Summary

  • Isekai and cyberpunk make an exciting combination with their blend of adventure, advanced technology, and gritty futurescape.
  • Knight's & Magic, Log Horizon, Gantz, and Drifters are great examples of isekai and cyberpunk anime that offer unique storytelling and thrilling action.
  • These shows offer a mix of mystery, escapism, and social satire, making them enjoyable for even the most discerning fans of the isekai genre.

In a cyberpunk world, swords and neon-lit skyscrapers fight, magic and advanced technology live together, and heroes from different realms are transported to a new one. This world is the perfect mix of an isekai fantasy and a cyberpunk backdrop. It combines parts of adventures in other worlds with the grime of life in the future.

Problem Children, Overlord, Drifters
10 Best Seinen Isekai Anime & Manga

These awesome "adult" isekai anime and manga feature more mature themes and more intense violence.

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When isekai and Cyberpunk come together in a captivating way, they take fans on an exciting trip through parallel worlds and a high-tech dystopia. There is a unique mix of mystery, escapism, and social satire in these stories. Heroes hold magical swords in the middle of huge megacities, and sorcerers use their magic in the online matrix. Fans of the isekai genre can enjoy these shows a lot, even the pickiest ones.

9 Knight’s & Magic

MyAnimeList Score: 7.07

An image of Blanche, Archid, Ernesti, and Adeltrud
  • Creator: Hisago Amazake-no
  • Release Date: September 24, 2016

There haven't been a lot of mecha battles in isekai anime, but Knight's & Magic is a great mix of these two types of anime. Tsubasa Kurata, a young Japanese man who died in a car crash, comes back to life as a child in a different world.

The main character, whose name is now Ernesti Echavalier, can use his programming skills to handle magical mecha robots. Ernesti works hard to get better at what he does and to make cool new tools that will keep his kingdom safe from danger. It might look like this anime is good for kids, but it's not.

8 Log Horizon

MyAnimeList Score: 7.92

An image of Akatsuki, Shiroe, Naotsugu, Lenessia, and Crusty in Log Horizon
Log Horizon
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Release Date
October 5, 2013
Creator
Mamare Touno
Seasons
3
Number of Episodes
62
Streaming Service(s)
Crunchyroll, Hulu

A popular MMORPG called Elder Tale turns into a real-life adventure when a new expansion pack leaves thousands of players stuck in the game. Shiroe, the main character, has to figure out how to live in this new world.

Best-Isekai-Anime-Like-Sword-Art-Online
Best Isekai Anime Like Sword Art Online

If you loved Sword Art Online, there's a whole world of anime waiting for you to discover. Here are some excellent shows for SAO fans.

Log Horizon is different because it focuses on politics, tactics, and how the game world works. The characters set up states, make deals with each other, and work together to get things done. Building a society in the game is more important than just growing up and killing monsters.

7 Gantz

MyAnimeList Score: 6.99

A character from Gantz holding a rifle
Gantz
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Release Date
April 13, 2004
Creator
Hiroya Oku
Seasons
2
Number of Episodes
26
Streaming Service(s)
Crunchyroll

A strange black sphere saves a group of people who are about to die while trying to help a man on the subway tracks. After that, they are put on dangerous tasks where they have to fight different supernatural creatures as they journey on.

Gantz is a Japanese manga series that is dark and gritty, with intense action scenes and ideas that make fans think. It grapples with topics like life and death, right and wrong, and the results of one's deeds. Gantz is known for having offensive language and strong graphic violence.

6 Drifters

MyAnimeList Score: 7.89

Shimazu Toyohisa
Drifters
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Release Date
October 7, 2016
Seasons
1
Number of Episodes
15
Streaming Service(s)

People from history come to life and are sent to a fantasy world to fight a strong enemy known as the "Ends" in this epic anime series. These warriors are mythical animals and warlords from different times. They are called "Drifters."

The fighters battle to the end and keep the world safe by using their special skills and strategies. Drifters has some funny parts as well as action and excitement. The fights are intense, and the way the characters interact with each other is very interesting.

5 No Guns Life

MyAnimeList Score: 6.86

An image of Juuzo Inui
No Guns Life
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Sci-Fi
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Release Date
October 11, 2019
Creator
Tasuku Karasuma
Seasons
2
Number of Episodes
24
Streaming Service(s)
Crunchyroll, Hulu

No Guns Life is a Japanese manga series about a former soldier named Juuzo Inui who wakes up and can't remember who turned him into a robot. People in this world can swap out body parts for cybernetic ones, and Juuzo moves through the city as a detective with a gun for a head.

His life changes when he meets Tetsuro, a strange young boy who is in danger from evil forces. They work together to find out about a plot involving big businesses and dark secrets about extended technology.

4 Sword Art Online

MyAnimeList Score: 7.20

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Sword Art Online
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Release Date
July 8, 2012
Creator
Reki Kawahara
Seasons
4
Number of Episodes
96
Streaming Service(s)
Crunchyroll, Hulu

One of the most famous isekai light novel series is Sword Art Online. After the first season's success, several great animated movies and seasons came out. It is a great cartoon that takes place in an online MMORPG setting where players get stuck and have to fight their way out.

Sword_Art_Online_II group shot all chars
Sword Art Online: Best Anime And Seasons, Ranked

Sword Art Online has several excellent anime and seasons for fans to enjoy.

The main character keeps himself safe by taking on the game's dangerous tasks. In this virtual world, he meets new people, makes friends, and even falls in love. There are epic fights, emotional moments, and exciting adventures in the series. With the start of each season, new game environments and thrilling experiences were added.

3 Overlord

MyAnimeList Score: 7.91

An image of Ainz Ooal Gown
Overlord
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Release Date
July 7, 2015
Creator
Kugane Maruyama
Seasons
4
Number of Episodes
52
Streaming Service(s)
Crunchyroll, Netflix

Momonga, the main character of the popular virtual reality game YGGDRASIL, chose to spend his last few minutes in the game as the servers were about to shut down. He becomes enslaved in the human form of his game character, Ainz Ooal Gown, who is an all-powerful skeletal mage.

Momonga, who is now known as Ainz Ooal Gown, seeks to control the world with the help of his gang of loyal NPCs. Along the way, he makes deals with other players, fights different creatures and groups, and forms alliances. Overlord is a distinctive take on the isekai genre, and it's also known for having a lot of characters, world-building, and exciting action scenes.

2 Psycho-Pass

MyAnimeList Score: 8.34

An image of a character from Psycho-Pass holding a rifle
Psycho-Pass
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Release Date
October 11, 2012
Seasons
3
Number of Episodes
41
Streaming Service(s)
Crunchyroll, Hulu

As part of the anti-utopia that is the Sibyl System's government, a young woman is presented as a new inspector and sent to work with a group of criminals in the Public Safety Bureau to keep the system safe. As the story goes on, she starts to wonder about the system's morals and how well it works.

Psycho-Pass is a cyberpunk psychological story that takes place in a dark and complicated world of crime and justice. There is a system that checks people's mental states to see if they are likely to commit crimes. There are a lot of interesting ideas in this book about free will, monitoring, and what justice is.

1 Re:Zero: Starting Life In Another World

MyAnimeList Score: 8.23

An image of Subaru Natsuki and Emilia
Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World-
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Release Date
April 3, 2016
Creator
Tappei Nagatsuki
Seasons
1
Number of Episodes
65
Streaming Service(s)
Crunchyroll

Without a doubt, Re:Zero: Starting Life in Another World is one of the best anime TV shows in the isekai genre. The main character, Subaru Natsuki, is walking back from the store when, all of a sudden, he finds himself in a dream world. He learns, though, that when he passes away, he returns to a different time.

most underrated isekai anime
15 Most Underrated Isekai Anime, Ranked

Nowadays, isekai anime are inescapable. For every Sword Art Online and Overlord, there is a great but underrated isekai anime.

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When Subura learns that he can change the past after he dies, he uses it in an attempt to preserve the people he cares about, but he quickly learns that being selfless hurts a lot more than he thought it would. Compared to most isekai, this one is an intense roller coaster that puts the main character's strength to the test over and over again.

MORE: Most Ruthless Isekai Anime Protagonists