Following up on our introduction and explanation of the popular Isekai genre of anime, it seems like the perfect time to take a deeper dive into the genre and highlight some of the best series for fans who want to discover the genre for themselves.
With that in mind, here's Bam Smack Pow's list of the best Isekai anime to introduce fans to the genre.
The Vision of Escaflowne is a masterpiece, but you might have some trouble tracking it down
The Vision of Escaflowne is a blend of Sci-Fi and Fantasy that helps it to stand out from similar series. Superficially similar to mecha series like Gundam, Escaflowne follows high school student Hitomi Kanzaki as she's drawn into the parallel world of Gaea, where our Earth is visible in the sky as a second moon. She soon finds herself caught in the middle of a war between the more traditionally Fantasy-genre style kingdom of Fanelia and its allies against a full-on Sci-Fi, high-tech enemy in the Zaibach Empire. What follows is a series with romance, intense mech combat, and an absolutely phenomenal soundtrack.
Although the original dub of Escaflowne never aired in its entirety in the US — the broadcasters deeming it too dark and violent for the kids' timeslot it was airing in — it became popular with Canadian fans, who were able to watch it beginning-to-end on Canadian kids' channel YTV, which played a major role in bringing a lot of high-profile anime series to Canadian audiences in the 90s and early 2000s. The series got a second chance at life when Funimation successfully crowdfunded a new dub and Blu-ray release in 2016.
Unfortunately, since the merger of Crunchyroll and Funimation when the Funimation library was rolled into the Crunchyroll service, there were several series in the Funimation library that were not included in the transition. Escaflowne was one of them, meaning the series is not currently available for streaming on any service. However, the series is currently available for digital purchase via Apple TV and the Crunchyroll Store is still selling the Funimation-era Blu-ray release.
KonoSuba is one of the best comedy Isekai series
Overall, KonoSuba (an abbreviation of its full Japanese title Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku o!) isn't necessarily viewed by anime fans as the best Isekai series, but it does tend to rank pretty well on lists across the Internet. What really makes KonoSuba is how well it fully commits to its Comedic Fantasy premise. KonoSuba isn't the only comedic Isekai series, but it's one of the best examples of a series that's primarily comedic.
Having an Isekai protagonist get reincarnated after being hit by a truck or car is a pretty common way to kick off a series. You'll get a good sense of what kind of series KonoSuba is with how its opening episode plays with this premise: Kazuma is reincarnated after being hit by a truck. He dies in the real world from a heart attack after trying to heroically save a girl from a truck. Except it wasn't a truck, it was a tractor that was moving slowly enough that the girl was never actually in danger — as Aqua, the goddess overseeing the process of his reincarnation gets no small measure of sadistic glee out of explaining.
Essentially, the driving force behind the humor specifically and the story overall in KonoSuba is that Kazuma is a loser. As the series unfolds, Kazuma builds an adventuring party of other loser characters the world's more successful adventurers have left ignored and outcasts. Even though Kazuma and his companions are all stupendously inept and staggeringly neurotic, KonoSuba actually manages to be oddly uplifting and inspiring as Kazuma and his friends find ways to make the most of their oddly specific skills and talents to succeed despite his misfits nobody else takes seriously.
The Rising of the Shield Hero is a standout Dark Fantasy
Unlike a lot of other popular Isekai series from recent anime seasons with either have fairly comedic tones or are full-on parodies of the genre, The Rising of the Shield Hero is notable not only for being a straightforward, unironic take on the Isekai genre but also notably darker and more cynical than other Isekai anime and even many other Fantasy stories in general.
One of several people from parallel-universe versions of Japan summoned to the kingdom of Melromarc and given a legendary weapon to save the world from calamity, Naofumi is originally lauded and welcomed as a chosen hero, only to have his reputation ruined by false accusations of heinous crimes. Shunned and ostracized by the other heroes and the population of Melromarc at large, Naofumi gives up his futile attempts at restoring his reputation and ultimately decides to become the sort of person everyone else already believes him to be.
At worst, Naofumi becomes an antihero who's still fundamentally on the side of good, but he embraces the persona of a cunning and unscrupulous outcast, though he never completely abandons his inner heart of gold. Still, he's fundamentally a lot more pragmatic, cynical, and ruthless than the typical anime protagonist — more like the Punisher than Superman.
While never quite as dark as other anime series like Berserk or Goblin Slayer, Shield Hero is notably darker and more serious than a lot of other Isekai series and does contain mature themes and subject matter that some viewers may find disturbing. Although the series has generally been well-received by audiences, it has also courted a certain level of controversy throughout its run because of its darker moments that have alienated certain viewers.
Ya Boy Kongming! brings one of China's greatest heroes to the present
A Reverse Isekai anime that follows the legendary Chinese strategist Zhuge Liang. Also known by the name Kongming, the real Zhuge Liang lived in real life from 181 to 234 during the collapse of the Han Dynasty and the beginning of the Three Kingdoms. His dying wish to live in an era of peace sees him reincarnated in Shibuya, Tokyo, Zhuge Liang meets the aspiring singer Eiko and takes it upon himself to become her manager. As it turns out, a lot of the lessons learned on the battlefields of the Three Kingdoms are applicable to the recording industry.
While there's no small amount of humor coming from Zhuge Liang trying to adapt to life nearly 2000 years after his previous life, Ya Boy Kongming! is also surprisingly educational. A lot of Zhuge Liang's actions as Eiko's managers are given parallels to events from the Three Kingdoms or are explicitly modeled on one of — for example, Zhuge Liang replicates the Stone Sentinel Maze he once used to disorient and demoralize the armies of Wu to subconsciously funnel guests at a nightclub to where Eiko is performing to grow her audience. These historical references are helped by the fact that Eiko's boss is a huge history buff who's more than happy to discuss the Three Kingdoms in great detail for the benefit of both Eiko and the audience.
Farming Life in Another World is a laid-back change of pace in the genre
Like Ya Boy Kongming!, Farming Life in Another World is kicked off by the protagonist's dying wish. After a long period of illness, Hiraku is given a second chance by God to be reborn in a healthier body and to live any kind of life he wants. Hiraku asks to be reincarnated as a farmer due to watching a lot of farming shows while in the hospital. He ends up reincarnated on an undeveloped tract of land with a magical farming tool and sets to living out his dream life as a farmer.
Even most comedic Isekai anime series still involve the characters going on some sort of Fantasy RPG-esque quest or mission. Farming Life in Another World is notable for not really having any overarching quest or crisis facing the characters — if anything, the closest comparison is probably the Harvest Moon/Story of Seasons video game series, or the hit indie game Stardew Valley.
Although the anime series has obviouslt shared Fantasy elements with the Rune Factory spin-off series, that's actually a worse comparison to Farming Life in Another World. The Rune Factory games all have a unifying story arc and driving conflict. Farming Life in Another World doesn't have a bad guy and doesn't even have much conflict beyond the occasional argument between characters. It's a cute, laid-back show that can serve as a really good palate cleanser between heavier watches.
Overlord puts a villainous twist on Isekai…
The first anime series about characters being transported into a video game that became hugely popular was probably Sword Art Online, which ended up being sort of like "World of Warcraft meets The Matrix." Overlord is very much in the same vein as the earlier series but with the notable twist of taking place from the major bad guy's point of view. Of course, Overlord isn't the first anime to be set inside a video game or the first to follow the villain's perspective, but it's become popular with anime fans for how well it executes its presence.
In the 2100s, the popular virtual reality MMO Yggdrasil is slated to shut down. A longtime player with the username Momonga resolves to stay logged on until the servers are deactivated. When that moment comes and goes, Momonga finds that his consciousness has been transferred into his in-game avatar, a powerful undead spellcaster, and that he now resides within the world of the game.
Momonga adopts the name of his former in-game guild, Ainz Ooal Gown, as his new identity and sets up to fill the niche of Fantasy Dark Lord in his new world. Although he embraces his new villainous persona, he retains enough of his previous human identity to care deeply about his minions. While Overlord does deliver a fairly traditional Fantasy story, it also devotes a lot of time to exploring what the everyday life of a Dark Lord and his minions is like during their downtime.
The Great Jahy Will Not Be Defeated flips Overlord's concept on its head
Essentially, The Great Jahy Will Not Be Defeated is the exact opposite of the premise of Overlord. In Overlord, an unassuming everyday person from the real world is forced into the persona of a powerful Dark Lord character. In The Great Jahy Will Not Be Defeated, the Dark Lord — technically, the Dark Lord's second-in-command, but she still fits the archetype — is overthrown and forced to live as an unassuming everyday person from the real world.
Despite the premise and the presence of supernatural elements like Sailor Moon-esque transforming Magical Girls, The Great Jahy Will Not Be Defeated is actually a hugely relatable series. Notably, the anime's second opening theme's title translates to "Life is Hard, Give me Money," something that will probably resonate with a lot of viewers on a very deep level.
Struggling to make ends meet, being caught in dead-end jobs, unable to reach goals or ambitions is something everyone has had to deal with at least once in their lives. There's a certain amount of really dark humor in just how constantly and thoroughly things go wrong for Jahy. The flip side is that there are also some genuinely heartwarming moments as Jahy's friends offer their constant encouragement and support and never give up on her.
We'd love to hear some of your Isekai recommendations! Let us know on Bam Smack Pow's Bluesky, Twitter, or Instagram profiles!