You found access to anime with “Sword Art Online” and are looking for series that strike a similar chord? We have some strong recommendations for you.
For many, “Sword Art Online” was the entry into the world of anime. Not surprising, as the series dealt with the “dream” of many gamers to be able to permanently immerse themselves in a beloved game world and lead a real life there. Although “Sword Art Online” is not the first or most original representative of this genre, it is one of the most well-known “Isekai” anime of recent decades.
But the genre has many other solid representatives to offer. Therefore, we have picked out 5 anime series that you should definitely take a look at, as they follow a similar basic idea – the “Isekai”.
Isekai is a subgenre of fantasy in which the main character is typically transported to a foreign world (“Isekai” = “Another World”), where different rules and laws prevail than in the protagonist’s original world. Often, but not always, this happens through a “reincarnation”: the protagonist dies in their home world and is reborn in another world.
That Time I Got reincarnated as a Slime
Alternative names: Tensei shitara Slime Datta Ken, TenSura, “My Reincarnation as a Slime in Another World”
Subgenres: Fantasy, Action, Adventure
Stream available on: Crunchyroll
Episodes: 51
In his mid-thirties, Satoru saves a colleague’s life during a robbery but becomes a victim of the attack himself and is killed. As the world descends into darkness, he suddenly hears a computer voice reading out new abilities and characteristics to him – like a tutorial. As he gradually regains his senses, he realizes that he has been reincarnated: however, as a “slime” enemy in a fantasy world. By consuming objects, he learns new abilities and also gains the gift of adjusting his form more and more.
As “Rimuru”, he then begins to build a new life in that world. He joins forces with other monsters to establish his own village and gradually expands it into a kingdom that thrives through trade with humans and other nations – while occasionally being plagued by great threats.
What to expect from the anime: The “slime” anime invests a lot of time in world building and explains many interrelations between different peoples. Piece by piece, you can watch as the protagonist builds the village into a city and faces increasingly significant political problems.
Despite the clearly amusing premise, the anime never becomes silly; after a gentle introduction, it even presents a fair amount of suspense, drama, and character depth that make the segments between the interesting battles worthwhile.
KonoSuba: God’s Blessing on This Wonderful World!
Alternative names: Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku wo!, Konosuba
Subgenres: Fantasy, Comedy, Action, Adventure, Ecchi
Stream available on: aniverse (Amazon)
Episodes: 20
The nerd Kazuma leaves the house after a long time – and seemingly just in time, as he manages to save a girl from being run over, but gets hit by a truck in the process.
He wakes up in a dark environment, where a goddess named Aqua allows him to be reborn into another world with an object of his choice. When Kazuma mentions why he is here at all, the goddess laughs at him: the girl was never in danger, as the truck was actually a slow tractor. He himself died of shock in such a ridiculous way that even his family had to laugh at the sight.
Provoked by that, Kazuma decides to take Aqua as his “object of choice” – and drags her into a new world where they must make a living as adventurers. Joining them is the overwhelmingly powerful magician Megumin, who can only use one spell and only once a day, and a heroic paladin “Darkness”, who never hits an enemy and takes too much joy in being used as a shield and humiliated.
What to expect from the anime: Konosuba sees itself as a playful parody of the Isekai genre and thoroughly pokes fun at the clichés. However, the series does this without ever appearing tacky or superficial. The interactions between the protagonists are pure, thoughtful comedy – but some anime newcomers may be irritated by some “questionable” camera angles and lively figures.
Overlord
Alternative names: /
Subgenres: Fantasy, Action, Adventure
Stream available on: aniverse (Amazon), Crunchyroll
Episodes: 52
Parting from a beloved MMORPG is a hard thing. When the “Full Dive” online game “Yggdrasil” is shut down after 12 years, the guild leader “Momonga” of the monstrous guild “Ainz Ooal Gown” stays online until the very last moment. But the critical moment passes – and the world remains intact. Even more strangely, the NPCs no longer follow their routines but have developed their own personalities, move freely, and pledge their loyalty to him.
As the last remaining “player”, Momonga decides to increase the glory of his guild – and dominate the rest of the world. As the dark “Overlord”, he tries to understand the rules of this new existence and unleashes all the overpowered items and spells that his guild has collected over the years.
What to expect from the anime: Overlord turns the typical Isekai journey around and shows not a hero, but a sympathetic villain who wants to conquer the world. Battles are clearly the focus of the series, and despite some brutality and cool staging of the battles, the comedy is not lacking – usually through a hopelessly in love, virgin succubus who gets a bit too much joy from her master’s destruction campaign.
More series like Sword Art Online can be found on page 2.
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