A Major Anime Poll Ranks the Industry's Best Isekai to Date

By Megan Peters

If you have ever wanted to leave your everyday life and go on a wild adventure, we're pretty sure the isekai genre is for you. That rings true for millions of anime fans who've made isekai shows some of the industry's most popular to date. From high-tech thrills to fantastical adventures, isekai does it all, and a recent poll in Japan is narrowing down which anime series do the genre the best.

The whole thing got started when Goo Ranking (via SoraNews24), a popular site overseas, asked users which isekai anime is the absolute best. Thousands of fans responded with their picks, and the results are out for the world to see. So if you want to know who came in the top spot, you can find the list below starting at tenth and going to first:

  • Magic God Hero Legend Wataru
  • Aura Battler Dunbine
  • Digimon Adventure
  • Fushigi Yugi
  • Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation
  • That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime
  • Spirited Away
  • Gate
  • The Twelve Kingdoms
  • Re:Zero – Starting Life in Another World

Looking at these picks, you can see a wild range of pulls. There are newer and older titles on the list. For instance, Mushoku Tensei finished its first season in 2021 while Dunbine was launched in 1983. The latter rose to popularity well before isekai became the mainstream genre we know today, and it still holds up with fans.

READ MORE: Russia May Ban Isekai Anime Over Reincarnation Controversy | An Isekai Anime Museum is About to Open

Of course, most of this list's picks focus on very different topics. While Re:Zero is more insular in its focus on Subaru, series like The Twelve Kingdoms expands its worldview to explore an entire fantasy realm. Then there are children-centric titles like Digimon Adventure that scream shonen. This classic series couldn't be more different from Studio Ghibli's Spirited Away, but they each fall under the isekai umbrella. So really, you can see why the genre has exploded the way it has. And as the anime industry grows, you can expect even more isekai series to make their debut to eager audiences.

What do you make of this isekai ranking? Did your favorite series make the cut...? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB.

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