One wouldn’t normally have high expectations of a slime-befriending Monster Tamer like Yuji Sano, but Yuji happily proves doubters wrong.My Isekai Life: I Gained a Second Character Class and Became the Strongest Sage in the Worldmixes action, humor, and classic isekai tropes to create a unique and memorable series
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For every isekai anime that feels like a cheap knockoff of the same tired old premise, there’s another innovative and exciting series that proves just how much life the genre has left in it. Whether the protagonist is trapped in a video game or transported to a magical realm by a spell gone awry, these fish-out-of-water tales show what it takes to make the best of a bad situation and maybe make some friends along the way.
8Ascendance Of A Bookworm
Ascendance of a Bookwormis about how great reading is, which doesn’t sound like the makings of an amazing series. However, thisunderrated isekai animedraws viewers further and further in,making them genuinely root for Myne as she learns to read.Its pace is slow compared to many, more action-oriented isekai, butAscendance of a Bookwormknows better than to let itself be rushed.
The sense of accomplishment that comes with gradually achieving one’s goal, step by step, will be familiar to many, and it’s on full display here. Rather than cut corners and present a shallow fantasy world,Ascendance of a Bookwormrounds out its protagonist and its world, making for a gripping experience.
Most isekai play with the usual anime tropes, with many not venturing far off the beaten path.My Next Life As a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!puts a spin on convention by having its protagonist be a villain, albeit an unwilling one.
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Katarina, like many gamers, would love to live in the world of her favorite video game, but that wish turns out to have a dark side when she finds herself reincarnated not as the game’s hero but as its villain. From there,Katarina must make it her mission not only to survive but to try and find some kind of happiness despite her twisted fate.My Next Life as a Villainessdoesn’t revolutionize the genre, but it does keep viewers on their toes as they attempt to guess how Katarina will manage, especially since she knows the villain is supposed to die at the end.
6Outbreak Company
In a way,Outbreak Companyseems designed to appeal to many of the most popular trends, not only in anime but in pop culture in general, mixing isekai with parody and even the harem genre. Shnishi, the show’s hero, is an otaku suddenly tossed into a fantasy world where he makes it his mission to share otaku culture.
Outbreak Companyis, in the best way, all about geekiness,celebrating parts of culture that are sometimes brushed aside or frowned upon. Having the hero’s mission be “explain why geeky things are great” instead of “defeat five legendary dragons and save the world” is a welcome change of pace. It helps that the series understands exactly how ridiculous it is and plays into that fact at every opportunity, making itjust as good a comedyasMy Isekai Life.
5Grimgar: Ashes And Illusions
One of the best parts of isekai anime is watching the hero rise to power, learning new abilities, spells, or combat techniques that allow them to thrive in their new and deadly world.Grimgar: Ashes and Illusionsproves that even this tried-and-true trope can be dispensed with and still create an amazing series.
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The heroes ofGrimgararen’t special, at least in terms of their combat or magical prowess.They’re ordinary people flung into a fantasy world and forced to take the only job they can to survive: serving as lowly grunts in the local military. The life of a soldier is far less flashy than that of most isekai heroes, but that’s what makesGrimgar: Ashes and Illusionsspecial. The focus here is on realism, and it pays off.
4Now And Then, Here And There
Some isekai heroes are more heroic than others, willing to put themselves on the line for strangers, intervening in dangerous situations in the name of doing what’s right. That altruism is valuable, but sometimes it comes at a price.
Shuu Matsutani learns that the hard way when he tries to save a strange girl from machines bent on kidnapping her.As a result, he ends up flung into a desert fantasy world, attacked by soldiers, and accused of the theft of a magical pendant.Now And Then, Here And Thereisdarker than its somewhat childish style would suggest,but it offers fans an off-beat and challenging departure from conventional isekai.
3Log Horizon
My Isekai LifeandLog Horizonare both about gaming, but the latter series takes a more practical look at what life in a game might actually look like. Transported to the world of Elder Tale, the heroes of this brilliant isekai demonstrate their own brilliance by leveraging everything they know about the game to their advantage.
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The characters aren’t simply in an MMORPG; they take advantage of that knowledge,using metagaming and well-known strategies of team composition, drawing aggro, and synergizing abilities in order to take down their enemies. There are plenty of isekai about characters trapped in MMOs, butLog Horizonshows just how different such a show can be when the characters actually use their gaming knowledge for practical purposes.
2Drifters
Whereas most isekai delight in the invention of new characters,Driftersdelights in taking real-world historical figures, throwing them together in an impossible situation, and seeing what happens. Joan of Arc, Oda Nobunaga, and other famous faces join together in an attempt to save (or conquer) the world.
Driftersblends fantasy, history, and war, drawing from a roster of real-life military figuresto round out its exceptional cast. Given that the creator ofDriftersalso createdHellsing Ultimate,there’s an expectation of quality here, and this anime doesn’t disappoint. Gorgeous animation, fluid combat, anda cast that’s strong in more ways than onemakeDriftersan isekai to watch, even for viewers who aren’t history buffs.
1Restaurant To Another World
For those that want to take a break from darker or more intense isekai there’sRestaurant to Another World,a series that blends food, coziness, and supernatural creatures.The show revolves around Nekoya, a popular Tokyo restaurant that dabbles in something other than ordinary cuisine on the weekend, serving customers from other worlds.
The series' unusual premise doesn’t disappoint, and one of the highlights is watching mythical creatures drop by Tokyo to taste humanity’s newest delicacies. It’s as warm and charming as one would expect from agreat slice-of-life animeor food series, offering a welcome respite from the swords and bloodshed seen elsewhere.
