2023 is set to bring several new and returning anime shows to the table, and one genre continues to dominate the industry. Isekai has essentially taken over anime, with more shows made in the genre than any other. For those who can’t get enough of uproarious reincarnations, the coming year is sure to give them plenty of options.
From the strongest fighters and fiercest swordsmen to the best gardeners, there are tons of different heroes dotting the 2023 isekai anime landscape. These include shows that are coming back for new seasons and those that are finally adapting pre-existing manga or light novels. Here are some of the series that isekai enthusiasts should most look forward to in the coming year.
Farming Life in Another World Promises a Chill, Relaxing Isekai
Based on Kinosuke Naito’s novel series, Farming Life in Another World is a more relaxed take on a recent trend in the genre. This trend involves isekai where the protagonist engages in a seemingly mundane lifestyle after being reincarnated into their new world. In the case of Farming Life in Another World, it follows main character Hiraku, who’s given a second life by God after dying of overwork. Now immune to all illnesses, Hiraku reincarnates into a simple world where he can live out his true dream: being a farmer who lives outside his former hustle-and-bustle ways.
If it’s anything like the novels and manga, Farming Life in Another World is sure to shy away from over-the-top action sequences and even overabundant world-building, instead focusing on the main character and his growing farm. In many ways, it’s a sort of iyashikei isekai, making it perfect for those looking for something low-stakes to watch. It’s only one of a few farming isekai, but it’s certain to be the subgenre’s most bountiful yet.
Handyman Saito Offers a More Everyman Isekai Protagonist
Many isekai main characters are meant to be relatable to some extent, typically by being overlooked or put-upon losers. One new series offers to go even further with this idea, elevating a blue-collar worker into a true hero. Handyman Saito In Another World involves the mediocre Saito, who’s never really amounted to much in his rather mundane life. When he’s reincarnated into a fantasy world, however, his most unlikely skills make him incredibly important. Thanks to his acumen as an everyday handyman, Saito is invaluable in picking locks and other tasks for adventurers.
As mentioned, it’s not every day that a blue-collar worker is really spotlighted in anime, let alone as the hero of a wish-fulfillment isekai. Add in the fact that Saito’s skill comes from his handyman knowledge and not any sort of special battle prowess, and he could easily become one of the more relatable isekai characters — without being overpowered.
Reborn to Master the Blade Blurs Gender and Genre Lines
Reborn to Master the Blade: From Hero-King to Extraordinary Squire offers a rather unique way to move past some of the criticisms of the isekai genre. It focuses on a king who, on his deathbed, wishes to be reborn in the future to see what becomes of his kingdom far after he’s gone. The catch is that he’s reincarnated as a young lady, making “him” have to fight for his right to be a knight.
The series’ place as true isekai is debatable given that the king’s world is still the same. The changes to his kingdom, not to mention himself through reincarnation, keep Reborn to Master the Blade from being a pure fantasy and inject real isekai elements, however. Likewise, the series’ eventually quite powerful protagonist is a young woman, helping to move isekai and fantasy anime in general away from featuring only overpowered male heroes. After all, “King Inglis” takes on a traditionally male role, and the series isn’t part of the recent trend of female-oriented otome isekai. While “he” might not be logging into an online video game, the protagonist of Reborn to Master the Blade is definitely reincarnated into a much different world than what he knew before.
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