Solo Leveling Is The Highest-Rated Anime Of The Year

Now that the Summer season is a few weeks in, we are roughly halfway through the 2025 anime calendar. The year has been fantastic so far, and an argument could be made that the best is yet to come. Although it is still too early to pick the anime of the year, a few contenders have already laid claim to the title and will almost certainly be in the discussion by December.

Solo Leveling Season 2 is one of these shows, but is it the AOTY so far? Naturally, everyone has their favorites, so the answer will vary from person to person. There is no such thing as an objective winner; however, let's try to get as close to that as possible.

So, we've taken the year's best anime so far and calculated their average scores from these websites: MyAnimeList, Kitsu, Anime-Planet, IMDb, and Livechart.me. Consequently, this data can be used to create a ranking of the highest-rated 2025 anime so far, based on thousands of ratings from five sources that might have slightly different audiences.

Honorable Mentions

Before getting into the highest-rated 2025 anime so far, let's include a few honorable mentions.

Related

Best Winter 2025 Anime, Ranked

Solo Leveling, Sakamoto Days, and Apothecary Diaries aired as part of Winter 2025's anime lineup, and some series were better than others.

Posts 17

By  Mark Sammut

5 Orb: On the Movements of the Earth

Average Score: 8.45

Ending 2024 on a high and maintaining that momentum for 2025, Orb: On the Movements of the Earth might be the most one-of-a-kind anime of the last few years. Set in 15th-century Poland and featuring a revolving roster of protagonists who all build upon their predecessors' work, Orb is ambitious, beautifully, fantastically written, and consistently intense.

So, what is the story? Well, the Church is all-powerful and tells people what to think, and going against these teachings can be punishable by death. According to the institution, the Earth is the center of the universe and exists right under Heaven; however, a few scholars who are fascinated by the stars refuse to believe this is the truth. They are willing to risk everything to learn how the universe works.

Orb is about humanity's inherent craving for knowledge and independence, all the while showing their capacity for executing horrors that are also pure evil. The anime has quite a few slow moments, but it is never boring, and the highs are dizzying.

4 Re:Zero: Starting Life in Another World Season 3: Part II

Average Score: 8.55

Ah, Re:ZERO, the most highly-acclaimed isekai anime and, simultaneously, one of the most polarizing. While the light novels are generally regarded as superior, the adaptation has done an admirable job of introducing a wider audience to Subaru, Emilia, and Rem, all the while telling a challenging narrative that incorporates time travel, horror, visceral action, and significant structural shifts. Every season is different from the last, and the third entry is about as close to battle shonen as Re:ZERO will ever get. After airing the first eight episodes in 2024, the show came roaring back with perhaps its strongest stretch to date, as long as you are generally fine with a heavier focus on fights.

Related

Re:Zero – Best Fights In The Anime (So Far)

Many fights have taken place in Re:Zero, but some have arguably been better than others. Here are the best battles in the anime so far.

Posts

By  Alex Lawrence

Out of all the AOTY contenders highlighted in this article, Re:ZERO is the hardest to outright recommend, just because it seems unlikely that too many new viewers are going to jump on board this late in the story's run. Still, if you have never tried this series, I would advise changing that. You might hate it, but you might also love it.

3 Takopi’s Original Sin (Episodes 1–5)

Average Score: 8.78

Here it is, the Summer 2025 exception.

Takopi’s Original Sin is a short series consisting of just six episodes, so most of the story has been told. More importantly, this anime is ALREADY something special, regardless of the quality of the final chapter. Genuinely challenging to sit through, this psychological drama touches upon child abuse, neglect, bullying, murder, manipulation, desperation, depression, and suicide. That combination would be too exhausting for most anime, but Takopi’s Original Sin handles these themes with a daft touch and sobering confidence. Do not be tricked by the adorable mascot-esque alien; this is 2025's most mature and, at times, terrifying anime.

Coming from a planet defined by naive, happy aliens, Takopi wants to spread that joy to Shizuka, a young girl who is being bullied at school and is clearly at her wits' end. While Shizuka is the most sympathetic character in the first two episodes, Takopi's gradual loss of innocence drives the narrative forward, as both the alien and the audience are repeatedly shown humanity at its worst. Yet, an element of hope persists, even if it seems to be fleeting.

2 The Apothecary Diaries Season 2

Average Score: 8.79

The Apothecary Diaries is a masterpiece that has had the misfortune of airing alongside both Frieren: Beyond Journey's End and Solo Leveling, two anime capable of overshadowing pretty much any competition. Honestly, if you were to argue that Maomao's story is better than either of those series, I would not fight you. Season 2 is just slightly superior to its predecessor, and it builds splendidly towards an incredible final stretch of episodes that manages to provide a temporary satisfying conclusion while also setting the stage for a sequel, which has already been announced.

Related

Historical Anime To Watch If You Love The Apothecary Diaries

Historical anime fans who enjoyed The Apothecary Diaries are spoiled with choice when it comes to other, similar anime of the same genre.

Posts 1

By  David Heath

On the surface, The Apothecary Diaries is a mystery anime about a girl, Maomao, who uses her expertise in poison to solve cases within a country's imperial court. The cases present interesting riddles, but their greatness lies in their constant ability to introduce complex characters who shine a light on the setting's wider politics. Also, Maomao is just the perfect protagonist.

1 Solo Leveling Season 2

Average Score: 8.91

Yep; so far, Solo Leveling is the AOTY. Say what you want about the show, and plenty of people have, but its success is fairly easy to understand. The anime has great and dependable action, with basically every episode incorporating an exciting fight (or multiple). Sung Jinwoo is not the most complex character in anime history, but he is cool and quite charming, along with having a relatable motivation to save his mother.

While he is so OP that nearly none of season 2's enemies present anything resembling a challenge, Sung's moveset is not static, and he is constantly unlocking new shadows and tools to use in battle. Not everyone enjoys or wants an aura farming story, but Solo Leveling does it better than nearly every other series. In terms of pure action anime, Solo Leveling Season 2 is the new standard.

MORE

Things That Almost Make Solo Leveling The Perfect Action Anime

Solo Leveling is an almost perfect action anime for many reasons, as the following examples illustrate.

Posts

By  Oluwafemi Famutimi