Isekai has long been a storytelling staple not limited to anime alone. After all, the existence of both Alice in Wonderland and The Wizard of Oz proves that. It is important because it means that isekai is a trend instead of a fad and here for the foreseeable future. In fact, the genre is everywhere these days, including HIDIVE. If you haven’t had the chance to catch up on our isekai anime, here’s ten of them for your viewing enjoyment.

Log Horizon: You’re Trapped in Another World, Now What?

A lot of isekai are about power fantasies, and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. Isekai and power fantasies are popular for a reason. But sometimes, your suspension of disbelief starts asking some glaring questions about surviving in a brand new world.

For example, where can you find a reliable food source if you know nothing about hunting, foraging or crop rotation? Is the water even safe to drink? Why do the locals of a completely different world know the exact same language as you do?

What do you do when thousands of players find themselves trapped in a world resembling the MMORPG they play? Especially when a bunch of them insist on acting like everything's still a game when it’s not?

You know, the little things.

Log Horizon puts a lot of thought into its world building and it makes perfect sense that if people suddenly found themselves trapped in another world, they’d quickly develop a civilization of their own if for no other reason than pragmatic survival.

Click here to watch Log Horizon on HIDIVE!

GATE: An Isekai with a Realistic Premise

GATE is a popular isekai anime, and it’s easy to understand why. First, Rory Mercury is an insanely popular waifu. Second, the series scratches that power fantasy itch without stretching your suspension of disbelief to its breaking point.

How so? Consider the following: If a story tells us that a single person can bring an entire fantasy empire to its knees with an OP ability, it also needs to put in extra work to prevent our suspension of disbelief from collapsing. That’s mainly because we know for a fact that a person can’t go up against an entire empire and win single-handedly.

But if the story is telling us that a foreign military can bring an entire empire to its knees thanks to an overwhelming technological advantage? That's a completely believable premise. Especially since that’s exactly what has happened historically.

Plus, Zorzal is a hate sink, and it’s just so satisfying seeing his slimy machinations and worldview fall apart around him.

Click here to watch GATE on HIDIVE!

No Game, No Life: Rules Have Loopholes

No Game, No Life has a very simple premise. One day, two siblings who never lose a game suddenly find themselves in a world where all conflicts are resolved through games.

So, if they never lose, why bother watching? We already know that the heroes will win, so doesn’t that get boring?

Well, that’s the area where No Game, No Life truly shines.

The series really should be called It’s Not Cheating If You Don’t Get Caught: The Anime because you witness some truly creative rule interpretations and loophole abuses. You don’t watch No Game, No Life because you want to watch the main characters win. You watch No Game, No Life because you want to watch how they win.

Click here to watch No Game, No Life on HIDIVE!

Sword Art Online Alicization: One of the Most Popular Isekais in the World

Sword Art Online is a divisive show, and anime fans fall into one of two camps: Those who love it and those who don’t. There is no middle ground. But there is no denying it's a household name within the anime community. What started out as a death game involving players trapped inside a virtual reality MMO grew into a worldwide phenomenon.

It’s everywhere these days, and the latest installment of the series is on HIDIVE! Like Log Horizon, Sword Art Online takes the “trapped inside an MMO” approach to isekai, but it differentiates itself by focusing on intense action scenes and gorgeous production values that have us drooling.

Click here to watch Sword Art Online Alicization on HIDIVE!

The Ambition of Oda Nobuna: Time Traveling Iskeai Meets Rule 63

If you’ve watched anime for any respectable length of time, you probably either have a rudimentary understanding of Japan's Sengoku period or, at the very least, heard the name Oda Nobunaga in passing. Don’t worry, we’ll skip this history lesson.

All you need to know is that the main character loves historical simulation games and one day, he finds himself transported to the Sengoku period where his knowledge of the future quickly makes him a key asset to an ambitious young woman called Oda Nobuna, who is the female version of, you guessed it, the aforementioned Oda Nobunaga.

Now, we know what you're thinking: Isn’t this a time travel anime? How is this series an isekai? Sure, time travel and isekai have similarities, but they’re completely different. Isekai is about going to another world instead of the past.

Well, when you find yourself in a timeline with genderswapped key historical figures, chances are you’re actually in an alternative universe rather than the actual past. So there you go: Isekai.

Click here to watch The Ambition of Oda Nobuna on HIDIVE!

The Familiar of Zero: Let’s Get This Isekai Dubbed!

The Familiar of Zero is an oldie but goodie. It’s what you get when you combine Harry Potter with an isekai anime. You’d think the story would be all about Saito since he’s the titular “Familiar of Zero” and the one who got isekai’d in the first place! But the story is also very much about Louise, the girl who accidentally summoned him, and their subsequent relationship.

The show’s been around for a while and is a beloved series. That’s why it’s a bummer that only the first season’s been dubbed. (Which is something we’ve pestered our friends over at Sentai about numerous times. Why else do you think we steal their snacks?)

We’ve even written a viewing guide for it in case you had any questions about the series’ viewing order, and it includes how you can do your part in letting Sentai know you want this series dubbed!

Click here to watch The Familiar of Zero on HIDVE!

Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi: Iseaki And Surrealism

Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi is what happens when someone has a fever dream about isekai and anime parodies.

You think we’re joking about that, but we’re not.

The series follows two kids as they find themselves trapped in a different world each episode. However, these “worlds” are actually self-contained alternate realities of the shopping arcade they call their home. You’ve got your western shopping arcade, your sci-fi shopping arcade, etc...

For all of its oddball wackiness, Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi can be surprisingly serious at times as well. Plus, the series isn’t afraid to tackle the most important question of all: How many f-bombs can a person drop in 30 seconds? We’ve always wondered about that and we can proudly say that we now know.

Click here to watch Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi on HIDIVE!

Amagi Brilliant Park: KyoAni’s Reverse Isekai

Here’s a question for you: Have you ever seen a reverse isekai? In other words, a series where the fantasy-world characters come to our world instead? Since isekai series usually follow the “trapped in a different world with a twist” format, we’re honestly surprised there aren’t more of this type.

If you have yet to watch a reverse isekai series, we humbly suggest you start with Amagi Brilliant Park.

Kyoto Animation really knocked the ball out of the park with this one. In this setting, denizens of an entire fantasy kingdom are in our world for the sole purpose of… managing a theme park. Yes, you read that correctly. And they’re doing a really bad job of it, too. So bad that their park may shut down. If that happens, that means bad things for everyone involved.

So instead of summoning someone into their world to solve the problem for them (what with the park being in our world and all), they rope in Kanie (no, not Kanye West) to manage the park for them. After all, how hard can managing a theme park really be?

Click here to watch Amagi Brilliant Park on HIDIVE!

Aura Battler Dunbine: The Classic Isekai

From the genius that blessed anime with the legendary Gundam franchise comes one of the oldest isekai anime out there: Aura Battler Dunbine. Don’t worry if you’ve never heard of it. Gundam has a way of eclipsing pretty much everything around it.

But all that means is that this show is an underrated classic that you can finally enjoy on HIDIVE! How awesome is that?

This show may be pretty old, but it does really interesting things with the plot that we don’t see in modern anime. Yes, there are mechas, but this takes place in a fantasy setting. Furthermore, the mechas themselves are extremely unique since they’re all insect-themed.

Click here to watch Aura Battler Dunbine on HIDIVE!

Outbreak Company: Exporting Otaku Culture For Fun And Profit

What if we told you that there was an anime out there that was not only an isekai, but one that weaponized the concept of anime itself?

We’re all familiar with the isekai trope of someone becoming overpowered because they brought something from the real world into the fantasy world with them, but what if that thing was otaku culture itself? What if the Japanese government was deliberately trying to import it like it were a branded product and lifestyle?

In other worlds, Outbreak Company is what would happen if GATE were a parody and, instead of sending in the JSDF, Japan was aiming for the equivalent of a culture victory in Civilization.

Click here to watch Outbreak Company on HIDIVE!

Enjoy These 10 Isekai Anime on HIDIVE

It’s still summer, so that means you’ll have plenty of time to watch anime. If you ever wanted to travel but don’t have the ability to do so, isekai anime is here to save the day.

So make yourself some popcorn, pull up a chair and escape into the worlds of isekai on HIDIVE with our free 30-day trial!

Your cart

Total USD