With the overwhelming amount of anime that airs every season, some shows are doomed to be overshadowed by more popular or anticipated hits, surpassed by the impossible competition. For the past decade, the isekai genre has been one of the most popular anime categories, each season producing one or more breakthrough hits about a hero trapped in another world.
While the demand for isekai adventures hasn't died down quite yet, some series in this enormously prolific genre that had the potential to gain a massive following end up losing against much stronger competitors. Aired alongside some of the biggest hits in the industry, these shows wind up outside the limelight. Despite their seemingly universal appeal and compelling premise, these isekai series wasted their potential to go mainstream by coming out at the wrong time.
Updated on May 16th, 2023 by Maria Remizova: This list has been updated to reflect CBR's current publishing style.
10 Now & Then, Here & There
While isekai became a mainstream phenomenon only in recent years, stories of heroes thrown into unfamiliar fantasy worlds had existed for decades before the isekai boom of the 2010s. Now and Then, Here and There is a devastatingly tragic isekai about Shuu Matsutani's struggles in a deserted foreign land.
Now and Then, Here and There aired in the Fall season of 1999, and many fans still consider the series a timeless classic. Despite the show's unorthodox premise and stellar writing, it lost the fight for the audience's attention against such shonen kings as One Piece and Hunter X Hunter, both of which started their original run the same season.
9 The Twelve Kingdoms
Based on a popular novel series, The Twelve Kingdoms finally received its anime adaptation in the spring of 2002, featuring a gorgeous art style and an incredibly detailed fantasy setting. Unfortunately, The Twelve Kingdoms was way ahead of its time and aired together with shows that understood the demands of its decade a lot better.
This isekai went up against Chobits, a sci-fi ecchi comedy that defined the early 2000s for the anime community. Chobits' lighthearted tone and explicit fanservice were much more captivating for the audiences at the time, leaving The Twelve Kingdoms outside the limelight.
8 GATE
The compelling militaristic isekai GATE came out during the Summer season of 2015. Those drawn to this intriguing series found its grounded approach to isekai and suspenseful high stakes uniquely thrilling. However, not many people had a chance to check out GATE.
Most isekai fans were too preoccupied with Overlord, another massive other-world adventure that premiered simultaneously. Those uninterested in the ongoing isekai boom were most likely too busy watching Dragon Ball Super. The Goliath of the past and a novel sensation took everyone's attention away from this underrated isekai.
7 Grimgar: Ashes & Illusions
Grimgar: Ashes and Illusions was a much more dramatic and brutal take on the classic isekai tropes, trapping its characters in an unforgiving and dangerous fantasy world. Unfortunately, the isekai fans were looking for something much more lighthearted during the Winter season of 2016.
KonoSuba was most fans' first pick instead of Grimgar: Ashes and Illusions. The even more popular Erased destroyed Grimgar's chances to draw in an audience looking for drama and suspense, leaving this peculiar isekai without any chances of becoming a successful hit.
6 Restaurant To Another World
While most isekai series rely on a colorful, thrilling plot to draw the audience in, Restaurant to Another World took a much more subtle approach. The series created a welcoming and comforting show about cooking in a fantasy land instead.
Despite being the perfect series to relax and unwind, the show's unique appeal couldn't reach the masses due to its impossible competition. Spring 2017 was a season packed with suspenseful, violent shows, such as Made in Abyss and Kakegurui, which were way more popular than Restaurant to Another World.
5 The Rising Of The Shield Hero Season 2
The Rising of the Shield Hero's first season, which aired in the Winter of 2019, was one of the most popular isekai series of the year and surpassed most of its competition. The show tried to replicate its initial success in the Spring of 2022, releasing a second season that even upped the quality compared to the previous one.
Unfortunately, The Rising of the Shield Hero's boom of popularity passed by its second season. Newer shows like Spy x Family and Kaguya-sama: Love is War – Ultra Romantic were on everyone's mind instead of The Rising of the Shield Hero's return.
4 Outbreak Company
Shows like KonoSuba and Isekai Quartet prove that parody and satire work great in an isekai setting. However, Outbreak Company couldn't reach the insane popularity levels of the aforementioned shows despite being a hilarious satirical comedy that parodies classic isekai and otaku tropes.
Premiering in the fall of 2013, Outbreak Company went up against studio Trigger's Kill La Kill and Kyoto Animation's Beyond the Boundary, both backed by the stellar reputation of their respective studios. Lacking credibility and prestige, Outbreak Company lost this fight for recognition.
3 Ascendance Of A Bookworm
Ascendance of a Bookworm is a uniquely wholesome and comforting isekai series that combines the best aspects of slice-of-life anime with the perks of intriguing fantasy settings. Despite the show's unique appeal, the audience was too distracted by the immediate gratification some of the most anticipated shonen action series had to offer that same Fall 2019 season to notice.
Beastars was a surprise hit that skyrocketed in popularity despite its controversial CGI animation. In addition, My Hero Academia Season 4 returned with a bang, leaving this little uplifting isekai in the dust.
2 Hinamatsuri
Reverse isekai series, which center around otherworldly beings summoned to our world, are nothing new, with such hits as Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid and The Devil is a Part-Timer! falling under this category. Hinamatsuri, a reverse isekai from the Spring 2018 season, was a fresh take on the genre, combining wholesome found family tropes with hilarious comedy elements.
Unfortunately, Hinamatsuri aired alongside the awaited Steins;Gate 0, the continuation of one of anime's most critically acclaimed shows, and Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku, an unexpected comedy hit. Both shows ended up surpassing Hinamatsuri in terms of popularity.
1 Drifters
Based on the premise and talent alone, Drifters was a guaranteed hit, produced during the peak of the isekai craze in Fall 2016 and based on the manga by Hirano Kouta, the author of Hellsing. This violent and over-the-top historical isekai features real-life heroes from different eras transported to a fantasy world for an all-out war.
Unfortunately, Drifters aired during a season packed with popular sports anime. Yuri!!! on Ice was an unexpected hit of the year, and Haikyuu!! 3rd Season was an anticipated return of one of the biggest franchises in anime history. Sadly, it wasn't a fair competition for Drifters.