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The Great Isekai Review List
What is isekai?
According to Mangarock's definition of the genre:
"Isekai translates to "another world." This genre typically has a narrative where a protagonist somehow gets transported to a different world. The new world is more often than not in a fantasy setting, occasionally with traits pulled from JRPG games."
TV Tropes also goes further indepth into the idea, putting it under the trope name of "Trapped In Another World", which is basically just what "Isekai" means. Some people genre savvy to the idea might immediately think of a high school boy arriving in a JRPG fantasy world where they're super overpowered when it comes to combat, whereupon they get the attention of a stunning beautiful woman (or five). It's the definition of a power fantasy, especially for cis straight guys. However, even western works such as "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe", "Alice in Wonderland", and "The Wizard of Oz" could all theoretically count as "isekai".
For this post, however, I'll be focusing mainly on isekai series that have gotten a manga adaption of some sort, often from Japan or occasionally China and Korea, which have also started to lean into the trend. That means they'll be falling into a lot of Japanese tropes and cliches, although these aren't necessarily bad things.
All of the isekai I've read through and even vaguely enjoyed are included down below in the comments section, and all of them will be utilizing this same form:
Some of these categories are self explanatory even to people unfamiliar with the genre (Title, Main Character), but a few deserve some particular notice or explanation.
Cheat: A "cheat ability" is basically a power uniquely granted to the Main Character (MC) that allows them to have the upperhand in the world they've been transported to. That sort of thing isn't entirely unusual for many stories, as it is a handy way of making a MC notable, but it is a quality that is inherent to the power fantasy aspect that isekai series often at least nod to. However, the nature of that cheat can take on quite a variety of forms depending on the series. Some do a very basic sort of ability such as access to a never before seen magic, or simply a lot of magic. Others take a more subtle approach, such as a character using their knowledge of a modern world to improve a more medieval one. Seeing the different types of "cheats", how characters use them, and how it affects the setting is one of the things that I find charming about the isekai genre.
Transport: In other words- how did the MC arrive in another world/life? Sometimes, it's because a character was summoned, either by a god or a powerful magician. Other times, it's left as a mystery. Lots of isekai even have the MC die, and their soul is reincarnated in another world with memories of their past life. Depending on how the MC got there, and the whims of the author, it can have quite an impact on the MC's goals or emotions.
Pros and Cons: While they're named as that, these categories could more accurately be called "what I did and didn't like about this series", which means they're completely subjective and from my point of view. The summary will cover what the series is about, sure, but this goes more into my personal opinions.
General Warnings: This will be a simple list of general things to watch out for, such as gore, murder, rape, or sexual assault, along with anything else I think people might appreciate a heads up on.
Fanservice: This one is fairly self explanatory, with fanservice often being women scantily clad or men getting to be in sexy positions with them. Considering how much of a range fanservice can be, I'll be listing this rather in a scale of 1 to 5.
1 - No fanservice whatsoever
3 - Some fanservice, but no so much as to be describing
5 - Hope you like tits and ass, because there's going to be a lot of that
I'll give my reasons and some examples for this category, so that people have a slightly more substantial idea of what will happen.
Harem: Power fantasies don't only include having super amazing powers, but they also dabble in areas of romance, where the (often male) MC will have a bunch of women falling for him and sometimes even having multiple wives.
According to Mangarock's definition of the genre:
"Isekai translates to "another world." This genre typically has a narrative where a protagonist somehow gets transported to a different world. The new world is more often than not in a fantasy setting, occasionally with traits pulled from JRPG games."
TV Tropes also goes further indepth into the idea, putting it under the trope name of "Trapped In Another World", which is basically just what "Isekai" means. Some people genre savvy to the idea might immediately think of a high school boy arriving in a JRPG fantasy world where they're super overpowered when it comes to combat, whereupon they get the attention of a stunning beautiful woman (or five). It's the definition of a power fantasy, especially for cis straight guys. However, even western works such as "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe", "Alice in Wonderland", and "The Wizard of Oz" could all theoretically count as "isekai".
For this post, however, I'll be focusing mainly on isekai series that have gotten a manga adaption of some sort, often from Japan or occasionally China and Korea, which have also started to lean into the trend. That means they'll be falling into a lot of Japanese tropes and cliches, although these aren't necessarily bad things.
All of the isekai I've read through and even vaguely enjoyed are included down below in the comments section, and all of them will be utilizing this same form:
Some of these categories are self explanatory even to people unfamiliar with the genre (Title, Main Character), but a few deserve some particular notice or explanation.
Cheat: A "cheat ability" is basically a power uniquely granted to the Main Character (MC) that allows them to have the upperhand in the world they've been transported to. That sort of thing isn't entirely unusual for many stories, as it is a handy way of making a MC notable, but it is a quality that is inherent to the power fantasy aspect that isekai series often at least nod to. However, the nature of that cheat can take on quite a variety of forms depending on the series. Some do a very basic sort of ability such as access to a never before seen magic, or simply a lot of magic. Others take a more subtle approach, such as a character using their knowledge of a modern world to improve a more medieval one. Seeing the different types of "cheats", how characters use them, and how it affects the setting is one of the things that I find charming about the isekai genre.
Transport: In other words- how did the MC arrive in another world/life? Sometimes, it's because a character was summoned, either by a god or a powerful magician. Other times, it's left as a mystery. Lots of isekai even have the MC die, and their soul is reincarnated in another world with memories of their past life. Depending on how the MC got there, and the whims of the author, it can have quite an impact on the MC's goals or emotions.
Pros and Cons: While they're named as that, these categories could more accurately be called "what I did and didn't like about this series", which means they're completely subjective and from my point of view. The summary will cover what the series is about, sure, but this goes more into my personal opinions.
General Warnings: This will be a simple list of general things to watch out for, such as gore, murder, rape, or sexual assault, along with anything else I think people might appreciate a heads up on.
Fanservice: This one is fairly self explanatory, with fanservice often being women scantily clad or men getting to be in sexy positions with them. Considering how much of a range fanservice can be, I'll be listing this rather in a scale of 1 to 5.
1 - No fanservice whatsoever
3 - Some fanservice, but no so much as to be describing
5 - Hope you like tits and ass, because there's going to be a lot of that
I'll give my reasons and some examples for this category, so that people have a slightly more substantial idea of what will happen.
Harem: Power fantasies don't only include having super amazing powers, but they also dabble in areas of romance, where the (often male) MC will have a bunch of women falling for him and sometimes even having multiple wives.
I'm Standing on a Million Lives
Title: I'm Standing on a Million Lives
Other Titles:
Author: Akinari Nao, Naoki Yamakawa
Main Character: Yotsuya Yusuke, Shindo Iu, Hakozaki Kusue (plus others)
Gender: A combination
Cheat: Technical Endless Incarnation, Ability to Switch Classes (with conditions), Companions
Transport: Summoned
Summary: Yotsuya feels as though he's a typical harem isekai protag at first: aimless in life, randomly summoned into a weird fantasy world, stuck with two female classmates. Yet things are more terrifying and dark than he could realize with the death mechanic in play... And as he starts to realize the weight of what it really means to work in this strange world, he also finds out a terrible and bizarre truth: their success in the fantasy world might be affecting their original world and lives more than they could imagine!
Pros: Unique Isekai, Isekai Hardmode, Death Mechanic, Survivalist Bastard MC, Team Interactions
For the first half of Chapter 1, this series almost tricks you into thinking it's nothing special. The MC seems stereotypical, as do his companions in the world he gets transported to. The humor sweeps you in with a smile as the "guide" to this whole situation makes his appearance. There are hints of a few strange things, but it doesn't seem like it will be too big a deal at first. Even the person we're introduced to seems to poke fun at the stereotype of his situation: he's a guy in a strange world with two girls, one who's really attractive and might be interested in him!
And then, only a few pages later, and we're given a panel of a giant monstrous troll-like creature biting one of his companions in half.
We'll get to that in a bit, but the dark aspects of this series isn't what makes it such an interesting and unique spin on the typical isekai stories. There are a few things which really make this series interesting to me that I almost don't know where to start. Yet if I had to pick, one of the most immediate and fascinating things would be the death mechanic that it talks about right from the beginning. It works as such: all those involved in this isekai situation are basically a 'party'. As long as one person in the party stays 'alive', anyone who dies can revive and come back to life just like before... generally speaking.
This adds a layer to the "quests" the group must compete within the isekai world. On one hand, this can expand their tactics, allowing them to revolve things on their deaths, or get a second chance when something fails so long as someone in their group manages to stay alive for long enough. Yet dying is still dying, and there's no denying the horror of some of the deaths that they experience as they struggle through their quests.
Such a mechanic plays interestingly with what one could label our "Main" MC, Yotsuya Yusuke. Our introduction to him is stereotypical, as I noted above. Yet almost immediately, through the second half of the second chapter... We start to explore some darker hidden depths within him, although he doesn't do much to keep them hidden from his companions after a while. Part of the reason that it seems as though he's such an aimless loner is that he's a country boy with a deep hatred for the city, and his reasoning is almost worryingly logical. When he hears the rules on their revival mechanic, he seems to rely on that a lot over things that would be more straightforwardly 'moral'. For example, when they're trying to train to win a tournament, one of the group gets captured. Instead of wanting to try and find a way to help her, however... Yotsuya's solution is the best way to help her would be to win the tournament, get what they need, and complete their objective. He doesn't think they need to go rescue her at all, because wouldn't that just wait time?
On a very distant and video-game like level, he's not wrong. This would be the best and most efficient way to help her, since there's no guarantee that they can defeat her captors. Yet this still comes as a complete and horrifying shock to his remaining companions, especially since they'd thought the two were bonding to some degree beforehand. This difference in viewpoints and the inability to get along whereupon Yutsuya often goes on his own makes teamwork seem difficult....
...And yet teamwork is vital for them. The reason why I list multiple main characters is because this is utterly and completely a team effort. Even the first 'quest' that Yutsuya is a part of ultimately requires one of his companions to help finish off their target, no matter how far he was able to get on his own. Another quest requires all of the group working together to cover as much ground as possible. And on, and on, and on... Not only that, but every character has their own personality, their own backstory, their own flaws and weaknesses which adds to their struggle through this bizarre isekai "game".
Those quests are also what makes this series so interesting. There's good reason why the isekai system seems to demand so much that those it brings in learn to work together. The difficulty slowly ramps itself up higher and higher, demanding more complex and complicated solutions. Even the first quest Yutsuya participates in, the killing of a beast, is incredibly difficult because of how inexperienced and low level the whole group is... so the things their 'game master' demands from them afterwards aren't any easier. Spoilers, but at one point, the group is even tasked with reducing the amount of drug users within a city, a task which leads them to rehauling the whole prison system. It's all truly unbelievable to see the kinds of things that they're forced to do, the dire straits they go through, and how they're forced to compromise or work together.
Seeing things become more and more steadily complex, along with additional members of the party accepted with every new 'quest', is what helps make this story to be truly fascinating. I look forward to where it goes, and how things develop, especially as it discusses things such as morality, logic vs that same morality or emotion, and discussions of things such as war.
Also, minor thing, but later there's a totally casually out queer girl character who becomes part of the main cast, so that's always fun to see.
Cons: None
I'm okay with this story as it is.
General Warnings: Gore, Repeated Revived Character Death, Animal/Monster Death, Mild Sexism, Natural Disasters, Eugenics, Emeto, Backstory Homophobia, Organized Crime, Drug Wars, Drug Use, Prison Reformation and Drug Rehabilitation
Slavery: Yes
Fanservice: 2 - Characters go 'nude' when 'dead' and waiting for revival, but there are no details to their bodies.
Harem: Not Really? Sort of? The story seems to play with it so it's hard to tell how serious it is about this aspect sometimes. People do seem to get interested in Yotsuya a lot.