If you’re an anime fan, you’re probably familiar with the term isekai. Literally meaning “other world” in Japanese, this term refers to stories where ordinary people from our own regular, bog-standard Earth are transported – or reincarnated – into magical worlds. Faced with a sudden new world, these ordinary people must learn to adapt to the strange and fantastical as quickly as they can.
Unfortunately, due to a … certain lack of quality in many works of the genre, the term “isekai” has become shorthand for “trite male power fantasy,” in which a young man from modern Japan is suddenly thrust into a fantasy world, has several beautiful magical women falling head-over-heels for him, and saves the day with nothing but his overpowered weapons, magic, and plot armor.
But it’s not all that bleak. Here are five isekai that are far from paint-by-numbers power fantasies:
The Twelve Kingdoms
This one has stood the test of time – after all, it’s not often that a novel series that started publication in 1991 is still being talked about today. Based on the series of novels by Fuyumi Ono, The Twelve Kingdoms follows the adventures of high school girl Youko Nakajima as she’s transported to another world by the handsome shapeshifting kirin Keiki.
To Youko’s surprise, Keiki has chosen her as the next monarch of the nation of Kei – and once a kirin chooses the next monarch of their nation, there’s no backing out. But there are eleven other kingdoms out there, as well as rival claimants to the throne of Kei. Youko will have to become a great queen quickly, if she is to be a queen at all…
The Twelve Kingdoms is streaming now on Freevee.
KonoSuba
As we said, a lot of isekai stories are bland power fantasies that follow the same tropes over and over again. If you’ve watched a few of them, you might appreciate the next entry on this list.
KonoSuba (its full Japanese title is Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku wo!, or God’s Blessing on this Wonderful World in English) is a gut-busting, laugh-out-loud parody of isekai archetypes. After dying in a silly sort-of accident, high school shut-in Kazuma Sato finds himself in front of an absent-minded novice goddess, Aqua, who tells him he can be reincarnated in a fantasy world with one boon of his choosing. Kazuma chooses her as his boon, and together, the two of them set out on one of the funniest adventures of all time.
KonoSuba is streaming now on Hulu.
So I’m a Spider, So What?
When the eternal battle between the forces of light and dark spills over into our world, it happens to kill a class of Japanese high school students. Who are, luckily enough, all promptly reincarnated into that other world with all their memories intact.
For those students who wound up as princesses, heroes, or knights, it’s a dream come true. Our unnamed heroine, however, is a little less fortunate. She finds herself in the body of just … a spider, living in a cave and constantly stalked by larger monsters. But our heroine has a couple tricks up her sleeve. If she plays her cards right, she might not only survive, but thrive.
So I’m a Spider, So What? is streaming now on Crunchyroll.
My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom
After a nameless “monkey girl” dies in a traffic accident, she’s reincarnated into the world of her favorite video game. The bad news? She’s reincarnated as the game’s villainess, Catarina Claes, a spoiled, cruel, and manipulative girl who’s a rival for the affections of the heroine’s love interests.
But this Catarina is different. Realizing she’s trapped in a game world, Catarina staunchly refuses to play the role of the villainess, in the process gaining the love of not only the game’s four love interests, but the other two rivals and even the heroine herself. Armed with her bisexual harem, Catarina embarks on adventures, tries and fails to learn how to be a proper noble lady, and realizes she’s not as evil as she thinks she is.
My Next Life as a Villainess is streaming now on Crunchyroll.
Re:Zero
When high school student (noticing a pattern here?) Subaru Natsuki finds himself transported (not reincarnated) into another world, he thinks it’s going to be the adventure of a lifetime. But his adventure quickly turns into a nightmare as he finds himself dying over and over again. Now, Subaru must uncover the mystery of who brought him to this world, and how he can get back home. Thankfully, he’s got an unlimited number of lives to do it with – but every time he dies, the trauma still lingers …
Re:Zero is streaming now on Crunchyroll.
