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The isekai genre had a strong streak of stale, boring, and repetitive releases. Although the genre was somewhat popular beforehand, the success of anime such as Re: Zero - Life In Another World, Sword Art Online, and Overlord had launched many copycats to be produced to capture the same fanfare its successors did. This led to an isekai burnout, often joked about by anime personalities such as The Anime Man, and justifiably so. However, a new trend in isekai has brought it from online fans' groans to excitement and curiosity once again.
Isekai is a popular genre in Japanese media. It comes from the Japanese word 異世界 (isekai), meaning "different world" or "other world". Although technically this genre covers any situation in which a character is transported into another universe, such as Kagome had in Inuyasha, most of the entries into the genre revolve around characters being transported into a video game. Anime such as the previously mentioned titles, Log Horizon, The Rising Of The Shield Hero, and That Time I Reincarnated As A Slime. Although there have been a few parodies and 'isekai with a twist' like Konosuba, Bofuri: I Don't Want to Get Hurt, so I'll Max Out My Defense, and even the aforementioned Re:Zero, a recent trend in isekai has emerged. A specific subgenre of isekai where people reincarnate into non-human creatures, and even objects, has brought isekai back to the top of the anime charts once again.
The Trend Started With That Time I Was Reincarnated As A Slime
One isekai's popularity launched this subgenre into the mainstream. That Time I Was Reincarnated As A Slime is an anime about a lonely, loveless middle-aged office worker reincarnating into a fantasy universe as a ball of slime, although this isn't the first instance of the subgenre of non-human reincarnation isekai, it certainly is what made it popular recently. The anime has spawned multiple seasons, an upcoming movie, and a video game.
Part of what made many anime fans who felt the isekai burnout tune in was the change of pace. Rather than reincarnating into an overpowered young protagonist, the protagonist becomes a ball of gelatinous goo, at least in the beginning. Although it eventually became the typical isekai with a stereotype-filled female harem to boot, it started off as something special and inspired many anime to take the concept even further. Many of these isekai are comedy or slice-of-life isekai, rather than action-oriented, which also matches the recent trend of slice-of-life anime constantly topping the charts.
Reincarnating As Non-Human Creatures
Some anime in this subgenre cover non-human creatures. Skeleton Knight In Another World is an example of this, where a gamer is reincarnated as the same skeleton knight he plays as in the game. Most of the comedy revolves around him trying to go about his day-to-day life while hiding his skeletal form. Another part of this subgenre that was incredibly popular when it was released was So I'm A Spider, So What?
The anime features a protagonist that has reincarnated as a spider, while the rest of her friends reincarnated into humans. Specifically, she's reincarnated into the weakest form of spider within the fantasy world she now lives in. The anime is very tongue-in-cheek with it's references to RPG and MMO games, even having the protagonist discover an RPG-like leveling system to level herself up in the fantasy world, it also features a lot of situational and slapstick comedy that comes with the territory of reincarnating into a small, easily squashed creature in a fantasy world. The anime takes a heartwarming turn, focusing on perseverance and determination, becoming a fantasy-themed take on the typical underdog trope.
The Subgenre Within A Subgenre: Inanimate Object Isekai
The most recent trend in anime and anime adaptions, however, is reincarnating into inanimate objects. The next season alone has two different anime that fit this oddly specific subgenre, and both of these are already appearing in memes across anime spaces online. One of these, called My Life After I Became a Dummy Head Mic One Morning, features a protagonist who reincarnates into an ASMR mic, used by pretty girls his age while they practice for an ASMR competition. Yes, you read that right. Another anime called Reincarnated as a Sword is debuting around the same time this fall. The protagonist, as the title says, is reincarnated into a sword in a fantasy world.
It's not just anime that has seen this trend, however. Light novel series Reborn as a Vending Machine started a manga adaption last year, in which a former vending machine mechanic reincarnates into a sentient vending machine in a lush, fantasy world. Another ecchi light novel called I Was Reincarnated as a Hot Spring in an Alternate World, and I'm Way too Effective is still serializing. There are countless others popping up, however, the specific trend of inanimate object isekai is becoming more popular each day.