Ascendance of a Bookworm for isekai importing of earth innovations.
Konosuba for isekai lightheartedness.
Overlord for isekai overpowered easy mode plus edgyness.
I've ended up all the way into LNs for those. They all have some anime and manga. Begin with the anime and if you like it, you'll gravitate towards the manga and maybe then the LNs if you need more.
Separate mention for Saga of Tania the Evil: it has a fun anime, but I abandoned the LN because it reads like ponderous military battle analysis and I got bored.
Bookworm is probably one of my favorites in terms of worldbuilding. The MC is very much a gremlin, only caring about her own goal but slowly learns to see the world, appreciate what she's got(her family) and coping with her limitations. She's probably my all time favorite in the genre.
Overlord I love also, I prefer to see the other POV characters, the ones not overpowered and then see these godly beings fuck shit up. Was especially fun in the men in the kingdom arc and later on holy kingdom arc.
Personally couldn't stand Mushoku Tensei. Too vulgar for my tastes and I thought the character development really wasn't as good as people make it out to be. It always really seemed like they didn't address the protagonist's many, many flaws in a meaningful way.
Animation was excellent though, and it at least tried to take the protagonist's flaws seriously, putting it above 90% of other isekais lmao
Yeah a bit too vulgar to my taiste too ( the slutt-by-curse female elf on top of everything else takes things into stupid territory ), but I still enjoy it enough to keep going. The art style looks good ( with some God-aweful moment, like the ''uncanny melted staircase'' in a shot of the school ).
But two major plot elements of the season 2 Magic School arcs just suck. The ''I can't recognize my best friend with a different hair color'' thing, and the whole ''I could be saving my mother's life, but instead, HIGHSCHOOL SITCOM LIFE hahaha''.
I want to slap that Rudeus Main Character across the face.
Previous season had his father hate his guts so hard because he thought Rudeus was having fun chilling instead of bother to try to find his family.
Well now Rudeus is doing that. Utterly contemptible.
I'm expecting a Deus Ex Machina ''akshually I discovered Teleportation and got there faster, haha!'' and will hate his gut anyway.
I read the manga and got up to the point where he deals with his erectile dysfunction by sleeping with the elf girl, at which point I realized this probably wasn't for me.
I see, fair enough. If/when season 3 comes out, it will be bonkers if the studio maintains the level of quality, so I would recommend considering to give it another shot then. Rudy's progress is pretty gradual and the volumes season 3 would adapt are perhaps the best in the series.
I've read all LN's and every part has its place in the general story of Rudeus' life. The anime is synthesizing every important event as much as it can. Granted, the school arc is perhaps the slowest in the saga, but it'll pick up the pace again soon.
I'll stand by Shield Hero in its first arc is a fantastic little work. The sheer bitterness of the protag and the unlikeability of all the nominally "good" characters gives it a real proper underdog feel you don't often see actually work.
Everything after that is hot garbage and worth ignoring, but as a completed piece right there I rather enjoy it.
I'm also a huge fan of "I'm a Spider, so what?" but only the manga version. This is because the Manga basically forgoes everyone but titular character for an extremely long part of the run time. Making it a lot more compelling and interesting story, especially as it feels a lot more like a "video game" as these always try to be. With one person trying to grind against monsters who only exist to kill them and then needing to meta game around your class weaknesses to kill things way above your level for mass EXP boosts.
Other versions of the story hop back and forth from the Spider to the rest of the cast, who are all generic isekai cliches, which drags the pacing down with their far less interesting plots. It makes their eventual appearance in the Manga less impactful, but the story starts to fall off from that point regardless.
While its not been translated far enough to call "best" I just enjoy "Hunting in Another World With My Elf Wife" for the simple premise. Which is "I got isekai'd with my fucking gun." No special powers, just a gun and a magical bag to get ammo with. It even skips all the jerking around with "will they or won't they" by making him get married immediately before he even starts adventuring.
The Spider isekai anime is really good as long as you skip ahead 30 seconds every time you see two non-Kumoko characters talking and assume it ended after the Earth Dragon.
Lemme give you one old one also: 12 Kingdoms. MC gets isekai'd alongside some other randos, she's actually of this world..the randos not and they're fucked. Imagine never being able to speak the language while the MC does. Systems in that one are amazing, like how babies are born.
i think that was the first anime i watched completely never watched it a second time (i have a great difficulty re-watching anything) it was very good (and the music hajime mizoguchi did for it is top tier i especially like "gloria" and that bright and clear horn half way through)
Because of the solid list lapalapa provided, I'll provide some different ones:
•Eminence in shadow for humour, parody and action
• Death Mount Dead Play for reverse Isekai of them coming to OUR world
• Re zero for dark isekai
• Tsukimichi moonlit fantasy for op protagonist and humour
• How a Realist Hero rebuilt the Kingdom for politics and economics
• Faraway Paladin for setting alone
•Campfire cooking in Another World for just chill vibes
As for manga and if I can get away with it Manwha:
• The Greatest Estate Developer: from a REALLY funny but likable bastard of a protagonist, great accompanying characters and excellent facial expressions, I really can't recommend this series enough
•Nihonkoku Shoukan: if you liked GATE for modern military vs fantasy concept but hated the harem aspect, this is for you but be warned, gets updated very infrequently
That's my list for now, I've left off 'reawakened' series or where the protagonist gains knowledge of all future events like Omniscient Reader because that's a different category for me.
I'll second Tsukimichi, it is one of my favorites so far, to the point that I started reading the web novel to see further into the story. I'm a big fan of the world and the way the story plays out.
Overlord like lapalapa mentioned to me is absolutely top tier for the OP characters, cool setting, and villain (or at least not good guy) perspective as well as some humor. Also own/started reading the novels for this one.
One thing like some others have mentioned is that this genre is super played out, the popularity started to boom with novels in Japan, talking like dime a dozen novels, online stuff written by kids, and has really grown out of control. So there are probably thousands of Isekai series at this point, and the vast majority are garbage. Personally I like the trope though, when I was younger I used to fantasize about waking up in the Pokemon world, or the world of FFXI and what I would do there myself, so it appeals to me more than it should.
Damn that's overly harsh for an anime, its good at providing surface level understanding of Machiavellian tactics like that of 'cruelties' and effective use of them as well logistic planning and handling immigration/refugees.
I wish it got a bit higher production quality but your criticism seems a bit over the top.
There's a lot of trash and low effort isekai (Isekai cheat Magician is a waste of an intro made by Myth and Roid) but you get enough good stuff that it offsets the bad.
Like this season, there isn't any standout isekais right now in anime but in manga and manwha there ongoing series that are doing really well.
I'll second (well, third) KonoSuba for fun comedy/meta isekai.
Let's start off with some of the big ones: Rising of the Shield Hero, Gate, That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime. All good in their own rights.
I'll follow up by throwing out some of the less traditional or serious ones: Reincarnated as a Sword, and Reborn as a Vending Machine, and So I'm a Spider, So What? each do things nontraditionally, as the names indicate, which is fun. The spider one is probably the most serious and interesting, but the others are fun too. They're each distinct, I just grouped them because they're an interesting take on reincarnation.
Problem Children Are Coming From Another World, Aren't They? is fun, has hilarious OP characters, and Black Rabbit is a cutie.
Cautious Hero: The Hero Is Overpowered but Overly Cautious. Oh man, this one is both hilarious and interesting. As the name implies, well, the hero is both ridiculous OP, but also absurdly paranoid, but it does develop beyond that, thankfully. Also, great OP.
Dead Mount Death Play builds a very intriguing and unique world, and I give it props for that. It starts out a bit slow, but as the season goes on, and more is revealed, it really sucks you in. Major points to this one because I don't immediately know or at least suspect every plot point. I probably wouldn't say this is the best out there, but I might say it's the most interesting on my list, and I certainly recommend it. Bonus points for shark girl.
Skeleton Knight in Another World is another one with comedy elements. Really funny MC, and it's kind of reverse-Overlord. He's a skeleton, but he's usually just the most wholesome dude.
Isekai combined with slice of life: I've Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level, and The Devil is a Part-Timer! The first one is pretty wholesome, as I recall, and the second is...alright. It's got some great elements, but might not be the best overall.
Isekai with the longest name: The Misfit of Demon King Academy: History’s Strongest Demon King Reincarnates and Goes to School with His Descendants. Not everyone's cup of tea. Comedic, with one of the most OP heroes in any anime ever, probably. You may have seen the "Did you really think X would be enough to make me Y?" memes, the most famous probably being "Did you really think killing me would be enough to make me die?" But do to how insanely OP he is, it could be boring for some if you don't enjoy the - often somewhat dry - humor.
Log Horizon is another video game isekai, similar to Sword Art Online.
Ya Boy Kongming! isn't primarily an isekai, but has elements and is fun, so I'll include it anyway. Also, another kickass OP.
Mushoku Tensei is great but nobody is really elaborating that it might be beyond your tastes unless you have the capacity to think for yourself.
It doesn't hand hold and presents lots of shitty things without always having any commentary on it beyond expecting you to decide for yourself how you feel about the characters involved.
1. Log Horizon
DotHack is the WoW of video game isekai. SAO is the FFXIV of video game isekai. Log Horizon is the EVE Online of video game isekai, with all the implications that come with that.
2. Those Who Hunt Elves
Has the confidence to go 100% Ash Williams.
3. Aura Battler Dunbine
Goes isekai, and then brings the isekai back with it to start World War 3. This is the one where Tomino really does kill 'em all.
I started watching Gate the other day. Premise is a magical gate opens in the middle of a Japanese city and a squadron of fantasy monsters and medieval troops sullied fourth and starts murdering everyone they see. At first they overwhelm the police with those those gay lanyard pistols, but then the proper military shows up and the invasion is wiped out. Japan's defense force then going through the gate and their tanks and machine guns annihilates the army on the other side. The rest of the show so far has been about a scouting team trying to gather intelligence, establish diplomatic ties, and demonstrate the superiority of modern military tech. There's also a subplot where Russia, China, and the US are competing to covertly to gain access to the gate.
Aura Battler Dunbine for the classics. For recent stuff Knights' & Magic. Though honorable mention to technically-not-Isekai Rise of the Unemployed Wise Man for having a protag that just wants a steady job to provide for his grandparents.
Hunting in Another World With My Elf Wife is about a guy who gets the ultimate cheat power of... being able to shop at the Bass Pro Shop in our world that the Goddess is part-timing at.
Obligatory .hack//SIGN to contrast with SAO. Genre is mystery. Only the main character can't log out. Other characters try to figure out why. Most of the focus is in the online world, with only brief snippets of character's lives offline. Heavy on dialogue. Same musician as SAO.
No one mentioned it yet, so Aura Battler Dunbine. Loved it except maybe the last half dozen episodes where it felt like the writing was just treading water.
They all kinda suck, but I guess 12 kingdoms and Fushigi Yugi are best for being what codified the genre before it became corrupted with nonsense and stupid video game mechanics. Oh and I guess escaflowne was pretty cool too. But I'd rank that 3rd of the holy trinity of isekai with 12 kingdoms and fushigi.
Mushoku Tensei hands down. I will never forget binging the audiobooks in August 2020. Absolute blast. When season 3 comes and adapts LN volume 15 I can finally die happy.
Also Eminence in Shadow was fabulous. S2 next season if I recall. Isekai Ojisan was way better than I thought. Ended up buying the manga.
EDIT: I didn't know there was an SAO game. Is it good?
dunno about best but theres an absolute crap load of really shit isekai that i keep reading
i will read the blurb go "oh no this sounds like an absolute dumpster fire" and then read it
some are great in their terribleness some are actually good and then some are just really bad, There was one i read recently about some guy who can talk to dragons and he got kicked out of his S rank guild because he cares about the dragons or something, the author appears to want to fuck the dragons and thats bad enough but it is also one of those isekai that goes a bit like this;
something happens to hero that sees them go at it alone (kicked out of guild)
thing happens to hero that gives them a bonus of some sort
thing happens to hero that gives them a bonus of some sort
thing happens to hero that gives them a bonus of some sort
thing happens to hero that gives them a bonus of some sort
theres no actual character or plot progression the hero just keeps coming across things that help them the hero has basically no reaction or struggles to anything they are just meandering through the "plot"
then there are the ones where the hero can summon things from another world somehow where the hero goes oh no i must be careful and then summons a fucking digger and tosses around guns and compound bows like candy while destroying the entire economy (but i just want to live a peaceful life)
oh almost forgot there are also the ones where our hero ends up with a broadcast device and tells the kingdom how to fix its shit and everyone be like "OH MY GOD A COMMON SENSE SOLUTION THIS GUY IS TEH BEST!!!!1111!!!!". some of the "fixes" tend to be in the massive shake up of how things work at a societal level type solutions and everyone just goes along with it with basically no pushback because the authors self insert is just such a galaxy brained gigachad
not sure how many of these are made worse by bad translations mind
amongst those hower you might find a polished turd or you might even find gold
i swear i had more of a point when i started writing this comment but i have written it now
Another thing annoying about the genre is that most of the time the initial plot point about being isekaied was completely forgotten after the Mc gets his first op power after awakening, except the occasional 'wisdom' that was related to the original world the anime might as well be op teenager with attitude and knowledge of a middle age man and drop the isekai all together
I've ended up all the way into LNs for those. They all have some anime and manga. Begin with the anime and if you like it, you'll gravitate towards the manga and maybe then the LNs if you need more.
Bookworm is probably one of my favorites in terms of worldbuilding. The MC is very much a gremlin, only caring about her own goal but slowly learns to see the world, appreciate what she's got(her family) and coping with her limitations. She's probably my all time favorite in the genre.
Overlord I love also, I prefer to see the other POV characters, the ones not overpowered and then see these godly beings fuck shit up. Was especially fun in the men in the kingdom arc and later on holy kingdom arc.
Personally couldn't stand Mushoku Tensei. Too vulgar for my tastes and I thought the character development really wasn't as good as people make it out to be. It always really seemed like they didn't address the protagonist's many, many flaws in a meaningful way.
Animation was excellent though, and it at least tried to take the protagonist's flaws seriously, putting it above 90% of other isekais lmao
Yeah a bit too vulgar to my taiste too ( the slutt-by-curse female elf on top of everything else takes things into stupid territory ), but I still enjoy it enough to keep going. The art style looks good ( with some God-aweful moment, like the ''uncanny melted staircase'' in a shot of the school ).
But two major plot elements of the season 2 Magic School arcs just suck. The ''I can't recognize my best friend with a different hair color'' thing, and the whole ''I could be saving my mother's life, but instead, HIGHSCHOOL SITCOM LIFE hahaha''.
I want to slap that Rudeus Main Character across the face.
Previous season had his father hate his guts so hard because he thought Rudeus was having fun chilling instead of bother to try to find his family.
Well now Rudeus is doing that. Utterly contemptible.
I'm expecting a Deus Ex Machina ''akshually I discovered Teleportation and got there faster, haha!'' and will hate his gut anyway.
Just curious how far did you get into MT?
I read the manga and got up to the point where he deals with his erectile dysfunction by sleeping with the elf girl, at which point I realized this probably wasn't for me.
I see, fair enough. If/when season 3 comes out, it will be bonkers if the studio maintains the level of quality, so I would recommend considering to give it another shot then. Rudy's progress is pretty gradual and the volumes season 3 would adapt are perhaps the best in the series.
I might give it a shot, especially if they stop focusing on Rudeus being a perv
I'll second Mushoku Tense, Konosuba, and Overlord. Haven't seen Bookworm yet but I should check it out.
Bookworm is really good, but the anime barely scratches the surface. If you end up liking it I highly recommend the books.
I've read all LN's and every part has its place in the general story of Rudeus' life. The anime is synthesizing every important event as much as it can. Granted, the school arc is perhaps the slowest in the saga, but it'll pick up the pace again soon.
That's crazy you say that because it's skipping loads of shit. You must have dropped Vinland Saga.
I'll stand by Shield Hero in its first arc is a fantastic little work. The sheer bitterness of the protag and the unlikeability of all the nominally "good" characters gives it a real proper underdog feel you don't often see actually work.
Everything after that is hot garbage and worth ignoring, but as a completed piece right there I rather enjoy it.
I'm also a huge fan of "I'm a Spider, so what?" but only the manga version. This is because the Manga basically forgoes everyone but titular character for an extremely long part of the run time. Making it a lot more compelling and interesting story, especially as it feels a lot more like a "video game" as these always try to be. With one person trying to grind against monsters who only exist to kill them and then needing to meta game around your class weaknesses to kill things way above your level for mass EXP boosts.
Other versions of the story hop back and forth from the Spider to the rest of the cast, who are all generic isekai cliches, which drags the pacing down with their far less interesting plots. It makes their eventual appearance in the Manga less impactful, but the story starts to fall off from that point regardless.
While its not been translated far enough to call "best" I just enjoy "Hunting in Another World With My Elf Wife" for the simple premise. Which is "I got isekai'd with my fucking gun." No special powers, just a gun and a magical bag to get ammo with. It even skips all the jerking around with "will they or won't they" by making him get married immediately before he even starts adventuring.
The Spider isekai anime is really good as long as you skip ahead 30 seconds every time you see two non-Kumoko characters talking and assume it ended after the Earth Dragon.
I enjoyed the above ground parts until she finally got her half/half body thing.
It felt like a completely different character and story at that point.
escaflowne
Based, only ever saw it last 5ish years ago but feel like I've been missing out. Well worth the watch to anyone.
Lemme give you one old one also: 12 Kingdoms. MC gets isekai'd alongside some other randos, she's actually of this world..the randos not and they're fucked. Imagine never being able to speak the language while the MC does. Systems in that one are amazing, like how babies are born.
i think that was the first anime i watched completely never watched it a second time (i have a great difficulty re-watching anything) it was very good (and the music hajime mizoguchi did for it is top tier i especially like "gloria" and that bright and clear horn half way through)
Doompill option: Gantz.
Sounds very cool
Magic Knight Rayearth.
I remember that.
Because of the solid list lapalapa provided, I'll provide some different ones:
•Eminence in shadow for humour, parody and action
• Death Mount Dead Play for reverse Isekai of them coming to OUR world
• Re zero for dark isekai
• Tsukimichi moonlit fantasy for op protagonist and humour
• How a Realist Hero rebuilt the Kingdom for politics and economics
• Faraway Paladin for setting alone
•Campfire cooking in Another World for just chill vibes
As for manga and if I can get away with it Manwha:
• The Greatest Estate Developer: from a REALLY funny but likable bastard of a protagonist, great accompanying characters and excellent facial expressions, I really can't recommend this series enough
•Nihonkoku Shoukan: if you liked GATE for modern military vs fantasy concept but hated the harem aspect, this is for you but be warned, gets updated very infrequently
That's my list for now, I've left off 'reawakened' series or where the protagonist gains knowledge of all future events like Omniscient Reader because that's a different category for me.
Had me laughing in stitches, the MC trying so hard to be a BG character is some idea I've ever had but never had the skill to put it to paper.
Campfire Cooking is just "I Pour Bottled Sauce On Meat For My Dog" and somehow the concept holds up for 12 episodes.
The same va for Aniz from Overlord voices Fenrir, how can you get tired of that gravitas of a voice going 'Umami!'
I'll second Tsukimichi, it is one of my favorites so far, to the point that I started reading the web novel to see further into the story. I'm a big fan of the world and the way the story plays out.
Overlord like lapalapa mentioned to me is absolutely top tier for the OP characters, cool setting, and villain (or at least not good guy) perspective as well as some humor. Also own/started reading the novels for this one.
One thing like some others have mentioned is that this genre is super played out, the popularity started to boom with novels in Japan, talking like dime a dozen novels, online stuff written by kids, and has really grown out of control. So there are probably thousands of Isekai series at this point, and the vast majority are garbage. Personally I like the trope though, when I was younger I used to fantasize about waking up in the Pokemon world, or the world of FFXI and what I would do there myself, so it appeals to me more than it should.
Thanks!
Damn that's overly harsh for an anime, its good at providing surface level understanding of Machiavellian tactics like that of 'cruelties' and effective use of them as well logistic planning and handling immigration/refugees.
I wish it got a bit higher production quality but your criticism seems a bit over the top.
Yeah I deleted that comment, I was just tired of the low to mediocre efforts of this genre
There's a lot of trash and low effort isekai (Isekai cheat Magician is a waste of an intro made by Myth and Roid) but you get enough good stuff that it offsets the bad.
Like this season, there isn't any standout isekais right now in anime but in manga and manwha there ongoing series that are doing really well.
Actually a reverse isekai: The Devil is a Part-Timer.
I was so happy it finally got a second season, with a third now confirmed.
I bought several of the books, will get the rest soon.
I heard the second season was trash though. I loved the original back when it aired but still haven't seen the second season.
I wouldn't go quite that far, but I certainly liked the first season a lot more.
Sounds interesting
Youjo Senki aka The Saga of Tanya the Evil for action.
I don't like the genre, but it's unavoidable and I read plenty of them in WN/LN format, sticking to the 'quality' works once found.
This is an outlier where I haven't seen the source but rather anime form...which is personally difficult to tolerate in isekais.
I'll second (well, third) KonoSuba for fun comedy/meta isekai.
Let's start off with some of the big ones: Rising of the Shield Hero, Gate, That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime. All good in their own rights.
I'll follow up by throwing out some of the less traditional or serious ones: Reincarnated as a Sword, and Reborn as a Vending Machine, and So I'm a Spider, So What? each do things nontraditionally, as the names indicate, which is fun. The spider one is probably the most serious and interesting, but the others are fun too. They're each distinct, I just grouped them because they're an interesting take on reincarnation.
Problem Children Are Coming From Another World, Aren't They? is fun, has hilarious OP characters, and Black Rabbit is a cutie.
Cautious Hero: The Hero Is Overpowered but Overly Cautious. Oh man, this one is both hilarious and interesting. As the name implies, well, the hero is both ridiculous OP, but also absurdly paranoid, but it does develop beyond that, thankfully. Also, great OP.
Dead Mount Death Play builds a very intriguing and unique world, and I give it props for that. It starts out a bit slow, but as the season goes on, and more is revealed, it really sucks you in. Major points to this one because I don't immediately know or at least suspect every plot point. I probably wouldn't say this is the best out there, but I might say it's the most interesting on my list, and I certainly recommend it. Bonus points for shark girl.
Skeleton Knight in Another World is another one with comedy elements. Really funny MC, and it's kind of reverse-Overlord. He's a skeleton, but he's usually just the most wholesome dude.
Isekai combined with slice of life: I've Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level, and The Devil is a Part-Timer! The first one is pretty wholesome, as I recall, and the second is...alright. It's got some great elements, but might not be the best overall.
Isekai with the longest name: The Misfit of Demon King Academy: History’s Strongest Demon King Reincarnates and Goes to School with His Descendants. Not everyone's cup of tea. Comedic, with one of the most OP heroes in any anime ever, probably. You may have seen the "Did you really think X would be enough to make me Y?" memes, the most famous probably being "Did you really think killing me would be enough to make me die?" But do to how insanely OP he is, it could be boring for some if you don't enjoy the - often somewhat dry - humor.
Log Horizon is another video game isekai, similar to Sword Art Online.
Ya Boy Kongming! isn't primarily an isekai, but has elements and is fun, so I'll include it anyway. Also, another kickass OP.
You can't be serious.
watches first episode
Lol they actually made it good. I will watch the whole thing.
It gives ''Campfire Cooking in Another World'' wholesome vibes. ( I liked that one alot. )
Yup, it's a hilarious premise, but well executed, and in a non-obnoxious way.
Campfire Cooking was shockingly good imo. I even took some cooking tips from it.
I would call Kongming a reverse isekai since he was transported to Tokyo instead of a fantasy world.
Thanks!! Look forward to going through these
Mushoku Tensei is great but nobody is really elaborating that it might be beyond your tastes unless you have the capacity to think for yourself.
It doesn't hand hold and presents lots of shitty things without always having any commentary on it beyond expecting you to decide for yourself how you feel about the characters involved.
Cautious recommend.
Cool. Now I’m very curious. Thanks!
There are three worth mentioning.
1. Log Horizon DotHack is the WoW of video game isekai. SAO is the FFXIV of video game isekai. Log Horizon is the EVE Online of video game isekai, with all the implications that come with that.
2. Those Who Hunt Elves Has the confidence to go 100% Ash Williams.
3. Aura Battler Dunbine Goes isekai, and then brings the isekai back with it to start World War 3. This is the one where Tomino really does kill 'em all.
Yes. I like OP2 (Round 11) more than the original.
TWHE was good isekai because it didn't take itself seriously at all, and moreover the english localizer did a good job with the dialog.
Tell me you used to watch anime on VHS without tellong ke you used to watch anime on VHS.
Thanks!!
I started watching Gate the other day. Premise is a magical gate opens in the middle of a Japanese city and a squadron of fantasy monsters and medieval troops sullied fourth and starts murdering everyone they see. At first they overwhelm the police with those those gay lanyard pistols, but then the proper military shows up and the invasion is wiped out. Japan's defense force then going through the gate and their tanks and machine guns annihilates the army on the other side. The rest of the show so far has been about a scouting team trying to gather intelligence, establish diplomatic ties, and demonstrate the superiority of modern military tech. There's also a subplot where Russia, China, and the US are competing to covertly to gain access to the gate.
Thank you!!!
Thanks!
I read a lot of less known manga:
Log Horizon.
Aura Battler Dunbine for the classics. For recent stuff Knights' & Magic. Though honorable mention to technically-not-Isekai Rise of the Unemployed Wise Man for having a protag that just wants a steady job to provide for his grandparents.
Hunting in Another World With My Elf Wife is about a guy who gets the ultimate cheat power of... being able to shop at the Bass Pro Shop in our world that the Goddess is part-timing at.
Obligatory .hack//SIGN to contrast with SAO. Genre is mystery. Only the main character can't log out. Other characters try to figure out why. Most of the focus is in the online world, with only brief snippets of character's lives offline. Heavy on dialogue. Same musician as SAO.
https://myanimelist.net/anime/48/hack__Sign?q=.hack&cat=anime
No one mentioned it yet, so Aura Battler Dunbine. Loved it except maybe the last half dozen episodes where it felt like the writing was just treading water.
They all kinda suck, but I guess 12 kingdoms and Fushigi Yugi are best for being what codified the genre before it became corrupted with nonsense and stupid video game mechanics. Oh and I guess escaflowne was pretty cool too. But I'd rank that 3rd of the holy trinity of isekai with 12 kingdoms and fushigi.
Eminence in shadow. Isekai ojiisan
What is Ojiiisan?
The title is translated as uncle from another world.
Mushoku Tensei hands down. I will never forget binging the audiobooks in August 2020. Absolute blast. When season 3 comes and adapts LN volume 15 I can finally die happy.
Also Eminence in Shadow was fabulous. S2 next season if I recall. Isekai Ojisan was way better than I thought. Ended up buying the manga.
EDIT: I didn't know there was an SAO game. Is it good?
I haven’t gone that far into it but I like it so far. Takes place after the events of the show.
Thanks for the recommendation!
dunno about best but theres an absolute crap load of really shit isekai that i keep reading
i will read the blurb go "oh no this sounds like an absolute dumpster fire" and then read it
some are great in their terribleness some are actually good and then some are just really bad, There was one i read recently about some guy who can talk to dragons and he got kicked out of his S rank guild because he cares about the dragons or something, the author appears to want to fuck the dragons and thats bad enough but it is also one of those isekai that goes a bit like this;
something happens to hero that sees them go at it alone (kicked out of guild)
thing happens to hero that gives them a bonus of some sort
thing happens to hero that gives them a bonus of some sort
thing happens to hero that gives them a bonus of some sort
thing happens to hero that gives them a bonus of some sort
theres no actual character or plot progression the hero just keeps coming across things that help them the hero has basically no reaction or struggles to anything they are just meandering through the "plot"
then there are the ones where the hero can summon things from another world somehow where the hero goes oh no i must be careful and then summons a fucking digger and tosses around guns and compound bows like candy while destroying the entire economy (but i just want to live a peaceful life)
oh almost forgot there are also the ones where our hero ends up with a broadcast device and tells the kingdom how to fix its shit and everyone be like "OH MY GOD A COMMON SENSE SOLUTION THIS GUY IS TEH BEST!!!!1111!!!!". some of the "fixes" tend to be in the massive shake up of how things work at a societal level type solutions and everyone just goes along with it with basically no pushback because the authors self insert is just such a galaxy brained gigachad
not sure how many of these are made worse by bad translations mind
amongst those hower you might find a polished turd or you might even find gold
i swear i had more of a point when i started writing this comment but i have written it now
Another thing annoying about the genre is that most of the time the initial plot point about being isekaied was completely forgotten after the Mc gets his first op power after awakening, except the occasional 'wisdom' that was related to the original world the anime might as well be op teenager with attitude and knowledge of a middle age man and drop the isekai all together
oh yeah so many isekai just forget why they even exist after the first few chapters
if i wanted generic fantasy i would go for generic fantasy
only thing worse is when a good series just ends abruptly (either by death of the author or something else)