For me, I’m torn between Mushoku Tensei (very good worldbuilding) and Uncle From Another World (has the better direction)
Digimon & Inuyasha
Re:ZERO or Ascendance of a Bookworm (underrated in my opinion).
Ascendance of a Bookworm is a favorite of my wife and I. We’ve rewatched it a few times, as it has a cozy feel to it sometimes. I really hope they continue the story but it is at a decent enough stopping point if doesn’t get any more seasons.
Konosuba
Overall, probably Slime Isekai. It’s got a good mix of wholesomeness, action, comedy, and world building. And it has just the right amount of OP in the MC.
Overlord is a good runner up. Great character development, good story and humor, intriguing world, etc.
Mushoku is easy top 5 but the bullying and horny drop it down a few notches for me.
Konosuba is also top 5. It nails the parody.
For non-anime, Reincarnated as a Sword is my favorite isekai light novel series, not that I’ve read all that many isekai light novels. However the anime adaptation was mediocre at best. It barely touches on the deep world creation and character development found in the LN.
For video game isekai, Shangri-La Frontier. No trapped in a video game nonsense. No completely unrealistic game mechanics. The game feels like it could be a real game. And the MC is OP only in the sense that they’re good at games, not because of cheats.
Villainess isekai is practically it’s own thing now and I have my favorites there as well but the classic is All Routes Lead to Doom.
I really love isekai so I could keep going but I’ll stop here before I start talking about Trapped in a Dating Sim.
Every one you mentioned is great! I really enjoy all of the villainess isekai, and Trapped in a Dating Sim is really a hilarious variation that came early in the dating sim sub genre. I love it when the main character is a villain.
So many isekais have great starts, but fall off execution in the second season. Maybe they run out of ideas, or just had a good concept, but then lacked creativity to keep the plot interesting… So there are a lot of S1’s
Sword Art Online Season 1
Log Horizon Season 1
Level 99 Villainess
Shangri-La Frontier
Rising Of The Shield Hero Season 1
Overlord
