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Many interesting titles have debuted or will still premiere in this 2025 Summer Anime Season. One highly anticipated title, though not technically an anime, isLord of the Mysteries, hailed as a likely hit this season.
Originally a Chinese novel, it has already become a smash hit at book fairs worldwide. So far, the adaptation has delivered top-notch animation, leading many to wonder if it could be the “nextSolo Leveling” in terms of popularity.
What Is Lord of the Mysteries?
Lord of the Mysteries, as mentioned earlier, is a Chinese novel that has found significant success online. It blends a steampunk setting based on the Victorian Era with Lovecraftian horror and elements of Chinese mysterious fantasy (xuanhuan fantasy). Like many hits, it has expanded into other media, like games and now animation (donghua).
In the plot, Zhou Mingrui, now living in the body of a man called Klein Moretti, is transmigrated into an alternate England with Victorian-era settings and lots of supernatural powers. Mingrui then seeks a way to return to his former life, but he later decides to investigate what truly happened to Moretti, who is believed to have died by suicide while trying to gather more power to finally go back home.
Why Are So Many People Comparing It to Solo Leveling?
Lord of the Mysteriesisprimarily being compared toSolo Levelingnot because of shared themes or anything of the sort, as these are quite different stories, but because both are web novels that became widely popular within the niche. Solo Leveling has become one of the most successful web novels ever, partly due to the massive popularity of the anime.Lord of the Mysterieshas the potential to follow in similar footsteps with a good adaptation.
Furthermore, the production committee seems to be investing hard in the adaptation. In an interview, producer Wu stated that the anime would have 1,000 frames per minute, which means it should be around 23,000 frames per episode (given that an episode generally lasts for about 23 minutes). Thisis aboveSolo Leveling’s rate of 17,000 frames per episode. While that sounds like a lot of work, the quality of the animation is indeed impressive for the first two episodes. In short, the series is being seen as a strong opportunity for donghua productions to become more popular outside of Asia.
Can Lord of Mysteries Surpass Solo Leveling?
The animation so far is good, which is a promising sign thatLord of Mysteriescould become a hitthis season. However, fans who have read the novel have complained that the story feels rushed and that many parts were skipped. Those who haven’t read the novel also commented that the plot feels confusing and the pacing was fast in the first two episodes.
Currently, it seems very hard for any series to surpassSolo Leveling. That said,Lord of Mysteriesseems to have the potential to at least become a solid hit and last for many seasons—and then, perhaps one day, become more popular thanSolo Leveling. It’s important to note that not overtakingSolo Levelingisn’t a failure and does not mean that the series is bad. All it means is thatSolo Levelingis too popular to be easily outshinedby any new series. In any case,Lord of the Mysterieshas enough potential to gather a massive number of fans.
Where to Watch Lord of the Mysteries?
Just likeSolo Leveling,Lord of the Mysteriesis available to watch on Crunchyroll, subbed in many languages. In China, it is available on WeTV, a video streaming platform owned by Tencent. It may be available on other platforms in select countries.
The Lord of the Mysteriesis available to read in English on Webnovel.com, translated and edited by Atlas Studios.
