Saihate no Paladin

A list of easily bingeable isekai, they are all action based isekai.
I ordered them according to my preferences.

Yo, welcome to the official isekai recommendation list for people who want to get into isekai but just don't know where to start. The purpose of this is to introduce some of the most popular and well made isekai so that people new to isekai can watch the best of the best the isekai genre has to offer.
This list is not in order of best to worst but simply isekai I believe are worth watching, however this is of course subject to my personal opinions.

You may wonder what makes this official in any way? Well, my only qualification is I've watched the vast majority of all isekai and really like the genre, however if you don't end up agreeing with this list after 2-3 working days then I can guarantee your money back!

Disclaimer - most typical isekai are lower effort power fantasies where the protagonist shows off how cool he is and gets a harem. Enjoying this trash is a trait of a typical isekai watcher and, although I do enjoy them, I will only be covering the generally well written and innovative isekai here that stands out from the rest.
Most of this is the basics that will then send you down the dark path of watching isekai and so if my list succeeds and you end up an avid isekai fan...I can only apologise.

Firstly, what exactly an isekai is can be debated. For the purposes of this I will limit it exclusively to anime where the main character is sent to a fantasy world and cannot return to his own world.
This subsequently does not include game worlds such as sword art online, reverse isekai like re:creators or isekai where they travel between worlds like gate. Yes under the actual definition of isekai these can be argued to fit and if you disagree with how ive done this please direct all complaints to 'earnshaw30' on mal.

If you read this whole thing then firstly thanks but also i'll now shamelessly ask you to check out my reviews because you clearly have a lot of spare time on your hands. My gimmick is I only review things that fill me with a passionate hatred and so if that sounds fun to you then great!

Surprisingly good series from an oversaturated genre. For people who are interested in isekai but are tired of generic, cliché, trope-filled stories.

(one entry per franchise)

Entries meet 4 or more of these criteria:
1. Atypical protagonist(s) (either in background, personality, or dynamics)
2. Unique magic / power system (aka no "He's casting without incantations?!?!")
3. Unique in-setting religion (aka no "Hello protagonist, I am the Goddess™ of this world")
4. No JRPG / video game mechanics (aka inventory, stats screen, skill list, etc.)
5. Major plot elements do not revolve around an adventurers' guild (generic place that gives quests)
6. No demon king / demon lord / demon army
7. Minimal to no fanservice / nudity
8. Not in the harem / reverse harem subgenres (as in revolving around the main character's many love interests) (series marked with an 8* are ones that are tagged as Harem by MAL but don't really fit this definition)
9. Protagonist has healthy friendships with both male and female characters (as equals rather than subordinates or simple love interests)
10. Has a reason to be an isekai
11. Consistently funny comedy

Format:
Description

[isekai type(s)]
(list of criteria met)

Tags: Unique Isekai, Worthwhile Isekai, Great Isekai

Bromance, Male friendship, Rivalry, Ambiguous ambiance, Fujo-bait you know where it lead. There is a ton of series non shounen-ai/BL tagged that contains "I SHIP THEM" or "SHIP HAS SAILED" moments.
(male) Characters have strong emotional bond that fujoshi particularly enjoy.
Trying to avoid the already Boys Love tagged entries since everyone can find them.
Linked to this stack :
• Part 2 : https://myanimelist.net/stacks/626
• Chineses / Korean/ Danmei - ONA entries : https://myanimelist.net/stacks/875

(Keyword : yaoi, shonen-ai, shounen-ai, danmei, BL, boys love, gay, fujoshi, fudanshi, fujobait, ikemen, bishounen, ambiguous, ship)

this is the list of my favorites isekai... feel free to suggest some others isekai if I'm missing out... this list groups animes with most similarities together...

it's been said that watching isekai anime is like going downward spiral into a rabbit hole of darkness and some depravity ecchi stuff... folks, people are being over dramatic because some isekai are lewd doesn't mean theres any decent isekai that don't rely on lewdness or other hentai stuff... I'm here to demythify that... at least argue against that false premise...

on this list you will find family friendly isekai that are healthy and wholesome...
just to update that for now but if take your time you will find what are marked family friendly isekai that will get you straight out of the world depravity... is not given but yeah just want to let people know that is not completely a dark path... those who went to the dark side did by choice... so do you rather not go to the dark side?

for those insisting that isekai genre is whatever because of repeating classical trope is like arguing that romance genre is bs because you for sure will know that the stuff usually is the lovey dovey and kissing or some whatever tragedy and sadness... every genre is known for its quirks is totally normal, do people really have its expectations in the right place?

my short recommendation if you like Mushoku Tensei meanwhile waiting for the second season then watch:

-The 8th son? Are you kidding me?

this anime should a be good pick...It does share many elements it got the good stuff as expected of nicely done isekai with all its tropes... cough cough a harem...

-Wise Man's Grandchild

please people don't scream generic... if you just care about generic part or repeated trope then maybe you don't enjoy isekai anime... but here's some similarities to mushoku tensei.

the protagonist:
-was ran over by a car.
-still have some science knowledge from previous life
-started as a newborn baby
-improves magic with science knowledge
-is very op... as much as Rudeus... Guess Mushoku Tensei this season will be about the magic academy.

- Grimgar: Ashes and Illusions

that time I recommended Goblin Slayer to fill the goblin slaying reference that was lacking in Mushoku Tensei. this is a much more older reference for fantasy isekai anime, pretty good. I'm not sure if this anime is pretty popular or not I just saw it recently and Omg it has very good representation of different roles of a party for a lot of anime in this genre. it has very much the similar mechanic in how magic works. this anime was before goblin slayer, I thought this one has serve as inspiration that's why I found that Goblin Slayer even though wasn't isekai has a lot of good quality in it.

-Goblin slayer

is very bloody is not very advisable if you can't handle gore...this anime helps expand on the goblins topic that was barely covered in Mushoku.

some may wonder why goblin slayer is on the list if the mc isn't reincarnated or teleported to a fantasy world...my answer to this is... to think about it this way, the main difference between an isekai in contrast to a straight forward fantasy, is the Mc origin backstory, so in the end it doesn't even matter whether isekai or non-isekai the fantasy world setting is the same for both... capiche? in simple terms this is being used as reference material...

put it bluntly if we have Rudeus Greyrat and the goblin slayer...the latter have a backstory usually in Japan being hit by truck-kun... this being said the main point is that after watching Eris the goblin slayer FYI the Mushoku Tensei OVA ...I got curious and then... yeah after that you want more goblin slaying action in a longer series...what else?

-Skeleton Knight in Another World

even though this anime is of somebody who suddenly woke up in the game... it seems more of that sub-genre of games world isekai... like the fact this one doesn't have the game interface and pop-up menu that's been seen in these others isekai.

-That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime aka Tensura

I highly recommend it... this anime will share and borrow narrative elements from different isekai I consider it a rich and very elaborate and wholesome anime...

ok... I like this one because it doesn't have a game user interface in which is a good thing ... instead it has the better idea of having an ai voice assistant... the reason behind why I'm recommending skeleton knight and Tensura, I saw it has fast travel and teleportation in which is a big deal of a topic in Mushoku for the future so folks watch more isekai with Teleportation and fast travel really a big deal and is interesting... there's some others anime that has it not mentioned for now maybe later or ahead down below keep an eye peel...

-The Faraway Paladin

some says that this anime did took inspiration in Mushoku Tensei... seems it does it also have its own thing... maybe its cover more on the Paladin sides of things, truly is really well done in that sense I did enjoy the concept of paladin that's not very often seen in the genre, as we know mostly the protagonist usually is a mage... the paladin thing did blew my mind what is the middle ground between an mage and a warrior .... ta-da! a Paladin...

basically these are the recommended watch order just to be a more enriching experience on isekai that got ideas that are more elaborate in different story... people complain that isekai are generic but I think is an evolution so it may happen that some ideas are repeated but we can see that it works better than other I think that Mushoku Tensei was able to wrap a lot of ideas pretty well some others too, so I consider it a masterpiece...

if you are looking for something similar to the Shield hero...a Hero Merchant Mc with a lot of ladies' companions, then I recommend watching:

1-Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody

yeah, as I this one does follow our Shield Hero foots, going around with a lot of ladies in a cart like any proper gentleman... seriously my role model!

2-Black Summoner

another of our fellow Shield Hero friend Bought a slave to fight too... Nice!

some trends and ideas in the isekai animes has been argue that summoner is the strongest form of a mage because they rely on the spirit as a source of power, that's why suddenly summoner concept is becoming more common and more animes are working around on that idea.

summoning abilities is something that the top names isekai use it is a very a powerful spell...

3-Parallel World Pharmacy

this anime shares some similarities between Shield hero and seijo... what they have in common is the healing and crafting potion abilities...

4-The Saint's Magic Power is Omnipotent

this anime shares similar vibe introduction both were summoned from a ritual to fight some calamity ...and was treated poorly upon arrival ... but Naofumi had it rougher in comparison...

5- Seirei Gensuki

Our protagonist in this anime is pretty Op and also follows Shield Heros footstep to have demi human slave companion with nightmares during night sleeps... does it sound familiar?

6-Meikyuu Black Company

both mc are the boss... does business in a shady way, both have an Op female bodyguard that are always hungry...

7- Harem in the Labyrinth of Another World

in this anime the Mc bought a slave too... the same way Naofumi did, certainly but the main difference is that this anime went much much further than Shield Hero...

8-I'm Standing on a Million Lives

on this anime the mc has similar restriction on weapon that can be equipped by the hero following certain rules...

*LOG HORIZON---*
- Log Horizon is an recommend anime to watch at some point in time because is like the grandfather to some recent isekai anime. if you enjoy anime related to be isekai in a mmorpg game world.

***if you are looking for anime similar to konosuba in the premise of non-handsome Mc
you may watch...
1- isekai ojisan
2- Tsukimichi -Moonlit Fantasy-


***Guide to watch for people with busy schedule
Considering time is limited the usual must watch based on people recommendations,
is to start out with Mushoku Tensei, then go for Tensura and lastly Shield Hero...if you were able to chew on these 3... after that it should be easy to look for the next thing to watch... this list center around those 3 primary top tier isekai... you may notice that whats up and below share the most similarities between them...


enjoy...

the pasture is greener in the dark side.... sooo you my puritan friend... is corruption enticing? are you avoiding the so-called dark side, or do you only watch family friendly isekai?

*UPDATE*
- reached the limit of the list... wondering if there's some great isekai anime left out?
and lastly thanks to the people who sent there's suggestion.

Shousetsuka ni Narou, “Let’s become a novelist!”, is Japan's novel publishing website where anyone can publish and read novels free of charge. These animes are the anime of Shousetsuka ni Narou origin, in which some of them are popular series.

Part 1 -> https://myanimelist.net/stacks/5026
Part 3 -> https://myanimelist.net/stacks/5032
Part 4 -> https://myanimelist.net/stacks/31489
Part 5 -> https://myanimelist.net/stacks/49254

Just some isekai to waste your time with sometimes. I mean, seriously, who doesn’t watch isekai to be disappointed sometimes with the overused trope of "Trashy/Normal MC > Reincarnates Into OP MC > Beats Up All Enemies." However, despite what I've said, there are some decent isekai you could check out.

Anime with lots of cute boys mostly excluding the sports, yaoi, romance or harem genre. Just cute boys doing stuff.
There is a number 2 now https://myanimelist.net/stacks/37404

From Shoujo to Shounen, these are some pretty good isekai that I’ve gathered and enjoyed. There are some older pieces on here and some pretty niche things on here as well so I hope you guys can find something that you haven’t seen before. I have some anime that I’m anticipating as well so make sure to add them to your to watch list!

ITS JUST A SHIPP, ITS JUST MY OPNION IF THESE ANIMES ARE A LITTLE GAY, SHUT UP.
IF YOU DON'T LIKE GET OUT OF HERE.

۞ 𝕀𝕤𝕖𝕜𝕒𝕚 𝔹𝕦𝕥 𝔸𝕔𝕥𝕦𝕒𝕝𝕝𝕪 𝔾𝕆𝕆𝔻 𝕆𝕟𝕖𝕤.⤵
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
❐ 𝑶𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒍𝒐𝒓𝒅 ⟹ GameSekai with kind of high-fantasy theme.
❐ 𝑯𝒂𝒊 𝒕𝒐 𝑮𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒐𝒖 𝒏𝒐 𝑮𝒓𝒊𝒎𝒈𝒂𝒓 ⟹ GameSekai with very realistic approach.
❐ 𝑳𝒐𝒈 𝑯𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒛𝒐𝒏 ⟹ GameSekai with very technical approach.
❐ 𝑫𝒓𝒊𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒔 ⟹ Historical figures gets Isekaied.
❐ 𝑵𝒐 𝑮𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝑵𝒐 𝑳𝒊𝒇𝒆 ⟹ Unique isekai, Focused on games.
❐ 𝑻𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒆𝒊 𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒂 𝑺𝒍𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝑫𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒂 𝑲𝒆𝒏 ⟹ Generic Isekai with interesting plot.
❐ 𝑻𝒔𝒖𝒌𝒊 𝒈𝒂 𝑴𝒊𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒃𝒊𝒌𝒖 𝑰𝒔𝒆𝒌𝒂𝒊 𝑫𝒐𝒖𝒄𝒉𝒖𝒖 ⟹ Generic Isekai with interesting twist and plot.
❐ 𝑴𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒊𝒋𝒊-𝒕𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒊 𝒈𝒂 𝑰𝒔𝒆𝒌𝒂𝒊 𝒌𝒂𝒓𝒂 𝑲𝒖𝒓𝒖 𝑺𝒐𝒖 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒖 𝒚𝒐? ⟹
❐ 𝒀𝒐𝒖𝒋𝒐 𝑺𝒆𝒏𝒌𝒊 ⟹ Isekai but in a 19th century Military setting with limited magic, very
❐ 𝑹𝒆:𝒁𝒆𝒓𝒐 𝒌𝒂𝒓𝒂 𝑯𝒂𝒋𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒖 𝑰𝒔𝒆𝒌𝒂𝒊 𝑺𝒆𝒊𝒌𝒂𝒕𝒔𝒖 ⟹ Isekai, time loops & psychological toll of repeated failures.
❐ 𝑻𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒏𝒐 𝒀𝒖𝒖𝒔𝒉𝒂 𝒏𝒐 𝑵𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒓𝒊 ⟹ 1st season is great then it goes downhill from there.
❐ 𝑺𝒂𝒊𝒉𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒏𝒐 𝑷𝒂𝒍𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒏 ⟹ Isekai with a hint of high-fantasy, not very generic.
❐ 𝑲𝒐𝒏𝒐 𝑺𝒖𝒃𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒊 𝑺𝒆𝒌𝒂𝒊 𝒏𝒊 𝑺𝒉𝒖𝒌𝒖𝒇𝒖𝒌𝒖 𝒘𝒐! ⟹ This is Gintama of Isekai, hit or miss comedy.
❐ 100-𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝒏𝒐 𝑰𝒏𝒐𝒄𝒉𝒊 𝒏𝒐 𝑼𝒆 𝒏𝒊 𝑶𝒓𝒆 𝒘𝒂 𝑻𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒊𝒓𝒖 ⟹ Very unique, they are summoned to isekai for mission only.
❐ 𝑮𝒂𝒕𝒆: 𝑱𝒊𝒆𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒊 𝑲𝒂𝒏𝒐𝒄𝒉𝒊 𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒆, 𝑲𝒂𝒌𝒖 𝑻𝒂𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒂𝒆𝒓𝒊 ⟹ Modern weapon and military meets Isekai.
❐ 𝑲𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒏𝒐 𝑱𝒊𝒕𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒚𝒐𝒌𝒖𝒔𝒉𝒂 𝒏𝒊 𝑵𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒖𝒕𝒆! ⟹ When Chūnibyō gets Isekaied.
❐ 𝑲𝒖𝒎𝒐 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒖 𝒈𝒂, 𝑵𝒂𝒏𝒊 𝒌𝒂? ⟹ Instead of Slime She's a Spider, interesting nonetheless.
❐ 𝑪𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒋𝒊𝒏 𝑲𝒐𝒖𝒌𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒊-𝒕𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒊 𝒘𝒂 𝑰𝒔𝒆𝒌𝒂𝒊 𝒅𝒆𝒎𝒐 𝒀𝒐𝒚𝒖𝒖 𝒅𝒆 𝑰𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒖𝒌𝒖 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒖! ⟹ Einstein level Prodigies gets isekaied.
❐ 𝑻𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒎𝒐 𝑺𝒌𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒅𝒆 𝑰𝒔𝒆𝒌𝒂𝒊 𝑯𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒐𝒖 𝑴𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 ⟹ Generic Isekai but he can purchase staff from earth, Iyashikei focused.
❐ 𝑺𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒐𝒖𝒊𝒏, 𝑯𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒎𝒂𝒔𝒖! ⟹ Satire isekai about corporate culture through the misadventures of an inept protagonist and his quirky allies.
❐ 𝑫𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝑴𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕 𝑫𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝑷𝒍𝒂𝒚 ⟹ It's Reverse Isekai. So it counts right?
❐ 𝑹𝒆:𝑴𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓 ⟹ Father of "Tensei shitara Slime Datta Ken" trope.
❐ 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑾𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝑾𝒂𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝑼𝒔𝒆 𝑯𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑴𝒂𝒈𝒊𝒄 ⟹

This list is my personal opinion,

I just want to list some shows which show a little more explicit violence, please bear in mind that this list is not supposed to give you (only) pure splatter or even shows where the brutality is the focus. Hope you enjoy!

!Some of the shows may have multiple seasons, so be aware!

If you liked this list check out pt. 2!

https://myanimelist.net/stacks/47478

This stack contains mostly OP Isekai/Fantasy MC stuff.

This is PART I. Rest can be found here: https://myanimelist.net/stacks/15166

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WARNING: Rest of description may contain minor spoilers!

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Only good vibes, for the most part.
Not too much drama and all happy endings (cuz screw realism, that's why am watching animu).
MC living the life you'd always wanted.

If you are into protagonists who are very strong from the very beginning instead of a "From Zero to Hero" Anime then these anime are for you.

Continued.

literally just animes with an op mc

Almost every single isekai and reverse isekai anime is there in this list (made in Fall 2022 and there is a part 2)