Summary

  • Reverse isekai manga explores fantasy characters adapting to modern society, showcasing culture shock and comedy.
  • The variety of reverse isekai manga makes it an enjoyable genre to explore, with publishers picking up more titles for English translation.
  • These manga often mix genres, allowing for unique and interesting concepts that wouldn't be possible in traditional isekai stories.

Reverse isekai manga like The Devil Is A Part-Timer focuses on different aspects of fantasy characters spirited away to the modern world. Some titles show the realistic culture shock pre-Industrial Age characters have towards modern comforts. A few series play it up for laughs or cross back into isekai to better contrast the differences between cultures.

Others mix genres to explore concepts that reverse isekai by itself could not, while others treat it like a background for generalized concepts. As reverse isekai has fewer works than isekai, its variety makes it a fun genre to explore. Fans can look forward to publishers picking up more titles for English translation as reverse isekai gains populatiry.

10 MamaYuyu

Fresh Shonen Jump Reverse Isekai With A Twist

MamaYuyu Corleo and Mamama reverse isekai but original world already fantasy

Japanese Name

魔々勇々 (Mama Yuuyuu)

Original Run

September 11, 2023 – Present

Chapters

10

Genres

  • Action
  • Fantasy

English Publisher

  • Shonen Jump Plus
  • Viz
  • MANGA Plus

One of the newest titles on Shonen Jump, MamaYuyu imagines a world where magic, heroes, and demon lords are already the norm. The twist lies with the arrival of Evan All Green, a hero from another world. They are completely baffled by the new world’s modernity and the principle of coexistence between humans and demons.

As for the fantasy world’s hero and demon lord, they prefer maintaining the status quo. After all, Corleo and Mamama are mother and son. But with the appearance of the new hero, Corleo’s teenage angst, and the arrival of a truly evil demon lord, MamaYuyu must discover what it truly means to be a hero and a demon lord.

9 Olivia and the Neverending Dream

Otome Reincarnation For Second Chance Romance

Olivia and the Neverending Dream reverse isekai wrongly executed otome revenge isekai

Japanese Name

花火は醒めない夢をみる (Hanabi Wa Samenaiyume O Miru)

Original Run

May 2, 2022 – Present

Volumes

4

Genres

  • Shoujo
  • Reincarnation
  • Romance
  • Drama

Original Publisher

Shueisha

Olivia and the Neverending Dream starts with the execution of the titular character, Olivia. Ordering her death is her fiancée and the crown prince Luke, who framed her for attempting to assassinate his new fiancée Violet. She vows never to live for Luke again even if she reincarnates.

At the moment of Olivia’s death, a Japanese high school girl named Hanabi had attempted to end her life. It’s in her body that Olivia awakens and discovers this world has no magic, but a kinder version of Luke does. From that moment on, Olivia learns more about her new life, a dream from which she may never want to wake.

8 My Room Is A Dungeon Rest Stop

The Real Fantasy Is Having A Cheap Apartment In Tokyo

My Room Is A Dungeon Rest Stop Boku no Heya ga Dungeon no Kyuukeijo ni Natteshimatta Ken comedy fantasy reverse isekai harem

Japanese Name

僕の部屋がダンジョンの休憩所になってしまった件 (Boku no Heya ga Dungeon no Kyuukeijo ni Natteshimatta Ken)

Original Run

January 7, 2020 – Present

Volumes

7

Genres

  • Comedy
  • Fantasy
  • Adventure
  • World-Hopping

English Publisher

Seven Seas Entertainment

Rising living costs are a problem even in Japan, and that fact is hitting high school dropout Touru hard. So when he finds a dirt cheap deluxe rental, he suspects that something fishy is going on. Little does he know that the property connects to a dungeon with all the fantastical things he’s ever dreamed of.

The catch is the door is a two-way portal, and as the only safe place in a perilous dungeon, Touru’s rental becomes a rest stop for beautiful otherworlders. Touru gets a slice of the adventure that’s always eluded him, while his new roommates find peace and comfort in Tokyo’s modern home life.

7 Regarding That We Decided To Live In The Countryside With The Female Knight Who Came To Us

Beautiful Female Warrior Finds Joy In Iyashikei Farm

Orenchi ni Kita Onna Kishi to Inakagurashi suru Koto ni Natta Ken light novel reverse isekai female knight countryside farming

Japanese Name

俺んちに来た女騎士と田舎暮らしすることになった件 (Orenchi ni Kita Onna Kishi to Inakagurashi suru Koto ni Natta Ken)

Original Run

Jan 12, 2019 – Present

Volumes

11

Genres

  • Farming
  • Cooking
  • Slice of Life
  • Fantasy

Original Publisher

Manga Box

As the name implies, this manga follows a female knight who happens on someone in the countryside. That someone is Saeki Kanji, who finds Christina Brunhild Von Melvis knocking at his door after she’s sent away from her world. Saeki slowly finds out that she isn’t lying about her status and Christina is shocked, and a little frightened, by raw food.

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Christina’s concerns about raw food reflect her origins in a magical, but technologically backward, world. Little things like the minimum speed limit of trucks, concrete homes, and the color of the sky amaze the knight. Her discovery of the new world deepens with every passing day, and so does her relationship with Saeki.

6 Plus-Sized Elf

Plus-Sized Elf And Chubby Fantasy Girls

Plus-Sized Elf Elfuda reverse isekai chubby fantasy girls elfs mermaids ogre orcs werewolfs

Japanese Name

エルフさんは痩せられない。 (Erufu-san wa Yaserarenai.)

Original Run

December 21, 2016 – May 29, 2021

Volumes

8

Genres

  • Ecchi
  • Comedy

English Publisher

Seven Seas Entertainment

Human food is always described as delicious in isekai and reincarnation titles. Campfire Cooking in Another World With My Absurd Skill, Isekai Izakaya, and Restaurant to Another World have otherworlders entranced with Japanese and Earth cuisine with zero digestive problems. Plus-Sized Elf similarly has non-earth creatures gobbling Earth food, but in this case, it comes with consequences.

To put it simply, eating too much junk food packed too many unhealthy pounds on the beautiful Elfuda. Massage therapist Naoe and the Smiley Boar clinic take up her request to lose pounds so she can return home. Naoe soon realizes Elfuda isn’t the only mythical creature who needs help, and decides to reach out to more curvaceous otherworlders.

5 Gabriel DropOut

Answering The Question "What If The NEET Was A Cute Angel Girl"

Gabriel DropOut reverse isekai manga lazy angel comedy schoolgirls supernatural slice of life

Japanese Name

ガヴリールドロップアウト (Gavurīru Doroppuauto)

Original Run

December 27, 2013 – Present

Volumes

14

Genres

  • Comedy
  • Slice Of Life
  • Supernatural

English Publisher

Yen Press

The angel Gabriel White Tenma is on the verge of becoming a full-fledged angel. All she needs to do is to complete a mandatory study and live-in program among humans. The problem is, Gabriel becomes entirely too enamored with human life.

She’s become enamored to the point that she’s transformed from a top-of-her-class almost-angel into a shut-in nerd. Ironically, her demon friend Vignette April Tsukinose tries to draw the angel out of Gabriel again, to no avail so far. Along for the ride are the angel Raphiel Ainsworth Shiraha and demon Satanichia McDowell Kurumizawa, who have issues of their own.

4 Our Miracle

Reincarnated As The Opposite Sex In Mysterious Circumstances

Bokura no Kiseki reverse isekai genderbent shoujo historical sci fi manga

Japanese Name

ボクラノキセキ (Bokura no Kiseki)

Original Run

Nov. 16, 2007 – Present

Volumes

27

Genres

  • Shoujo
  • Action
  • Drama
  • Fantasy
  • Historical
  • Romance
  • Science Fantasy

English Publisher

Monthly Comic ZERO SUM

Minami Harusumi has always been mocked because he dreamed of Veronica, a princess of a kingdom falling to ruin. However, these dreams turn out to be memories of Veronica, who was Minami’s previous life. Armed with this knowledge and the magic he wielded as Veronica, Minami seeks the answers to his reincarnation and finds out he is not alone in his struggle.

Interestingly enough, the manga never received an official English translation. Instead, it received German, Polish, and Italian translations. Because of its direct translation to Our Miracle, most readers refer to it by its Japanese title, Bokura no Kiseki.

3 Sasaki And Peeps

Middle-Aged Salaryman And Bird Make Money In Another World

Sasaki And Peeps reverse isekai to isekai reincarnation salary man middle aged man protagonist

Japanese Name

佐々木とピーちゃん (Sasaki to Pii-chan)

Original Run

October 18, 2022 – Present

Volumes

2 (Released in English)

Genres

  • Fantasy
  • Comedy

English Publisher

Yen Press

Sasaki is an average, low-income, middle-aged salaryman with nary a joy in his life. This quickly changes when he adopts Pii-chan, a Java sparrow, after he thinks it tells him to adopt it. Sasaki confirms that Pii-chan did talk to him and, unexpectedly, is the reincarnation of a great sage from another world.

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Sasaki adjusts to Pii-chan’s apparent sentience, but cannot accommodate his wishes for good, and expensive, human food. To remedy this, Pii-chan grants him part of his power, so they can jump back and forth between worlds. This reverse isekai-to-portal fantasy revolves around their efforts to monetize this skill, despite the adventures that get in their way.

2 The Great Jahy Will Not Be Defeated!

Demon Aide To Broke Baby

The Great Jahy Will Not Be Defeated reverse isekai de-aging curses supernatural comedy

Japanese Name

ジャヒー様はくじけない! (Jahī-sama wa Kujikenai!)

Original Run

August 22, 2017 – Present

Volumes

9

Genres

  • Comedy
  • Slice Of Life
  • Supernatural

English Publisher

Square Enix

Jahy may have been the number two ruler of the Dark Realm, but the aide to the Dark Lord was still feared and respected. “Was” being the key word, as Jahy was banished from the destroyed Dark Realm to the human world as a child. Broke and clueless, Jahy is forced to adjust to life as a child while she finds a way to regain her place in the Dark Realm.

While Kyouko, the magical girl who destroyed the Dark Realm, seems to be the immediate threat, poverty, and Japan’s oddities, are the foremost threats. Jahy vows to restore her former glory, no matter how many times she gets tripped up by bad luck.

1 Dead Mount Death Play

Reincarnated Necromancer Enters Underworld Mafia

Dead Mount Death Play dark fantasy seinen reverse isekai

Japanese Name

デッドマウント・デスプレイ (Deddomaunto Desupurei)

Original Run

October 20, 2017 – Present

Volumes

11

Genres

  • Seinen
  • Action
  • Crime
  • Dark Fantasy

English Publisher

Text

The Calamity Crusher came to the battlefield after all hope of defeating The Corpse God seemed to be lost. Yet, after The Corpse God pointed out his hypocrisy, the necromancer enacts a magic that seemingly banishes the hero to modern-day Tokyo.

In a twist, the person who reincarnates into the body of Polka Shinoyama is The Corpse God. The truth is revealed when Misaki Sakimiya, a girl who tried to kill Polka, tries to come after his vessel again. When his supernatural talents are seen by the underworld of Shinjuku, he decides to use his new connection to try and finally have a quiet life.

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