Imagine it is a regular day, you get out of bed and go about your day as you usually would. Then suddenly by some strange happenstance, everything around you changes and you wake up in a completely different body in a completely different world. As you try to figure out your new transmigration/reincarnation you notice that this world has developed completely different than your own. They are still in the Victorian age with kings and nobles and they have developed through magic. Now, you get to completely change the life you once lived and can forge a new life with the knowledge from your previous world. 

Such as the isekai anime genre, isekai translating  to “another/different world.” Often in the isekai genre, the main characters will find themselves, after passing away in a previous life, either transmigrating, the soul is placed in an already existing body, or reincarnating, a new body the soul is born into, into a world different from their own. This world is often characterized by different races/species of people like elves and beast people, victorian age nobles, or defeating a demon king. 

Popular isekai from the early 2000’s include “Spirited Away,” “Inuyasha,” and “Sword Art Online.” Since then it has been spread into different sub genres from the standard romantic comedies to overpowered protagonists on a quest to defeat the demon king. 

Action filled anime include “Saga of Tanya the Evil(Youjo Senki),” “That Time I was Reincarnated as a Slime,” “The Rising of the Shield Hero,” and “Overlord.” These all follow the standard isekai plot; however, they each have their own storylines which make them stand out from the rest. “Youjo Senki,” for instance, is about a salaryman who does not believe in his world’s ‘God’, which he then names this being x, whom then tries to get him to acknowledge their existence by reincincarnating him into a militaristic world after he dies. 

Slice of life, which is just everyday life shown in an anime, isekai include “Ascendance of a Bookworm,” “Isekai Izakaya: Japanese Food From Another World,” “By the Grace of the Gods,” and “Bofuri: I Don’t Want to Get Hurt, so I’ll Max Out My Defense.” These stories display everyday mundane life but in a different world. “Isekai Izakaya,” for example, is about a Japanese restaurant that mysteriously connects to another world, the patrons as well as the employees learn more about each others world through good food. 

Romantic comedy or shoujo anime include, “My Next Life as A Villainess – All Routes Lead to Doom,” “The Saint’s Magic Power is Omnipotent,” “In Another World with my Smartphone,” and “Wise Man’s Granchild.” These iseaki contribute to the overpowered main character trope, however they follow a love story. “The Saint’s Magic Power is Omnipotent,” as an example, is about an office lady who is summoned to another world with a high school girl. However, the prince completely ignores her and treats the high school girl as the saintess. All is fine until they discover the office lady is the actual saintess. 

Overall, similar to the genre of anime itself, there are many different subgenres within the increasingly popular isekai genre. Even movies like “Alice in Wonderland” would qualify, therefore for those who like anime; click on crunchyroll, hulu, or anywhere you prefer to watch and give these titles a try.