Time and again, anime fans glue themselves to their respective screens and binge-watch their favorite anime on their favorite streaming service. From action, romance, mystery, and even mecha, fans enjoy playing episode after episode until the journey comes to an end. Unfortunately, on more than one occasion, an anime can end too soon; when the goal is in reach, and the characters have been explored, fans finally get comfortable with the journey ahead then everything is wrapped up in the blink of an eye.
A genre that has this particular issue is isekai; Isekai anime brings viewers to another world with the main character and takes them on a magical journey. However, more often than not, that journey comes to a close too soon, much to the dismay of many fans all over the world. Here are some isekai anime that are just too short.
7 Bofuri: I Don't Want to Get Hurt, So I'll Max Out My Defense
I Don't Want to Get Hurt, so I'll Max Out My Defense or "Bofuri," for short, is a sweet and fun journey alongside Maple and Sally in a newly released virtual MMORPG. Maple boosts her defense stat, fearing getting hurt, which sends her on a journey to become one of the game's most famous players. As her popularity grows, Maple is noticed by top guilds and begins raiding with the best of the best, utilizing her unique defensive trait to withstand and overpower the strongest beasts in the game.
Bofuri only consists of twelve episodes, and while the story was tied off, the lovable characters have dedicated fans begging for more.
6 Konosuba: God's Blessing on This Wonderful World!
Konosuba is a lovable series that took the anime season by surprise. The whimsical and raunchy antics of the main cast had fans holding their sides in laughter. Konosuba is a unique take on the main character isekai trope introduced Satou Kazuma as a lecherous and mischievous protagonist who takes the easy road every time.
When Megummin and Aqua join Kazuma, the trio forms a party, and the hi-jinks ensue. Konosuba has two seasons; however, each season is only ten episodes in length and leaves fans craving more of the wacky encounters and hilarious innuendos.
5 Saga Of Tanya The Evil
The epic tale of a small girl leading the charge to world war in order to take on an all-knowing being sounds like a true lengthy adventure to say the least. Unfortunately, the Saga of Tanya the Evil only lasts twelve episodes as well.
The exciting story and beautiful animation seemingly warranted a full season order, but that was not the case. Fans have some semblance of hope as the anime's second season has been announced and hopefully has a much more lengthy episode count.
4 The 8th Son Are You Kidding Me?
Similar to Jobless Reincarnation, after being reincarnated into a new body, Shingo Ichinomiya hopes to find a new outlook on life by starting from scratch; to Shingo’s dismay, he is born into one of the poorest families in the land as a six-year-old boy and the eighth son of a farmer. Frustrated but not fed up, Shingo sets out to better his new family's standing by taking the world head-on.
"The 8th son, are you kidding me?" is only twelve episodes, and it seems by the time it really gets going, the story comes to an end. Maybe a future installment will be in the cards for the series one day.
3 How Not To Summon A Demon Lord
How Not To Summon A Demon Lord is a fun and hilarious adventure when a NEET gamer is summoned into a fantasy world that is the carbon copy of his favorite online game. Takuma Sakumoto comes to find out that not only is he in a new world, but he has all the powers of his character and the knowledge of how to use them.
Episode after episode, Takuma overpowers the world's strongest creatures and warriors with ease; while there are two seasons, unfortunately, "How not to summon a demon lord" only last ten episodes, which just leaves fans wishing for another season.
2 Drifters
Drifters takes anime fans on an interesting ride to the past where feudal Japan is in the midst of a chaotic war. Behind the scenes, however, fallen legendary warriors are summoned to fight a different battle of supernatural proportions.
Toyohisa Shimazu is summoned alongside Nobunaga Oda and Yoichi Suketaka Nasu and is tasked with facing and defeating the “Ends”, who seek to destroy the drifters and control the country. Drifters only last twelve episodes, which feels like a detriment to a series that should have a full series order from a highly acclaimed animation team.
1 Grimgar: Ashes and Illusions
Grimgar was one of the most realistic and unique takes on the isekai anime genre that is highly underrated. The story follows a rag-tag party of leftover mediocre individuals summoned to a fantasy world with a large group of others. The main cast struggles to find their groove and advance in their respective trade while others flourish, barely able to defeat goblins.
Unlike most isekai, the world the characters were summoned to is a harsh one, and progress could only be made by putting one's life on the line. Just as the series gets going, however, it comes to an end lasting only twelve episodes and ends on a somewhat open storyline.