Isekai is one of the most popular genres in anime. Despite growing notoriety because of the saturation of isekai as a genre/trope that can be chalked up to the high incidence of such stories on self-publishing site “Shousetsuka ni Narou” (Let’s Become Novelists), the original ground of countless highly acclaimed light novels turned anime franchises, like That Time I Got Reincarnated As a Slime, for example.
Amazon’s streaming platform, Prime Video, has an interesting collection of anime titles, many of which aren’t super mainstream but are still highly regarded in more niche circles, especially when it comes to its selection of isekai anime. So, what are eight of the best isekai you can catch on Amazon Prime Video?
The KonoSuba Effect – How Comedy Became Inseparable From Isekai
KonoSuba paved the way for various isekai anime that came after it, but did that cause more harm than good?
The Eminence in Shadow
- Episodes: 32
- Production Studio: Nexus
- Airing Date: October 2022 – October 2023
Cid Kagenou, despite thinking very highly of himself, never considered himself to be the protagonist or antagonist, preferring to lie low until it’s time to reveal himself as a true mastermind. When he ends up being transported to another world with magic and fantasy elements, he finds himself the perfect canvas onto which he can play out his biggest fantasies. Cid creates a make-believe organization tasked with combating a make-believe cult, thinking it hilarious that none of his new allies know that it’s all made up. Except, it isn’t, and Cid is the only one who doesn’t realize that his delusions were actually true.
The Eminence in Shadow is one of the edgier titles on this list and is definitely a series that is beloved by those who enjoy a series with an interesting, overpowered protagonist running the show. The fact that Cid is that, but also unaware of the nature of the situation in his new environment is a fun twist. There’s also the added fact that Cid appears to be deep in the throes of “Chuunibyou” (“Eighth-Grader Syndrome”), which makes The Eminence in Shadow entertaining for slightly older audiences, and something of a glimpse into the past of the older fans of the series, as Cid’s behaviour is reminiscent of a simpler, more embarrassing time for a lot of us!
Sonny Boy
- Episodes: 12
- Production Studio: Madhouse
- Airing Date: July 2021 – October 2021
One hot summer’s day, 36 high school students find themselves in a terrifying situation when their entire school building is transported to an alternate dimension, and they begin to develop supernatural abilities. This new world has its own set of rules that must be obeyed to avoid tragedy, but the pressure is immense. One student takes a chance and does something that causes the overworld to change again, with each world presenting its own rules and challenges that the students must overcome if they want to have any chance of returning to their original world. This series reads like one of many inspired by Kazuo Umezz’s The Drifting Classroom (1972), which is an absolute classic and beacon of this particular type of isekai, as well as horror.
Sonny Boy is very blatant about this inspiration, with the group chat the students make being called “Drifting Classroom”, not to mention the use of the word “hyoryuu” for “drifting.” The addition of special abilities that only some of the students have access to creates even more tension. Madhouse’s animation is absolutely incredible, going from regular animation to rotoscopy seamlessly. With only 12 episodes, Sonny Boy is the kind of series that is a flicker in the wind but still leaves you absolutely shellshocked, and it is also very clear with its varied inspirations, such as The Girl Who Leapt Through Time Easter egg that sets up the twist at the very end of the first episode.
GATE
- Episodes: 24+
- Production Studio: A-1 Pictures
- Airing Date: July 2015 – ongoing
Ginza, modern-day Tokyo. A gate to another world opens, unleashing various monstrosities and horrors on the unsuspecting populace. Youji Itami, an off-duty officer of the Japanese Self-Defense Force (JSDF), leads many panicking civilians to safety and is later announced a hero of the “Ginza Incident.” At some point in the near future, the Japanese government is preparing to send the JSDF through the portal into the unknown world from which the assailants of Ginza emerged, led by none other than Yoji Itami – who happens to be a major otaku and just the right man for the job!
What was especially brilliant about GATE in its first season was the approach to isekai being something more than just one character or a group of characters being sent somewhere one-way, but rather a two-way, permeable rift between worlds. The fact that it is kicked off by attacks from the other side is very compelling, given the response being to send a large military force into an unknown world in an attempt to control the possibility of catastrophic threats that clearly reside beyond the gate.
A sequel to the second season of the GATE anime has been announced for release sometime in 2027.
KonoSuba: God’s Blessing On This Wonderful World!
- Episodes: 33+
- Production Studio: Studio DEEN
- Airing Date: January 2016 – ongoing
Kazuma Sato is a shut-in otaku gamer who finally leaves the house for the first time in ages, and is caught up in a fatal traffic accident. Having met such a sad end, the goddess, Aqua, takes pity on him and grants him the opportunity to live a new life in an alternate world, offering him one unique item he can take with him on his new journey. However, Aqua could never have guessed that he would decide that his lucky item would be none other than herself!
Rearrange the covers into the correct Japanese release order.
Rearrange the covers into the correct Japanese release order.
Easy (5)Medium (7)Hard (10)
When Kazuma’s journey begins, he expects to be the protagonist of a fantasy RPG-style story like the countless ones he played in his previous life, but what really awaits him is the tedium of finding food, clothing, shelter and work that pays well. To make things even worse, the Demon Lord’s army have their sights set on him! KonoSuba is highly regarded by anime fans and stands out for the way in which it completely changed the common approach to isekai narratives in anime, light novels and manga. Due to the series’ influence, the isekai trope/genre took on a number of characteristics, most importantly the primacy of comedy through trope and expectation subversion.
That Time I Got Reincarnated As a Slime
- Episodes: 77+
- Production Studio: 8bit
- Airing Date: October 2018 – ongoing
37-year-old salaryman Satoru Mikami has his life brutally taken away after he attempts to intervene in a mugging. His final thoughts became the basis of his primary abilities when he reincarnated in a world of magic and monsters as a Slime in a dark cave with nothing but plants and minerals. A strange voice in the Slime’s mind guides it in his new world, guiding it to the only other intelligent being in the cave – one of the most powerful monsters of all: Veldora, the Storm Dragon! Veldora and the Slime become great friends, but with a whole new life presented to him, Satoru is keen to explore life outside the cave, but the world outside is expansive. And dangerous.
That Time I Got Reincarnated As a Slime boasts a sprawling world full of all kinds of fantasy elements, complex geopolitical relations, videogame mechanics and hair-raising fights, but perhaps its biggest draw is Rimuru’s satisfying journey from lowly Slime to respected leader of a rapidly developing community of monsters; all with the hopes of one day cultivating a world in which humans and monsters can co-exist. The world is extremely detailed, with various moving parts that form part of a massive, engrossing story with highly fascinating plot developments.
The fourth season of That Time I Got Reincarnated As a Slime is currently airing as part of the Spring 2026 anime slate.
Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation
- Episodes: 48+
- Production Studio: Studio Bind
- Airing Date: January 2011 – ongoing
A perverted 34-year-old virgin, hikikomori NEET who is very down on his luck, is killed in a traffic accident and reincarnated in a fantasy world of magic and monsters. Now known as Rudeus Greyrat, the man decides to live this new life to the fullest. Having taken well to his new environment – and discovering his immense talent for wielding magic early on – Rudeus, with the help of mage Roxy Migurdia, might just have a chance at finally having a happy life, but the suffering and the ghosts of sins from a life past continue to haunt him.
This series is controversial due to the protagonist’s values, perversion and overall treatment of the people around him in his new world. That being said; however, what makes this such a brilliant isekai is how it goes about building this world, especially through the effects of the Mass Teleportation Incident, Otherworlders and through the characters Rudeus meets and comes to cherish along the way. Rudeus’s old habits die hard in his new life, and a big part of this series is watching him make tons of horrible mistakes and growing from them. There’s a richness to the storytelling and the characters that really makes Mushoku Tensei a fantastic fantasy series and an isekai.
The third season of Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation is set to premiere in July.
Re:Zero –Starting Life in Another World–
- Episodes: 66+
- Production Studio: WHITE FOX
- Airing Date: April 2016 – ongoing
Subaru Natsuki is a high school student and otaku gamer who finds himself randomly whisked away to another world on his way back from buying snacks after a long day of playing videogames. He has a tough time in his new environment, lacking any of the special boosts that protagonists in similar circumstances usually get; not to mention the fact that he gets mugged. Subaru’s luck seems to be turning when he is rescued from his attackers by a beautiful half-elf girl with long, silver hair. He sticks by her to return the favour, but winds up in over his head when they are viciously murdered. However, Subaru reawakens in the same market square he found himself in when he first arrived in this new world, memories of his death fresh in his mind as the day he just lived repeats itself.
As it turns out, Subaru received the special ability he felt entitled to upon his arrival, but it happens to be one with horrible conditions for its activation. Re:Zero is one of the best isekai of its time because of the strength of its narrative, which is definitely rich in fantasy elements and uses them in a way that creates a very compelling world, but what makes the series really stand out is how its lighthearted, jovial atmosphere is contrasted by a darkness that is enhanced by the quality of the characters.
The currently airing fourth season is available to watch on Crunchyroll.
Magic Knight Rayearth
- Episodes: 20
- Production Studio: TMS Entertainment
- Airing Date: October 1994 – March 1995
Umi, Hikaru and Fuu are three young girls who find themselves transported to a magical world called Cephiro during a field trip to Tokyo Tower. They are greeted by a Mage named Clef, who tells them that they have been summoned to become the Legendary Magic Knights, the fabled saviours of Cephiro. The girls aren’t happy about this, and would rather go home, but Clef explains that their only hope of going home is finding the Rune Gods, requesting their help and thwarting the nefarious plans of High Priest Zagat, who has kidnapped the Pillar of Cephiro, Princess Emeraude. Without Emeraude, Cephiro stands to fall into chaos and eventually ruin.
Created by legendary manga group CLAMP, Magic Knight Rayearth is a classic combining elements from the magical girl and mecha genres and casting them into an isekai fantasy setting. The series emerged at a time when all three genres/plot devices: isekai, mecha and magical girls, were in the middle of some kind of renaissance in the wake of anime and manga titles like Neon Genesis Evangelion, Sailor Moon, and The Vision of Escaflowne; which premiered in the same season as Magic Knight Rayearth and went on to be a worldwide hit. CLAMP has had a major hand in the popularity of anime and manga in the west, and Magic Knight Rayearth combines some of the medium’s most notable elements (at least in the 1990s) in a high-stakes isekai adventure with young girls as protagonists – a travesty that has been somewhat remedied in recent years. If you’re looking for a more “old school” isekai, look no further.
A reboot of Magic Knight Rayearth, produced by E&H Production, is set to premiere in October 2026.
