solo Leveling Is in a League of Its Own, But...

Solo Leveling isn't just good — it's downright dominant. It took the shōnen genre by storm in a way no other series before it has. In just two seasons, it made a name for itself as one of the most thrilling new franchises out, and the fact that it has some of the best fights in anime is a big reason why.

Shōnen series are defined by one thing: action. Without good fights, a shōnen simply can't work, but Solo Leveling thrives when it's time to do battle. Its fights aren't normal bouts of strength so much as they are cinematic masterpieces. Jinwoo's fights against Kargalgan, Baruka, and Goto Ryuji are excellent.

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Out of every fight in Solo Leveling, there are none quite as monumental as Jinwoo's fight with the Ant King. It's a brawl that shows the world just how powerful Korea's latest S-Rank Hunter is, and calling him S-Rank might not be enough at this point. It's a slobberknocker from the first blow to the last, and that's exactly where Solo Leveling is at its best.

Solo Leveling is all about action, and to some, that's just not enough. There aren't many moments of growth outside of Jinwoo's episode with his mother, but another shōnen sensation has that area covered. There's one Netflix exclusive series that stars a main character who has both a surge in character development and power, and it might be better than Solo Leveling.

... There Isn't Anything like Cyberpunk: Edgerunners

Cyberpunk: Edgerunners is doing its own thing in the best way possible. It was a smash-hit when it first came out, and the second season might take this franchise to even greater heights. At its core, Cyperpunk: Edgerunners is a power-fantasy like Solo Leveling, but Edgerunners has a level of depth even Solo Leveling can't touch.

David Martinez's growth from an average kid to a veritable Night City Legend is outstanding. Like Sung Jinwoo, Martinez transforms into something almost unrecognizable from the beginning of the series. He becomes a monolith, capable of doing just about everything he sets his mind to, but there are no happy endings in Night City.

David's ending is exactly what it was supposed to be, and it's heartbreaking. Cyberpunk: Edgerunners is brave enough to not dole out happy endings where they're not deserved, and they're certainly not deserved here. Edgerunners is set in a listless dystopia filled with broken dreams and empty promises from the beginning until the very end.

There are spots in shōnen for both Solo Leveling and Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, but it can't be argued that at the very least, Edgerunners is deeper and more ambitious than Solo Leveling. They're both excellent series in their own ways, but Netflix's Cyberpunk: Edgerunners does a few things significantly better than its competition.