Sword Art Online is largely seen as the originator of the isekai craze in anime and manga. It specifically created a trend of video game-inspired isekai with rules and concepts based around online gaming. Of course, it’s not the only anime to do this, and it might even be far from the best.
Numerous other isekai have played with these concepts, remixing them to various degrees. In some cases, it’s humorously inverted dating game tropes. In others, the result is extremely overpowered main characters who defeat foes with reckless abandon. In either case, the best isekai are more than just generic fantasy adventures, and they use these familiar trappings to explore the best parts iof gaming.
10 Sword Art Online Started the Gaming Isekai Craze
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The popular Sword Art Online started the current push for isekai, and it’s many modern anime fans’ first introduction to the genre. The series is based around the eponymous online game, where the protagonist Kirito, and others are trapped in its internet-based world. From there, other games and their environments were introduced, and the series had multiple seasons based on the original light novels.
Sword Art Online isn’t without criticism, just like other controversial isekai franchises. Nevertheless, it cemented the basic tropes for the subgenre, namely in how it took popular MMO role-playing games and used them to create a familiar yet interesting world. While these elements weren’t always as developed as they could have been, Sword Art Online’s influence can’t be understated.
Sword Art Online
The series takes place in the 2020s and focuses on protagonists Kazuto “Kirito” Kirigaya and Asuna Yuuki as they play through various virtual reality MMORPG
- Created by
- Reki Kawahara
- First Film
- Sword Art Online The Movie
- First TV Show
- Sword Art Online
- First Episode Air Date
- July 8, 2012
9 Gun Gale Expanded the World of Sword Art Online
Sword Art Online Alternative Gun Gale Online was one of multiple spinoffs for Sword Art Online. It built upon the world of the main series while focusing on a different game and characters. This showed the power and narrative strength of Sword Art Online as a brand, but Gun Gale Online took things a step further in terms of utilizing the concept.
Protagonist Karen Kohiruimaki uses the game as a way to deal with her real-life insecurities. This plays with how MMOs and similar online video games are used by players in real-life. Many gamers see these titles as almost therapeutic, allowing them to go from outcasts to powerful adventurers. Given how comparatively lighthearted Gun Gale Online is compared to Sword Art Online, it nails this concept perfectly.
Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online
A university student tries out a VR battle royale shooter and quickly establishes herself as one of the most menacing players in the competitive scene thanks to her tiny, lightning-fast avatar LLENN.
- Release Date
- April 8, 2018
- Creator
- Yōsuke Kuroda
- Cast
- Tomori Kusunoki , Yoko Hikasa
- Seasons
- 1 Season
- Studio
- Studio 3Hz
- Production Company
- ASCII Mediaworks, Aniplex, Bandai Namco Entertainment, Egg Firm, Genco, Straight Edge, Studio 3Hz
- Number of Episodes
- 13 Episodes
8 Skeleton Knight Makes a Monstrous Avatar Funny
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Skeleton Knight in Another World sees a gamer reborn in a medieval world based on his favorite online video game. Unfortunately, he must wear the guise of his gaming avatar: a ferocious skeleton. Despite this, he tries to make the best of his situation and live among the game’s townsfolk.
Skeleton Knight works because the protagonist is both forward-thinking and charming. He knows that his appearance might cause him turmoil among the general populace, yet he frequently engages in heroic and even funny acts. This makes for an unconventional hero, and it just so happens that he’s merely a gamer having the time of his (seemingly undead) life.
7 Uncle from Another World Is the Ultimate Reverse Isekai
Uncle from Another World plays with isekai/video game concepts in reverse. The protagonist returns to the normal world after being sent to a fantasy world nearly two decades beforehand. Still having his many magical powers, these abilities make his everyday reality feel like something out of a Dragon Quest video game.
The uncle is also an avid gamer, and he has fond memories of classic Sega consoles such as the Dreamcast. This makes the video game aspect integral to the series, as it touches upon nostalgia and lost time. It also makes the uncle feel like something of a throwback, albeit in an endearing way.
Uncle From Another World
Uncle From Another World (Isekai Ojisan) is a story about Yōsuke Shibazaki, also known as Uncle, who has recently awoken from a 17-year coma after being hit by a truck. Moving in with his nephew, Uncle has a hard time adjusting to modern society for obvious era-shifting reasons. However, he also has another reason for the culture-shock; his time spent in a coma was also spent in a fantasy world. In that world, he learned magical spells and was constantly treated as an orc for his “ugly” appearance. Now with his magic retained and returned to the real world, Uncle will work with his nephew to become a part of a new society while regaling tales of his fantasy life to others. Uncle From Another World is a Fantasy anime adapted from the manga of the same name and exclusively streams on Netflix.
- Release Date
- July 6, 2022
- Creator
- Hotondoshindeiru
- Cast
- Takehito Koyasu , Jun Fukuyama , Mikako Komatsu (Japanese) , Haruka Tomatsu , Aoi Yuki , Aki Toyosaki , Kenichi Suzumura , Nobuhiko Okamoto , Hisako Kanemoto
- Main Genre
- Comedy
- Seasons
- 1
- Studio
- AtelierPontdarc
- Characters By
- Hotondoshindeiru
- Cinematographer
- Kentarô Minegishi
- Distributor
- Netflix
- Main Characters
- Uncle / Yōsuke Shibazaki, Takafumi Takaoka, Sumika Fujiyama, Tsundere Elf, Mabel Laybelle, Alicia Edelsia, Edgar, Raiga, Sawae
- Producer
- Taiki Akasaka, Sotokawa Akihiro, Sojiro Arimizu, Aya Iizuka, Jotaro Ishigami, Shingo Kunieda, Yuichi Tada, Ken’ichi Tokumura
- Production Company
- Atelier Pontdarc, Kadokawa, Netflix
- Story By
- Hotondoshindeiru
- Writers
- Hotondoshindeiru , Kenta Ihara
- Number of Episodes
- 10
6 My Next Life as a Villainess Began a Female-Oriented Isekai Trend
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Isekai anime are ripe for reincarnation stories, and series like Ascendance of a Bookworm, Mushoku Tensei, and My Next Life as a Villainess deliver.
My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! involves a young lady named Catarina, who realizes that she had a life before her current one. This also causes the revelation that she’s been reborn as the villain in her favorite romance game. With death or exile as her only predestined options, she tries her best to avoid her seeming fate and go against the villainous grain.
My Next Life as a Villainess began a trend of isekai based around otome (dating games). These are geared more to a female audience, and they embrace different tropes than the typical MMORPG isekai. Thus, this series is essentially the Sword Art Online of its own subgenre, and it even has a much more charming protagonist, to boot.
My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!
A young girl dies and is reincarnated into a video game. But when she finds out that her role is the villainess destined for doom, she takes measures to change the game and avoid that fate.
- Release Date
- April 4, 2020
- Creator
- Satoru Yamaguchi
- Cast
- Maaya Uchida , Tetsuya Kakihara , Shouta Aoi , Miho Okasaki
- Seasons
- 2
- Studio
- Silver Link
- Number of Episodes
- 24 +OVA
5 Trapped in a Dating Sim Completely Upends Otome Games
Trapped in a Dating Sim: The World of Otome Games Is Tough for Mobs explores the otome subgenre from a male perspective. The main character is reborn in the world of his sister’s favorite game, and it happens to be a reality ruled by women. Despite this, he has a near expert knowledge of the game’s mechanics, and uses them to his advantage in order to survive as a lowly background character.
Trapped in a Dating Sim works because of how it utilizes the “overpowered” hero concept. Likewise, it also inverts elements of the worldbuilding seen in other isekai. The series’ story makes knowing about the central game into a logical “cheat,” so the actions of the protagonist and subsequent successes feel earned.
Trapped in a Dating Sim
A young man is transported into a video game world dominated by females.
- Genre
- Anime
- Number of Seasons
- 1
- Debut Date
- April 3, 2022
- Studio
- Crunchyroll
4 How to Not Summon a Demon Lord Is Its Own Subgenre
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How Not to Summon a Demon Lord is many different anime genres in one. The hero is summoned to the world of an MMORPG and even bears the same appearance as his in-game character. The ladies who summoned him try to make him their slave, but due to his own buffs, this backfires and enslaves them, instead.
How Not to Summon a Demon Lord is an example of the ubiquitous “demon lord” subgenre of isekai. It also has elements of harem and similar “romance” anime. Most importantly, it shows how the mechanics of RPGs can sometimes backfire, resulting in the ultimate unintended cheat code.
How Not to Summon a Demon Lord
Original title: Isekai Mao to Shokan Shojo no Dorei Majutsu.
An elite player is summoned by two maidens to save a fantasy game
- Release Date
- July 1, 2018
- Creator
- Kazuyuki Fudeyasu
- Cast
- Masaaki Mizunaka , Yu Serizawa , Azumi Waki
- Seasons
- 2
- Production Company
- 81 Produce, Ajiado, Avex Pictures, Crunchyroll, GREE, Kôdansha, Okuru to Noboru, Tezuka Productions, The Klockworx
- Number of Episodes
- 22
3 .hack Was Gaming Isekai Before It Was Popular
.hack//Sign was part of the wider .hack franchise, which became a thing long before isekai was ubiquitous. The series looked at virtual reality through an environment known as “The World,” with the story itself not being relayed how most might expect. Instead, it’s a slow burn that played with concepts that ironically had yet to become immensely popular.
This made .hack prescient to both isekai anime and popular media in general. The series’ virtual reality aspects were front and center, adding to themes of escapism and dealing with everyday life. As a result, it was easily a cut above today’s more generic and shallow gaming isekai, with .hack being better than even Sword Art Online.
.hack//Sign
A strange boy named Tsukasa appears in the online video game “The World”. He claims to be alive, and without a computer.
- Release Date
- April 3, 2002
- Creator
- Kazunori Itô
- Cast
- Megumi Toyoguchi
- Seasons
- 1
- Production Company
- Bandai Visual Company, Bee Train, Cyber Connect 2, Yomiko Advertising
- Number of Episodes
- 26
- Main Cast
- Kazuhiro Nakata, Kaori Nazuka
2 Log Horizon Shows the Harsh (Virtual) Reality of Isekai
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Log Horizon has the typical premise of gamers being trapped in an online game (in this case, a title called Elder). The difference is how it handles this concept, as it’s far from the typical isekai in terms of tone or scope. Instead of humorously waltzing through their new life or becoming overpowered savants, the heroes actually struggle with their new environment.
Log Horizon has been lauded by many for how difficult it makes things for its heroes. They have to actively try and survive their new world, and it’s not simply a matter of knowing how to play a video game. This makes it into an accurate depiction of “life” within said game, with the players actually feeling as if they’re trapped.
1 No Isekai Does “Overpowered” Better Than Overlord
Based on a series of light novels, Overlord proves that absolute power decimates absolutely. Based around protagonist Ainz Ooal Gown, the series follows the former gamer as he operates in the world of his favorite MMORPG (that was supposedly shutting down before he was trapped there). Having seemingly no limits on his power and even fewer morals, he uses his newfound might to wreak havoc across the land.
Overlord works because, unlike shows such as Sword Art Online, it dives headfirst into the fact that the protagonist is overpowered. This makes Ainz Ooal Gown into an outright scourge who’s feared by everyone who vainly tries to fight him. Through this concept, the series explores what it’s like to play a game on “god mode,” namely through how easy it is to swat away enemies like flies. This makes it both a cathartic adventure and a terrifying reflection of psychology.
Overlord
An office worker in a dystopian world logs onto a video game for the last time only to find out that he, along with his entire guild, has been transported to another reality.
- Release Date
- July 7, 2015
- Cast
- Satoshi Hino
- Seasons
- 4
- Studio
- Madhouse
- Number of Episodes
- 52
