All good things eventually come to an end, but that doesn't mean that players always want to see them go. As the popular MMO Yggdrisil draws to its conclusion, guild leader and wizard Momonga decides to remain within the game until the last server shuts down. Yet, when the game ends, Momonga finds himself trapped in the body of his character in a world that should no longer exist.
Overlord has a unique take on the isekai genre. There have been plenty of isekai about characters trapped in video games, but Overlord distinguishes itself from others by having its protagonist be an outright villain and powerful from the beginning of the story rather than them starting as a weakling and then growing in strength. Fans of the series may have a hard time finding another isekai to scratch that same itch, so here are some of the best anime like Overlord for fans to try.
8 Didn't I Say To Make My Abilities Average In The Next Life?!
Like Momonga in Overlord, Misato Kurihara in Didn't I Say To Make My Abilities Average In The Next Life?! is no rookie who needs their handheld on every quest. In the real world, Misato is a genius, one of the best around at everything she does, but her genius isolates her from others, so when she has the opportunity to reincarnate in a fantasy world, her only request is to have the same level of talent as everyone else.
Unfortunately for Misato, the magical powers she is given are the average of the entire planet's population, making her even stronger and more exceptional than she was on earth. Didn't I Say To Make My Abilities Average In The Next Life?! is a truly underrated isekai. It's self-aware, funny, and serious all at the same time, with plenty of references to other anime to keep fans engaged.
7 Cautious Hero: The Hero Is Overpowered But Overly Cautious
Momonga is one of the best overpowered main characters in isekai, and that's quite the feat. Having too strong a hero can easily derail the entire series, as battles that would otherwise be uncertain and dramatic are instead predetermined and pointless. Cautious Hero: The Hero Is Overpowered but Overly Cautious takes this dilemma and spins it into comedic gold.
Seiya doesn't think he's ready for the battles to come. It doesn't matter that he's trained more than he could possibly need to. It doesn't matter that he has an entire shop's worth of healing potions. It's a one-trick pony joke, but the execution of that one trick is so consistently good that it doesn't matter that there isn't more variety. Cautious Hero: The Hero Is Overpowered but Overly Cautious is in many ways Overlord's light-hearted doppelganger.
6 Log Horizon
With innumerable anime about people trapped inside video games, it can be hard to sort the good from the bad or the brilliant from the run-of-the-mill. Log Horizon makes only one real change, but that change is crucial for distinguishing the series from others and is enough to make the series a game anime that everyone should watch.
Put simply, Log Horizon cares about the rules of the game in which its characters are trapped. In most isekai anime with characters trapped in a game, real-life gaming concepts like metagaming, pulling aggro, and optimal team composition are forgotten. However, the characters of Log Horizon know they're in a game and know how to take advantage of that, using the same skills that served them so well as gamers to stay alive.
5 Problem Children Are Coming From Another World, Aren't They?
The characters in Problem Children Are Coming from Another World, Aren't They? wield powerful psychic abilities that let them change the world around them with little to no effort. These powers are wasted in their own world, however, as they have very little cause to use their fabulous gifts.
An invitation to the world of Little Garden changes that. Little Garden is home to the Gift Games, in which participants can use their powers to win wealth and renown. At first, the protagonists are delighted to be able to flex their supernatural gifts, but when talk of a Demon Lord begins, things take a different tone. Problem Children Are Coming from Another World, Aren't They? is stylish and smartly written with protagonists who are worth investing in.
4 Grimgar: Ashes And Illusions
Part of the appeal of Overlord is watching a protagonist operate at the height of their powers. Momonga is a mighty wizard, not to mention the leader of a powerful guild that is capable of achieving just about anything given enough time and ruthlessness. The protagonists of Grimgar: Ashes and Illusions are about as far from that scenario as possible.
These characters aren't undefeatable warriors or world-shaping magicians. They're everyday people who have no choice but to enlist as soldiers to survive. Watching characters at either of the extreme ends of the power spectrum is always interesting, and Grimgar: Ashes and Illusions makes good use of this premise, even if the series is a bit too brief, keeping its focus on the characters and their adjustment to the world.
3 My Next Life As A Villainess: All Routes Lead To Doom!
For most people, having the opportunity to live in their favorite video game would be the chance of a lifetime. Unfortunately for Katarina, what would normally be a blessing turns out to be a curse when she is reincarnated as the game's villain rather than its hero.
My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! asks a straightforward question: how does one cope with being the bad guy in a story where the good guy is destined to win? To have any chance of victory or happiness, Katarina knows she's going to have to stretch her imagination and her talents to the limit, and that's just what she does. There's a lot to lose because Katarina is all too aware that the villain is supposed to die at the end of this game.
2 Sword Art Online
Brave, rash, kind-hearted, and honest, Kirito is the hero that Momonga will never be, even if he sometimes makes decisions as bad as Luffy. Sword Art Online's sprawling narrative covers more territory than that of Overlord, but whether its characters are in the real world or one of the show's MMOs, Kirito's skills and kindness shine through.
In Sword Art Online, 10,000 players join an exciting new MMO only to become trapped in the game. Worse still, dying in the game leads to them dying in real life, forcing them to adapt to a fantasy world unlike their own or suffer the consequences. Kirito vows to save everyone by conquering the 100-floor Aincrad castle, delivering plenty of action, drama, and heartbreak to viewers in what remains one of the best isekai around.
1 .hack//Sign
Tsukasa wakes up in a dungeon in The World, a popular MMO, trapped in the game and with no short-term memory to explain his plight. Unlike many isekai, which use their fantasy game setting as nothing more than an excuse to show some flashy sword fighting, .hack//Sign is a mystery that unfolds gradually.
The series lets viewers dive deep into its lore and the personalities of its characters, using battles where they'll be most effective rather than as a crutch to support a withered plot. .hack//Sign remains one of the most iconic and influential anime around, thanks to its memorable characters and world-class storytelling, and shouldn't be missed by any isekai fan.