Fans cannot stop raving about Chinese animated show Lord of Mysteries following its Saturday premiere on Crunchyroll, with many viewers predicting it may beat popular anime Solo Leveling and emerge as the breakout hit of the year.
Adapted from the popular web novel of the same name by Cuttlefish That Loves Diving, the Victorian steampunk show premiered on Crunchyroll with its first two episodes on June 28.
The author’s direct involvement in the donghua (chinese animation) adaptation has contributed to the success of the show, some fans pointed out.
“Lord of Mysteries Ep 01, HOLY SH*T!! The story already impressed me. I am really curious to know the whole story. The animation was freaking crazy. The backgrounds looked realistic. Klein's transmigrated scene was INSANE!! The ending song was damn good,” a fan wrote on X.
A fan heaped praise on the animation, action sequences and the original soundtrack, calling the anime “peak”. “The animation, visuals, OST, sequences, and background all look amazing,” they wrote on X.
Set in a steampunk-inspired world teetering between magic and science, Lord of Mysteries follows Klein Moretti, a down-on-his-luck scholar, who is mysteriously resurrected after a ritual goes wrong. In his new life, Zhou Mingrui, who wakes up in the body of Klein, gets embroiled in a shadowy realm of secret organisations, ancient artifacts, and mystical powers. As he delves deeper into the world of the Beyonders — humans who gain supernatural abilities by consuming magical potions — Klein must unravel several conspiracies and face horrifying events.
The trailer of the show, which was dropped a few weeks back, had promised unparalleled animation to fans. Also praising the art direction of the show, a viewer shared, “We knew the animation was great but the art direction was better than I expected ,the willingness to use imagery for explanations was great.”
When Solo Leveling came out in 2024, it became an instant hit, impressing viewers with its impeccable visuals and storytelling. The anime, adapted from the popular Korean web novel by Chugong, swept all the major categories at this year’s Anime Awards and emerged as the most-viewed show on Crunchyroll.
Solo Leveling has been lauded for its insane animation since its fps (frames per second) were extremely high. Season 2 of Solo Leveling has an average of 600 frames, with a high end of 17,000 frames in an episode. However, Lord of the Mysteries is said to average 30,000 frames an episode.
“Lord of the Mysteries better win anime of the year and beat out Solo Leveling,” a fan wrote on X. Another X user tweeted, “I feel sorry for the animes that will be released in 2025, especially Solo Leveling, Orv and TBATE because Lord of The Mysteries will steal the spotlight from them and will be the greatest anime in this year.”
“Don't get me wrong, I really like Solo Leveling, but Lord of the Mysteries is on whole another different level, its greatness is not even comparable to SL, it deserves all the budget it gets,” a Reddit user shared, urging fans not to compare the two anime as they are different in tone, storytelling and visuals.
Several fans, however, criticised others for comparing Lord of Mysteries with Solo Leveling. “Comparing Lord of the Mysteries to Solo Leveling is like comparing Lord of the Rings to Harry Potter,” one of them wrote.
Some viewers, however, said that the pacing of the anime is too fast and it has left out some portions from the web novel. “I found the Lord of The Mysteries pacing is too fast that I am completely lost at what I'm seeing and happening during the entire show,” one of them wrote.
With its perfect blend of mystery, Victorian fiction, steampunk narrative and Lovecraftian horror, Lord of Mysteries has already been renewed for Season 2. The Chinese animated show will have a total of 13 episodes, with each of them releasing on Saturdays.