Solo Leveling's Successor? The Beginning After the End Reigns Supreme in the US!
Solo Leveling's Reign Toppled: TBATE Takes the Crown on Tapas!
Solo Leveling, that insanely popular anime, totally exploded thanks to its awesome manhwa. It became a massive hit globally. But get this: In the US, it's been dethroned! The king is dead; long live the king! That incredibly popular webcomic, The Beginning After the End (TBATE), is now the top dog on Tapas, the biggest webtoon app in the US. This is completely insane!
Solo Leveling's manhwa was huge; even catapulting the manhwa genre to global fame, exploding even further when the anime adaptation hit. The amount of viewers after that anime release is really what changed the landscape and added to that specific notoriety it already had. It is seriously noteworthy that TBATE overtakes Solo Leveling, a hugely popular work with an amazingly successful and famous anime version, yet this new series completely outpaced that other production; adding that amount of clout on its own, before any additional releases! This suggests something is happening. And it’s amazing. This is especially relevant for the creatives who made this, demonstrating just why choosing very specific strategies for distribution should be carefully planned. The sheer success showcases something far larger – not only is the target market reached but also that genre and aesthetic greatly impact views, far beyond anything imagined in its initial release.
TBATE's Triumph: More Than 36 Million Views on Tapas
According to Kang Jung-goo (Head of Kakao's Global Story Business Division), in an interview featured on the Chosun Daily, TBATE leads Tapas' top three webtoons (ranked by total revenue): It was TBATE, Solo Leveling, then A Business Proposal. TBATE has over 36 million views on Tapas. Solo Leveling had over 23 million. That's enormous!
Remember, TBATE doesn't have an Anime or live-action adaptation, like the others do, highlighting this as truly being unique in terms of how those kinds of views are actually possible in a completely unassisted media-release that doesn't simply copy an existing fanbase to build its success! This showcases that this type of series was meant to hit a market lacking another series that does something different. It was both smart and also unexpectedly rewarding for its producers.
Why TBATE and Solo Leveling Are Such Huge Hits
Why this kind of hype and popularity around both series? Both Solo Leveling and TBATE nail things perfectly– both feature super-engaging stories that introduce power systems where main characters gain intense abilities through effort, rejecting cliché "power-ups.” Their successes show several important ideas: those narrative decisions to add additional complexity also increases user engagement significantly! This is critically important and is noteworthy in many productions where choosing this route does not succeed. These elements really show an insightful decision. The entire experience shows a thoughtful attempt to appeal specifically to those involved!
Both Sung Jinwoo (Solo Leveling) and Arthur Leywin (TBATE) appeal massively through intense character development! Both go from “regular guy” to an almost-unstoppable force; their growth stories emphasize how those personal choices and dedication towards improvement can drastically shift lives; an element incredibly relatable to audience members.
TBATE Surpasses Solo Leveling in the US: Why?
While Solo Leveling still dominates globally (over 14.3 billion views!), TBATE's US dominance points to other possible and entirely different aspects. It showcases that specific preference of this specific market, towards those kinds of storytelling involved! This new, innovative content had an immensely positive and incredibly powerful outcome. The western reader's love of that epic heroic fantasy; which inspired TBATE's design means it appeals differently– creating that connection with a different kind of aesthetic and plot points; greatly benefiting from that inherent existing base. Those battles, while intense, couldn’t appeal on the same level that character-driven moments truly could for its potential US-based readership.
TBATE's Design for International Appeal
While fans often label TBATE as manhwa (it’s got that iconic look and many similar themes); it’s originally written in English, by TurtleMe (a Korean-American author!). He uses those manhwa styles to connect globally– expertly blending eastern and western elements. That approach created immense popularity, and made it easier to enter that massively expanding world of webcomics with ease!
Manhwa's Global Domination Continues
Manhwa's everywhere! Huge success in anime and generating significant impacts in those creative media-collaborations shows that a niche genre could grow massively and gain recognition which had previously been reserved only for that smaller selection of mostly Japanese and Western media which had previously received that kind of notoriety, leading to some innovative creative collaborative ventures between webcomics and studios. We've seen insane hits adapted from manhwa – Solo Leveling, Tower of God, and more! Those manhwa-inspired series now compete even with the huge manga and light novel adaptations which were traditionally much more popular. Those kinds of successes and possibilities greatly contribute to generating many new collaborations between creative studios and new opportunities for many newer productions. More series adapt webcomics (e.g., Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint), so watch out– manhwa might only grow.
Conclusion: TBATE: A Manhwa Success Story With A Bright Future
TBATE has massively outperformed Solo Leveling in the US, suggesting many great possibilities for those similar adaptations. That clever combination of elements is a really smart storytelling strategy; the design decisions really pay off with the expansion and continued reach towards this vastly expanding target demographic. And those elements? The amazing blend of both narrative details, the extremely clever integration of artistic aesthetic details which also appealed heavily to manhwa fans but also other audiences and its huge international popularity! While it’s still not yet surpassing Solo Leveling worldwide; this is quite possible with a future anime adaptation which would greatly and massively impact both its sales, and global popularity; thus creating a vastly different level of fanbase compared to its initial launch.
