What's your favorite Isekai series and why?

[Greenfrost]

Hello all,

So, Isekai has been somewhat of a running gag with every new incarnation either copying and pasting what was done before, or trying to come up with the most ridiculous "catch" they can think of.

Example: "I Died While Wearing My Pants as a Shirt, Now I Reincarnated With The Ultimate Shirt Pants Cheat"

Get it, the catch is that the MC always wears his pants as his shirt.

I'd still read it.

Anyway, There are a lot of good ones, a lot of bad ones, a lot of weird ones, and a lot of sexy ones. They're all meant for somebody, no need to feel ashamed.

So, tell us what some of your favorite Isekai series from manga and light novel's are and why. Do they remind you of you're childhood fantasies? Is the romance interesting? Is it relaxing? Is it cute? Do you like the art style? The action? The World?

My personal favorite is Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear. I can't help it, It's adorable. I love the bear onesie pajamas and bear house.

 

[Yatsuki]

From far away/Kanata kara. Oldie but goldie. Just the right amount of action and romance for me. The characters have their own personalities, weakness and strengths, supporting casts don't just act dumb and praise the MCs to high heaven but contribute to the MC's growth.

 

[hall3]

Well if we are being technical then
Mairimashita! Iruma-kun is actually an Isekai even though I never think of it as one. At first I didn't think that the series was all that amazing; it was a fun read and it was cozy but nothing more than that. Though I continued reading it started to worm it's way into my heart, it never strayed from what it set out to do and chapter by chapter the world and its characters became more endearing to me. I realized that it was one of the series that I looked forward to reading the most on a weekly basis. If I have to sum it up then the feeling I get from reading Irumi is like going to sit by an open fire with a cup of hot chocolate in your hand after being outside for a long time on a cold winter day. I like to read dark and depressing shit but Irumi is like pure healing for my soul.

Now in the vein of an Isekai that actually feel like an Isekai I would go with Kage no Jitsuryokusha ni Naritakute. Now this manga is hella dumb. It starts dumb and it continued to be dumb all the way through in the funniest way possible. I really value it when I find a manga that I actually find funny because most of the time it seems like the japanese just don't know how to do comedy. They have a very specific joke structure that they adhere to in that they present a concept/joke and then they set out to beat that horse to death from as many angles as possible. Almost every "comedy" manga is some form of manzai in where there is a tsukkomi (a straight man) and a boke (the funny guy) taking turns either making a joke our pointing out that indeed the other guy has made a joke. It is just another form of the laugh track and personally I think that if the joke had to be shoved in my face then it was probably not that funny in the first place. That is not to say this dynamic never works, there are several cases where in it does, for example Gintama. My point is that when you see the exact same joke structure repeated over and over again, and you didnt find it that funny in the first place then it can get a bit eye rolling. Now getting off that longwinded tangent; Kage no Jitsuryokusha manages to make fun of Isekai power fantasy trash while still being Isekai power fantasy trash. It's main character is a psychotic madlad who does these outlandish things because he thinks that they are cool and the whole world bends around him to make them into a reality. Everything the series does is so ridicioulus and over the top that I can't help but laugh, but at the same time when it comes to the fights my inner 12 year old is satisfied by the sheer bombastic coolness.

One day I will learn to be concise, but it seems it is not today.

 

[PantsMan]

There are a lot of good ones

lol

Of the ones I follow, probably Isekai Ojisan, Ride-on King and Alice in Borderland, if we're going by MD tags.

Ride-on King sticks the closest to the genre, for better or worse. It suffers a bit from the wonky pacing you see in other isekai, but it's fun enough to forgive it. More importantly, the art is really gorgeous, which goes a long way with doing concepts like the miniaturized-inside-a-giant-hat spells justice. Since Curse Blood is dead, this gets my vote for best True Isekai of the ones I've read so far.

I like Isekai Ojisan a lot. It really doesn't let the isekai backdrop limit it and instead does its own weird little cynical comedy-harem thing. It stands on its own feet by its merit and just by being very funny rather than just premise alone. The flashback element to it also keeps you wondering where it's all leading to, so it's not like it's devoid of any real plot either.

Apparently MD lists Alice in Borderland as an isekai. Frankly, it blows the other two series I mentioned out of the water (although that's not really saying much, since it's like comparing apples to bricks on every aspect). Go read it.

Overall, I think I prefer Time Travel stories or Reincarnation plots where the present/real world matters more, so isekai isn't really my thing. For more video-gamey stories I prefer ones more like Monster x Monster or Whimsical Cursed Sword, without really a fish out of water outsider protagonist.

 

[schlo]

i like the Kage one mentioned above and think the joke is great.

https://mangadex.org/title/21055/tondemo-skill-de-isekai-hourou-meshi is one I like. It is lighthearted, they move about from area to area so you it can vary a lot. The ongoing joke in it is amusing.

I don't know that I would call it a favorite, but I also like https://mangadex.org/title/14850/death-march-kara-hajimaru-isekai-kyousoukyoku. It has an overall theme but it is not the main focus of every arc directly. The character is traveling around from place to place meeting different races, seeing different countries, usually helping them and learning about them and the world. If you got isekaied isn't that what you would want to d? I like the way the relationships are handled between many of the characters.

 

[Mangalover9000]

Here are a few in my recs.
https://mangadex.org/title/51376/reincarnated-as-an-aristocrat-with-an-appraisal-skill
> MC is a child and his skill is a pretty common isekai skill. But function and use are pretty unique. MC also is not OP and pretty weak.

https://mangadex.org/title/41652/fff-class-trashero
> MC is summoned to fight the Demon King but the characters personality are more... "normal" rather than the usual friendship-is-magic kind.

https://mangadex.org/title/45903/dungeon-reset
> MC is able to see the silver lining in bad situations but isn't a virtuous guy.

https://mangadex.org/title/34387/lonely-attack-on-the-different-world
> No-nonsense loner MC .

https://mangadex.org/title/18091/arifureta-shokugyou-de-sekai-saikyou
> Cruel MC but still understandable.

 

[orangegoat72]

Survival Story Of A Sword King In A Fantasy World Because Big Funny n good characters

 

[Falador]

Lord of the rings
Solid isekai from a Maiar's perspective.

 

[HydratedPuppy]

Freeter ga Jimini Isekai Teni Suru Manga

Four reasons to read it;
> Mc gets isekai'ed 17 times.
> It is short, only 18 chapters.
> Mc is less dense than your usual Romcom protagonist.
> No Harem.

 

[Syanindita]

@Greenfrost
Hmm I don't read isekai manga/manhwas. Does time travel count?

I like Thermae romae. MC keep getting randomly time-travelled to the future Japan every day and come back again to his time (He is from Ancient Rome)

 

[slost]

I think my favorite is Zettai ni Hatarakitakunai Dungeon Master ga Damin wo Musaboru made (LN).

 

[Iod]

Mushoku Tensei light novel, because it has actual progression, clear objectives and most of all, a very satisfying ending.

 

[nutman451]

Mushoku Tensei light novel, because it has actual progression, clear objectives and most of all, a very satisfying ending.

+1

ah shiz, beat me to it.

There's an ongoing manga of it too, though it has harem if you don't mind. But the MC and his girls are all likable.

Spoiler

Interestingly all ofthe harem isn't together with the MC until much later in the series and instead are introduced and developed alongside the MC throughout his life.

The series has wonderful themes and execution, fully reccomended.

 

[SadisticIgami]

Honestly, my favorites are The Devil is a Part-Timer (funny reverse isekai) and Mushoku Tensei (really good i guess idk how to describe it since i have an iq of -1000)

 

[HoangDinh]

Boobs isekai and time stop brave

 

[SirMoogle]

That Time I Reincarnated as a Slime, as it's not the formulaic "MC gets transported into a parallel universe and is ridiculously OP as he or she fights of hordes of enemies just because". The spinoffs are great in expanding what Tempest is like.

 

[TestAddress]

Strange Dawn. My first isekai is a yuri. Fo memorable.

 

[HoangDinh]

Boobs isekai and time stop brave

did anyone mention konosuba yet

 

[Hicleric]

I was gonna say Escaflowne, but then I remembered the overlap between the anime and manga is approximately zero

 

[Siquall]

Three i like :

Mushoku tensei
Ascendence of a bookworm
The Dungeon of Black Company

Why these three ? Because i hate most Isekai who are lazy and just take videogame jrpg systems (lv/inventory/class/skills/stats/etc...), and if i remove the rest too with wish-fullfilment MC with op random power and harem, not a lot are still on the list.