The isekai genre is probably the most oversaturated genre of the 2010s. When we look back on the decade, that’s the genre that experienced the biggest explosion in popularity. There’s one for every variation on the idea it seems...like being transported to another world in the form of a slime.
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Still, though it’s another entry in a tired genre, That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime was a favorite for many anime fans in 2018 thanks to the high quality animation and a self-awareness many shows like these lack. It’s lead character Rimuru isn’t just overpowered, he knows he’s overpowered and uses it to his advantage to help those around him. It’s an addicting watch, and unsurprisingly it’s getting a second season in 2020. But in the meantime, here’s fifteen anime to try out while people wait.
Updated on: 21 December, 2019, with more anime like Slime Datta Ken that we're certain you'll love!
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15 DRIFTERS
Drifters just barely fits the definition of an isekai anime. While most series, including Reincarnated as a Slime, tend to take someone who was unimportant on our world and make them into worldbeaters on another world, Drifters takes people who were already great in our world and sets them against impossible odds on another. We start out following Toyohisa Shimazu who gets placed in the alternate world after the Battle of Sekigahara, and from there meet characters like Oda Nobunaga and Barca Hannibal. This show is perfect for isekai fans and history buffs.
14 ARIFUETA: FROM COMMONPLACE TO WORLD'S STRONGEST
Not every overpowered lead guy is going to be a nice guy. Arifureta starts out with a decent guy in Hajime Nagumo, one of several kids in his class brought to another world to save it. But he has no powerful attacks and winds up being protected by his classmates...until he gets betrayed. After the betrayal, he ends up dropped into an even more dangerous part of the dungeon they were exploring...and gets his arm eaten by a giant monster. After that, Hajime resolves to become the strongest and make his way back to his world, no matter who he has to step on to get there.
13 RE:ZERO
The protagonist of Re:Zero wants to be overpowered, but unfortunately he wasn’t gifted with any cool techniques like Rimuru. Instead his ability is much more grim. Subaru’s skill is “Return by Death”, meaning he can go back in time after he dies, retaining his memory. Each arc of Re:Zero sees Subaru trying to change the world for the better using his powers, dying and essentially “restarting” until he gets it right. One of the most popular series of 2016, Re:Zero recently got a renewal for a second season.
12 LOG HORIZON
Shiroe is a young man who finds himself trapped in the game Elder Tale, just after it released it’s latest expansion. Winding up there alongside thousands of others on the same server, Shiroe has no way of escaping...and even death only causes him to reincarnate.
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Fortunately, he’s just shy of the level cap in the game, and is one of the server’s more established players. Like Rimuru, Shiroe has to use his intelligence to help build a city for those around him, creating a working society for living people trapped in a virtual game’s world.
11 IS IT WRONG TO TRY TO PICK UP GIRLS IN A DUNGEON?
Sometimes what makes you stand out isn’t being overly strong, but rather the ability to become so. That’s what happens with Bell Cranel, a young man who’s the only member of the Hestia Familia, working for his goddess Hestia. Bell gains a strange skill which allows him to power-level, gaining vast experience incredibly quickly as long as he works hard. Like this, Bell goes from a weakling who needs someone to save him in episode one, to gathering people around him from his strength and gentle nature by the end of season one. This series just got a second season after five years, so people won’t have to feel cheated when they finish the first half.
10 ONE PUNCH MAN
If a lead character that’s easily capable of defeating anyone is the appeal of Slime, then One Punch Man isn’t much of a stretch recommendation at all. Saitama was once a simple salaryman who decided to quit his job and become a hero, sticking to the same training regimen everyday until he became more powerful than literally anyone else on Earth. It’s this incredible power that draws both heroes and villains around him, even as he lives his life oblivious to how powerful he really is. With the first season becoming part of the cultural zeitgeist in 2015, there aren’t many anime fans who didn’t give this series a try, but if they haven’t there’s no better time to dive in.
9 NO GAME NO LIFE
The legendary “Blank” is a gamer who’s never lost a game. Blank’s secret? They’re actually two people—a brother sister duo named Sora and Shiro. The two of them wind up being challenged by Tet, the god of games, and soon being invited to the world of Disboard, where every conflict is solved via games. Sora and Shiro are both perfectly suited for this world, but they’re also matching up against ancient races which have had centuries of years to acclimate themselves to this world. They both agree to try and unite all the races under humanity, but humans are actually the lowest ranked race, making their task an arduous one.
8 OVERLORD
Overlord is yet another “trapped in a virtual game” world series with a super skilled lead character. You’d think such a specific concept would get old, but it turns out there’s a lot of ways to execute it well, as this series is actually quite popular. The wizard Momonga is a player in the game Yggdrasil, but after several years the company chooses to shut the game’s server down.
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Choosing to stay in the world until it’s shut off, Momonga instead sees the game not only continue, but for the NPCs to suddenly have lives of their own. Rather than leave, Momonga stays and continues to study this strange new version of Yggdrasil.
7 KNIGHT'S & MAGIC
Tsubasa Kurata is a coder who dies being hit by a car after buying his favorite mecha. He’s reincarnated in another world as Ernesti Echevalier, or “Eru”, a young man born to a family of nobles. Thanks to his skill with engineering in the old world, he becomes skilled not just in the new world’s magic, but in building “Knights”, the giant robots used as a primary form of military might in this new world. Knight’s and Magic gives us a classic overpowered protagonist, as Eru shoots this world from “realistic” robots that are just giant hunks of metal to laser-firing Gundams in a matter of years.
6 WISE MAN'S GRANDCHILD
Arguably, no other series on this list is more like Reincarnated as a Slime than Wise Man’s Grandchild. When Rimuru lands in another world, he gradually starts “upgrading” the monsters around him, creating a city for them to live in that goes from medieval to modern rather quickly. This series does something similar, as Shin Wolford already has exceptional talent with magic before being trained by some of the most powerful mages and warriors in the country. But rather than hoard that power to himself, he starts training his best friends, helping them to better their lives and defend their lands. For those who can get past the usual isekai tropes, there’s a decent show underneath this.
5 KonoSuba
KonoSuba follows the story of Kazuma Satou who dies an early death and is reincarnated in a different world full of all sorts of crazy things like magic and Demon Kings. With the help of Aqua, Kazuma aims to defeat the Demon King, but he isn't quite cut out for the job.
Kazuma's party is joined by many others such as Megumin, a young mage, and Darkness, a crusader. KonoSuba ensures that fans set off on quite a journey that isn't just interesting but hilarious. If you love Slime, there's absolutely no way you won't enjoy watching Kazuma and his party going through the harsh adventures of a parallel world.
4 Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon
Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon follows the story of Kobayashi, a girl who lives her day-to-day life in the most boring way possible until a dragon comes over to her place. The dragon, named Tohru, can transform into a human form as well.
They're soon joined by another Dragon who goes by the name of Kanna and before you know it, they're a family going through the day-to-day struggles of normal people. Although the anime doesn't follow the logic of your average Isekai, it does so much more to explore the characters, and we're certain that you'll end up loving it.
3 Death March kara Hajimaru Isekai Kyousoukyoku
Death March follows the story of Ichirou Suzuki, a guy who spends most of his time debugging games. Surprisingly, when he goes to sleep, he's pulled into the world of the games that he often works on. Going by the name of Satou, he forms his own little party and leads a big adventure in the new world that he belongs to now.
Although the summary of this anime certainly feels like every other Isekai one, it is refreshingly different from your average Isekai. Instead of focusing on select goals, this anime focuses more on the characters absorbing more of the world they are transported to. Akin to Slime, the world-building here is fabulous and that's exactly why we love it.
2 Isekai Maou to Shoukan Shoujo no Dorei Majutsu
Also known as How Not to Summon a Demon Lord, this anime traces the adventure of Sakamoto Takuma as he's transported into a strange world where he's Diablo, the Demon King. Starting his journey as a slave of two girls, he uses his clever powers to turn them into his subordinates and begins his adventure.
Sakamoto and Satoru are very similar to each other when you look at the fact that they lack any form of social skills. The two of them also possess incredible powers that they could easily use for doing evil deeds, but neither of them wants to do it.
1 The Rising Of The Shield Hero
Shield Hero focuses on the story of Naofumi Iwatani, who is summoned to a new world that needs his help. Along with others, his job is to act and stand in the face of evil and injustice. Due to the hardships he faces regularly, Iwatani starts losing hope and becomes a cynic.
However, that's certainly not the end of his journey as he continues to press forward, slow as it may be. Naofumi Iwatani's journey is praiseworthy, and we're certain that it's something you'll like if you enjoyed watching That Time I Was Reincarnated As A Slime.
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