The 19 Best Isekai Anime Series

Isekai is a sub-genre of anime and manga that’s usually set in a fantasy world or parallel universe. In isekai (meaning “other world” in Japanese), the main character is often transported to this alternate realm and undergoes a transformation — which might include new, mystical powers, a new physical form, and/or a new name. In anime-speak, the protagonist is sometimes referred to as an “op mc” (“overpowered main character”) due to their superhuman abilities.

Although isekai anime tends to use certain elements, we’re not suggesting it can all be lumped together as a monolith. Rather, the range of creative storytelling, character development, and visual artistry within the genre gives viewers an amazing variety of choices and experiences. Plus, some of the best anime of all falls into the category of isekai anime.

So how do you pick which series to watch? Easy. Just peruse our list of the best isekai amine (including selections from the Crunchyroll library), queue up a few, make some popcorn, and escape into a different space.

Want more anime? Check out our anime hub of over 300 titles.

1. That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime

The dull corporate job — and life — of middle-aged Satoru Mikami gets decidedly less dreary when he’s killed by a robber and reborn as a slime monster. Inhabiting a world of heroic fantasy, the initially goopy, blob-like creature gains the name Rimuru Tempest as well as a human form. While engaging in monsterful shenanigans, Rimuru attempts to create a society that’s welcoming to all.

Watch: That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime

2: Tsukimichi: Moonlit Fantasy

Like several other isekai anime, Tsukimichi is based on a popular novel series. The story begins when high school student Makoto Misumi is chosen to become a hero in an alternate world. But the world’s resident goddess demotes Makoto and banishes him into the wild. Living on the outskirts of the community, Makoto meets non-human beings and hones his developing magical and combat abilities.

Watch: Tsukimichi: Moonlit Fantasy

3. Suicide Squad

This quintessential isekai anime is based on the DC comics of the same name, Suicide Squad. A team of convicted outlaws — Harley Quinn, Clayface, Deadshot, Peacemaker, and King Shark — travels to a magical land of mythical beings. Their mission is to battle these creatures and supervillians, defeating them before the timebombs implanted into their necks detonate.

Watch: Suicide Squad

4. Drifters

Legendary samurai Shimazu Toyohisa is injured and near death when he transports to another world where various creatures and humans live. Shimazu meets a group of warriors like him, collectively known as the Drifters. Another group of warriors, the Ends, aim to destroy humanity. A group of magicians tries to rally the Drifters to defeat the Ends.

5. The Rising of the Shield Hero

In The Rising of the Shield Hero, a Japanese university student, Naofumi Iwatani, is transported to the kingdom of Melromarc. Spirits taking the form of legendary weapons appoint him one of the Four Cardinal Heroes tasked with defending the kingdom against its enemies. Naofumi is swiftly branded as the weakest Cardinal Hero and falsely singled out as the perpetrator of a crime. Under the dark cloud of the public’s disdain, Naofumi attempts to resurrect his honor.

Watch: The Rising of the Shield Hero

6. Gate

In the heart of Tokyo’s luxurious Ginza district, a portal from a different world opens, releasing a murderous army of humans, dragons, demons, and other beings. Youji Itami, a nerdy youth who’s a member of the militarily superior Japanese Self-Defense Force (JSDF), heroically fights off the intruders and rescues citizens. After this skirmish (the Battle of Ginza), Youji becomes a JSDF reconnaissance officer. His mission is to travel through the portal to the other world (now dubbed the “Special Region”) to learn about its inhabitants.

Watch: Gate

7. Harem in the Labyrinth of Another World

“If you’re having a hard time living in this world, you can live in another one.” So claims an online game in Harem in the Labyrinth of Another World. Depressed teen Michio, curious about the statement, decides to log in and play the game. What seems like virtual reality is actually another world, meaning Michio can’t log out. Now living in the game’s world, Michio builds a harem of former slave girls.

8. The Misfit of Demon King Academy

After enduring two millenia of war, Anos Voldigoad, a demon king, gives his life to bring peace to the land. Another 2,000 years later, Anos is resurrected to a society that reveres his royal descendants over interbred demon-human hybrids. Lamenting the decline of his kingdom, Anos decides to become king again. To do so, he enrolls in the Demon King Academy, where his peers deem him a misfit.

Watch: The Misfit of Demon King Academy

9. Welcome To Demon School! Iruma-kun

You know when your parents sell you to a demon, you’re in for a hell of a time. Such is the story of Iruma Suzuki, now living as the demon’s long-awaited grandson. The demon, ever a responsible and doting adoptive grandparent, enrolls Iruma in the prestigious Babyls Demon School. To fit in with his demon classmates, Iruma attempts to hide his human identity, making plenty of gaffes in the process.

Watch: Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun

10. Log Horizon

Log Horizon features a population of Japanese gamers stuck in Elder Tales, an online game. The protagonist, Shiroe, is one of the gamers trapped in this virtual world. To make a better life for himself and other gamers, Shiroe starts a society called Log Horizon.

Watch: Log Horizon

11. Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation

When an unemployed (and unnamed) Japanese man skips his parents’ funeral, his siblings kick him out of his house. After being killed in a truck accident, he’s reincarnated as a baby, but retains his adult wits and past-life memory. Now living in a fantasy realm, he takes the name Rudeus Greyrat and becomes a magician.

Watch: Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation

12. Overlord

An online game, Yggdrasil, is slated to permanently end. Momonga is a gamer who refuses to log out when the game shuts down. Because of this ill-advised decision, Momonga becomes his avatar, inhabiting the game. Now a skeleton-like sorcerer king known as Ainz Ooal Gown, he navigates the virtual game world, attempting to take it over.

Watch: Overlord

13. The Eminence in Shadow

The Eminence in Shadow is a humorous action series that draws upon popular isekai themes. It revolves around a boy, Cid Kagenou, who yearns to be a powerful warrior figure. When Cid is transported to a parallel world, he attempts to live out his dreams by battling a fictional, sinister cult. But the cult turns out to be real, and Cid learns that his choices affect the world around him — to hilarious effect.

Watch: The Eminence in Shadow

14. Arifureta: From Commonplace to World’s Strongest

Hajime Nagumo is a high school student who has to endure bullying from his classmates. He, his teacher, and the other students are transported to a fantasy world where they’re tasked with fighting the resident demon race. After a betrayal that almost leaves him dead, Hajime tries to get everyone out of the fantasy world and back home.

Watch: Arifureta: From Commonplace to World’s Strongest

15. Dr. Stone

A strange light turns civilization to stone. Fast forward a few millenia, and two high school students, Senku and Taiju, wake up in this odd, prehistoric-like environment. Without a single technological advancement to be had, the two teens attempt to bring their petrified world back to life — one rediscovery at a time.

Watch: Dr. Stone

16. Sonny Boy

A group of middle-schoolers wind up in a parallel universe, some with newfound magical powers. As they try to return home, the youngsters experience age-appropriate quandaries, including identity, social woes, and teen drama.

Watch: Sonny Boy

17. Re:ZERO Starting Life in Another World

This ultra-popular Crunchyroll library series centers around Subaru Natsuki, a “NEET” (not in education, employment, or training). After being transported to the Kingdom of Lugunica, a fantasy land, he meets a half-elf named Emilia, who could become the kingdom’s next ruler. In a recurring cycle, Subaru dies and comes back to life, using newly acquired powers to protect Emilia and other friends from harm.

Watch: Re:ZERO Starting Life in Another World

18. Zenshu

Protagonist Natsuko Hirose is a young woman working as a successful anime animator, and then a celebrated director with a huge hit to her name. Lauded as a genius, she begins creating a new rom-com anime series about falling in love for the first time. But since Natsuko herself has never experienced such love, she’s having trouble creating the series.

Natsuko gets food poisoning, passes out, and wakes up inside “A Tale of Perishing,” a favorite — but tragic — anime movie from her childhood. Within the anime, Natsuko has an ability to bring characters to life, but only when something troublesome happens.

19. Inuyasha

This dark isekai anime weaves together decidedly violent content with funny elements.

One of the central characters of Inuyasha is Kagome Higurashi, a Tokyo middle-schooler. When Kagome falls into a well, she transports to Japan’s Sengoku period. She meets a half-demon, named Inuyasha, and accidentally breaks a sacred jewel into shards that fall in different locations across Japan. Inuyasha and Kagome try to gather the pieces and restore the jewel before a villain named Naraku gets ahold of it and the powers it can bestow.

Watch: Inuyasha

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