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Isekai animeare inescapable. Without fail, every season includes a few shows that send their protagonists to alternate worlds filled with magic, wonder, danger, elves, and dungeons. Oftentimes, these average guys (or gals, rarely) gain incredible abilities that allow them to lead carefree lives defined by wealth, freedom, power, and harems. Occasionally, they find themselves stuck in a dark fantasy realm where one false move could spell their end. Love or hate them, these series are popular and are here to stay.
As overexposed as this concept has become, isekai anime have an undeniable charm to them, even the so-called “trashy” ones. Even at its worst, this theme can still work as a tension-free escape from reality that asks nothing from viewers. Conversely, thebest isekai animeare fantastic works of art that offer adventure, comedy, action, world-building, character growth, and stellar animation. To simplify the rummaging process, let’s highlight isekai’s greatest animated efforts.
The rankings are regularly updated with new isekai anime since there is always something fresh to watch.Reverse isekai animeare also featured in a separate article.
Updated July 07, 2025, by Mark Sammut:TheSummer 2025 seasonis underway, and the lineup has quite a few notable isekai anime. Let’s highlight the two most exciting newcomers.
Best New Summer 2025 Isekai Anime
A new season is underway, and Summer 2025 has plenty ofisekai anime. Sure, the season might lack a proper juggernaut likeRe:ZeroorKonoSuba, but the new shows are quite exciting, and there is a particularly great ONA if you are interested in stepping away from traditional anime.
Summer 2025 has 5 new isekai anime and two sequels.The Rising of the Shield HeroandReborn as a Vending Machinedo not need introductions at this point, and most people likely already know if they will be checking them out. That said, I would recommendVending Machineif you are looking for a relatively lighthearted, slow-life isekai with a unique protagonist. Seriously, the anime is better than its title suggests.
For the newcomers,Onmyo Kaiten Re:Birth Verseis an original isekai anime that, so far, comes across like a blend of other popular series. While yet to achieve greatness, and featuring a pretty loud protagonist, this series has the potential to become good.Uglymug, Epicfighterhas an OP protagonist who specifically decides to make his reincarnated self as unattractive as possible.The Water Magicianis shaping up to be a relatively by-the-numbers power fantasy, albeit with an MC who is oddly unassuming.
Donghua exist in a separate world, soLord of Mysteriesis a bit of an odd case, as I cannot exactly describe it as an anime. However, the ONA series is on Crunchyroll and will be airing episodes alongside the Summer 2025 traditional lineup. The animation style is also very different from Japanese anime, so it can take some adjusting if you are not familiar with these types of shows.
Ultimately,Lord of Mysterieswarrants a mention due to its uniqueness, as there is no other isekai show like it. For one, the story is set in a magical world inspired by Victorian England, an aesthetic that immediately sets it apart from the crowd. The show follows Zhou as he pretends to be a guy named Klein, and his main goal is to try and return home. His attempts result in him accidentally becoming the leader of an organization that mostly seeks to expand its power through the acquisition of tarot cards.
Lord of Mysteriescan be a touch confusing at first, but it has been a wild ride so far.
Isekai anime sure loves a video game setting, but most shows stick to MMORPGs. Consequently,Apocalypse Bringer Mynoghrais a breath of fresh air due to emphasizing real-time strategy, and the anime has, so far, been fairly committed to its chosen genre. Bedridden during his original life, Ira found solace in playing Eternal Nations, and his greatest achievement was leading the dark nation, Mynoghra, to glory.
After he passes away, he wakes up in the RTS game’s world, finding himself cast as the leader of Mynoghra. Now, his civilization only really consists of one hero unit, so Ira has a lot of work ahead of him. While still early days,Apocalypse Bringer Mynoghrahas been very enjoyable. Ira and Odei no Atou, his hero, are both quite charming, and they both bring refreshing perspectives on how to deal with conflict and growth.
Isekai loves an overpowered protagonist who can blast through skyscraper-sized enemies while barely breaking a sweat. When the goddess Ristarte summons Seiya to help her save a world on the brink of annihilation, she gets a hero who is only willing to dive into threatening situations when victory is 100% assured. Basically, this means a lot of training and taking no chances during battles.
Cautious Hero: The Hero Is Overpowered but Overly Cautiousis a mostly lighthearted adventure built upon the love/hate dynamic between Seiya and Ristarte. Driven primarily by humor, the anime uses its protagonist’s unique mindset to produce comedy gold.
While looking to end his life with his lover, Osamu Dazai is hit by a truck and wakes up in a fantasy world where he is quickly informed about his status as an Other Worlder with heroic ambitions. However, the Japanese author is not particularly pleased with this turn of events, and his goal is to find his partner and end his love. Fortunately, he quickly becomes surrounded by girls who would rather keep him around.
A dark comedy with a charming protagonist,No Longer Allowed in Another Worldis a clever isekai parodythat includes a few subversions of the theme’s tropes and cliches. More importantly, Dazai is just an enigmatic lead who feels very fresh compared to most modern isekai MCs. As with all comedies, the humor does not always hit the mark, but enough jokes land to make up for the misses.
While always comedic,No Longer Allowed in Another Worldhas some surprisingly poignant episodes, particularly during the second half of its run.
Asisekai animehave a habit of playing things too safe, a show that is willing to take risks should be commended. However, just because something is different does not automatically make it good, andIshuradoes not leave a great first impression. In a world with many Visitors and other superpowered entities, city-destroying conflicts are always on the horizon, especially since the True Demon King’s death left a power vacuum.
Ishurais structured unusually for not only an isekaibut also anime in general. Rather than focusing on a single character, the show dedicates the first five episodes to introducing different OP archetypes, dedicating about 10 minutes to each. As these stories are only loosely connected, the first half of season one is confusing and hard to follow. However, things come together nicely in the second half, when all these characters clash in a war between two empires.
Although not devoid of world-building or political intrigue,Ishura’s selling point is its fights pitting overpowered characters against each other, and the roster is diverse and absurd. Season 2 is a bit more focused than its predecessor, but it mostly exists for the same reason.
Villainess storiesare starting to become commonplace, with most seasons seemingly producing a new variant.I’m In Love With The Villainesspresents a nice twist on this formula since the protagonist awakens as an otome game’s heroine rather than its villainess; however, she decides to romance the latter rather than any of the reverse harem’s male candidates.
Inori’s manga and light novel are both highly regarded, setting the stage for a potentially brilliant anime; ultimately, the adaptation fell slightly short of expectations, but it was still solid. Although the humor can get repetitive since jokes tend to follow a similar setup and payoff, in a vacuum, the punchlines are funny. Rae and Claire have a fun dynamic right from their first scene together, and their one-sided love affair is gradually shifting from stalker-ish behavior to something a little more wholesome.
Hey, not everyone gets to reincarnate as a powerful human with ties to nobility. Some folks must draw the short straw, and Kumoko gets the worst of it when she starts a new life as a spider. Yes, the poor girl is just an ordinary monster, albeit one with a pretty high power ceiling. Focusing on dungeon crawling, Kumoko sets out to become her best spider-self, all the while making a few notable friends along the way.
So I’m a Spider, So What?is a show of two halves. Whenever Kumoko takes center stage, the anime is fun, light-hearted, and even quite epic. She is an awesome MC and carries the show on her back. Unfortunately, the series is pretty evenly divided between Kumoko and the human characters (some of whom were also isekai’d), and the latter’s storylines and scenes are nowhere near as captivating.
The son of a cult leader, Yukito, is killed by his father as part of a ritual, and he reawakens in a world with no concept of gods. Although not as exciting as he was hoping it would be, Yukito eventually comes to see his new life as a big step up from his previous existence; however, that changes when he learns that two of his friends have been chosen to be killed simply because they fear death. A lack of spirituality has, for some reason, spawned a society that treats death as a mundane event and villainizes anyone who does not share that mentality. Luckily for Yukito, his former cult’s deity pays him a visit.
ASpring 2023 anime,KamiKatsumight as well be called Tonal Whiplash: The Anime, and that is somehow a compliment. The series jumps back and forth between fairly juvenile comedy and shockingly dark scenes, and the story’s frantic pacing means these moments can take place within the same minute. Depending on the viewer, this isekai anime could be deemed awesome or terrible, but almost nobody will find it boring.
Nowadays, every season seems to include a villainess isekai anime, and Winter 2025 was no exception. Fortunately, these shows have been consistently decent, andFrom Bureaucrat to Villainess: Dad’s Been Reincarnatedcontinued that trend. In fact, this series is one of the better representatives of this subgenre, largely thanks to a delightful protagonist and a fun twist on the otome game formula.
A dad in his 50s, Kenzaburou meets truck-kun and reincarnates as the baddie of an otome game. While he has fragments of memories of his daughter playing the game, Kenzaburou has to mostly rely on his parental instincts to navigate the challenges of adolescent relationships and prejudice. While trying to set up a romance for the game’s heroine, he inadvertently sets the stage for a reverse harem for his character. In a refreshing twist, the anime also jumps back to Earth to show Kenzaburou’s family, and they end up contributing in their own ways.
While far from the first to tackle the concept,.hackis generally regarded as the ancestor of video game-focusedisekai anime likeSword Art Online. However, most of the anime are not part of the genre, since they usually do not revolve around characters who are trapped within a game. The main exception is.hack//Sign, the first anime set within this universe.
At its core, this story is about Tsukasa, a boy who is trapped within the virtual world of an MMO. While this premise might conjure up memories of dozens of subsequent shows,.hack/Signhas a wildly different tone than most of its successors. Moving at a purposefully slow pace, this isekai anime is surprisingly contemplative and mysterious, opting to ask challenging questions rather than provide satisfying answers. The result is a polarizing show that is ambitious but not necessarily all that entertaining.
While it might not seem that obvious at a glance,My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!is one of the most important isekai anime of all time. Similar to the light novel medium, this project helped propel villainess stories into the mainstream, triggering a new era of dominance that is still going strong years later. Nowadays, nearly every season seems to include one show featuring a woman reincarnated as an otome game’s female baddie, andMy Next Life as a Villainessgot the ball rolling in a big way.
Due to the influx of similar series, Catarina’s journey might not seem all that special nowadays. Like many influential anime,My Next Life as a Villainessis the prototype of this subgenre, one that sets the basics that many of its successors follow. After regaining her memories of a past life and realizing she is a villain who will die sooner rather than later, Catarina sets out to rewrite her destiny, a process she accomplishes through her irresistible charm and positive attitude. She enjoys a bit of romance, develops a harem, and even gets to occasionally show off some cool magic.
My Next Life as a Villainessis just fun, and a lot of that comes down to Catarina. She is just relentlessly endearing, and she has to genuinely work to protect herself during the first season. The sequel is not quite as good since it lacks any real tension, but it is still decent.
After being pushed to her doom, Rinko awakens as a supporting character in a fantasy novel she once read. To make matters worse, her host, Raeliana, is destined to meet an untimely end at the hands of her fiance. As Rinko would very much like that not to happen, she sets out to strike a deal with the powerful Noah, a duke who appears charming and noble but is really quite devilish and complicated.
Raeliana/Rinko carries the entire show on her back, and she is more than strong enough as a protagonist to bear the burden. Smart without being omnipotent, Raeliana works as a surrogate for the audience while also having a clearly defined personality that elevates her beyond self-insert leads. Noah is also fun and mysterious, with his actions and motives being difficult to pin down.
