Many isekai anime begin at the end: the protagonist faces the end of their old life in place of the beginning of a new one. This theme of death and rebirth is prevalent in isekai anime, but more often than not, the story never really draws to a conclusion. Instead, many isekai conclude with the main character never finding a way back to the world they once knew and accepting their new life.
While the acceptance of their new life can prove to be an interesting conclusion in some cases, if the fact of this is not addressed in a truly human way, it can lead to the characters feeling hollow. Other times, isekai anime begin with what may have been a great concept, only to end up losing their way in the end.
10/10 It’s Not Too Late For The Shield Hero To Rise Again
The Rising Of The Shield Hero
The Rising of the Shield Hero received near universal acclaim upon its initial release. The unique elements of its story, which showed the main character going through terrible circumstances in a strange world, made for an intriguing narrative that kept viewers interested.
Much of what made Shield Hero one of the most acclaimed new series of 2019 isn’t in its second season. The animation, storyline, and overall conflicted character development that made Naofumi so interesting has caused an uproar in the fandom. Fans can only hope that the release of a third season in 2023 can cure the direction that the show took by the end of its second season.
9/10 Re:Creators Should Recreate Its Ending
Re:Creators
Re:Creators is something of a Meta Anime that depicts the story of a young anime fan who’s writing a light novel. He inevitably gets pulled into an anime world whose own creator has died. In an act of revenge, the antagonist attempts to destroy the world using all the powers granted to her in various fan fiction.
Re:Creators was a great show with a super unique plot that solidifies it as one of the most interesting new isekai of recent years. Due to the great storyline, it’s a shame there wasn’t a better ending to bring completion to the characters it took such care to develop.
8/10 Sword Art Online Is Still Enjoyable Despite Its Valid Criticisms
Sword Art Online
Despite the frequent hate it receives, Sword Art Online‘s success is well-earned. Sword Art Online begins with some really intriguing plot points and emotional character development. The series is entertaining with some awesome fights and animation.
However, as the story went on to the end of the first season, everything it built upon proved fruitless. Kirito himself makes a questionable decision at the end of the show, which seems like the writers were simply attempting to provide an excuse for future seasons after the main plot ran its course.
7/10 How Not To Summon A Demon Lord Lost Track Of A Major Plot Point
How Not To Summon A Demon Lord
How Not to Summon a Demon Lord‘s plot isn’t necessarily anything that isekai fans haven’t seen before: a lonely gamer gets pulled into a fantasy world that’s identical to his favorite MMORPG. Where the story differs from many other series in this vein is that, instead of the protagonist being an overpowered hero, he is a Demon Lord who enslaves the people who summoned him.
The dichotomy between Diablo’s psychological disposition as developed in his old life and the new persona he tries to embody as a Demon Lord makes the show both interesting and humorous. Instead of being ruined by its finale episode specifically, it was more the second season as a whole that was entirely less enjoyable than the first.
6/10 Arata The Legend Didn’t Have The Time To Bring Its Potential To Life
Arata The Legend
Arata The Legend has some great source material in its original manga, with unique art and character abilities that set it apart from other isekai. The character development was also good, though the show ended before it could go anywhere interesting. Being that the first twelve episodes were released nearly ten years ago without much publicity, it is unlikely to have a second season.
Although the anime remained true to the manga, the twelve episodes it received weren’t enough to do the source material justice. As a result, the anime’s ending left much to be desired and didn’t do much in terms of fleshing out what it began building.
5/10 In Another World With My Smartphone Needs More Smartphone
In Another World With My Smartphone
Following the trope of oddly specific anime titles, In Another World With My Smartphone delivers on the promise that its title suggests. Being that God accidentally killed the protagonist Touyo, he allows Touyo to be reborn in a fantasy world along with a modified version of his smartphone as an apology.
Where IAWWMS fails in its finale is by not giving its unique smartphone dynamic enough airtime. It’s as though the series has all but forgotten in its latter half just what it was about, and it loses itself to the isekai overpowered main character hype train.
4/10 .hack//sign Logged Out Before The Game Was Over
.hack//sign
Tsukasa is a Wavemaster trapped inside the virtual reality game, “The World.” His confusion behind his circumstances leads to an intriguing story of mystery and discovery in .hack//sign. Sign has become a well-known and influential series in the isekai genre and has garnered many spinoffs in both manga and video games.
The problem with .hack‘s ending is that it’s simply too open-ended, with apparently many of the unanswered questions getting their response in the video game entries. However, for anime-only viewers, this ending will seem like a big disappointment after becoming invested in the characters up to that point.
3/10 Demon Lord, Retry! Doesn’t Seem Like It’s Getting A Retry Anytime Soon
Demon Lord, Retry!
Demon Lord, Retry! is essentially taking the tried and true isekai tropes and retrying them in a way that is sometimes self-aware and other times comedic. It knows that it’s an isekai harem about an overpowered adventurer in a video game, and it works best as a parody for fans who actually enjoy isekai.
Retry actually had a lot of potential, but by the ending, it seems the show simply forgot what it set out to do. Instead of continuing with the interesting plot points of Kunai setting out to understand how he got trapped in Infinity Game, he seems to accept his fate. The final episode ultimately ends with “to be continued,” and hopefully this is true because the series has a lot of making up to do.
2/10 No Game No Life Is An Amazing Anime That Was Never Finished
No Game No Life
No Game No Life places two sibling NEETs, Sora and his sister Shiro, into an alternate reality where everything is decided by the outcome of games. Being that their lives were already based entirely on playing games, Sora and Shiro fare extremely well in their new circumstances. The concept itself makes for a humorous and unique experience that isekai fans shouldn’t miss.
However, No Game No Life is another case of a great isekai anime concluding with an unsatisfactory cliffhanger. The finale itself provided a great fight scene and is exciting on its own, but the plot ultimately left fans with more questions than answers.
1/10 Aesthetica Of A Rogue Hero’s Author Went Rogue
Aesthetica Of A Rogue Hero
Aesthetica of a Rogue Hero takes a somewhat different approach of making a story about the hero’s return instead of their journey away. The entire premise of Aesthetica revolves around the fact that the people of his world are frequently sent to another world and thus use this fact to their advantage. This kind of double reverse isekai gives the show a best-of-both-worlds feel.
The thing that ruined Aesthetica‘s ending was the fact that it ended at all — or rather, that the show ended before it was really supposed to end and will likely never receive a proper ending. Apparently, the author of the source material, Tetsuto Uesu, left the project unfinished, making it highly unlikely that the anime continues any further.