Crunchyroll Officially Confirms Solo Leveling’s 2027 Replacement With a Better Hero Than Jinwoo

Solo Leveling has cast a ridiculously large shadow over modern action-fantasy anime, so naturally, the next Korean Hunter story stepping into the spotlight has a lot to prove. Crunchyroll has now confirmed SSS-Class Revival Hunter for January 2027, giving the Korean webcomic adaptation an international platform from day one.

— 『死して生きるSSS級ハンター』アニメ公式｜2027年1月放送 (@SSShunter_anime) September 9, 2026

That makes it an obvious candidate for the post-Solo Leveling conversation. Both series feature Hunters, supernatural abilities, progression, and initially underpowered protagonists. But Kim Gongja’s route to becoming powerful is considerably stranger. Instead of simply becoming stronger through battle, he has to die to make his greatest ability work. And that changes everything.

Crunchyroll Reveals SSS-Class Revival Hunter to Rival Solo Leveling’s Legacy

The official anime website announced the series on September 10, confirming a January 2027 broadcast alongside a teaser visual and promotional video. Crunchyroll has confirmed that it will stream the anime across North and South America, Europe, Africa, Oceania, the Middle East, CIS, the Indian subcontinent, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Singapore. An exact January premiere date has not been announced.

The production is being handled by STUDIO fu, with Hiroaki Sakurai directing, Sayuri Oba writing the scripts, and Takahiro Yoshimatsu handling character designs. HAYATE is credited as producer. The first announced cast features Takeo Otsuka as Kim Gongja and Satoshi Hino as the Sword Emperor.

Meanwhile, Solo Leveling demonstrated how a Korean web novel and webcomic could become a global anime phenomenon. SSS-Class Revival Hunter arrives with a similar Hunter-and-progression framework, and by locking in its international streaming rights, Crunchyroll is setting up the series to step directly into the space Solo Leveling created. The shared genre DNA and overlapping audience appeal make it quite the natural successor to carry that mantle forward.

The source itself already has substantial history. The official anime site describes it as a popular SMARTOON that began on Piccoma in 2022 and surpassed 25 million hearts there. The Korean web novel, however, predates the SMARTOON, having originated in 2018. The distinction matters: the anime is adapting a property with both a completed web novel and a long-running webcomic history, rather than a brand-new webcomic created after Solo Leveling.

What Is Crunchyroll’s Latest Anime SSS-Class Revival Hunter About?

The story begins inside a mysterious Tower suddenly filled with monsters and Hunters willing to risk their lives for fame and fortune. At the bottom sits Kim Gongja, an F-rank Hunter who spends his days envying the legendary Flame Emperor, the No. 1 Hunter. Then Gongja receives an absurdly powerful S+ copy skill with one brutal condition: he has to die for it to activate.

That is where the series immediately separates itself from the standard power fantasy. Gongja witnesses the Flame Emperor’s scandal, is killed, and obtains the ability to copy his opponent’s skill. The copied ability allows Gongja to return 24 hours before his death, turning mortality itself into a bizarre progression mechanic.

There is also the Sword Emperor, once one of the strongest Hunters, who becomes Gongja’s ghostly companion through the copy skill. The official site describes their relationship as an unusual partnership, with the former top Hunter recognizing Gongja’s potential and accompanying him toward the Tower’s upper reaches.

Why SSS-Class Revival Hunter’s Hero Is Better Than Jinwoo

Jinwoo’s progression is deeply tied to becoming the strongest in Solo Leveling. His transformation from the weakest Hunter into an overwhelming force gives Solo Leveling its unmistakable power-fantasy rush. Gongja starts from a similarly humiliating position, but his defining ability forces him to repeatedly confront failure, death, and the consequences of his choices.

That makes his relationship with power more complicated. A death-triggered ability is not merely another flashy upgrade. Every use is connected to loss, information, and the possibility of changing what happens next. Gongja’s progression therefore has an inherently psychological dimension: he does not simply overpower a problem; he can learn from dying to it.

Then there is his relationship with the Sword Emperor. Jinwoo’s rise increasingly separates him from ordinary Hunters as his power expands. Gongja, by contrast, has a former legendary Hunter literally hovering behind him as a companion and counterweight. Their dynamic gives the protagonist someone who can challenge, guide, and react to his increasingly bizarre decisions.

That is why SSS-Class Revival Hunter will work as more than another Solo Leveling clone. If the January 2027 anime captures that distinction, Crunchyroll will have something far more interesting than another Hunter show on its hands: a protagonist whose greatest strength begins with the one thing most heroes spend their entire stories trying to avoid—death.

Do you think Gongja is a better hero than Sung Jinwoo? Comment below!

Solo Leveling is available on Crunchyroll.