Getting trapped or lost in a video game world has been done excessively in the anime world and yet, we don’t really get tired of it. How intriguing would it be if you found yourself on the opposite side of the monitor, not just staring at the world of dragons/monsters but living in it? Log Horizon—animated by Satelight—did just that with its tale but in a rather unusual way. All of our characters who played a strange MMORPG called Elder Tale found themselves now in the body of their avatars and living within this game as if it were their original world. Why were they sent into the game and is there a way home? These questions aren’t ever fully answered in the two seasons of Log Horizon—we need a third season one day—but the amazing adventures and fights within the series made it a truly amazing isekai series of 2013.

Usually, an isekai series has a pretty simple plot set up. The main character(s) are teleported into a different world and must survive to find a way back home or to save their new land. In Re: Creators, the tables turn. Rather than our main heroes being sent into a game world or manga story, the characters from famous—in-world—series are sent into the real world. Making matters even more perplexing, these heroes/villains all have agendas for our world making them a danger to the normal populous! Re: Creators changed the ideas we’ve come to expect from the isekai genre and we absolutely loved that about the series. If you want a drama-filled action show—with of course isekai themes done quite uniquely—you should definitely check out Re: Creators when you get the chance!

Proving yourself to be an ultimate gamer in the real world can be quite an ordeal but to do it in another world…that seems like an even tougher challenge. Enter the world of Blank, known as expert gamers in the online realm, Blank is actually composed of Shiro and Sora, two siblings who live at home and enjoy a NEET existence. After a chess match that tests the duo’s skills, the siblings are sent into a strange new landscape where the world’s order is kept in balance by playing games and making bets/wagers on the outcome. No Game No Life was a series loved by many, which led it to spawn a prequel movie and plenty of hope that a season 2 will be revealed sometime in the future. Till then, we can always appreciate that Blank’s legacy will never fade from our hearts as they continue to conquer the world with their expert gaming skills.

Imagine for a minute that the fictional worlds we believe to be just that, fictional, are actually in other dimensions we just can’t reach. Now imagine if that fictional realm could be reached just by entering a large gate. Gate: Jieitai Kanochi nite, Kaku Tatakaeri tells the tale of Japan’s strange situation when a large gate opens in Ginza, Tokyo and from it, dozens of goblins and strange beasts emerge forth. The JSDF is able to quell the otherworldly invasion and decides to launch a countermeasure by sending in troops—one of which is our main character Youji Itami, who happens to be an otaku—to see the other side of the gate and learn of what threats/resources are within. Gate: Jieitai Kanochi nite, Kaku Tatakaeri lasted for two seasons and we loved every single one as it showed the isekai genre can never truly run out of ideas.

Isekai anime can be quite serious, drama-filled and/or action-heavy at times but Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku wo! is anything but those adjectives. Simplified to KonoSuba, this series has always been about the more comedic aspects of being flung to another world. Our main hero—that title being used lightly—Kazuma Satou is killed in a truly sigh-worthy way and is given the option of being reincarnated to possibly get an even worse life or be sent to an RPG-like world that needs saving from a nasty demon king. Of course, Kazuma goes the route most of us would and chooses to be sent to this new land but he quickly learns that being summoned to a new world doesn’t mean it will be an easy life. KonoSuba throws at the audience constant reminders of how silly the isekai genre can be with constant bashes on the concept from overly ridiculous bosses to quests that seem like busywork. If you need some laughs but also want a truly great isekai series, check out KonoSuba!

VR has certainly been getting better as of the last decade but according to Sword Art Online, 2022 will be the true leap forward. With the birth of a new game called Sword Art Online, fans of MMORPGs will get to live a VRMMORPG experience donning powerful headsets called NerveGear. Unfortunately, those who got a hold on the elusive new game/tech find themselves trapped in the world of Aincrad and forced to make it to level 100 all while possibly dying not just in the game but the real world as well. Sword Art Online certainly has had its mixed reception from fans of the light novels and anime but we can never disregard how important this series was to the popularity of isekai as a whole. An early series called .hack//Sign might have taken the first steps towards the game isekai theme but Sword Art Online completed that adventure and stands as a true testament to how amazing isekai anime can be.

In the video game world, there is nothing weaker than the slime monster. If you’ve played games like Dragon Quest, then you know slimes are meant to be used as a tutorial enemy to get players familiar with the game and to farm some early EXP. Tensei shitara Slime Datta Ken proves, though, that slimes should not be trifled with! Our main man Satoru Mikami ends up dying protecting his friend from a criminal and is reincarnated in a new fantasy world not as a powerful hero but a seemingly weak/ordinary slime! Satoru quickly comes to learn that his slime body isn’t without powers, though, and begins to prove he’s no ordinary monster but something on a whole new level! As far as isekai series go, Tensei shitara Slime Datta Ken needs to be put on a pedestal as it was filled with amazingly animated action scenes and a truly fun adventure that will appeal to gamers/isekai fans alike! Tensei shitara Slime Datta Ken needs to be checked out for those who might have missed its isekai awesomeness.

Our Top 10 Best Isekai Anime of the 2010s has already covered a few series where gamers get trapped in their respected favorite games but one series that always stands out from the rest—in our opinion—is Overlord. Crafted from the popular light novel series, Overlord has truly impressed us with gorgeous art, a wonderful story of intrigue/wonder and some great drama with a dash of comedy for good measure. Overlord has already hit its third season and we doubt the show will be ending anytime soon seeing as there is plenty more to cover! Don’t sleep on Overlord for too long though, if it keeps getting more material it could be a hard series to binge. Trust us, you’re going to end up binging Overlord whether you want to or not once you check it out!

By the late 2010s, isekai anime seemed to hit a roadblock for a moment. What once seemed like a genre filled with potential was now beginning to be littered with a lot of clones of the same type of story over and over again with no end in sight. Thankfully, Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari came in and shattered our thoughts that this genre was doomed for mediocrity. Focusing on an isekai story that wasn’t always comedy, melodrama and mindless action, Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari instead leaned towards a darker tale as we witnessed a seemingly pathetic hero rise from his corrupted start. We’d love to go into more details about Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari but in truth, this is an isekai series you need to see to believe. Join our Shield Hero and his allies in a truly spectacular isekai that only was outdone by one other show that earned its top slot on our list.

Whether you fell in love with Emilia or wanted Rem the arguments that surrounded Re: Zero kara Hajimeru Iskekai Seikatsu were numerous and plentiful. This isekai series took everything an isekai was known to be and altered the formula creating a masterpiece for the genre. Our main man Subaru Natsuki was sent to a strange new land and quickly learned that being the protagonist of a new tale isn’t always a good thing. When Subaru dies he learned he could just revive but always in a different “checkpoint” of his current situation where only he retained the memories of what happened before. Dark, sometimes horrifying, and occasionally lighthearted, Re: Zero proved to the world that isekai series truly are a well filled with never-ending concepts and themes!