I’m not too enthused with isekai as a concept, as I typically think of them as “fantasy with extra steps”, but what anime are good because it is an isekai?
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Gate is probably my favourite.
"What anime are good becuase it’s an isekai? That’s, like, your opinion man… 😬
That being said I’ve been enjoying Reincarnated as a Sword english dub. The story isn’t revolutionary. But I play a lot of games; And “the rules of the world” get covered just enough that my curiosity is sated.
I have no idea what season 2 is like though.
When it’s good, it’s my second favorite genre, so I consume a lot of it. Sadly, it’s mostly bad. Most of the time, it’s just a crutch for the author to explain the world to the reader/watcher in modern terms and as blatant self-insert pandering. It’s very seldom that the isekai aspect has actual ramifications on the plot. Most isekai would just as well work as a fantasy where the main character just so happens to be born with a special power. The Earth knowledge of most MC’s doesn’t really play into the narrative.
As for good examples, I would recommend Ascendance of a Bookworm. I have problems with the anime adaptation (a whole different can of worms, and once I start, I won’t stop again), but it’s the opposite of a power fantasy (she nearly dies from climbing a flight of stairs), and her modern-day knowledge is her only superpower and her motivation. Without her Earth knowledge, she wouldn’t have the motivation that drives the entire plot, and she wouldn’t have the means to rise above her station.
Eminance in Shadow.
Its fucking stupid.
Its the funniest thing I’ve yet watched.
Yes, but I’ll put in the caveat “the manga is even better than the anime”. No idea where the original light novel stands; I haven’t had a chance to read it yet.
Its so tongue in cheek and it knows what its doing that its just great to watch.
Tsuki Michi. The anime skipped a big chunk of the LN and manga, to the point where the manga is behind the anime.
Good because it is an isekai? It’s when they address the isekai-ed character’s previous life and make it an actual plot point.
It’s probably no coincidence that some of these isekais are all-time favourites of anime fans:
- Mushoku Tensei / Jobless Reincarnation
- Re:Zero
- Saga of Tanya the Evil
- Konosuba (plot point not adapted into anime yet; not much of a spoiler on second thoughts)
Personal favourite:
- Isekai Office Worker (actively worked on getting back to original world)
I really couldn’t stomach Tanya. I couldn’t tell if it was a romanticization of fascism or a condemnation of it. I might be edgy, and I might be an atheist, but I’m not THAT kind of edgy atheist.
Is Animal Farm a romanticization or condemnation?
Personally, I thought the title - Saga of Tanya the Evil - made it pretty clear.
I’m pretty sure it’s a condemnation of fascism and war in general, the most recent season especially.
The war stalls and everything turns to shit basically.
Not only that, Tanya just wants the war to end so she can live off a cushy officer job. She’s a pragmatist, she has no romance for fighting.
She’s still fucking evil as the title aptly points out, but the politics in the series gets complicated
It was technically trying to have ww2 styling and decorations but keeping it politically neutral with more a ww1 empire fighting empire European land war with Geneva convention being obeyed. So they’re ignoring the fascist part or trying to downplay it.
I am confused. Aren’t there 3 seasons of Konosuba with 4th being announced?
The anime hasn’t reach the point where the fact that Kazuma was isekaied was brought up.
But noted; edited original comment for clarity.
spoiler
Later on, Kazuma
- revealed that he was not from that world
- had to choose between staying in that world and returning to his original world
(in hindsight, it’s not really as impactful as, say, Mushoku Tensei, but it is still something 🤷)
You’re confusing me even more with this. It’s clearly shown in the very first episode and Aqua (and Iris) know it the entire time.
Why add spoilers and why make the fact special? Do you count an anime as isekai only when the MC tells it to the entire cast?
I like “That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime” its the anime equivalent of a survival crafting game with cheat codes. Not a lot of depth but fun watch.
i like log horizon a lot, it’s a series where all the people playing an mmo are transported to a world similar to it
Notable for being one of the only isekai where the characters seem to care about getting back to their own world.
Escaflowne: Wouldn’t work quite as well without Hitomi’s decision at the end of which world she really belongs in.
The Twelve Kingdoms: Portions of the plot wouldn’t work without the bit with new arrivals not understanding the language and culture.
(Basically, if it predated the coining of the term “isekai” and has stood the test of time well enough that people still remember it, it’s probably good.)
There are also some shows whose plot depends on being able to invert part of the trope, like Eminence in Shadow, or, for the dark and serious version, Shokei Shoujo no Virgin Road/The Executioner and Her Way of Life (although I think that one was too tragic and unfinished for most people’s tastes).
I’ll add “Now and Then, Here and There” to those two classics. Not an easy watch, but worth it.
Drifters
A lot of great suggestions already.
I’ll add release that witch. It’s chinese and newish. What I enjoyed is that it isn’t a power fantasy (Mc has no powers). He was an engineer so he uses his knowledge to do things like create cement. They keep it realistic in a fantasy setting, so they use magic to heat it up to the right temperature and all that.
It’s full of little details like that, I don’t want to spoil too much of it. It’s political as well.
it isn’t a power fantasy
It’s not so blatant early on, but it absolute is.
Probably nostalgia glasses, but I have a soft spot for Magic Knight Rayearth.
Magic Knight Rayearth has style; let’s both hope the remake is good!
Aside from the manga’s beautiful art, I really appreciate that Magic Knight Rayearth feels like a fantasy story instead of a video game story; the protagonists don’t really know what they’re doing, and they don’t know what kind of obstacles they’ll run into, but they’re determined to save the princess! Or something like that…
Ribdiculous Reincarnation is just so zany it’s good and the entire concept is basically poking fun at Isekai.
That show was absolutely ribdiculous, and they did not run out of crazy ideas until the end. Also that they switched to multiple animation styles kept me watching. And the twist at the end was actually nice. My favourite show this year.
Zenshu super stands out to me! The perfect length, great progression, and high stakes.
Grimgar was really good. I think ReZero was also really good about exploring what it’s like to actually use these “cheat abilities” that most isekai-Protagonists have (in this case, the protagonist travels to the past after dying, like a video game savepoint), though it overstays its welcome IMO.
