Best Dark Fantasy Isekai Anime

Dark fantasy isekai anime are surprisingly rare. While producing at least five new shows per season, isekai primarily focuses on lighthearted romps that are pure escapism and seldom dip into grim territory. Most stories are easy-going power fantasies set in traditional medieval-style fantasy worlds, and they generally opt against pushing their protagonists, both physically or morally.

To be clear, there is nothing wrong with a low fantasy adventure, and isekai has proven to be a great resource for these types of stories. However, sometimes, a darker or more mature narrative can be refreshing, especially when executed well. Therefore, let's take a look at the best dark fantasy anime.

Updated on August 29, 2024 by Mark Sammut: As Summer 2024 is slowly coming to an end, the season's sole dark fantasy isekai anime is reaching its climax. While not a masterpiece, fans of these types of stories might wish to check it out.

Honorable Mentions:

The following isekai anime are more mature than dark, but they deserve a shout-out since they have their moments:

• Mushoku Tensei – The isekai element touches upon fairly serious ideas, but Rudy's backstory is the only really dark part.
• The Rising of the Shield Hero – While the inciting incident is very dark for an isekai, the anime quickly settles into a standard fantasy tone as it progresses.
• Saga of Tanya the Evil – The WWI war setting enhances a fairly conventional power fantasy.
• The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick Up Trash – Starts shockingly dark, but gradually turns into a charming slow-life story.

7 Failure Frame: I Became the Strongest and Annihilated Everything With Low-Level Spells

A Protagonist Who Is Left To Die And Is More Than Willing To Kill

Despite containing more than its fair share of issues, Failure Frame should be able to scratch that dark fantasy isekai itch. Not far removed from Arifureta in its initial setup, the Summer 2024 anime maintains its initial edgy tone, along with featuring a protagonist who is very much driven by revenge. Alongside his classmates, Touka is summoned by a manipulative and egotistical goddess to serve as her hero; however, he is sent to die in a dungeon after he unlocks a seemingly weak ability to inflict status effects. Spells like Poison and Paralysis are considered useless due to their low accuracy, but Touka quickly realizes that his attacks seem to always hit. Suddenly, he is killing monsters by the dozens and leveling up just as quickly, far exceeding any of his classmates. Once free from the dungeon, the protagonist sets out on a long journey to get revenge on the goddess.

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Failure Frame is a refreshing dark fantasy for the simple reason that Touka is not only more than willing to kill, but he also does not hesitate to trick enemies into an early demise. He is an OP protagonist who can and does match his world's violent nature. He has no interest in pointless concepts like honor, and he is happy to watch people die painfully if they intend to harm him or his companion, an elf named Seras. Beyond the protagonist, the world itself is a fairly typical mix of high and dark fantasy tropes, and seemingly every human wants to abuse Seras. The goddess also treats her summons like disposable toys who exist for her entertainment.

6 Ishura

In A World Filled With Warring Demigods, The Common Folk Are Mere Fodder

Ishura takes a long time to get going. Season 1 made the risky decision to dedicate the first five episodes to introducing the different warriors who will be taking part in an upcoming war. While these segments are not bad individually, they make for a confusing whole that lacks much in the way of forward momentum. However, once the roll call is complete, the anime shifts to an all-out battle between the Aureatia Kingdom and Litha, with both sides utilizing a few OP characters as chess pieces.

Something that Ishura emphasizes is the sheer power imbalance that defines this world. The "normal" folk have no chance of standing up to any of the Visitors, and they have no choice but to accept their fate of being collateral damage in these demigods' self-centered battles for supremacy. Most of the Visitors are not presented as "good" either. For example, Soujirou is a battle-obsessed psycho driven by a desire to find worthy opponents, and he is one of the better Visitors.

5 Grimgar: Ashes And Illusions

A More Grounded Take On MMO-Style Isekai

A great light novel that was turned into a good but short-lived anime, Grimgar: Ashes and Illusions' brilliance lies in its balance of camaraderie, hopefulness, and consequences. A group of characters find themselves stuck in a fantasy world with no experience, special abilities, solid memories, or anything to depend on. Consequently, they form a party and try to work together to survive, knowing full well that even a basic encounter against low-level monsters is a life-and-death struggle.

While not relentlessly dark or action-packed, Grimgar constantly reminds viewers that its "heroes" are nothing more than vulnerable rookie adventurers who are desperately adapting as they go. Mistakes are severely punished, and they make a lot of them. They are not given any unique abilities that give them an edge in battle; no, they are just nobodies thrown into a world that has no sympathy for them.

4 Drifters

Historical Figures Engage In A Bloody Battle Royale

A dark fantasy isekai anime does not necessarily have to take itself that seriously. Overall, Drifters is pretty silly, both in theory and (at times) execution. After their deaths, historical figures like Toyohisa Shimazu, Nobunaga Oda, and Jeanne d'Arc are summoned to a fantasy world where they are split into two groups: Drifters and Ends. Basically, they wage war against each other, causing a lot of collateral damage along the way.

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The world is classic dark fantasy and blends humans and demi-human races, and it is riddled with chaos and death thanks to the arrival of the Drifters and Ends. Delivering regular bloodbaths along with over-the-top humor, Drifters is effectively a battle royale that blends history and fantasy, creating a story packed with great action, uneasy alliances, and Jeanne being all sorts of unpredictable.

3 Now And Then, Here And There

Hope & Good Will Destroyed By Harsh Reality

Now And Then, Here And There is not an easy watch, and that is exactly what makes it so compelling. Initially, this underrated isekai anime might seem primed to be a relatively customary tale about a young boy's unwavering drive to protect a girl that he likes; however, as the story progresses, Shuu's innocence is torn apart by the sheer reality and tragedy of war.

Chasing after a mysterious girl when she is kidnapped by robots and taken to another world, Shuu is captured by Hellywood's dictator, putting him on a dark and uncomfortable path that tests his resolve and spirit. Shuu is tortured, broken, and forced to become a child soldier, the latter of which is explored exhaustively by the show. Now And Then, Here And There does not hold back in depicting these harrowing moments, and the main characters are allowed to suffer.

2 Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World-

Psychological Torture

Personal preference aside, Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- is undeniably among the best isekai anime of all time; if nothing else, it is among the most ambitious and well-written. While out shopping, Subaru is (seemingly) randomly summoned to a fantasy world, a situation that he initially loves. However, despite desperately wanting to play the hero, the protagonist does not have any real offensive skills, and he nearly instantly dies a horrifying death. Fortunately, death causes him to revive at a previous checkpoint, allowing him to try things over.

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At a glance, Re:Zero's world is not as "blatantly" dark fantasy as, for example, Drifters' setting; however, the story itself is considerably darker. While his reset ability might seem overpowered, Subaru experiences severe PTSD from his regular deaths, some of which are brutal and horrific. The first season specifically tears down Subaru, emphasizing his weaknesses and self-absorption, all to allow him to grow to be a better person.

1 Overlord

The Ultimate Dark Fantasy Isekai Anime

In terms of overall quality, Re:Zero is the pick of the bunch; however, no other isekai series screams "dark fantasy" as loudly as Overlord. Aesthetically and narratively, Madhouse's adaptation of Kugane Maruyama's light novel series is arguably the definitive dark fantasy anime, even removed from the isekai theme. While not excessively gory or humorless, the series is nevertheless grim, chronicling an OP protagonist's gradual domination of a fantasy world that is far from capable of presenting any resistance.

Formerly just a guy playing an MMORPG as a relatively powerful mage, the protagonist ends up stuck as his character, Ainz Ooal Gown, in a similar world as the game, albeit one that is far less developed magically. To make matters worse for everyone else, Ainz is supported by NPCs who are all extremely powerful, intelligent, and dangerous, and they think absolutely nothing of humans. Along with destroying anyone foolish enough to threaten his people, Ainz slowly loses any remaining traces of his humanity, transforming from someone playing a villain to just a straight-up overlord.

Unlike the other mentioned series, Overlord is unique since its protagonist is not sent to a dark fantasy setting but effectively causes it. Consequently, the anime gets progressively darker as Ainz and the Great Tomb of Nazarick's reach extends further across the world, throwing the power balance completely off.

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