The isekai anime category is overflowing with shows, it’s almost funny. Every season, there’s a bunch of new isekai series popping up.
They mostly follow the same pattern: regular protagonists thrown into weird new worlds. It’s like a deja vu for isekai fans each new show feels like more of the same.
Once in a while, though, there are some exceptional adaptations like Re: Zero, Reincarnated As A Slime, or the more recent The Great Cleric.
But those are rare gems. Luckily, there are still plenty of fantastic isekai manga options that could make for great future shows. Here are some of the top picks.
1) The Golden Word Master: The Four Heroes & The Innocent Bystander With The Unique Cheat
There’s been a fresh twist in isekai series introducing protagonists with unconventional abilities compared to the standard cheat abilities.
While everyone else in these worlds is summoned with overpowered skills like mastering all types of magic or wielding advanced swordsmanship from the get-go, the main characters have odd abilities that seem challenging to leverage effectively.
In Konjiki no Word Master, the protagonist Okamura Hiro exemplifies this trend superbly. Okamura’s power, known as Word Magic, sets him apart from other characters in the story.
This unique ability allows him to imbue the meaning of words he writes onto objects. For instance, when he writes split on a boulder, it splits in half. Then, by writing ‘origin’ on one of the halves, the boulder returns to its original form.
Because Okamura has a deep love for reading and words, his inventive use of this power makes for compelling storytelling.
It’s fascinating to witness how he applies his linguistic prowess in various situations. And that’s not all besides Okamura’s intriguing abilities.
the series delves into rich world-building and political intrigue, adding further depth to the narrative. Konjiki no Word Master promises an engaging read, blending imaginative magic systems with amazing plot elements.
2) So I’m a Spider, So What?
So I’m a Spider, So What? is special among isekai manga because it tells a unique story with interesting characters.
Unlike many other series in this genre, the main character doesn’t come back as a human, but as a spider. This different idea makes the manga stand out and gives a new look at the usual isekai stories.
The story follows the spider protagonist as they move through a maze, facing different challenges and meeting all sorts of creatures.
Each encounter brings its own dangers and surprises. The manga mixes humor, action, and mystery, making readers want to keep reading to see what happens next.
What makes So I’m a Spider, So What? different is how it talks about themes like identity, strength, and change.
The main character has to deal with many difficulties and learn how to survive in their new spider body. This adds layers to the story and gives readers something to think about while they read.
3) The New Gate
The New Gate shares a similar starting point with Sword Art Online or Hack for fans of the trapped in a game concept.
However, in this manga, the trapped in a game phase of the adventure is coming to an end as the story begins.
The main character, Shin, has just defeated the final boss and anticipates being transported back home to Earth, finally leaving the game he’s been trapped in behind.
After passing through the door beyond the final boss, Shin discovers that he hasn’t returned to Earth as expected. Instead, he finds himself transported back to the same game world, but 500 years into the future.
To his surprise, the game systems, such as the stats screen and options menu, no longer exist. Furthermore, the NPCs have evolved into sentient, living beings, adding a new layer of complexity to Shin’s adventure.
From that point, Shin goes on a journey to reunite with his old NPC companions, unravel the mysteries of the world’s transformation over the past 500 years, and explore the possibility of returning home.
While it’s still early in the series, The New Gate shows promise as one of the better trapped-in-a-game isekai stories.
The internal conflict Shin experiences, torn between his attachment to the now living NPCs he cares for and his desire to return to his old life, adds depth to the narrative a facet that many other series either neglect or handle poorly.
4) The Greatest Estate Developer
The Greatest Estate Developer is a fantastic read, no doubt about it. But its appeal doesn’t lie in its plot, fights, or story.
What makes this Manwha so endlessly entertaining is its main character, Lloyd Frontera, or rather Kim Suho, who inhabits Lloyd’s body.
Yes, it’s another one of those series where a character is transported or ‘reincarnated into a fictional world they’re familiar with.
The Greatest Estate Developer boasts fun characters, intriguing story elements, and more, but what sets it apart is its comedy.
Kim Suho is a ridiculously eccentric character with the most bizarre ideas, and Lloyd, the original character, was no saint either.
Before Kim Suho took over, Lloyd was destined to meet a grim fate at the hands of the main character.
However, Kim Suho avoids this fate, persuades the hero to join him, and goes on a journey across cities and even dimensions.
Along the way, they tackle various engineering and architectural projects to amass wealth.
5) The Ideal Sponger Life
The Ideal Sponger Life offers a unique blend of romance, political drama, and isekai magic, which surprisingly meshes well together.
Zenjirou Yamai is summoned to another world by Queen Aura, who possesses powerful bloodline-based space-time magic.
She makes a simple request of him, to marry her and live comfortably as her husband, with the condition that he never tries to seize her power a temptation common among men in similar situations.
Zenjirou accepts the offer and returns to Earth to make preparations, akin to moving across the world. After getting everything ready and bidding farewell, he is transported back to become Queen Aura’s husband.
The romance between Aura and Zenjirou is genuinely heartwarming and well-written, depicting an adult relationship.
Moreover, Zenjirou actively resists the typical isekai trope of having a harem, adding depth and complexity to the story.
In the new world, it’s common for men to have multiple wives or for royalty to have concubines. However, Zenjirou chooses to remain faithful to Aura, even though it creates additional challenges for him.
This aspect of the story makes it exceptionally unique, although its longevity remains uncertain.
6) Record Of Wortenia War
Wortenia Senki, also known as Record of Wortenia War, a series that leans toward the violent side. In many isekai stories, a character gets summoned to another world and is usually tasked with defeating a demon king or achieving some grand goal.
And most of the time, the main character just accepts it without much resistance. However, in Wortenia Senki, things take a rather unusual turn right from the start, especially during the initial conversation after the protagonist’s transportation.
Meet Mikoshiba Ryouma, our main character, who was already a skilled martial artist thanks to his grandfather’s teachings.
However, in Japan, where he lives, there’s no need for the combat mentality or skills he possesses.
But when Ryouma is unexpectedly transported to a new world, right in the middle of his lunchtime, he finally gets the chance to unleash these skills.
He can do so without any modern laws holding him back, facing off against the very people who summoned him.
Following his escape from the O’ltomea Empire, Ryouma finds himself forging a new path alongside a pair of twin captives he rescues.
The idea of a summoned hero promptly turning on his summoners and fleeing the kingdom that called him is intriguing in itself.
However, this is just the start of Ryouma’s extensive journey toward establishing himself as a respected and skilled soldier.
7) Yakuza Reincarnation
Yakuza Reincarnation is a recent isekai manga series that lives up to its name. The story follows an old, tough Yakuza elite who falls into a trap set by one of his closest friends and is killed.
As expected in isekai stories, he begins the process of being reincarnated into another world.
Despite the potential for fanservice, the story mainly employs the contrast between the protagonist’s soul and their new body for comedic effect.
Yakuza Reincarnation is primarily appreciated for its artwork and combat sequences rather than its plot. Nonetheless, the series take on elves, magic, and superhuman abilities is intriguing enough to keep readers engaged in the storyline.
8) Survival Story Of A Sword King In A Fantasy World
Survival Story of a Sword King in Another World takes readers on a thrilling journey. The story presents a dark premise where the protagonist, Ryu Han-Bin, is stuck in an endless cycle of life-or-death battles.
However, it swiftly transitions into an action-comedy isekai series, featuring an ever-growing ensemble of humorous characters.
The tale begins with Ryu Han-Bin, a man who has recently completed his mandatory military service and is looking forward to returning home to unwind and start anew.
However, just as Ryu settles down in his apartment, he is unexpectedly transported to another world. Before being thrust into the actual fantasy world he was summoned to aid, Ryu finds himself in a tutorial universe.
A series of pop-up prompts, known as a Guideline, acquaints him with the tutorial designed to help him attain a certain baseline level of strength to survive in this unfamiliar realm.
However, a problem arises when his Guideline malfunctions, and Ryu isn’t removed from the tutorial even after defeating the initial tutorial mob.
He remains trapped there for an absurdly long time. Each day, he is compelled to battle an enemy proportionate to his current strength, which continues to increase with every kill as Ryu grows stronger.
By the time Ryu eventually escapes, he undergoes a drastic physical transformation and carries a heavy burden of trauma.
Given this harrowing Berserk-esque beginning, it’s even more remarkable that the series successfully transitions to a more traditional, albeit still distinctive, comedic isekai format.
9) Pick Me Up: Infinite Gacha
To complete the lineup of isekai series featuring gamers thrust into their beloved games, Pick Me Up Infinite Gacha stands out as another promising candidate for adaptation.
Its premise, revolving around the popular Gacha-style mobile games, aligns perfectly with the current gaming trends.
Given the widespread popularity of Gacha games, an anime adaptation of “Pick Me Up Infinite Gacha” would likely resonate strongly with audiences, making it a surefire hit.
True, at the time of writing, only a few Manwha series like Tower of God and God of High School have been adapted into anime.
So, there’s some uncertainty around adapting series like Pick Me Up Infinite Gacha. However, its compelling elements such as the complex yet relatable main character.
The intricately designed mobile game mechanics, and the innovative setup for its isekai premise make it a Manwha that readers find difficult to put down.
Despite the risks, its engaging storyline and unique concept could make it an amazing anime adaptation that keeps viewers hooked.
10) Reincarnated As A Dragon Hatchling
This entry encompassed both Reincarnated as a Sword and Reincarnated As A Dragon Hatchling. However, anime fans have already witnessed the adaptation of Reincarnated as a Sword, and it is hoped that the story of the dragon hatchling receives a similar treatment in the future.
Reincarnated As A Dragon Hatchling shares similarities with So I’m a Spider, So What. However, instead of being reborn as a spider, the protagonist is reincarnated as a literal Dragon’s Egg.
Unlike Kumoko, who was trapped in the bottom of a labyrinth, the protagonist finds themselves as a helpless egg in the midst of a perilous forest.
What sets this story apart from others is that, at least thus far, the main character does not transform into a human or form friendships with humans.
As the protagonist levels up, they are compelled to select increasingly perilous evolutionary forms to survive, leading them farther away from any chance of reuniting with humanity.
These new forms, although powerful, render it nearly impossible for the protagonist to interact with humans. This concept, coupled with uniquely beautiful artwork, has the potential to attract new fans if faithfully adapted.
11) Welcome To Japan Ms. Elf
Welcome To Japan, Ms. Elf stands out from other isekai series for several reasons. It deviates from the typical power fantasy and avoids excessive fanservice, focusing instead on delivering an endearing romance and comedy storyline.
Moreover, this series is unique in that it can be classified as both a regular isekai manga and a reverse isekai manga, as the main character frequently travels back and forth between worlds.
These distinct elements contribute to setting Welcome To Japan, Ms. Elf” apart from the rest of the isekai genre.
Welcome To Japan, Ms. Elf distinguishes itself in several ways. Firstly, the main character, Kazuhiro Kitase, only visits the other world (also known as the isekai world) in his dreams, returning to modern Japan upon waking up or dying in the other world.
The endearing romance between Kitase and Maribelle, an elven Spirit Sorceress from the other world, remains consistently heartwarming.
The story focuses more on Maribelle’s reactions to modern Japanese food and technology than on Kazuhiro’s experiences with fantasy food and magic in his isekai dream world.
This reversal of expectations adds a delightful and humorous twist to the typical isekai narrative.
12) How To Use A Returner
This Manhwa series hasn’t seen updates in a while, but it already has plenty of content to fuel several anime seasons.
It swiftly sets up its isekai premise a group of people transported to a new world and tasked with killing, leveling up, and surviving.
However, what really sets How to Use a Returner apart, much like The Greatest Estate Developer, is its main character. Lee Giyoung, the protagonist, is quite the character himself.
Giyoung is cunning, manipulative, greedy, and self-centered, but he’s also incredibly clever. However, his other abilities are pretty lacking.
So, Giyoung relies on his manipulation skills to form connections with powerful characters. Among them, he’s particularly keen on keeping Kim Hyunsung close, knowing that Hyunsung is a returner from the future trying to fix his mistakes.
The story keeps evolving with new goals, but its essence remains the same: watching Giyoung outwit and outmaneuver everyone around him to secure the most advantageous position.
13) Dungeon Reset
Dungeon Reset is a webcomic/manhwa that revolves around humans who are abruptly transported to another world, or dungeon, where they must fight for survival under the control of a mysterious puppeteer.
The protagonist, Dawun, is presumed dead after falling into a spike trap on the first floor. Left behind by the other players as the dungeon magically resets itself, Dawun faces a daunting struggle for survival.
Despite the system’s assumption of his demise, Dawun miraculously survives, becoming a “glitch” in the system. This grants him the ability to exist outside the rules of the game.
The isekai manga follows Dawun’s journey as he steadily learns new skills, initially deemed useless, and gradually refines them through grinding until they become valuable.
He then progresses to the next area, repeating this cycle of skill acquisition and advancement.
Dungeon Reset presents an intriguing concept where the protagonist, Dawun, defies the standard rules imposed by many isekai stories.
His advancement in unique ways, coupled with his existence outside the system’s constraints, proves to be more entertaining than the survival game itself.
In a sense, it’s akin to imagining someone living their life just outside the arena of something like the Hunger Games, with no one seeming to mind or stop them from doing as they please a dynamic that adds an extra layer of fascination to the story.
14) A Veterinarian In Another World
A Veterinarian in Another World deviates from the typical isekai setup, a recurring theme among the series listed here.
However, it also doesn’t quite fit into the category of atypical isekai either. The protagonist, Kazami Shingo, is reincarnated in a fantasy world not as a slime or spider, but as a normal human.
What sets him apart is that he retains all the knowledge from his previous life as a veterinarian. A Veterinarian in Another World is one of the standout examples of a series where the protagonist possesses a hyper-specific skill or profession that leads them to be pulled into another world precisely because of their expertise.
Similar to Finest Assassin Gets Reincarnated In Another World As An Aristocrat and other such series, this manga showcases how the protagonist’s unique skill set shapes their experiences in the new world they find themselves in.
This is a story perfect for people who always wondered about the more mundane aspects of fantasy-world creatures.
In many fantasy stories, viewers often ponder if dragons live in stables or if harpies build nests. A Veterinarian in Another World delves into these questions and even incorporates fantasy biology.
Showcasing the author’s dedication to intricate world-building and satisfying the curiosity of readers interested in the finer details of fantasy creatures.
15) Surviving The Game As A Barbarian
Just like Tyrant of the Tower Defense Game brilliantly portrays the tactics and organizational challenges of a tough real-time strategy game, Surviving the Game as a Barbarian achieves a similar feat but with a twist.
It delves into the realm of Western RPGs or dungeon-crawler-style games, capturing the essence of their gameplay mechanics and challenges.
What sets this series apart is its ingenuity in injecting fresh concepts into an otherwise saturated subgenre of isekai tales.
Firstly, it flips the script on typical game mechanics found in similar stories, offering a unique take. Secondly, the stakes are raised as the main character is compelled to conceal their true identity at all costs.
In this world, revealing that you’re inhabiting someone else’s body is a death sentence. This adds a gripping layer of tension to the narrative, making every move and decision fraught with peril.
Another standout aspect is how the main character, despite playing a Barbarian in the game, doesn’t fit the typical mold in terms of intelligence.
This leads to some clever and unconventional problem-solving approaches that diverge from what one might expect from a traditional Barbarian character.
While the light novel has a substantial number of chapters, the manwha adaptation is still in its early stages. Nevertheless, those familiar with the story will likely attest to its adaptation potential.
With its inventive premise and engaging characters, Surviving the Game as a Barbarian is more than deserving of an adaptation.
16) Walking In Another World
Isekai Walking, also known as Walking in Another World, stands out for its simplicity and entertainment value.
In this series, the hero is transported to a magical fantasy realm, where other heroes possess extraordinary powers from the start.
However, the main character lacks such abilities and is often overlooked. As the story progresses, the protagonist discovers hidden strengths within themselves, making them formidable in their own right.
In this series, the protagonist, named Sora, possesses a unique ability called the Walking ability. Essentially, with every step he takes, he earns 1 EXP (experience point).
With each level he gains, his stats increase, and he earns one skill point to invest in a variety of powerful skills. What’s more, he no longer gets tired from walking.
As a result, after just a few days of wandering around town, Sora transforms from a weak human into a relatively strong adventurer.
Everyone in this story seems incredibly kind-hearted. Unlike typical isekai tales where the protagonist is constantly battling through fantasy monsters.
Isekai Walking focuses on a friendly character finding a fantasy world. Instead of rushing through challenges, the protagonist takes the time to explore and fully immerse himself in this new world.
While the story may follow familiar tropes and lacks deep complexity, its lighthearted and enjoyable nature makes it a fun read, and sometimes, that’s all that matters.
17) Record Of Highserk War
For those seeking a darker’ isekai story without diving too deep, Record of Highserk War is a top recommendation.
It offers a realistic portrayal of how an isekai scenario might unfold. Raizou Takakura finds himself born into another world and into a destitute farming family.
To survive, he’s forced to join the military, where he becomes what he sees as a serial killer just to stay alive.
This story doesn’t hold back it’s gritty, violent, and confronts the harsh realities of war head-on. But amidst the darkness, there’s also plenty of heart.
Raizou finds companionship and camaraderie in this brutal world, and his actions are driven by more than just a desire to kill.
If you’re looking for a manga with stunning artwork, world-building, and a cast of characters you’ll grow to love, Record of Highserk War is a must-read recommendation.
18) Tyrant Of The Tower Defense Game
Lately, it seems like the subgenre of isekai where gamers get sucked into the games they’re obsessed with has been gaining even more popularity.
While many of these series tend to reuse the same tropes and story elements, there’s one standout series called Tyrant of the Tower Defense Game that shakes things up by introducing fresh ideas while still nailing the elements that make this subgenre so beloved.
A famous retro game streamer, Retrotaku, finally conquers a game after years of trying, only to find himself pulled into its world by the supposed developer.
But there’s a twist this time, Retrotaku won’t be playing as himself instead, he’s stuck inside the body of Prince Ash, a notorious and despised character within the game.
Despite the odds stacked against him, Retrotaku must figure out how to leverage his gaming expertise to triumph in the face of seemingly insurmountable challenges.
Readers will be hooked as they follow Retrotaku’s journey, witnessing how he turns the tables and uses his knowledge to overcome obstacles and achieve victory.
Honorable Mentions
Brave New World
