There’s a reason why the isekai genre in anime, manga, and light novels is as popular as it is. It serves as the perfect power fantasy. Who doesn’t want to be transported into a fantasy world where they’re more than just a regular human being? Who hasn’t wished to live in their favorite video game world?
With so many isekai works, finding one that caters to a specific demographic shouldn’t be too difficult. With shonen isekai in particular, the protagonists are often teenage boys, and the works themselves borrow some elements from battle shonen. These tend to have a much more idealistic tonethan seinen isekai, and are more action-heavythan shojo works.
Cast
Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsodyfollows a programmer named Ichirou Suzuki, who gets transported to a fantasy world after falling asleep. He discovers the world is like the fantasy RPGs he was debugging, and despite gaining incredible powers, he wants to live a peaceful life.
Ichirou decides to make the most of his situation since he has no way to return home. He meets new friends, embarks on adventures, and explores the mysteries of the new world he’s found himself in.
Possibly the best-known isekai,Sword Art Onlinetells the story of Kazuto ‘Kirito’ Kirigaya, who gets trapped in a virtual reality MMORPG in its beta test phase. Since he can’t log out, he and other players are forced to band together to face the game’s challenges.
Sword Art Onlineis considered responsible for the explosive popularity of the isekai genre. It is a huge franchise in and of itself, inspiring several spin-offs, video games, and an upcoming Netflix live-action series.
Cautious Hero: The Hero is Overpowered but Overly Cautiousis acomedic take on the isekai genre. A goddess named Ristarte has summoned a human named Seiya Ryuuguuin to protect her world from the Demon Lord. Seiya has incredible stats, but he is a little too cautious about everything.
He demands multiple sets of armor, refuses to enter even the world’s safest areas, and uses his strongest powers to kill the weakest enemies, just to be on the safe side. Given the kind of world Gaeabrande is, though, Seiya’s overly-cautious nature might be justified.
Tsukimichi ~Moonlit Fantasy~isabout an average high school studentnamed Makoto Misumi. Having parents who hail from a fantasy world, he is summoned to the land of Elysion by a goddess. However, the vain goddess immediately rejects him due to his unremarkable appearance.
Forced to fend for himself in the strange land, Makoto befriends all sorts of beings, from dwarves to orcs to dragons. They decide to form a community and go on many adventures.
Plenty of isekai stories are about a regular person who gets transported into a fantasy world, but what abouta series that does the reverse?The Devil is a Part-Timer!follows Satan after his plans to dominate his land get foiled. He is forced to retreat through a dimensional portal to modern-day Tokyo.
Now living as a regular human named Sadao Maou, he takes a part-time job as a fast food worker at an off-brand version of McDonalds. Alongside his loyal general Ashiya, the two former demons struggle to adapt to the mundanity of human life.
Created bythe legendary Rumiko Takahashi,Inuyashatells the story of Kagome Higurashi, a teenage girl who lives on the grounds of a Shinto shrine with her family. One day, she gets pulled into a well by a demon, and she’s sent 500 years back to the past. There, she finds out she’s the reincarnation of Kikyo, a priestess who carries the wish-granting Shikon Jewel.
After accidentally shattering the jewel, she is forced to team up with a half-demon named Inuyasha to recover its pieces. The series' popularity and legacy inspired an anime-only spin-off calledYashahime: Princess Half-Demon.
Fourteen-year-oldIruma Suzuki is kind, but gullible. His lazy, neglectful parents mistreat him in ridiculous ways, and finally end up selling him to a demon. Fortunately for Iruma, the demon Sullivan just wants a grandson and adopts him as one. He sends him to an academy called Babyls School for Demons, where Iruma tries to conceal his human identity from the demon students.
Welcome to Demon School, Iruma-kun!has inspired several spin-off manga. It was adapted into an anime in 2019, with a second and third season in 2021 and 2022 respectively, and a fourth season in April 2024.
After the release of a new expansion pack for the popular MMORPGElder Tale,players are transported into the world of the game. Unable to log out, they are forced to adjust to their new circumstances. Asocially awkward but intelligent student named Shiroeand his friends must team up with other players to make the most of their situation.
TheLog Horizonweb novel was adapted into a light novel series, several manga, and a 25-episode anime in 2013. The anime got a second season in 2021.
37-year-old Satoru Mikami is perfectly content with his life as a corporate worker. However, an altercation on the street leads to him being reincarnated in a fantasy world as a slime. He gains the power to absorb and mimic other creatures, and soon stumbles upon a sealed monster named Veldora.
The slime befriends and promises to free the monster, and as thanks, Veldora bestows him with the name ‘Rimuru Tempest’. Both the manga and the anime adaptation have received several accolades, with the second season of the anime winning ‘Best Fantasy’ at the 2022 Crunchyroll Anime Awards.
One of the finest and funniest isekai parodies,Konosubafollowsa NEET named Kazuma Satou, who gets a second chance at life after being hit by a truck. The goddess Aqua gives him an offer to be reincarnated into a fantasy world, and even tells him he can pick any item to aid him in his adventures. To her shock, Kazuma chooses her.
Kazuma and Aqua are accompanied by Megumin, a mage with ‘explosive’ abilities, and Darkness, a masochistic crusader. The four of them go on many (mis)adventures, including accepting quests to pay back their debt and taking on the Demon King.
