The Isekai genre in anime is the most closely associated genre with fanservice, which in as much is not entirely a bad thing as it does not appeal to the entirety of the audience the genre pulls. This begs the question of what fan service is in anime, which is when a piece of fiction, and in this regard, anime intentionally adds material specifically to please specific audiences, which is often sexual in nature, such as nude scenes and the like.
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This piece, however, is more concerned with the opposite: high-quality isekai without any of the typically expected fanservice. Therefore, below is a list of the best isekai anime without the slightest hint of fanservice.
10 Sonny Boy
Anime-Planet Rating: 3.7 / 5
Sonny Boy
Isekai
Mystery
- Seasons
- 1
- Studio
- Madhouse
- Number of Episodes
- 12
- Streaming Service(s)
- Crunchyroll , Hulu , Funimation
Sonny Boy combines almost every element of the weird and the abstract in its weirdly enthralling tale. The series revolves around a high school class of thirty-six students whose lives fall apart when their entire school building, alongside all thirty-six students, is suddenly transported into a void-like dimension. Things become even more confusing when some students begin to develop supernatural powers, leading to division among the students regarding the hierarchy of control.
The division makes them realize that specific rules guide the new dimension in which they are stuck. Initially confused as a whole, their confusion melts into fascination and then into horror after several attempts to return to their everyday lives yield no fruit. Optimistic that they can solve their dilemma, the students must find a way to return home while simultaneously navigating the challenges of their new world.
9 Campfire Cooking In Another World With My Absurd Skill
Anime-Planet Rating: 4.1 / 5
Campfire Cooking in Another World With My Absurd Skill
Isekai
Slice of Life
Fantasy
- Seasons
- 1
- Studio
- MAPPA
- Japanese Title
- Tondemo Skill de Isekai Hourou Meshi
- Based On
- Novel & Light Novel
- Creator
- Ren Eguchi
- Number of Episodes
- 12
- Streaming Service(s)
- Crunchyroll
Campfire Cooking In Another World With My Absurd Skill presents a tale quite as unconventional as its title, even among Isekai anime. The series follows the protagonist, Tsuyoshi Mukouda, who is accidentally summoned to another world, the Kingdom of Reijseger, as a hero to protect the kingdom.
However, due to being wary of the real intentions behind his summoning, Mukouda can opt out of being a hero due to his non-combat skill, Online Supermarket, which initially seems like a useless ability. However, this ability is still functional, as it lets him use modern equipment and ingredients to whip up the most delicious meals in the Kingdom. Using this skill, Mukouda contracts with the legendary wolf named Fel, and with a mythical beast by his side, Mukouda travels the world as an adventurer and a merchant rather than the kingdom's hero.
8 Dead Mount Death Play
Anime-Planet Rating: 3.8 / 5
Dead Mount Death Play
Action
Fantasy
Supernatural
- Seasons
- 2
- Studio
- Geek Toys
- Based On
- Manga
- Creator
- Ryohgo Narita
- Number of Episodes
- 24
- Streaming Service(s)
- Crunchyroll
Dead Mount Death Play presents a rather unique isekai trope. It starts off with a massive battle between the legendary hero and corpse god necromancer. This battle culminates in the corpse god using reincarnation magic to preserve himself and awakening across another dimension, which is modern-day Earth, as the story's protagonist, Polka Shinoyama. Reborn in modern-day Tokyo, the corpse god now Polka finds himself in a pinch when he gets targeted by various unknown groups barely minutes after waking up.
In an attempt to make sense of everything going on around him, Polka encounters Takumi Kuruya, a surveillance and hacking contractor, and Lisa Kuraki, a crime boss. He forms an unlikely alliance with both characters to prepare himself for the danger ahead of him, and the consequences his reincarnation to Earth will surely bring about.
7 How A Realist Hero Rebuilt The Kingdom
Anime-Planet Rating: 3.9 / 5
How A Realist Hero Rebuilt The Kingdom
Isekai
Action
Romance
Harem
- Seasons
- 2
- Studio
- J.C.Staff
- Japanese Title
- Genjitsu Shugi Yuusha no Oukoku Saikenki
- Based On
- Novel & Light Novel
- Creator
- Dojyomaru
- Number of Episodes
- 26
- Streaming Service(s)
- Crunchyroll
How A Realist Hero Rebuilt The Kingdom presents a wholesome tale that begins with the story's protagonist, Kazuya Souma, who is suddenly summoned to another world to be the world's hero. Unlike the typical isekai-hero trope, Kazuya's heroic adventure is far from the beginning, as he has been summoned to a kingdom living on its last legs.
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Determined to save the kingdom, Kazuya presents his plans to restore the kingdom to the King, which leads the King to leave the throne to Kazuya and to betroth his daughter to him. With no higher authority to be wary of, Kazuya finds himself with the burden of leading a nation, and it remains to be seen just how Kazuya can realistically bring back the kingdom's days of abundance.
6 Ascendance of a Bookworm
Anime-Planet Rating: 4.2 / 5
Ascendance of a Bookworm
Isekai
Fantasy
- Seasons
- 3
- Studio
- Ajia-do Animation Works
- Japanese Title
- Honzuki no Gekokujou: Shisho ni Naru Tame ni wa Shudan wo Erandeiraremasen
- Based On
- Novel & Light Novel
- Creator
- Miya Kazuki
- Number of Episodes
- 36
- Streaming Service(s)
- Crunchyroll
Ascendance of a Bookworm brings to life the embodiment of an obsession with books, which is the story's central, Urano Motosu. Urano loves books and is endlessly obsessed with them, showing an unimaginable desire to read literature regardless of the subject. However, she cannot fulfill her life's greatest wish to become a librarian when she dies abruptly in an accident. Death, however, is not the end for Urano as she is reincarnated into a fantasy world of magic as the little five-year-old Myne.
Unable to think of anything else but to read something, Myne quickly discovers that her new world is nothing like her old one, and books are certainly not as easy to get as they once were. However, her passion for literature proves unbreakable when she decides that if she can't get books, she will simply make books herself to read.
5 Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash
Anime-Planet Rating: 4.0 / 5
Grimgar Ashes and Illusions
Isekai
Fantasy
Drama
- Seasons
- 1
- Studio
- A-1 Pictures
- Japanese Title
- Hai to Gensou no Grimgar
- Based On
- Light Novel
- Creator
- Ao Jūmonji
- Number of Episodes
- 12
- Streaming Service(s)
- Crunchyroll , Hulu
Survival proves particularly difficult when faced with a loss of memories, coupled with being whisked away from your home world and summoned to a new one for whatever purpose. This is the reality of the tale of the Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash. The story follows the lives of a couple of children who find themselves in an entirely different world, with nothing but vague memories and emotions. Survival in this world boils down to simply becoming a soldier to defend the world of Grimgar against what threatens its peace.
However, numbers do not guarantee strength, and this holds even truer for the summoned children, as the weakest of the group are the story's central characters. Led by Manato, a priest, the group of Haruhiro, a thief; Yume, a hunter; Shihoru, a mage; Moguzo, a warrior; and Ranta, a dark knight, find themselves at the bottom of the barrel as the other stronger candidates have joined forces together, leaving the group to ensure their survival. With no outstanding candidate, the group finds themselves joined at the hip to ensure each other's survival.
4 In The Land of Leadale
Anime-Planet Rating: 3.7 / 5
In the Land of Leadale
Adventure
Fantasy
- Seasons
- 1
- Studio
- Maho Film
- Japanese Title
- Leadale no Daichi nite
- Based On
- Light Novel
- Creator
- Ceez
- Number of Episodes
- 12
- Streaming Service(s)
- Crunchyroll
In the Land of Leadale presents a heartwarming tale of the previously bedridden central character, Keina Kagami, who spent all her time in the virtual world of her favorite MMORPG game, Leadale. Keina is reincarnated as her in-game character, Cayna, into Leadale after the life support machine keeping her alive fails.
However, Cayna notices that Leadale is different from what she remembers and discovers that time has moved differently within the realm. Two hundred years have passed since her death and reincarnation. More excited than sad, Cayna relishes the opportunity of a world waiting to be discovered by her, and this feeling grows into an adventure that spans the story's entirety.
3 Faraway Paladin
Anime-Planet Rating: 3.8 / 5
The Faraway Paladin
Fantasy
Isekai
- Studio
- Children's Playground Entertainment, OLM, Sunrise Beyond
- Japanese Title
- Saihate no Paradin
- Based On
- Novel & Light Novel
- Creator
- Kanata Yanagino
- Number of Episodes
- 24
- Streaming Service(s)
- Crunchyroll
The Faraway Paladin follows the life of a nameless middle-aged human who gets reincarnated as the lone boy, Will, in a land far from any civilization. However, he is only a child but not alone, as he awakens to the faces and presence of not one but three beings, not human. Blood, the skeleton, who teaches him how to fight; Mary, the mummy, who teaches him religion and responsibility; and Gus, the ghost, who teaches him magic. Above all, they all teach him the importance of love.
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However, as a growing child, Will's curiosity about himself and his world grows larger by the day, and he prepares to set out on his own. Typically, for anyone coming of age, Will is required to swear an oath to the god of his choice, and when he finally does so, his departure is set in stone. With his departure approaching, Will comes to terms with the truth of his guardians and soon discovers that the world might be larger than he imagined.
2 Log Horizon
Anime-Planet Rating: 4.1 / 5
Log Horizon
Isekai
Fantasy
Action
- Seasons
- 3
- Studio
- Satelight, Studio Deen
- Creator
- Mamare Touno
- Number of Episodes
- 62
- Streaming Service(s)
- Crunchyroll
Log Horizon sees thousands of online gamers lose their real lives when they, unfortunately, get stuck in the famous MMORPG game Elder Tale. The series' protagonist, Shiroe, a socially awkward college student, is one of the many who find themselves locked within the game.
While in reality, Shiroe is only a college student, within the confines of Elder Tale, Shiroe is one of the game's most famous veteran players. After discovering that they might be stuck in Elder Tale for a while, Shiroe quickly begins to explore the limits of his new reality and, in so doing, finds himself on an adventure spanning several adventures: the true pleasure of a true gamer.
1 The Saga of Tanya The Evil
Anime-Planet Rating: 4.2 / 5
Saga of Tanya the Evil
Action
Isekai
War
- Seasons
- 1
- Studio
- NUT
- Japanese Title
- Youjo Senki
- Based On
- Novel & Light Novel
- Creator
- Carlo Zen
- Number of Episodes
- 12
- Streaming Service(s)
- Crunchyroll
Imagine getting sent to an alternate universe to serve as a child soldier by God for being an atheist. This is Tanya Degurechaff's reality. The series' protagonist, previously a regular man with no belief in God or, instead, Being X, challenged Being X to a battle of wits and ultimately lost. Now, reincarnated as the young Tanya, better known as the 'Devil of the Rhine,' into a world filled with magical warfare, Tanya's struggles against Being X are seemingly as endless as her ability for defiance.
In her defiance, Tanya is determined to climb the ranks of her country's military, given its deep involvement in warfare. However, her combat abilities and initiatives quickly become an unprecedented asset, propelling the Empire to unprecedented levels of power and rivaling the greatest nations in history, a feat not even Being X is prepared for.
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