Isekai anime is perpetually chasing behind light novels and, to a lesser extent, manga. For instance, anime only started to embrace villainess isekai stories around 2020, lagging years behind the movement’s light novel peak. Due to the theme’s overwhelming popularity, studios have hundreds of tales they can adapt, eliminating the need to craft original stories to try and take a piece of that otherworldly pie. Still, considering the concept’s inescapable nature over the last decade, there should be way more original isekai anime.
The exceptions that exist combine to create a surprisingly eclectic bunch consisting of both shows and movies. Some of them are modern delights, while a few are classics that arguably helped shape the theme’s overall success. Let’s take a look at the best isekai anime that are not based on any source material.
Here are some criteria to keep in mind:
- To qualify, an anime’s production must have started before any other version of the story was released. However, the show would be considered if the manga adaptation was published first.
- Even if it tells a unique story, an anime will be disqualified if it is part of an existing franchise (
Digimon
). - No virtual worlds (
Summer Wars
)
5 Children Who Chase Lost Voices
MyAnimeList: 7.51
Over the last decade, Makoto Shinkai has cemented himself as one of the best anime movie directors of the modern era. Your Name is his most famous work, but Weathering With You, Suzume, and 5 Centimeters per Second are all beloved in their own right. While not quite held in as high regard as those movies, Children Who Chase Lost Voices nevertheless serves as a demonstration of Shinkai’s immeasurable talent, even if the author’s voice was not quite fully formed in 2011.
In the simplest terms, the story follows three characters who travel from Earth to Agatha, a gorgeous but dangerous underground world considered by many to be just a fairy tail. After meeting the brother of a friend who passed away, Asuna – a young girl – embraces this journey, one she takes alongside a teacher who is desperate to gain control over life and death.
Children Who Chase Lost Voices touches upon grief, legacy, and obsession, and it deals with these heavy themes reasonably well. However, the movie does not have enough time to fully flesh out its characters, causing them to come across as fairly superficial. While visually striking, Agatha is not explored that thoroughly. On the one hand, this strengthens its otherworldly nature; conversely, its essence is somewhat undefined.
4 El Hazard: The Magnificent World
MyAnimeList Score: 7.29 (1995 OVA Series)
El-Hazard is a cult classic that had a fruitful run in the late ’90s. The franchise produced 11 OVA episodes (El-Hazard: The Magnificent World), a 26-part TV series (El-Hazard: The Wanderers), and a sequel (El-Hazard: The Alternative World). All of these are entertaining in their own right, but The Magnificent World is the best of the bunch and the ideal entry point for newcomers craving a chaotic trip to another world filled with humor, action, and nonsense.
In 1995, isekai was hardly a staple of manga or anime, and that would remain the case for more than another decade. While not as influential on modern stories as Sword Art Online or That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime, The Magnificent World helped establish the blueprint that would come to define isekai, albeit with a heavier focus on Earthlings (multiple characters make the trip to El-Hazard, and they do not instantly forget where they came from). The first OVA season is particularly creative and over-the-top, and it has aged quite well as long as a viewer does not mind old-school animation (which was decent for the era).
3 Sonny Boy
MyAnimeList: 7.79
Sonny Boy is ambitious and strange. Although producing a couple of cerebral entries, the isekai genre tends to play things very safe, with most stories happy to retread well-worn ground with a new gimmick. Along with not being an adaptation, Sonny Boy is also the definition of an original isekai anime, in the sense that it tells a singular story with no direct comparisons. Consequently, it is likely to be divisive with viewers, especially those who enjoy the theme’s traditional escapism.
So, what is Sonny Boy about? Well, the students of a classroom are trapped in a world cut off from reality. Once surrounded by nothingness, they must fend for themselves while also unlocking new powers, including a world-hopping ability that drives most of the plot forward. Naturally, something of a power struggle emerges, forcing the kids to quickly mature or risk creating a society that eats itself from the inside.
Ultimately, Sonny Boy is a coming-of-age story that, perhaps, spreads itself a bit too thin. Due to having a pretty big cast, most of the characters must settle for short bursts of relevancy, with most receiving the spotlight for an episode or two. The anime also covers multiple worlds, most of which come and go too quickly to fulfill their potential.
Issues aside, Sonny Boy deserves respect. Shingo Natsume crafted a demanding, confusing, and (at times) incomplete tale that touches upon philosophical and adolescent themes without settling for obvious answers. Visually, Sonny Boy has a distinct style that showcases Madhouse’s technical brilliance and Natsume’s vision.
2 The Boy And The Beast
MyAnimeList: 8.24
Honestly, Mamoru Hosoda’s The Boy and the Beast probably deserves to be crowned the best original isekai anime; if nothing else, it is the most well-known and popular. However, the film did not have a notable impact on the isekai genre as a whole, which is why it sits in second place.
Looking for an escape, the orphan Ren stumbles his way through Shibuya and discovers the Beast Kingdom, a realm that exists unbeknownst to humans. Once there, the troubled boy strikes up a volatile friendship with Kumatetsu, an obnoxious but charming monster who struggles to connect with other beings. Despite not getting along at first, Kumatetsu agrees to take Ren as a disciple, teaching him the basics of kendo while also striking a bond that will help both characters mature.
A movie of two halves, The Boy and the Beast shines the brightest when Kumatetsu and Ren’s odd parent-son dynamic takes center stage during the first hour. Although slow-going, the relationship gradually transforms from endless arguments to reluctant respect; along the way, their scenes produce quite a few laughs as well. At the midway point, the movie takes a drastic left turn as Ren tries to reintegrate into the human world, putting his relationship with Kumatetsu on the back burner. This messes with the story’s pacing, culminating in an exciting but emotionally weak final act. Despite issues aside, The Boy and the Beast is generally an engaging watch.
1 The Vision Of Escaflowne
MyAnimeList: 7.67
While Shoji Kawamori’s manga came out before the anime, the latter was already in production when the former was created and released.
More so than even El-Hazard, The Vision of Escaflowne is one of modern isekai’s defining grandfathers. Surviving a troubled production, the series sought to combine Sunrise’s specialty (mecha) with a classic fantasy setting, a marriage that not only proved successful but was also renewed multiple times over the next few decades.
Telling a quintessential isekai story that starts fairly simple but gradually expands through its well-defined universe and three-dimensional characters, The Vision of Escaflowne is almost the full package. Compared to the theme’s many nondescript settings, Gaea impresses in its political, social, and visual complexity, crafting a one-of-a-kind world with a clear identity. The same can be said for its dynamic characters and the challenging relationships they build along the way. Even the action is fantastic and sits comfortably among Sunrise’s best efforts of the ’90s. If it was not for a rushed final act, The Vision of Escaflowne would be an all-time great anime rather than just a very good one.
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