Unsurprisingly, anime and video games go together well together.
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Add in Japan and its love of all things tech, it’s easy to see why they so often mash-up the mediums into a super-genre of hi tech goodness.
It is also no secret that video game-inspired anime series have become more popular as console and mobile gaming continue to grow. Now, there are dozens of shows which appropriate video game tropes and settings in order to appeal to gamers everywhere.
So, whether you’re someone who loves RPG fantasies or brawling fighter titles, there is an anime out there that will give you a 1-UP. If you’re interested in checking out a list of some of the best video game anime, we’ve collected six skilled series for you to peruse.
Are you ready player one?
Re:Zero – Starting Life In Another World
Alright, so this animeย isn’t exactly set in a video game – but it does borrow tropes from the genre likeย respawnsย and even features a fantastical setting reminiscent to those in many open-world RPGs.ย
Re:Zero – Starting Life in Another Worldย follows Subaru Natsuki, a 17-year-old gamerย who finds himself magically transported to a strange new world calledย Lugnica.
It’s there that he meets a half-elf named Emiliaย who’s on the hunt for a man who stole her royal insignia as she’s lobbying to become the country’s next ruler.
However, the pair are mysteriously killed, leading Subaru to discover he has an ability known as ‘Return byย Death.’ Able to respawnย after dying, the hero’s is sent further back into the past each time he dies, prompting him to prevent calamities he knows are coming from occurring.ย
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Log Horizon
When it comes to anime, characters have terrible luck with MMORPGs.ย
In Log Horizon, a group of over 30,000 Elder Tale players find themselves trapped in the game afterย its 12th expansion pack goes live.
Stuck in the bodies of their in-game avatars, theseย characters are faced with the prospect of being stuck inside Elder Tale forever. As such, a strategist namedย Shiroeย teams up withย a group of friends as they adapt to the new world.
The players decide to make a guild of their own as in-game politics grow rockier which each passing day. But, when the game’s NPCsย begin to develop their own personalities, conflicts start to arise between the trapped gamers and their unhappy neighbors.ย
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No Game No Life
If you’re a fan of multiple gaming genres, then No Game No Life is definitely the anime for you.ย
The series follows a pair of siblings who are known as the best gamers in the entire world. Sora and Shiroย go by the alias Blank wheneverย they delve into online games where they are challenged by the God of Games, Tet.
The otherworldly being transports the siblings to a world called Disboardย after they defeat him in a match. And, most incredibly, the world is one that’s focused on gaming. Amazed by their new home, the pair finds themselves embroiled in the world’s politics when they’re asked to prove whether humans are skilled gamers. The brother and sister are then forced to team up and fight against various magical races to defend mankind’s honor.
Sword Art Online
Of course, this wouldn’t be a list of video game anime if Sword Art Online weren’t included.
The wildly popular animeย follows its hero Kiritoย as the skilled gamer finds himself trapped in a virtual-reality MMORPGย called Sword Art Online. Stuck alongside 300 fellow gamers, Kiritoย learns that any attempt to wake playersย up in the real-world will instantly kill them and that their only means of escape is to defeat the game’s final boss.
However, there’s a catch – if you die in the game, then you’ll also die in real-life.
Following this reveal, the in-game world begins to crumble as fear and paranoia take over the hearts of gamers, promptingย Kiritoย and a group of gamers to go on a journey to slay the final boss.
Accel World
With the release of games like Pokemon GO, augmented reality games are growing more popular.
And, when it comes to Accelย World, the anime takes AR gaming and exploresย what mightย happen if these titles truly changedย the world around us.ย
The animeย focuses on a short and chubby junior high student namedย Haruyuki who’s bullied by his classmates. As such, the character turns to video games as an escape and somehow grabs the attention ofย Kuroyukihime, the school’s popular Student Council Vice-President.
Impressed by his gaming prowess, she tellsย Haruyukiย about an augmented-reality MMOย called Brain Burst – a game that allows players to earn Burst Points through duels and use them to level-up their real-world selves. Determined to find out why the game was created, the two students team up to reach Level 10 in the game and meet its mysterious creator.ย
.Hack//Sign
.hack//Sign stands as one of the originators of video game anime.
Created in 2003, the series goes against contemporary television tropes as .hack//Sign doesn’t focus on intense fight sequences or video game action. Instead, the show depicts a slow-burn mystery as it intricately depicts the complex relationships which exist between characters.ย
The series follows a character named Tsukasaย after he finds himself stranded inside a gameย called The World. Burdened with short-term memory loss, the hero is unable to log himself out the game, leading him to make new friends who offerย to help him return to the real-world. He and his friends then go on an adventure as they search for The Key of the Twilight, a legendary item rumored to have the power to override The World’s workings. And, most importantly, it will allow Tsukasaย to return home.ย
