Ever want to get away from this mundane life? Want to be whisked away to a world of fantasy where you're the greatest there is? Where you level up and deal with problems in a video game-esque way? Sounds like fun right? Well, millions of others agree because we just described one of the most popular categories of anime/manga, the Isekai genre.
It's not just in anime either, but also in film and games. People like power fantasies, tangible immediate results for their hard work, and a world radically different from their own. Quite honestly, we love them too but even the popular ones can sometimes become too popular and ruin what they had previously. So, let's dive a bitter deeper into the subject.
10 Overlooked: Grimgar Of Fantasy And Ash
Grimgar: of Fantasy And Ash is an Anime you mostly forget about but treasure it's overall message and tone. There are a lot of traits that it shares with the poor-quality Isekai though. Things like constant fan service and characters not talking out simple problems. But the premise of watching dimension-hopping travelers struggle to defeat a single goblin is so much more realistic than any other Isekai anime.
There's a lot of hidden charm in this show, in both moral conundrums and character interactions, so try and give it a shot.
9 Too Popular: Sword Art Online
We don't mean to beat a dead Kirito here, but Sword Art Online isn't great. In fact, even its games aren't too great either, there are much better options. However, even if it isn't the best Isekai, it's still insanely popular! But why is that a bad thing?
Well, the straight-up broken-power level of Kirito in SAO is what influenced other Isekai to do the same, and most of the time they do it worse. People like watching characters steadily grow and develop, even if their starting line is further up. So when this painfully predictable show influenced the anime market and caused a bunch of Kirito-clones to come into being, we weren't all too happy about it.
8 Overlooked: Cautious Hero The Hero Is Overpowered but Overly Cautious
Wow, what a mouthful of a title. There are actually plenty of Comedy-based Isekai out there. And, while a lot of them seem to be shallow attempts at re-creating the same magic Konosuba did, Cautious Hero isn't one of them.
This anime has a unique premise, tone, and style to its comedy that makes it an absolute riot to watch. There's just something about watching a stereotypically perfect guy use his strongest attack to kill a single slime, you know, just in case, that tickles our fancy. It's an overpowered MC like we just complained about but in a tastefully done satirical manner.
7 Too Popular: Re: Zero − Starting Life in Another World
Let's just get this out of the way, we love Re: Zero. We know it's a deservedly popular series. It blew our minds when we first watched it and every episode was a delight to watch. But, like SAO, it became so popular that other companies tried to make similar shows to copy it. And, at its core, Re: Z is just a fantasy-world Groundhog Day. So having to deal with all its clones flooding our Crunchyroll feeds wasn't great.
Honestly, the campy horror film Happy Death Day almost seemed like a rip-off as well. We're excited for season two, but the fanbase is big enough that they've sort of entered "hivemind" status, and that's always a mistake.
6 Overlooked: Re: Creators
Re: Creators has to be the most creative show we've seen in a long, long time. It's one thing to create a setting for your characters, it's another to create a made-up world where made-up people created made-up characters that came to life in their made-up world.
Re: Creators is a show about the struggles of being an artist, making friends, creating characters, and just bonding with those around you. It has a lot to say, isn't afraid to experiment, nails the emotional highs, and satisfies us with all the action. Thinking back on it now, Re: Creators might be in the top three Isekai of all time, at least for us.
5 Too Popular: Saga Of Tanya The Evil
The Saga of Tanya the Evil or Yojo Senki is certainly a unique concept for an Isekai anime. Man gets killed, mouthes off to an omnipotent being, is reincarnated as a little girl in a world similar to if Germany had won WWII with magic. You know, all the typical stuff.
In any case Tanya the Evil has a lot going for it. It's unique, well-made, and has a truly unpredictable main character. But, the implications behind rooting for a WWII soldier in the body of a little girl are obviously problematic. Plus, it inspired other Isekai creators to make a ton of overly-grim Isekai stories for a while afterward. We liked watching it, but we didn't like the types of stories and shows it inspired.
4 Overlooked: Drifters
Made by the creator of Hellsing Ultimate, Drifters is somehow both a battle royale and an Isekai. In it, well-known historical figures like Oda Nobunaga and Joan of Arc are transported to a fantasy "afterlife" where they battle it out for good or evils sake. The difference between the two is who was summoned by who. If someone was summoned by the plain businessman Murasaki, they're a Drifter, if they were summoned by the Schoolgirl named Easy, they're an End.
It was a unique concept made even better by the fact that the main character was a much less well-known Japanese soldier named Shimazu Toyohisa. We loved watching it, but its comedic style, tone, and edginess are absolutely not for everyone.
3 Too Popular: How Not To Summon A Demon Lord
We read a LOT of Isekai manga, it's our guilty pleasure. They're perfect for reading a chapter of for a break while working from home, so we've read most of the good ones, and just as many horrible ones. And let us tell you, How Not To Summon A Demon Lord, is one of the terrible ones.
It's 95% fanservice and 5% comedy. The gimmick is that the main character was the best MMORPG player who loved to role-play as the villain. So, when he gets summoned to a fantasy world in the body of the "Maou" or Demon Lord, he's able to pretend he knows what he's doing thanks to his acting. But, they very quickly stop using the duality of his acting and real personality, which is a real shame. Good idea, poor execution.
2 Overlooked: Ascendance Of A Bookworm
Ascendance of a Bookworm is such a charmingly niche Isekai. Why? Because some people will find it to be the slowest and most boring show on the planet. Others, like ourselves, will become absolutely enraptured by the story of Mein and her journey to re-discover the joy of reading in this fantasy world.
There's a lot to this anime, whether it's the street-level scale (which is refreshing for Isekai), the likable characters, or the dedication to showing us Mein's entire journey, we just have fun watching it.
1 Too Popular: Konosuba God's Blessing on This Wonderful World
And lastly, this one really hurts us to even bring up. KonoSuba: God's Blessing on This Wonderful World is one of the funniest pieces of media we've ever watched. Each character has one defining gimmick, but they manage to milk them for laughs in unique ways every single episode.
There is just so much charm to this show, and Kazuma Satou is just such a hilarious foil for his own goals or the goals of his companions. So why is it too popular? Because every single comedy anime after it has too many similarities to it, so many Isekai anime try to recapture what Konosuba had. People these days are starting to think that Konosuba is the only funny Isekai out there, and that's just not the case.