Solo Leveling's Sequel Success Only Continues To Highlight Its Greatest Isekai Rival

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Despite Chugong's recent comments dubbing it a spin-off instead of an official sequel, Solo Leveling: Ragnarok remains a major success. The series has kept fans of Solo Leveling company in the latter's absence and continues to rake in the readership season after season, hitting all the same highs as its predecessor.

Solo Leveling: Ragnarok has now wrapped up two very successful seasons, and despite going on an indefinite hiatus, the hype surrounding the series persists. And as a testament to its success, Ragnarok just added another award to its growing list of accolades, also revealing its biggest rivals in the process.

Solo Leveling: Ragnarok Takes Home A Major Award Alongside An Unexpected Webtoon

Piccoma, which over the last few years has established itself as the top-grossing and most popular digital comic reading platform in Japan, recently unveiled the winners of its annual Piccoma Awards. In a much-deserved win, Solo Leveling: Ragnarok took home the 2026 Piccoma Award in the smartoon category.

To commemorate this win, the series has shared a new illustration of Sung Suho using his Bond Skill, Beast Possession. Comments from the creators of Solo Leveling: Ragnarok are also in with Daul, the series' writer and author of the web novel, thanking fans with a simple, "Thank you for always reading!" Meanwhile, the message from Jin, the series' illustrator, reads:

"I am deeply grateful for receiving the Piccoma Award. I believe that I am where I am today thanks to all of my readers. I will be taking a break from my work for a while, but I will not forget my original aspirations when creating future works, and I will strive even harder to draw a good series. Once again, I would like to express my gratitude to everyone who has always supported me, and I will do my best to return safely and deliver an even better work. Until then, I sincerely pray for your health and happiness."

That said, Solo Leveling: Ragnarok isn't the only manhwa to win the Picomma Award, as joining it in the webtoon category is the popular otome isekai, Villains are Destined to Die, as well as a new rising action-fantasy hit, The Bastard of Swordborne.

Isekai Has Officially Reached Its Final Form Thanks to Wild New Series

While isekai and power fantasies struggle with oversaturation, one branch of isekai manhwa waits to be discovered, and a new series proves its genius.

This award, which is handed out yearly to "absolutely amazing" manga, webtoons, and web novels hosted on the platform, is evaluated on the basis of sales, number of readers, and number of likes. This means that these three series were truly the hottest webtoons of the last year, and one of them is even an unexpectedly good recommendation for Solo Leveling fans.

Solo Leveling Fans Are Missing Out On Its True Isekai Rival

While Omniscient Reader is widely regarded as the biggest rival to Solo Leveling, the series also has another unexpected competitor in its fellow Piccoma Award-winner, Villains are Destined to Die. Despite belonging to a whole different genre more geared towards a female demographic, Villains are Destined to Die, at its core, possesses all the same qualities that make Solo Leveling and its sequel, Ragnarok, so addictive.

The series features gorgeous art by SUOL, and being set in an otome, or dating sim, heavily makes use of game UI and system windows just like Solo Leveling. That said, the series is far from your cozy reverse harem romance. Villains are Destined to Die is also fast-paced and thrilling with its life-or-death stakes and its morally grey, manipulative protagonist who prioritizes her survival above all.

Sure, Villains are Destined to Die is no action-packed power fantasy. However, it is one of the best series the otome isekai and villainess genres have to offer. If anything, its ability to go neck-to-neck in popularity with Solo Leveling: Ragnarok should suffice to pique one's curiosity about the series just enough to give it a chance.