You may remember it for the good or the bad, but it’s undeniable fact that 2021 brought us a great number of anime titles in all kinds of genres, especially isekai. For a non-traditional genre, isekai really stood out in the past year. The protagonist who ends up reincarnated or transported to another world and starts a new life there, a new chance at life, new friends, but sometimes also angst and darkness are all essential parts of the modern isekai anime. The fact that it’s very versatile also helps, as creators are able to incorporate all the best elements of the other genres in it.
It seemed like 2021 had quite a lot to offer in terms of isekai, from the traditional harem stuff to the more unique takes like Shingo Natsume’s Sonny Boy. So, we decided to take a look at all of them and compile a list of all the isekai anime that aired in 2021. The number was quite poetic – 21.
Table of contents
- That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime Season 2
- Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World- Season 2: Part II
- Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation
- So I’m a Spider, So What?
- Log Horizon: Destruction of the Round Table
- The Slime Diaries: That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime
- The Saint’s Magic Power is Omnipotent
- How Not To Summon a Demon Lord: Omega
- I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level
- Tsukimichi: Moonlit Fantasy
- How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom
- My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! X
- Seirei Gensouki: Spirit Chronicles
- Sonny Boy
- The Dungeon of the Black Company
- I’m Standing on a Million Lives 2nd Season
- Drugstore in Another World – The Slow Life of a Cheat Pharmacist
- The World’s Finest Assassin Gets Reincarnated as an Aristocrat
- The Faraway Paladin
- The Fruit of Evolution: Before I Knew It My Life Had It Made
- Reincarnated Into Demon King Evelogia’s World
That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime Season 2
Description: Second Season of That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime series (2 cours)
Episode Count: 24
Season: Winter and Summer 2021
Where to Watch: Crunchyroll, Funimation, Muse Asia
Synopsis:
Average 37-year-old Minami Satoru dies and is reincarnated as the most unremarkable creature imaginable—a slime. Initially, things are pretty grim. He’s blind, deaf, and weak. But by combining his two special abilities, “Predator” and “Great Sage,” the newly named, Rimuru Tempest, will use his blobby powers to gain both friends and foes alike in a diverse new world.
Funimation
Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World- Season 2: Part II
Description: Second Cour of Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World- Season 2
Episode Count: 12
Season: Winter 2021
Where to Watch: Crunchyroll
Synopsis:
Natsuki Subaru, an ordinary high school student, is on his way home from the convenience store when he finds himself transported to another world. As he’s lost and confused in a new world where he doesn’t even know left from right, the only person to reach out to him was a beautiful girl with silver hair. Determined to repay her somehow for saving him from his own despair, Subaru agrees to help the girl find something she’s looking for…
Crunchyroll
Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation
Description: First season of Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation series (2 cours)
Episode Count: 23
Season: Winter and Fall 2021
Where to Watch: Muse Asia and Funimation
Synopsis:
When a 34-year-old underachiever gets run over by a bus, his story doesn’t end there. Reincarnated in a new world as an infant, Rudy will seize every opportunity to live the life he’s always wanted. Armed with new friends, some freshly acquired magical abilities, and the courage to do the things he’s always dreamed of, he’s embarking on an epic adventure—with all of his past experience intact!
Funimation
So I’m a Spider, So What?
Description: First season of So I’m a Spider, So What? series (2 cours)
Episode Count: 24
Season: Winter and Spring 2021
Where to Watch: Crunchyroll
Synopsis:
I, the protagonist, was just an ordinary high school girl, but suddenly I was reincarnated as a spider monster in a fantasy world. Not only that, but I awakened in a dungeon filled with vicious monsters. Armed with only my human knowledge and my overwhelming positivity, I’m forced to use spiderwebs and traps to defeat far stronger monsters just to stay alive… So begins the labyrinth survival story of a girl with incredible mental strength living as one of the lowest-ranked beasts!
Crunchyroll
Log Horizon: Destruction of the Round Table
Description: Third season of Log Horizon series
Episode Count: 12
Season: Winter 2021
Where to Watch: Funimation
Synopsis:
It’s been a year since Shiroe and his friends were trapped in Akiba due to the Apocalypse. Their forging of the Round Table has brought order and prosperity to its people. But fracturing political alliances and the constant menace of the Genius monsters threaten to destabilize all they’ve fought for and built. Can faith be restored and they persevere, or is its destruction truly inevitable?
Funimation
The Slime Diaries: That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime
Description: Spin-off series of That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime series
Episode Count: 12
Season: Spring 2021
Where to Watch: Crunchyroll
Synopsis:
“Dear diary… I got reincarnated as a slime.”
Even in another world, lives aren’t always on the line. There’s plenty of work to be done, from feeding the community and forging the items the community needs; as well as plenty of play …and hijinks throughout! Join Rimuru and friends as they kick back and enjoy their daily lives.
Kodansha Comics
The Saint’s Magic Power is Omnipotent
Description: The first season of The Saint’s Magic Power is Omnipotent series
Episode Count: 12
Season: Spring 2021
Where to Watch: Muse Asia and Funimation
Synopsis:
Why would an overworked woman want to be summoned to a magical new world? To live her ideal life of leisure, of course! For Sei, it’s truly a dream: studying spells and perfecting potions at the institute while helping people with their problems. But keeping a low profile is proving to be difficult as her magical power becomes omnipotent. Can Sei hide away in this fantasy forever? She hopes so!
Funimation
How Not To Summon a Demon Lord: Omega
Description: Second season of How Not To Summon a Demon Lord series
Episode Count: 10
Season: Spring 2021
Where to Watch: Crunchyroll and Funimation
Synopsis:
Diablo is back! You know…the Demon Lord from another world? Traveling through the woods with Rem and Shera, they encounter a lone girl in tatters, pursued by a powerful Paladin. You know what that means—Diablo will have to try and hide his lack of social skills once again (and come to her rescue, of course). Let the enchanting adventures continue!
Funimation
I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level
Description: First season of I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level series
Episode Count: 12
Season: Spring 2021
Where to Watch: Crunchyroll and Muse Asia
Synopsis:
After dying of overwork in the real world, I’m reincarnated as an immortal witch, and I spend 300 years enjoying a relaxing life. At some point, though, I end up at level 99! All those years spent killing slimes to make the money to pay the bills gave me a ton of experience points. Rumors of the level 99 witch spread, and soon I’m up to my ears in curious adventurers, duelist dragons, and even a monster girl calling me her mom! I’ve never been on an adventure, but I’m the strongest in the world… What’s going to happen to my relaxing life?!
Crunchyroll
Tsukimichi: Moonlit Fantasy
Description: First season of Tsukimichi: Moonlit Fantasy series
Episode Count: 12
Season: Summer 2021
Where to Watch: Crunchyroll
Synopsis:
Makoto Misumi is just an ordinary high school student living a regular life, but all of a sudden gets summoned to the other world to become a “hero.” The goddess of the other world, however, insults him for being different and strips his “hero” title, before casting him off to the wilderness at the edge of the world. As he wanders the wilderness, Makoto encounters dragons, spiders, orcs, dwarves, and all sorts of non-human tribes. Because Makoto comes from a different world, he is able to unleash unimaginable magical powers and combat skills. But just how will he handle his encounters with various species and survive in his new environment. In this fantasy, Makoto tries to transform the other world into a better place despite the humans and gods having turned their backs on him.
Nippon TV
How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom
Description: First part of How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom series
Episode Count: 13
Season: Summer 2021
Where to Watch: Funimation
Synopsis:
Suddenly summoned to a fantasy world and betrothed to the princess, Kazuya Souma is crowned the new king after providing the royal family with impressive advice. To rule the kingdom, he’s taking the nontraditional (and very human) route of administrative reform. In a realm of dragons and elves, will this revolutionary’s unique path prove effective?
Funimation
My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! X
Description: Second season of My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! series
Episode Count: 12
Season: Summer 2021
Where to Watch: Crunchyroll and Muse Asia
Synopsis:
Wealthy heiress Catarina Claes is hit in the head with a rock and recovers the memories of her past life. It turns out the world she lives in is the world of the game Fortune Lover, an otome game she was obsessed with in her past life… but she’s been cast as the villain character who tries to foil the protagonist’s romances! The best ending the game has for Catarina is exile, and the worst, death! She’ll have to find a way to avoid triggering the flags of doom, and make her own happy future! The misunderstanding-based screwball love comedy now begins!
Crunchyroll
Seirei Gensouki: Spirit Chronicles
Description: First season of Seirei Gensouki: Spirit Chronicles series
Episode Count: 12
Season: Summer 2021
Where to Watch: Crunchyroll
Synopsis:
His past life and current life are intersecting–a boy with memories of two lives faces his destiny! After his mother was killed at an early age, the orphaned Rio fought his hardest to survive in the slums. One day, he awakens to the memories of Haruto Amakwa, who died in an accident while dreaming of being reunited with his childhood friend, and Rio realizing he has reincarnated in a world of swords and sorcery.
Crunchyroll
Sonny Boy
Description: First season of Sonny Boy series
Episode Count: 12
Season: Summer 2021
Where to Watch: Funimation
Synopsis:
It’s an ordinary summer vacation…except for the fact that Nagara’s high school has mysteriously drifted into another dimension. As the students begin to develop strange new powers, will they work together to survive the alien environment and find a way home, or will their newly formed factions and rivalries turn on each other?
Funimation
The Dungeon of the Black Company
Description: First season of Dungeon of the Black Company series
Episode Count: 12
Season: Summer 2021
Where to Watch: Funimation
Synopsis:
Work sucks and Kinji was avoiding it beautifully by investing every penny. Good plan ’til he found himself in a new world…with DEBT! Now under the rule of an evil mining company, avoiding work is gonna be a tough grind. Does he have what it takes to pull off the ultimate workaround on this gig?
Funimation
I’m Standing on a Million Lives 2nd Season
Description: The second season of I’m Standing on a Million Lives series
Episode Count: 12
Season: Summer 2021
Where to Watch: Crunchyroll, iQIYI
Synopsis:
Aloof and logical middle school third-year Yusuke Yotsuya is transported to a game-like alternate world. He becomes a third player and takes on a dangerous quest with his classmates Iu Shindo and Kusue Hakozaki, who were transported there earlier. The cold Yusuke eschews emotionalism and examines all elements with detachment, sometimes even toying with the lives of his companions. Can he protect his party from attacking monsters, difficult incidents, and powerful scheming enemies and win the game?
Crunchyroll
Drugstore in Another World – The Slow Life of a Cheat Pharmacist
Description: First season of Drugstore in Another World – The Slow Life of a Cheat Pharmacist series
Episode Count: 12
Season: Summer 2021
Where to Watch: Crunchyroll, Muse Asia
Synopsis:
Reiji Kirio was a corporate wage slave, who did nothing but work all day, every day. On a typical day of walking to work with a hollow look on his face, he suddenly found himself in the forest of another world. “Oh, this must be one of those isekai reincarnations people keep talking about.” The two skills he has are “Appraise” and “Drug Discovery.” Those don’t sound too impressive… well, whatever. Except these turn out to be particularly overpowered skills! And so, a story about following the slow life philosophy while running a drugstore in another world begins.
Crunchyroll
The World’s Finest Assassin Gets Reincarnated as an Aristocrat
Description: The first season of The World’s Finest Assassin Gets Reincarnated as an Aristocrat series
Episode Count: 12
Season: Fall 2021
Where to Watch: Crunchyroll, Muse Asia
Synopsis:
The world’s number one assassin has been reincarnated as the eldest son of a family of aristocrat assassins. In exchange for being reincarnated in another world, a goddess has imposed upon him one condition. “Kill the Hero who is prophesied to destroy the world.” This was to be the mission in his new life. The synergistic effect of the vast knowledge and experience he gained that made all manner of assassinations possible in the modern world, and the secret techniques and magic of the fantasy world’s most powerful family of assassins turn him into the greatest assassin of all time.
Crunchyroll
The Faraway Paladin
Description: The first season of The Faraway Paladin series
Episode Count: 12
Season: Fall 2021
Where to Watch: Crunchyroll
Synopsis:
In a city of the dead, long since ruined and far from human civilization, lives a single human child. His name is Will, and he’s being raised by three undead: the hearty skeletal warrior, Blood; the graceful mummified priestess, Mary; and the crotchety spectral sorcerer, Gus. The three pour love into the boy, and teach him all they know. But one day, Will starts to wonder: “Who am I?” Will must unravel the mysteries of this faraway dead man’s land, and unearth the secret pasts of the undead. He must learn the love and mercy of the good gods, and the bigotry and madness of the bad. And when he knows it all, the boy will take his first step on the path to becoming a Paladin. “I promised you. It’s gonna take a while, but I’ll tell you everything. This is the story of the deaths of many heroes. It’s the story of how we died, and it’s the reason you grew up here.”
J-Novel Club
The Fruit of Evolution: Before I Knew It My Life Had It Made
Description: The first season of The Fruit of Evolution: Before I Knew It My Life Had It Made series
Episode Count: 12
Season: Fall 2021
Where to Watch: Crunchyroll
Synopsis:
High school student Hiiragi Seiichi is bullied by his classmates for being a “loser.” One day, his entire school is suddenly transported to a video game-like world of swords and sorcery. When he accidentally eats “the Fruit of Evolution,” his life as a successful “winner” begins.
Crunchyroll
Reincarnated Into Demon King Evelogia’s World
Description: The first season of Reincarnated Into King Evelogia’s World series
Episode Count: 9
Season: Fall 2021
Where to Watch: ComicFesta Anime Zone
Synopsis:
“Good, make me your owner.” The strongest couple to conquer the other world appears!?
Coolmic
The 21 Isekai of 2021
It’s unlikely that the flood of isekai we saw in 2021 will be stopped in 2022 – and that’s kind of a good thing. As you can see from the titles above, they may all be isekai and quite a few follow some common tropes, but a fair number also offers a new or refreshing take on the genre.
