Highlights
- Shojo isekai works have become popular among female audiences in recent years, featuring everyman (or everygirl) protagonists transported to other universes.
- Otome isekai is a subgenre within shojo isekai where the main character is reincarnated into the world of an Otome game, often as the villainess.
- These shojo isekai series typically follow shojo tropes and conventions, including reverse harems, magical girls, and princesses, providing a unique twist on the traditional isekai genre.
Isekai works, for the longest time, were male-oriented, but in recent years, there's been an avalanche of anime and manga series aimed at girls and women. Like their shonen counterparts, shojo isekai works also involve an everyman protagonist (everygirl in this case) getting transported to another universe or timeline, but there are some other key differences.
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A popular subgenre in the shojo isekai genre is the Otome isekai, where the main character reincarnates into the world of an Otome game. The shojo isekai heroine is less likely to be a fighter, even if she may know some magic. She may also get reincarnated as the villainess of the game. These anime and manga, as expected, follow shojo tropes and conventions, like reverse harems, magical girls, and princesses.
10 Kamigami No Asobi
MyAnimeList Score: 7.01
Release Date | 2014-04-05 |
Studio | Brain's Base |
Number of Episodes | 12 |
Based on the otome game of the same name, Kamigami no Asobi follows Yui Kusanagi, daughter of a Shinto shrine priest, who gets transported to a different world when she touches a mysterious sword in the storehouse. There she meets Zeus, the Greek God, who chooses her to be the instructor at the Academy of the Gods to restore the bond between humans and gods.
Like most Otome game adaptations, Kamigami no Asobi takes the reverse harem route instead of focusing on one particular love interest. In addition to Zeus, Yui also meets other bishonen gods, like Loki, Anubis, and Hades, meaning this anime is a treat for mythology nerds.
9 The Most Heretical Last Boss Queen: From Villainess To Savior
MyAnimeList Score: 7.09
Release Date | 2023-06-07 |
Studio | OLM Team Yoshioka |
Creator | Tenichi |
Number of Episodes | 12 |
Japanese Title | Higeki no Genkyo to naru Saikyo Gedo Last Boss Joo wa Min no tame ni Tsukushimasu |
What happens when a young girl finds out she's going to be a monstrous villainess in the future? Eight-year-old Princess Pride Royal Ivy was a normal high school student in her previous life until her tragic death led to her reincarnation as the final boss of the otome game "Our Ray of Light."
The current Pride Royal Ivy doesn't wish to be a tyrant, however. Awaiting her inevitable death, she seeks to make everything better for the people of her kingdom. The original manga for this series was unfortunately discontinued due to the artist's health issues, but the anime is still a faithful adaptation of the first two volumes.
8 The Saint's Magic Power Is Omnipotent
MyAnimeList Score: 7.29
Release Date | 2021-04-06 |
Studio | Diomedea |
Creator | Yuka Tachibana |
Number of Episodes | 19 |
Japanese Title | Seijo no Maryoku was Banno Desu |
Imagine being a regular, working adult walking home from a long day and suddenly getting summoned to another world. That is what happened to Sei Takanashi, a workaholic in her mid-20s. Initially summoned to the kingdom of Slantania to obtain the power of a living Saint, she finds out she was just the backup option and a random brown-haired girl was the real chosen one.
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Sei then becomes a researcher who studies herbs and potions, discovering her talents as a Saint the whole way. The light novel gives a refreshing new angle to the isekai genre by making the main character an office worker in her 20s instead of a high-schooler, and the anime adaptation by Diomedea breathes new life into the series with its gorgeous soundtrack and amazing animation.
7 Accomplishments Of The Duke's Daughter
MyAnimeList Score: 7.73
Release Date | 2015-12-22 |
Magazine | Young Ace Up |
Creator | Reia |
Number of Volumes | 8 |
Japanese Title | Koshaku Reijo no Tashinami |
A young office lady gets hit by a truck and awakens as the antagonist in her favorite Otome game. Sound familiar? Despite its played-out start, Accomplishments of the Duke's Daughter takes a different angle to the 'reincarnated as an Otome villainess' trope.
The office lady, now a noblewoman named Iris, remembers all the details of her previous life and knows what will happen next in her new life. Using the skills from her tax office job, Iris aims to bring about positive changes to her kingdom. The manga series was adapted from the light novel, so fans have an additional title to put on their reading list if they enjoyed the manga.
6 Alice In The Country of Hearts
MyAnimeList Score: 7.73
Release Date | 2007-10 |
Magazine | Monthly Comic Avarus |
Creator | Quin Rose |
Number of Volumes | 6 |
Japanese Title | Heart no Kuni no Alice |
Here's a manga that asks, "what if Alice in Wonderland was a reverse harem series?" Alice in the Country of Hearts follows Lewis Caroll's classic story for the most part, except the White Rabbit is a bishonen with rabbit ears and the other iconic characters like the Mad Hatter and Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum are also turned into pretty boys.
Alice Lidell, a young girl, falls into Wonderland, a strange land divided into three countries, and the only way she can return to her own world is to spend time with the inhabitants. Adapted from a visual novel, the series has become a full-blown franchise, with multiple manga series, light novels, and an original video animation.
5 Magic Knight Rayearth
MyAnimeList Score: 7.46
Release Date | 1994-10-17 |
Studio | Tokyo Movie Shinsha |
Creator | CLAMP |
Number of Episodes | 49 |
It's an oldie but a goodie - Magic Knight Rayearth, created by manga legends CLAMP, tells the story of three eighth-grade girls who get swept away to a strange new land called Cephiro during a field trip to Tokyo Tower. The girls are then tasked to be 'Magic Knights' - heroes who are destined to bring peace and prosperity to Cephiro.
Don't be dissuaded by the very 90s art style - Magic Knight Rayearth is considered to be one of the very first isekai, one that was hugely influential on the genre, and the Magical Girl genre as well.
4 Kyo Kara Maoh!
MyAnimeList Score: 7.63
Release Date | 2004-04-03 |
Studio | DEEN |
Creator | Tomo Takabayashi |
Number of Episodes | 78 |
Kyo kara Maoh! may have a male protagonist, but it's still a shojo series. 15-year-old Yuri Shibuya is transported to a medieval Europe-esque world after getting his head dunked in a toilet by bullies. There, he unwillingly becomes the king of demons due to having traits possessed by those of the demon lineage.
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With a plot that combines fantasy, slice-of-life, and sports, as well as including some shonen-ai subtext, Kyo kara Maoh! is definitely one of the more hilarious and unique entries into the isekai genre.
3 Ascendance of a Bookworm
MyAnimeList Score: 7.99
Release Date | 2019-10-03 |
Studio | Ajia-do |
Creator | Miya Kazuki |
Number of Episodes | 36 |
Japanese Title | Honzuki no Gekokujo: Shisho ni Naru Tame ni wa Shudan o Erandeiraremasen |
Ascendance of a Bookworm gives readers and viewers one of the more interesting stories in the isekai genre. A bookworm named Urano Motosu dies in the most ironic way possible - being crushed under a pile of books. Unfortunately for her, she gets transported to a time before the printing press.
Urano, being determined to keep her passion for books alive, decides if there are no books around, she'll just have to make them herself. Ascendance of a Bookworm can be hard to get into for the orthodox isekai fan, as it's more of a slice-of-life than an action-adventure, but it's one hundred percent worth it. The colorful art style and lovable protagonist alone are sure to get viewers into the franchise.
2 My Next Life As a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!
MyAnimeList Score: 7.46
Perhaps the most famous title in the 'reincarnated as an Otome villainess' genre, My Next Life As a Villainess didn't get much hype when it was first announced, with people dismissing it as just another isekai. When it finally came out, however, it became one of the most successful anime of Spring 2020.
Catarina Claes, after a nasty fall, regains memories of her past life and realizes she's been reborn as the main antagonist of the Otome game Fortune Lover. Using her knowledge of the game, she tries her best to avoid a terrible fate for herself, with several hilarious and heartwarming moments along the way.
1 Fushigi Yuugi
MyAnimeList Score: 7.61
Release Date | 1995-04-06 |
Studio | Pierrot |
Creator | Yuu Watase |
Number of Episodes | 52 |
Before the trend of anime characters getting isekai'd into video games, they would get isekai'd into the pages of books. Yuu Watase's Fushigi Yuugi, another oldie-but-a-goodie, is about two girls, Yui Hongo and Miaka Yuuki, who get sucked into ancient China by reading a strange old book. While Yui is able to return home almost immediately, Miaka is left behind to traverse through the book's world on her own.
Fans of classic shojo will not be disappointed by this series - there's plenty of romance, humor, action, and emotional moments to keep their attention. Fans of modern isekai may still want to check the anime out as it's an important early example of the genre.