Isekai is one of anime’s most popular genres yet, and as more series and Manga are released, the more it attracts new fans every day. The genre started a few years ago with classics like Inuyasha or Sword Art Online, where the protagonist is typically sent into another world and must learn to adapt.
In more recent years, the isekai genre became synonymous with the concept of reincarnation as some of their protagonists tend to enter new worlds reincarnated as someone or something else. Reincarnated As A Slime is a perfect example of this trend and stands as one of the pillars of this particular category.
8/8 The Saga of Tanya the Evil (2017)
Where to watch: Crunchyroll
This story is about a Japanese man whose face got revealed in the anime’s art book or written works rather than in the anime itself. He was a tall man with dark hair, bangs parted in the middle and dark green tinted eyes. After being murdered in 2013, he was the least to expect to be reborn as a young petite blonde with blue eyes. Waking in up as a girl named Tanya Degurechaff in an alternate version of Europe in 1914, he had major adjustments to go through to survive.
Tania was enlisted in the Empire’s Imperial Armed Forces to fight in this magical war. Her ruthlessness, cold exterior and calculating mind helped rise through the ranks rapidly, and she quickly became the infamous “Devil of the Rhine”.
7/8 Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation (2021)
Where to watch: Funimation, Hulu and Crunchyroll.
A 34-year-old Japanese man has lived all of his life being an oppressed and bullied shut-in. The moment he decides to take control of his destiny and change things for the better, he gets hit by a truck and passes away. Luckily, he doesn’t move on to the afterlife and gets a second chance at life by being reborn as a child in another world.
Having his past identity, thoughts, and experiences from the very start of this new adventure managed to help him set himself apart from the others with his magical abilities. Unlike his past life, he now has friends and loving parents, so the hope of finding true love and living his best life is not far off either.
6/8 Reborn as a Vending Machine, I Now Wander the Dungeon (2022)
Where to watch: Crunchyroll (Release Date TBD)
Reborn as a Vending Machine, I Now Wander the Dungeon was a Manga published in 2018 and focuses on the story of a middle age man who has been obsessed with vending machines all of his life, and it’s also the way he dies – crushed by one of them. However, his life didn’t end there. He was reborn as a vending machine in a dungeon packed with dangerous monsters.
As a sentient object, he cannot move on his own and can only communicate with typical vending machine phrases such as “welcome” and “Get one free with a winner”. His new life seemed doomed from the very get-go until the heroine, Lammis, finds him and gives him the name of Boxxo. Having the strength of six men, Lammis carries Boxxo around on her back and goes out for quests while he provides her any items bought from vending machines in his previous life. The two makes an unlikely pair of heroes, but nevertheless, this light story has captured the attention of many fans. Crunchyroll has announced last August that this Manga will set to stream as an anime on their streaming service sometime this year.
5/8 Reincarnated as a Sword (2022)
Where to watch: Crunchyroll
A 30-year-old man dies in a car accident and is reborn as a particular object, a sword. He finds himself in another world, one full of fantasy, monsters, and magic, and must find a way to survive, despite not remembering his name.
He encounters a fleeing slave girl known as Fran. She once belonged to the tribe called the Black Cats, but after years of abuse and mistreatment, she ran away. After being saved by the sword, she named him Shishou, and the two adventurers team up to fight justice within this world. This isekai series releases next month, in October, for fans curious to learn more about Shishou’s adventures.
4/8 So I’m a Spider, So What? (2021)
Where to watch: Crunchyroll and Netflix
A Japanese high school girl named Kumoko died along with many other students when an unforeseen event killed everyone at her school. Fortunately, many of these students reincarnated as people of various social statuses in another world. From nobles to princesses and princes, everyone got a second chance at living their best life except Kumoko.
She was the only one to be reborn as a spider monster and one of the weakest specie too. Like many of her favorite games, she realizes that by increasing her stats and leveling up by defeating fellow monsters, her quest for survival and her chance to improve her life will be easier than expected.
3/8 The Greatest Demon Lord Is Reborn as a Typical Nobody
Where to watch: Crunchyroll
Varvatos, an extremely powerful human has maxed out the potential of gaining any more magical strength, and no one is remotely close to his status. After being nicknamed the Demon Lord by civilians and getting alienated by them for being overpowered, he feels lonely and seeks companionship.
He decides to try his quest for friendship again three thousand years later when he is reborn as a typical nobody from a normal family. However, his past self is still there, and so are his powers. Keeping his powers in check is hard, especially when his former immortal friends are unbeknownst to his real identity and forces his hand or threaten his life. How will he manage to get his life on the right track when he’s still the most powerful being out there living in secret?
2/8 My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! (2020)
Where to watch: Crunchyroll
Catarina Claes, the only daughter of Duke Claes, remembers everything about her past life and how she was reincarnated into this person when she hit her head at the age of 8 years old. She remembers the night of her death clearly. She was playing this otome game called “Love Fortune”– the exact same game she is now trapped in as the villainess.
With her knowledge of the game, she knows the tragic fate that awaits her, and she must try everything in her power to survive. She also must make the right choices that will not send her to her impending death with the help of her friends.
1/8 That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime (2018)
Where to watch: Crunchyroll and Funimation
A thirty-seven-year-old man named Satoru Mikami loses his life by being fatally stabbed in the streets of Tokyo. He awakens in another world and after finding out he has been reincarnated as a slime, he learns he can change its appearance and gain unique abilities depending on what he devours during his journey.
As a lonely slime with no name and friends, when he finally gains Veldora as a companion, he finally gets named as Rimuru Tempest. Rimuru and Veldora embark on a quest to destroy a magical seal.