Best Isekai Anime, 20 Best Isekai Anime of all time
by Ushapriyanga | Updated Mar 03, 2023
Best Isekai Anime
Isekai is a popular speculative fiction genre that spans various forms of media, such as novels, manga, anime, and video games. It features protagonists who are transported from their original world to a new one, such as a fantasy or virtual world, where they face challenges and grow as characters. The genre has its roots in Japanese folklore, but modern works like Haruka Takachiho's Warrior from Another World and Yoshiyuki Tomino's Aura Battler Dunbine have popularized it. There are two main types of isekai: "transition" and "reincarnation," with various alternative takes on the concept. The genre also has subgenres, such as "second chance" and "slow life," and often incorporates elements of harem and LitRPG. According to Paul Price's classification, there are four types of isekai, each with unique elements and examples.
Isekai Anime List
S.no.
Isekai Anime
1.
Cautious Hero: The Hero Is Overpowered But Overly Cautious
2.
Grimgar: Ashes And Illusions
3.
Demon King From Today!
4.
Fushigi Yugi: The Mysterious Play
5.
Now And Then, Here And There
6.
The Rising Of The Shield Hero
7.
Digimon Adventure
8.
Sonny Boy
9.
GATE
10.
Ya Boy Kongming!
11.
Magic Knight Rayearth
12.
Drifters
13.
Ascendance Of A Bookworm
14.
Sword Art Online
15.
The Boy And The Beast
16.
The Vision Of Escaflowne
17.
Welcome To Demon School! Iruma-kun
18.
Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation
19.
Saga Of Tanya The Evil
20.
The Devil Is A Part-Timer!
21.
KonoSuba: God's Blessing On This Wonderful World!
22.
That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime
23.
Overlord
24.
Inuyasha
25.
No Game No Life
26.
Log Horizon
27.
Re: Zero - Starting Life In Another World
28.
Ascendance Of A Bookworm
What is Isekai Anime?
Isekai is a subgenre of fantasy fiction where the protagonist is transported from their own world to a new, often fantastical one. Although this concept has existed for centuries, the term "isekai" is a relatively recent addition. Typically, the main character is trapped in or reborn into a new world with increased power. Their goal is to return to their original world by completing quests or adventures. Although reverse isekai stories exist, they are less common. During the 1990s, isekai manga was particularly popular among young girls. These manga often featured teenage girls who traveled to magical worlds full of battles, magic, and romance. The isekai anime Inuyasha, which aired in the early 2000s, had characters who could freely travel between present-day and feudal Japan. However, over the following decade, the isekai genre shifted its demographic focus.
Good Isekai Anime
Cautious Hero: The Hero Is Overpowered But Overly Cautious
Isekai loves an overpowered protagonist who can blast through skyscraper-sized enemies while barely breaking a sweat. When the goddess Ristarte summons Seiya to help her save a world on the brink of annihilation, she gets a hero who is only willing to dive into threatening situations when victory is 100% assured. Basically, this means a lot of training and taking absolutely no chances during battles.
Grimgar: Ashes And Illusions
On the surface, Grimgar: Ashes and Illusions seems like any other game-themed isekai anime: teenagers wake up in a strange world constructed on MMO tropes and they must get by. The thing that separates Grimgar from most other shows is that while the world might pull from MMOs, it is not governed by their rules. Minor threats in other anime can be deadly in Grimgar, and death is not something that can be just waved off.
Demon King From Today!
Demon King from Today! starts with its protagonist, the unassuming Yuri Shibuya, having his head flushed down the toilet, an ordeal that teleports him to another universe. Before long, he finds himself crowned as Demon King, a role that puts him right in the middle of the demon world's strained relationship with humans. This bizarre start reflects the rest of the show's direction, as Kyou kara Maou! often blurs the line between silly high jinks and dramatic intensity.
Fushigi Yugi: The Mysterious Play
Fushigi Yugi is a minor classic that, while far from unwatchable, has not aged especially well over the last 25 years. In this day and age, someone's appreciation for this show might come down to whether they have any nostalgic attachment to it, or if they are at least fond of older shojo tropes. Miaka reads a book that sends her to another world, and she quickly learns that she is a priestess who will play a pivotal role in conjuring a god.
Now And Then, Here And There
Released right at the turn of the century, Now and Then, Here and There is the ideal option for anyone who wishes to take a break from isekai power fantasies. An ordinary boy, Shuu meets a mysterious girl, gets whisked away by terrifying monsters to a desolate reality, and then spends roughly the next 13 episodes going through hell.
The Rising Of The Shield Hero
The Rising of the Shield Hero's reputation declined as its first season progressed, and the sequel only exasperated matters. Naofumi Iwatani is summoned to a fantasy world to serve as its shield hero, only for the protagonist to be falsely accused of a crime and then shunned.
Digimon Adventure
A beloved classic that helped introduce countless children to the exciting world of anime, Digimon Adventure is not commonly cited among isekai shows, perhaps because most people watched it before they were familiar with the term. While the show spends a decent chunk of time in the human world, Digimon Adventure predominantly revolves around DigiDestined's time in the Digital World.
Sonny Boy
Written and directed b Shingo Natsume, whose previous credits include One-Punch Man, Space Dandy, Boogiepop and Others, Sonny Boy is an unconventional coming-of-age story that plays out like a more surreal version of Peter Pan. A group of students is sent to a strange island, and some of them develop supernatural powers. Naturally, this influences the characters' dynamics and power balance, leading to quite a few harrowing sequences.
GATE
A gate to a fantasy world appears in Japan, causing an all-out war to break out between the invading Empire and the JSDF. The latter manages to repel the opposing forces and, in the battle's aftermath, decides to send a group of soldiers into this new world. One member of that party is Itami, an otaku who eventually befriends a trio of girls who slot into fantasy archetypes.
Ya Boy Kongming!
Ya Boy Kongming! was the most delightful revelation of Spring 2022. It managed to take a completely absurd idea and turn it into something remarkable. The main character, Kongming, is a strategist from China's Three Kingdoms era, who is reincarnated in modern Tokyo after his death. Adding to the peculiarity, he becomes the manager of an aspiring singer, Eiko Tsukimi, and uses his genius intellect to assist her in achieving her dream of becoming a super-star.
Best Isekai Anime - FAQs
Isekai manga is a subgenre of Japanese manga that typically involves a character from the real world being transported or reincarnated into a fantasy or alternate world.
The two types of isekai manga are "transition into another world" (異世界転移, isekai ten'i) and "reincarnation into another world" (異世界転生, isekai tensei). In transition into another world stories, the protagonist gets transported to another world, while in reincarnation into another world stories, the protagonist is sent into another world after dying in the real world.
A common trope in isekai manga is the protagonist being an ordinary person who thrives in their new environment thanks to modern things in the real world being seen as "extraordinary" in the other world.
Some well-known examples of isekai manga include Sword Art Online, Re:Zero − Starting Life in Another World, That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime, and The Rising of the Shield Hero.