Bullied and mistreated, an otaku has found himself dying while trying to save a child’s life. Given the chance at being reincarnated with all of his memories, this 34-year-old otaku now is back to being a baby and in a new magical world. Given the name Rudeus—or Rudy for short—our young man learns that he has an aptitude for magic and soon harnesses his new gifts to try to have a more fulfilling life than his previous one. A new adventure awaits in a world of magic and fantasy in Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation!

Imagine having the ability to restart life with all of your previous memories but without the pains of whatever you struggled with originally? That’s the concept shown in not only The World’s Finest Assassin Gets Reincarnated in Another World as an Aristocrat but also Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation. Both series tackle the idea of being reborn and having the advantage of previous knowledge but at the cost of reliving childhood. Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation is an emotional thrillride filled with shocking episodes, tons of ecchi, and some gorgeous battles just like The World’s Finest Assassin! Part 2 of Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation is airing as of writing so we recommend playing catch-up!

After reading a strange book in his local library, otaku Naofumi Iwatani finds himself with three other individuals in a strange place. An advisor for the king proclaims that these four individuals have been summoned to become heroes representing legendary weapons. Unfortunately for Naofumi, his weapon turns out to not be a sword, spear, or bow but instead a shield, dubbing him the Shield Hero. Making matters worse, Naofumi quickly discovers this new world looks down on the Shield Hero and this leads to a snowball effect of pain and suffering. Now Naofumi must attempt to survive against all odds if he wishes to have any chance at returning home.

The definition of a “hero” is quite intriguing in shows like The Rising of the Shield Hero and The World’s Finest Assassin. Rather than just be carbon copies of other isekai heroes sent to rescue a dying kingdom, both Naofumi and Lugh are given rather odd scenarios to save their respective new worlds. We absolutely adore The Rising of the Shield Hero—hands down one of the best isekai anime out there—and if you somehow missed out on the first season, you’d be silly to not catch up sooner rather than later! Season 2 is releasing soon and you’ll want to be caught up with us so you can discuss all that is The Rising of the Shield Hero season 2!

A veteran player of the VR game Yggdrasil is sad to see his favorite game finally come to a close after so many countless hours poured into it. Alongside his fellow inhuman guild members, Momonga—the man’s avatar in Yggdrasil—decides to watch the game servers close and move on. However, when the game is about to end, our gamer discovers he’s become Momonga! Now trapped in Yggdrasil, Momonga must learn to master his once NPC allies and see why he’s stuck in this game world!

Even after six years, Overlord continues to be one of our absolute favorite isekai series! The World’s Finest Assassin in many ways utilizes similar themes in its story by having an unusual MC—neither is technically a hero—and a narrative that isn’t just the ordinary slay this demon king and/or become the next hero. Overlord has several seasons out already—and we hope for more—so it’s a great series to dive into and watch when you’re huddled up in your nice anime blanket and sipping some warm hot chocolate this cold fall.

Ages ago, there was a bitter war between two races, humans and demons. In a strange twist of fate, Demon King Anos Voldigoad sacrificed his life to end the war and let the two races finally find peace. Now, after several millennia, Anos has been reincarnated into a new life but has discovered his existence has been overwritten and he has been dubbed a misfit. However, Anos isn’t about to let his past be overtaken by some strange imposter posing as the original hero and thus sets out on a mission to restore his name and prove the true Demon King is back and alive!

Similar to the finest assassin Lugh, Anos is able to begin his new existence with all of his memories and original abilities intact. As you can guess, this means Anos is OP beyond imagination! Rarely while watching The Misfit of Demon King Academy did we think Anos would possibly lose—just how Lugh seems impossible to defeat—but we instead loved seeing how he bring his A-game to beating his enemies! The Misfit of Demon King Academy still has that isekai OP MC many love to watch but sprinkles in some cool narrative decisions—the racism and segregation between humans and demons are pretty eye-opening—that will keep you glued to your screens. Give The Misfit of Demon King Academy a try if you need an OP main lead that isn’t just another teenager given power from seemingly nowhere.

After his death from a terrible traffic accident, Haruto Amakawa finds himself not in his original college student body but that of a young homeless orphan boy named Rio. Upon Haruto’s death, his spirit merged with Rio and the two souls became one. Now Haruto must take up the life of Rio and discover this strange new world. Can Rio rise up from his meek existence and become a strong warrior? Find out in Spirit Chronicles!

When Spirit Chronicles aired earlier in 2021, we couldn’t help but feel it was an anime unnoticed due to being yet another isekai tale. Yet, we watched Spirit Chronicles and immediately saw how this series presented some interesting new ideas such as the MC having a dual soul and how he wasn’t the only one seemingly sent to this odd new world. Spirit Chronicles doesn’t try to be too radical in how it approaches the isekai genre but we love the story, characters, and ideas it contains. Those who are in need of a solid isekai like The World’s Finest Assassin will want to watch Spirit Chronicles!

Hajime Nagumo and his class were one day transported to a strange RPG-like world and told their talents were needed to save this world. At first, Hajime reveled in becoming a hero but quickly he learned that this new world wasn’t a video game and was filled with dangers left and right. During a mission to explore a dungeon, Hajime is betrayed by a fellow classmate and left for dead in the darkness of the dungeon’s depths. However, Hajime was unwilling to give up despite his lack of power and began his mission to amass power within this darkness to become a new man with immense power.

Isekai protagonists tend to be very cliché and that’s what makes The World’s Finest Assassin Gets Reincarnated in Another World as an Aristocrat should be a breath of fresh air for viewers. Like Lugh, Hajime is less of a teenager with OP skills and a survivor who knows how to fight to live. Arifureta: From Commonplace to World’s Strongest is an exciting action isekai that has some wickedly exciting battles, plenty of cute girls, and a main hero that you can’t help but love. With season 2 recently announced now is the perfect time to binge Arifureta and fall in love with a truly underrated isekai anime.