Ima, Soko ni Iru Boku

List of pre 2000's isekai anime

The criteria here is simple: Anime released in any year, with under 160,000 MAL Members, and which I've rated a 7 or higher.

I'm also not including anything that I've already included on my Good Stuff list: https://myanimelist.net/stacks/9517

Pardon my presumptuous and awkwardly worded title meant to shoehorn this into my Obscurities series. In short, if you've seen a lot of the most popular stuff and just need some new recommendations that aren't the most obvious things possible but also not too obscure, here you go.

If you'd prefer to dive deeper, go here: https://myanimelist.net/stacks/9611

This is a part of a series of stacks that are about artistic tendencies in anime (and that border the fine line between sophisticated and pretentious).

This stack is a work in progress.

Bibliography:
Clements, Jonathan. "The Brown Screen: Trended change in Japanese animation 1966–83." Anime: A History. Palgrave Macmillan, 2013. 154-155.
Condry, Ian. "When Anime Robots became real." The Soul of Anime. Duke University Press, 2013. 117-119, 122-127.
Hack, Brett Anthony. "Screens, Clichés, and Revolutions: Code Geass and the Mediated Imagination of Change." Anime and Social Imagination: Media Fictions in Japan’s Age of Neoliberalism. 2021. Nagoya University, PhD thesis. 160-162.

This stack is sponsored by APolygons2 YouTube channel. who is without bias, the single best YouTube channel since "xX-fortniteIsC00l-Xx".

Continuation of the first stack.
https://myanimelist.net/stacks/10500

This should be about it.
While I could keep adding more by digging deeper, especially into the older stuff, or just adding even more mainstream titles... I feel like that'd be excessive - as I want to keep these stacks somewhat balanced and easy to digest for a broad range of people: whether you're someone who mostly watches modern anime or an oldhead that still has VHS anime.
As long as the person reading this is okay with something outside of their comfort zone - they will find something for themselves.

Japan has waged countless wars within its territories and beyond her shores for thousands of years now, and in anime we can see some of the perspectives, interpretations and depictions the Japanese people have developed with regards to this topic.

In this stack list I have gathered what I consider to be the essential anime with the theme of war, whether they show it from the perspective of the soldiers who fight them or from the experience of the bystander civilians who have to endure its effects on society and the environment. War is a theme that comes up, even tangentially, in most of everything, so I can't really make a list of every good anime that has some reference to war in it, so here I tried to put shows that either have a direct focus on war as a core theme, or shows whose main focus isn't war and only have war related elements in certain limited sections, but still do provide an interesting and valuable perspective on it when the theme of war eventually comes up.

I don't necessarily agree with all of these shows' views on war (I actively disagree with some), nor do I believe every show here is good. I just think that all of these could offer interesting insight on the different perspectives about war that come up in Japanese animation. You decide which view of war you agree with the most or find most emotionally genuine and politically nuanced.

Shows that take the audience's intelligence seriously, with dark tones and heavy stories. No overblown gorefests or edgy "psychological" shit that's just trying to shock viewers by pretending to be adult.

These are mostly 90s-00s SF, a time period in which this sort of heavily grounded, emotional/philosophical tone was popular with industry veterans.

Just trust me and pick one which peaks your interest the most. You won't regret it.

This list is targeted to people who have little time to spend on watching anime but they already have watched the popular ones. Anime in this list have occult following but they are not well-known in the public. Hope you'll be joining these occult followings by enjoying some of the following anime.
Also, this list is a challenge of shorts so that you won't stop watching just from the first episode and be able to have a better understanding of the anime you are watching.
This list includes anime from various genres so that people, who have a particular interest in certain genres and not others, can find something to spend their time. Enjoy life and enjoy anime!
*Fingers crossed that the mods of the site don't bully me again by putting this list as unlisted again. If they do, i hope you did find something amazing to watch from this list!

A fictional world which feels alive and its circumstances are properly explained. Details about the citizens, the cities, the food, the monsters. Everything has a background and a meaning in its existence. The 'rules' and regulations and even the social status of the world are thoroughly explained. A world where you can immerse yourself in.

As we know isekai is not one of the genres with the best reputation within anime, but among so much crap we can find some that are worth checking out.

This collection of series, movies and shorts represent a specific mood, expressed within the anime media. Their pace is most likely slow, and are usually focused at the complex emotional web that surrounds the worlds and characters that are within them.

In each of them the feelings which are translated onto the viewer are those of comfort, but also anxiety, affection, as well as sorrow. The balance and the depth in which they are presented varies from show to show as well as from the personal perception and worldview that each viewer has. Their main unity point is that they tuck on our heartstrings and provokes our empathy towards the unwinding chaos and turmoil.

These selected series presents us relatable, even if based on fiction stories - which even within it's bleakness and darkness, holds a silver of hope and warmth or which conceals within their bright and vivid colors sublime, gentle, but ever present feelings of despair and sadness.

These anime have strong & dark depictions of suffering, mental illness, trauma violence, sex and various sociopolitical and economic problems in a grounded way and without sugarcoating it, although in fiction it is often impossible to completely avoid the distorting lense of epicness or melodrama when portraying reality.

When I say that these shows portray reality, I don't mean to say that they are necessarily based in material reality, as some are sci-fi or fantasy. What I mean, is that these shows portray the bleak and harrowing aspects of human condition without pulling any punches, and without romanticizing it (to some extent).

These shows often have a positive and hopeful overall message and/or ending sometimes, so I wouldn't call this a list of "depressing" shows. However, they have in common that they revolve around brutal and mature depictions of psychological, physical and spiritual pain of individuals and society, while also having a haunting and opressive feel to them.

Series which aired on the Sci-fi/Syfy Channel's Ani-Monday block; Ani-Tuesday entries also included. Ordered alphabetically by their English titles.

The most acclaimed anime series of all time, compiled from 57 lists. Last updated October 2022.

The lists come from many different sources, mostly blogs and forum polls, as well as a few lists made by critics, animators, and journalists. I used both old and new lists, and I avoided lists that focus on a single genre or a single decade.

The list is ranked by points. An anime receives points for each list it appears on. For polls, an anime receives points proportional to the number of votes, with weights adjusted to prevent individual polls from having too much influence. All anime in the top 100 appear on at least 5 lists.

1-50: https://myanimelist.net/stacks/16403
51-100: https://myanimelist.net/stacks/16406
101-150: https://myanimelist.net/stacks/16407

Below is the list of sources.
http://shuffly.net/zoop/and-now-for-something-vaguely-nostalgic/
http://wrongeverytime.com/2014/03/31/top-30-anime-series-of-all-time/
https://animerurouni.wordpress.com/2017/02/01/top-25-favorite-anime-2017-edition/
https://annaloguetokyo.wordpress.com/2016/01/02/30-best-anime-series-that-i-love/
https://asimplelotus.wordpress.com/2019/01/10/my-50-favorite-anime/
https://beneaththetangles.com/2020/08/12/twwks-top-30-anime-series/
https://blog.draggle.org/my-favorite-anime/
https://brandonoyouknow.wordpress.com/2020/06/11/my-top-anime-all-time/
https://caraniel.wordpress.com/top-50-anime/
https://deluscar.wordpress.com/all-time-favorite-lists/all-time-favorite-anime/
https://floatingintobliss.wordpress.com/2017/07/29/top-30-anime/
https://furansujapon.com/manga-anime/top-meilleurs-anime-tous-les-temps/
https://ghostlightning.wordpress.com/about-wrl/ghostlightnings-most-favored-anime-top-30-all-time-as-of-2011/
https://goldenrealist.wordpress.com/2015/07/30/personal-best-anime-series-of-all-time/
https://groups.google.com/g/alt.anime.gundam/c/GA4z32gCGJk
https://groups.google.com/g/rec.arts.anime.misc/c/0lNHr_ydx7o/m/KuHOPSLj9KUJ
https://kiddtic.wordpress.com/2012/01/28/my-top-50-anime-of-all-time-50-26/
https://mabiesomeday.wordpress.com/2020/02/14/personal-list-top-26-anime-series/
https://mageinabarrel.com/top-anime-of-all-time/
https://medievalotaku.wordpress.com/about/my-50-favorite-anime-series/
https://openranka.wordpress.com/2013/03/02/my-top-50-anime-list-updated-for-2012/
https://otakulounge.net/2014/06/25/my-top-20-anime-of-all-time/
https://rateyourmusic.com/list/YasashiiDia/top-anime-series-as-voted-for-by-rym/
https://redundantcolors.wordpress.com/2015/07/17/top-40-anime-series/
https://rocklobsterjwt.wordpress.com/2015/11/01/my-top-20-favorite-anime-series/
https://samui26.wordpress.com/2016/03/24/my-40-most-favorite-anime-series-part-1/
https://shinmechaguignol.com/top-30-anime-series-of-all-time/
https://starcrossedanime.com/my-top-20-favourite-anime/
https://starkfyre.wordpress.com/2016/05/22/top-25-greatest-anime-series-of-all-time/
https://thecartdriver.com/inushindes-top-30-anime-2-0/
https://thecartdriver.com/scamps-top-30-anime/
https://thecartdriver.com/shinmarus-top-30-anime-tags/
https://thelimitlessimagination.wordpress.com/category/top-anime-list/
https://thenullset.wordpress.com/2012/06/11/my-top-20-anime-of-all-time-20-to-11/
https://vraikaiser.com/2019/01/03/vrais-top-20-anime-redux-part-1/
https://watashiwabucho.wordpress.com/my-top-30-anime-2/
https://web.archive.org/web/20150930142642/http://animeboards.com/archive/index.php/t-51432.html
https://www.animeimpulse.com/blog/2017/10/24/top-50-anime-series-of-all-time
https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/bbs/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=44259
https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2001-07-16/wizard-lists-top-50-anime
https://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-feature/2021/01/20/recs-top-30-anime-of-all-time-according-to-cdawgva
https://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-feature/2021/11/23-1/recs-top-30-anime-of-all-time-according-to-gigguk
https://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-news/2012/12/31/50-masterpieces-for-50-years-of-tv-anime
https://www.icheckmovies.com/lists/icm+forums+favourite+tv+series/mathiasa/
https://www.ign.com/articles/2019/11/25/top-25-best-anime-series-of-all-time
https://www.listal.com/list/digibros-top-27-anime
https://www.nishikata-eiga.com/2010/10/laputas-top-150-japanese-and-world.html
https://www.pastemagazine.com/tv/list/best-anime-of-all-time/
https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/6z2spq/top_anime_and_anime_directors_voted_by_japanese/
https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/d58ycg/the_results_of_the_ranime_classics_of_anime_poll/
https://www.sankakucomplex.com/2014/03/18/top-50-classic-anime/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEVKkzP-sm0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9LVtXdkb_s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6Wnxy7ooik
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ya3guHgPTNg
https://zenpiesama.weebly.com/animanga/my-favorite-animemanga-to-date-2018
A compilation of 136 anime bloggers' favorites

These are anime Iv seen that I feel have an undercurrent of sadness to them. Hopefully you find something new!

Part 1 - https://myanimelist.net/stacks/18500