Summary
- Isekai offers a wide array of stories, from heroes to villains, providing fresh takes on the genre.
- Series like The Eminence in Shadow feature protagonists seeking power and control, leading to diverse plotlines.
- Anime series such as Drifters and Dead Mount Death Play showcase darker takes on isekai with ruthless characters.
Isekai is a genre of anime that has gathered a large following for its exciting possibilities when a protagonist is transported to another world and must now try to survive by new rules. Fans flock to explore a medieval world where swords and sorcery are dominant fixtures in society or when the main character is sucked into their favorite video game with extraordinary abilities. Isekai is a genre that offers a large amount of variety that keeps each series in the genre feeling new and fresh.
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While most characters that are dropped into another world set off on a journey to be the hero, there are several isekai anime that have characters walking different paths. A recent addition that falls under this example would be The Eminence in Shadow. The main character, Cid Kagenou, has grander ambitions than being celebrated as a hero and seeks to gain a powerful position in the new world he now lives in. Here are some more anime to watch if fans like The Eminence in Shadow.
Updated on March 25, 2025, by C.M. Edwards: Isekai anime is an ever-growing genre that continues to receive more releases each anime season. As isekai grows into a more bountiful genre, new ways and takes on anime are created with them, subverting the normal expectations of anime fans who tune in to watch. Heroes with no heroic drive, villains teleported to another world, and NEETs who take a darker path are all new stories that have been told in isekai anime, and The Eminence in Shaodw is no different. The Eminence in Shadow is a diamond in the rough, with an interesting main character and stylish animation that conjured a dedicated fanbase that fell in love with the series. After dying, Cid is reborn in another world where magic exists. Having retained all of his memories, the darker parts of Cid's personality immediately begin to plot against the land. Cid is unlike many isekai protagonists as he has a more selfish desire than most, and doesn't care about the lives of those who get in his way. With his high intellect and exceptional physical and magical abilities, Cid seeks to dominate this new world and become the master of all from the shadows. He has gathered a band of powerful warriors he calls Black Garden and, with extreme precision, plays with the lives of millions in the palm of his hand. While The Eminence in Shadow has finished its current season, there are many anime series with similar stories that fans can enjoy in the meantime. Here are some of the best anime series to watch for those who loved Eminence in Shadow.
25 The Dungeon Of Black Company
MyAnimeLists Score: 7.2
|
Original Title |
Studio |
Number of episodes |
|---|---|---|
|
The Dungeon Of The Black Company |
Silver Link |
12 |
Kinji Ninomiya was a perfect example of a NEET who had found a way to sustain his leisurely lifestyle and decided to spend the rest of his days within the comforts of his home. This all changed when he was swallowed up by a portal and teleported to a fantasy world.
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Kinji was immediately enslaved and forced to work in a mining camp. Immediately enslaved and forced to work in a mining camp, Kinji now tries to devise a way of flipping the table in this new world and becoming rich and powerful. The adventure of The Black Company is unlike most isekai anime as the hero follows his own selfish desires, but fans will enjoy the similarity of Kinji and Cid both seeking power and control along with the humor of the series.
24 Drifters
MyAnimeLists Score: 7.8
Drifters
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- 2016 - 2018-00-00
Drifters is a unique story that pulls mighty warriors in history from their deaths and gives them a new war to fight to put a stop to a counter group seeking to wipe out humanity. Toyoshina Shimizu is pulled from his own world after being defeated on the battlefield. He is joined by Nobunaga Oda and several others called by Murasaki to fight for humanity's survival. The Drifters must face off against an equally powerful group of individuals pulled from their own worlds called The Ends and face off in brutal combat. The protagonists of Drifters are dark and have no qualms about killing, matching Cid's viciousness and lack of empathy. Fans of The Emminence In Shadow's tone and unconventional main character will enjoy Drifters.
23 Dead Mount Death Play
MyAnimeLists Score: 7.2
Dead Mount Death Play
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget- Release Date
- 2023 - 2023
While in a legendary battle to the death, a powerful magic user called Corpse God is defeated by the hero. Shockingly, Corpse God finds themselves in the modern-day world in a young boy's body named Polka. Shockingly, the story grows even more odd as Corpse God becomes the target of multiple groups revolving around the occult for his strange abilities over life and death.
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Seeking to find the source of his reincarnation, Polka gathers an oddball bunch of allies and begins to fight back against this new and strange world he now resides in. Both Polka and Cid seem to be overpowered individuals among the regular inhabitants of the new world they arrive in, making Dead Mount Death Play a good watch for fans of an overpowered main character.
22 Villainess Level 99
MyAnimeLists Score: 7.1
|
Original Title |
Studio |
Number of episodes |
|---|---|---|
|
Akuyaku Reijou Level 99: Watashi wa Ura-Boss desu ga Maou dewa Arimasen |
Jumondo |
12 |
Yumiella was born into a noble family with a proud history. Unfortunately, because of her features and unique magical talent, she found herself ostracized by her peers. It's a long-standing tradition that Yumiella's long dark hair and dark magical powers have a strong relationship with the demon lord. Because of this, the people of her town and even kids her own age run away at the sight of her.
It isn't until she recovers her memories as a normal girl living in modern-day Japan that she comes up with a plan to correct her path and fix her reputation. This becomes more difficult when her magical power is revealed to be the strongest in the kingdom, which puts her on the frontlines of battle. Villainess Level 99 is a great watch for fans who enjoy the overpowered character trope, it measures up to The Eminence in Shadow's school setting nicely.
21 Failure Frame
MyAnimeLists Score: 6.4
Failure Frame: I Became the Strongest and Annihilated Everything with Low-Level Spells
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget- Release Date
- 2024 - 2024
When Touka and his entire class are summoned to another world by a powerful goddess, he believes this is a second chance for him to correct his path in his own life. Known as a loner and bullied because of it, he is hopeful for the first time in his teen life. However, to Touka's shock, the goddess turns on him from the beginning due to his skill being considered weak and useless.
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Instead of being sent home, Touka is instead banished to a dangerous part of the world to die alone. Fortunately for Touka, his ability proves to be more valuable than originally thought. With this new realization, he decides that instead of getting religion, he's going to get even and sets out on a revenge mission against the goddess and his classmates. Touka's bloodthirsty persona resembles Cid's wild state, which fans may enjoy.
20 No Longer Allowed In Another World
MyAnimeLists Score: 7.2
No Longer Allowed in Another World
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget- Release Date
- 2024 - 2024
- Network
- AT-X
- Directors
- Ryuta Imaizumi
As a down-on-his-luck writer, Sensei set out a goal to end his life alongside the one he loves the most. Things take a left turn when, during an average day out, Sensei is struck and killed by a speeding truck. Thinking this is the end, Sensei is shocked once again when he awakens in a fantasy world as its chosen hero.
Praised and begged to slay the demon king, Sensei's lack of interest in this new world forces him to turn his back on his summoners and try to find his beloved. Along the way and against his wishes, Sensei gains new friends as he experiences this new world. As he learns more about his surroundings, he realizes that maybe he was brought to the new world for a reason, just not the one he initially thought.
19 Re: Monster
MyAnimeLists Score: 6.5
Re:Monster
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget- Release Date
- 2024 - 2024-00-00
In many isekai-type anime, many main characters have a variety of luck when starting over in a brave new world. In Re: Monster, Kanata finds himself in a magical fantasy world reincarnated as an average goblin.
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Initially disgruntled at his predicament, Kanata, now known as Rou decides to make the best of his situation and sets out to be the best goblin he can be. Rou's intellect and memories of a past life help him navigate the ways of this new world and avoid conflict when unnecessary and completely overwhelm his opponent if need be.
18 Ishura
MyAnimeLists Score: 6.6
Ishura
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget- Release Date
- 2024 - 2025-00-00
WHERE TO WATCH
The world of Lithia hangs in a dreadful limbo with the slaying of the former demon king, which has left a large vacancy for power and control. Dozens of egomaniacs begin to emerge from the shadows in hopes of filling the void and taking the mantle of the new demon king, including the main character, Soujirou Yagyuu.
As a master swordsman who possesses incredible ability and strength, Soujirou takes on all comers head-on in hopes of taking the throne of the demon king and will destroy anyone getting in his way. Ishura is a fresh take on the overpowered main character trope and the isekai trope at the same time, that fans of series like Eminence in Shadow and That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime will enjoy.
17 My Instant Death Ability is So Overpowered
MyAnimeLists Score: 6.3
My Instant Death Ability is So Overpowered, No One in This Other World Stands a Chance Against Me!
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget- Release Date
- January 5, 2024
Yogiri Takatou, along with his entire class, is teleported to an alternate fantasy world by a magical spell where they are greeted by the caster. While most of the students are given special abilities by the sage for an undescribed purpose, a small few are left out and left behind by their classmates without a second thought.
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Yogiri comes to terms fast with his situation when a dragon attacks, and he finds that he possesses the power to instantly kill any target with his awakened special ability. Now he and the rest of the students who were left behind decide to go out on their own and find a way home.
16 Tsukimichi: Moonlit Fantasy
MyAnimeLists Score: 7.7
Tsukimichi: Moonlit Fantasy
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- 2021 - 2024
WHERE TO WATCH
Promised at birth to a goddess, Makoto is cast aside like unwanted trash when the goddess he is made to serve revokes his heroic title for being physically unappealing. Instead of rising to glory, Makoto is banished to the middle of a wasteland away from human society, where only Demihumans and other mythical creatures reside. Similar to Eminence in Shadow, Tsukimichi' s main character possesses unparalleled power but keeps it hidden in his everyday life.
Makoto makes the best of a bad situation and finds a new home and a new family with the many races he encounters. However, his new world comes under threat very quickly, and the kind-hearted Makoto must reveal the devastating magical power he has developed from his harsh life up until now.