The Isekai anime genre encompasses stories in which the main character is transported to another world, either fictional, digital, or in another dimension altogether. Many anime fans believe Sword Art Online, which came out in 2012, to be the first one of its genre. It was the first anime to popularize the term and led to a craze for Isekai anime.
However, the Isekai genre existed way before Sword Art Online graced people's screens, and these shows deserve to be known and given a chance. After all, many of them served as an influence not only for Sword Art Online, but for many more of today's fan-favorites like No Game No Life, Re: Zero - Starting Life In Another World, and That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime. Fans of Isekai should check out these titles.
10 Battle Girls: Time Paradox (2011)
Yoshino Hide always finds trouble no matter what she does or where she goes. That is precisely how she ended up back in time to a different era of Japan where only women seem to exist, although history taught her differently.
At that moment, she meets Oda Nobunaga and Akechi Mitsuhide. These two are searching for the Crimson Armor, which is known for giving its wearer the power to conquer the country. Yoshino agrees to aid them in their quest, and helps them fight the enemies that try to stop them from succeeding.
9 Fushigi Yugi (1995)
Two friends, Miaka and Yui, find an intriguing old book at the Nation Library that blinds them with a red light once opened. The two girls are sucked inside to a different world where they meet a young man, Tamahome. Unfortunately, for some unknown reason, Yui is brought back to reality, and her friend is left behind to find out how to get out on her own.
Tamahome agrees to help her, but things get complicated when the emperor Hotohori mistakes her for a prophesied priestess who can grant wishes once the seven Celestial Warriors are found and gathered. She agrees to embark on his quest — but only because if he's right, she could wish to go back home once it is over.
8 The Familiar Of Zero (2006)
This anime is about a young mage in training called Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La Vallière. Although she attends a magic school, she constantly struggles at everything magical, earning her the nickname "Louise The Zero."
Louise proves that she holds up to the name when she fails again, but this time, at a summoning ritual. She summons a boy from another world instead of a pet like the rest of her class. Working together, the boy must come to terms with his new fate as he helps Louise lose her nickname.
7 Kiba! (2006)
Kiba! is set in a dystopian future where protagonist Zed struggles to find his identity and searches for a greater purpose in life. Together with his friend Noah, they wish to gain some freedom, which the discovery of a new world promises them.
However, this new world is unlike anything they are used to living in. It's a dangerous place where they can control "spirits" to protect themselves from harm. Along with a new spirit friend, Amil Gaoul, they leave on a quest for power and self-discovery.
6 Magic Knight Rayearth (1994)
​​​​​​Hikaru Shidou, Fuu Hououj, and Umi Ryuuzaki are three strangers who, during a school trip, witness a flash of light and are sent to another world called Cephiro. A man meets them as they wander into the land, and introduces himself as Master Mage Clef.
Clef explains that the girls were summoned to this world by Princess Emeraude, who has been imprisoned by High Priest Zagato, for a greater purpose. They must protect the land and maintain the peace as the new Magical Knights.
5 Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha (2004)
This magical girl anime follows the story of Nanoha, a girl who finds a ferret on her way to school. However, it's no ordinary ferret. Not only did Nanoha dream of the furry creature the night before, but it's actually a mage named Yuuno Scraia.
This mage is on a mission. On his planet, Yuuno was in charge of sealing the Jewel Seeds away before an evil event could happen, but he failed when he lost all 21 of them over Earth. Since he can't succeed on his own, especially since becoming a ferret, he asks for Nanoha's help.
4 .Hack//Sign (2002)
.Hack//Sign's and Sword Art Online share the same premise as both of their main characters, Tsukasa and Kirito, find themselves unable to log out of an MMORPG game. However, unlike Kirito, Tsukasa has no memory of what happened before waking up in the game.
As he wanders around in the world, he raises the suspicion of others who thinks he may be a hacker. If he ever hopes to log out, he must avoid getting into trouble and attracting the wrong sort of attention while seeking answers.
3 Digimon Adventure (1999)
Digimon Adventure is set in Tokyo and revolves around Taichi, nicknamed Tai, who goes to summer camp with some of his friends and discovers small electronic devices called "Digivices." These devices transport them to another world, one that is entirely digital. In this new world, the kids meet little monsters who call themselves Digimons.
As the kids attempt to find a way home with the help of the Digimons, they realize that the Digital World is in danger, and they must do everything they can to save it.
2 InuYasha (2000)
InuYasha follows a middle school girl called Kagome, who is pulled down a well near her home by a demon. The well serves as some portal to an earlier time: feudal Japan, where Kagome finds herself wanted by demons for possessing a powerful jewel she didn't know she had in the first place.
In an attempt to escape from harm, the jewel shatters in pieces around Japan. With the help of a half-demon, Inuyasha, Kagome must find all the shards before the demons do.
1 Angel Beats! (2010)
Angel Beats! is an anime about a boy named Otonashi, who wakes up in another world with no recollection of how he got there or who he is, aside from his name. He meets a girl named Yuri and learns that not only is he in another realm, but he's in the afterlife, meaning he somehow died.
Whether Otonashi believes he is truly dead or not, he must choose what to do next. He can either join Yuri's Afterlife Battlefront, The Shinda Sekai Sensen, to avoid going to the "next level" or try to get some answers from the "so-called" enemy, Tenshi.