Highlights
- Elf characters in isekai can be cute and funny, adding charm and humor to the storyline.
- World building is pivotal in creating successful isekai anime, providing diverse magical creatures and cultures.
- Strong character development in isekai shows can help viewers emotionally connect with anime characters.
An isekai show will normally see a character transported from a world they know to somewhere else, typically a fantasy world. Along with the culture shock that the character suffers, there are also often diverse magical creatures and people they meet.
One of the most popular humanoid species in fantasy is the elf, and they pop up all over anime genres. They are also pretty common in isekai, but some of them stand above the others in terms of building, mannerisms, and how well they resonate with the audience.
10 Myucel Foaran (Outbreak Company)
She Is Cuteness Overload
Outbreak Company might be a simple isekai about a boy who travels to another world to spread the gospel of otaku culture, but it has a lot of charming bits that make a good show.
The biggest pull of the show was Myucel Foaran, a former soldier for the Erdant military who eventually becomes Shin’ichi’s love interest. Myucel is a character whose arc is fun to watch alongside Shin’ichi, and the two share some really cute moments. Who can forget Myucel when she’s packed in a bag and finds herself in Shin’ichi’s room?
9 Sylphiette (Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation)
A Woman Who Knows Exactly What She Wants And Goes For It
The first wife of Rudeus, and the character who fans get to watch from childhood to adulthood, Sylphiette is one of the best characters in the anime, as fans watch her develop from a shy, boyish child to a confident and beautiful woman.
Bullied as a kid, Sylphiette (Sylphy) becomes friends with Rudeus, and the two share a close bond. They are separated in their younger years, but they meet again when they are both older, with Sylphy sporting white hair due to an immense drain on her mana. It helps that Sylphy is no slouch when it comes to her magical abilities, and she has her moments to shine throughout the series.
8 Leefa (Sword Art Online)
Often Misunderstood And Doesn’t Initially Follow Typical Anime Tropes
The identity of Leefa is actually Kirigaya Suguha, Kirito’s sister, in Sword Art Online. She takes on the person of Leefa when she’s playing Alfheim Online, a game she dearly loves and shares with Kirito.
Leefa can be misunderstood, but her reasons for initially hating her brother before finally coming to terms with him are valid, and once the two are on good terms, their relationship is cute — although it does lean into the brother complex anime trope a bit. All in all, Leefa is a strong character both in terms of combat and personality to make her likable for fans of the story.
7 Tuka Luna Marceau (GATE)
Her Victory Over Tragedy Showed Great Character Development
GATE gets a bad rap due to its depiction of the Japanese military, but political angles aside, it is a very fun show. One of the more popular characters of the series is Tuka Luna, a high elf who joins Itami’s party after being saved from her destroyed village.
Tuka Luna is a beauty, but her character development is what makes her one of the best elves in isekai — especially when she is forced to face the death of her father and come to terms with his sacrifice. Sure, she’s still enamored with Itami and calls him father even while clearly showing she likes him a lot more than that, but its isekai; what do you expect?
6 Ariane Glenys Maple (Skeleton Knight In Another World)
She Is The Heart Of The Show
Ariane Glenys Maple is the travel companion of Arc, the titular Skeleton Knight In Another World. She’s a dark elf with the noble goal of liberating her fellow elves who have been captured by humans.
Ariane eventually takes to Arc, and the two share a lot of cute moments together. Ariane is a great source of a lot of the comedy in Skeleton Knight, from her inability to hold her liquor to the typical misunderstandings that take place in an isekai. In all this, Ariane is a joy to watch and a great pair with Arc.
5 Kagali (That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime)
Looks Good In Any Gender
Kagali began life as an elf before tragedy struck, and she was eventually killed, becoming a Deathman, and then a Demon Lord. In the show, she is usually portrayed as a pretty elf in a suit. She is also sometimes known as the Demon Lord Kazaream who has become trapped in the body of a homonculus.
While immensely powerful, it is Kagali’s cunning that makes her a fascinating character. Able to pull strings behind the scenes, her smarts have been of great benefit to her and the other Demon Lords. In the world of That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime, which features a lot of great world building, Kagali is an integral part of the ecosystem, expertly supporting the other characters as a result.
4 Mare Bello Fiore (Overlord)
A Meek Character With A Bit Of A Mean Streak
Mare’s appearance will deceive the uninitiated that he is female, but he’s a male elf and the brother to Aura. They both serve as floor guardians of the sixth floor of the Grand Tomb Of Nazarick in Overlord.
While seemingly timid and shy, Mare is extremely powerful. What makes him such an interesting figure is the duality of his personality, as he never lets his supposed meekness deter him from carrying out his master’s orders.
3 Fiel Nirvalen (No Game, No Life)
The Embodiment Of Not Judging A Book By Its Cover
Fiel Nirvalen is a character from No Game, No Life usually called Fii and is one of the many characters that Sora and Shiro meet on their sojourn in the other world. She has a game partner, Chlammy, who turns out to be Fiel’s family’s slave.
Fii is one of those characters who charms the watcher with her seemingly harmless personality, but it turns out she can be quite mean. This is particularly made clear when it shows how little she actually cares about her family or race, preferring Chlammy to be ready to give them up at the drop of a hat.
2 Elf (Uncle From Another World)
Cute, Unintentionally Funny, And Heartwarming
Elf (simply called Elf, as viewers get no name for her) is the tsundere character from Uncle From Another World who plays the companion of the Uncle while traveling in the universe he was sucked into.
First, tsundere characters are always cute. Beyond that, however, Elf is a great source of comedy, as Uncle From Another World’s funniest moments usually involve her and the titular Uncle coming to some sort of misunderstanding. The viewer does get to feel sorry for her, though, as her love is never reciprocated.
1 Emilia (Re:Zero − Starting Life In Another World)
Strong, With Heavy ‘Must Protect At All Costs’ Aura
Emilia is one of those characters that gets fans in a protective mode, as her delicate nature and cute mannerisms have garnered her a lot of fans in Re:Zero − Starting Life In Another World. The main love interest of the very unfortunate Subaru, Emilia captures the heart with her warmth and kindness in a world that gets pretty bleak sometimes.
Watching her grow from a shy, almost helpless elf to a competent and self-confident character is one of the highlights of the series. She’s an altogether great character, and her positive motivations help make her the best anime elf character.