There are many great Isekai/Reincarnation manga out there, but here are 25 of the best to check out. Whether you’re a fan of the genre or not, these manga will have you hooked.
It’s basically the embodiment of what many otaku dream of: getting sent into a fantasy world.
The genre has existed from the 1990s, but only hit it big during the late 2010s.
Originally it was more of a trope rather than a genre. But the sudden boom in popularity is accompanied by a certain combination of tropes: swords and magic, high fantasy, and game-like world.
I’ve gathered some of the best isekai (and reincarnation-themed) manga in this list, all worth checking out.
25. Sayounara Ryuusei, Konnichiwa Jinsei
Interestingly, the protagonist of this series doesn’t originate in our world.
He’s actually a powerful ancient dragon that’s been reincarnated as a human being in his next life.
Of course, he retains his knowledge along the way.
Although the premise is interesting, the execution is a bit dull. The characters lack development and depth, and the story progresses at an awkward pace.
On the good side, the art is really nice.
24. How NOT to Summon a Demon Lord (Isekai Maou to Shoukan Shoujo no Dorei Majutsu)
At the start of this adventure, our MC is being summoned to be a familiar of two disputing adventurers.
However, he pretends to be the demon lord and reverses the situation, ending up with him having two slaves instead.
It’s an interesting read with some odd twists & turns. Definitely some cool battle sequences.
23. A Veterinarian in Another World (Jui-san no Oshigoto in Isekai)
Just like in most isekai manga, the protagonist of this series is summoned out of a certain need.
However, he isn’t expected to fight monsters or demons. Instead he’s summoned to take care of beasts.
As a veterinarian, that’s what he’s good at.
This manga is pretty niche. But I find it interesting for sure.
And I know that doesn’t mean everybody will.
Another downside here is that the series is very text heavy. It’s even normal to see triple text bubbles in a single panel. Yes, it’s that text heavy.
22. Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear
The protagonist of this series has been making a killing through playing VRRMOs. As probably any sane human will do in her situation, she becomes a recluse.
But after she answers an update survey and relaunches the game, she finds herself trapped inside the game with an overpowered bear outfit.
The catch is that if she wears the outfit, she’s overpowered. If she doesn’t, she’s just a normal human.
And this entire series is riddled with bears. Be it bear designs, bear puns, and even bear characters.
The good thing? They’re actually really cute.
21. Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation (Mushoku Tensei: Isekai Ittara Honki Dasu)
A 34-year-old NEET gets reincarnated into a fantasy world after he dies from a traffic accident.
This time, however, he has to start again from a baby. Even though he has the mind of a full grown man.
The plot is actually okay. But doesn’t really have any distinct qualities.
The twist is that the protagonist actually thinks like an adult NEET. That means a lot of perversion and some proper decision making for an oddly young child.
20. World Customize Creator
In this world, having black hair is a bad sign. And since our MC is Japanese, I guess he’s got some bad luck.
Even worse, he walks out of the temple of the God of Calamity, so he’s seen as the God of Calamity.
Even though the protagonist is called the God of Calamity and can freely customize anything in that world, he isn’t a bad guy.
He uses his skills and knowledge to help other people and just do what he wants.
The characters in this series are highly individualized. They have different opinions and act accordingly.
Some want to befriend the protagonist, while others want to use him. Of course, there are also those who fear him.
19. Kuro no Shoukanshi
Kuro no Shoukanshi’s premise is rather normal for an isekai manga. There’s the overpowered main character, a harem, and the hero saving the world trope.
What separates the main character from the others is that he’s a hardcore battle junkie.
He just loves to fight. He even traded his memory for double growth.
In addition to that, he doesn’t really care much about being a hero. He just wants to do what he wants and battle here and there.
18. Konjiki no Moji Tsukai: Yuusha Yonin ni Makikomareta Unique Cheat
When four heroes are being summoned into a new world, our MC happens to enter the room and he gets dragged in as well.
Unlike other isekai protagonists, our MC here actually uses his head to question the situation.
He only relies on his own observations and information he’s seen firsthand.
On that note, the series slowly but nicely explains its world to its readers. So it feels a lot like settling into a deep RPG.
17. Jigokuren: Love in Hell
By pure definition, isekai means being transported to a different world.
So Jigokuren: Love in Hell can fit right in.
We learn that when our MC died, he gets sent to hell. And he meets a young and inexperienced devil to be his guide.
It’s rare to see an isekai manga that’s primarily comedic more than anything else.
However, it’s important not to forget that the setting is hell. Meaning the series is a mixture of comedy, gore, and some shmexy scenes too.
16. Spirit Migration
Our MC hangs around a dungeon as a spirit without any memory, but he learns to possess creatures all the same.
By doing this, he manages to leave the dungeon and start a new life.
The story invests in the characters and gives them good interaction and development. The plot is also nice and progresses smoothly.
However the series has been axed early, so the ending is unsatisfying.
15. Otome Game no Hametsu Flag shika Nai Akuyaku Reijou ni Tensei shiteshimatta… Zettai Zetsumei! Hametsu Sunzen-hen
Unlike other isekai manga, the main character of this series doesn’t immediately realize she’s been reincarnated in a new world.
She only realizes it after she’s already a kid. She then racks her brain to remember all that she can about the game.
Thanks to that, she remembers that no matter what her choices are, the game always ends in her demise.
To say the least, this series has a unique plot exploring how the protagonist creates new routes to avoid a bad ending.
The storytelling is humorous without the need to add explicit jokes. And the story progresses nicely from start to finish.
Absolutely worth a read if you have the time.
14. The Dungeon Seeker
Enter our MC who has been bullied in his own world, then gets transported to a new one.
However, his bullies are also transported with him. At first it seems like his bullies have changed. That is, until they set him up for the ultimate betrayal.
The only girl in their group, who was initially on the protagonist’s side, decides it’s smart to trick the MC to become a meaningless sacrifice just to show she’s better than him.
Right from the beginning, the story doesn’t bother hiding how dark its plot is. The MC getting betrayed is just the proof of that.
On the other hand, it’s pretty satisfying to see the MC get stronger and closer to his revenge.
13. The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic (Chiyu Mahou no Machigatta Tsukaikata: Senjou wo Kakeru Kaifuku Youin)
Our MC has just befriended the president and the vice president of the student council, when all three of them are summoned into a new world.
The other two are assessed to have good affinities with magic, but our MC turns out to be a healer.
It’s like a very rare form of magic.
Usually that means he’s to gain great prestige and what not, but he’s in the wrong manga this time!
In this world, the kingdom’s healing squad is headed by a draconian leader.
The leader abuses her subordinates through overtraining. But with the help of healing magic, they can easily remove fatigue and heal injuries, sending them into an infinite training hell.
12. Tsuyokute New Saga
Our hero has finally slain the demon lord, but it cost him the life of his precious allies.
On the verge of death, he luckily activates an unknown artifact that sends him back in time. A chance to do everything better.
Tsuyokute New Saga stands out from other similar manga because it actually has a plot that progresses.
Instead of throwing himself into seclusion to train, our MC builds relationships with people of authority while rebuilding his party.
Of course, he also does his best to improve his strength and learn about the demons too.
11. Re:ZERO – Starting Life in Another World (Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu)
Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu plays with two tropes:
Isekai and time loops.
This series was originally a light novel that has been adapted into a manga, so the author has more time to focus on the story.
As per usual, the protagonist gets transported into a fantasy world and thinks he’s the main character.
However, things take a sharp turn when he dies just a few chapters in. He then realizes that he has a unique skill.
He can loop back to a certain point in time while retaining his memory. And as you can imagine, he proceeds to get killed over and over again. Fun!
10. Re: Monster
Imagine putting a lowlife creature with the knowledge of an adult human in a fantasy world, then giving it an obviously overpowered evolutionary tree.
That’s basically Re: Monster.
Following the story of a man reincarnated into a fantasy world as a goblin, he uses his intelligence to become a much better predator.
It’s just that he’s too great of a predator, and every match often ends in a one-sided win.
This series doesn’t offer a very complicated plot. But the evolution system is entertaining.
9. Tensei shitara Ken deshita
Just like other entries on this list, our MC of this series has been reincarnated into a fantasy world after dying.
However, instead of being reincarnated as a human, or another bipedal race, or even as a monster, he gets reincarnated as a sword.
Besides that oddity, other isekai tropes are present.
There’s the power leveling, quick acquisition of skills, and the game-like system.
Also, it’s good to note that Tensei shitara Ken deshita has solid humor that doesn’t just rely on corny jokes and slapstick comedy.
8. Kenja no Mago
When our MC has died in this world, he gets reincarnated into a world of fantasy.
Fortunately for him, he gets picked up by the world’s strongest wizard.
Throughout his entire life, he’s been taught by the most powerful wizard and an equally powerful enchantress.
But since he’s been raised in seclusion, he has no idea how this fantasy world works.
The protagonist whips up some world changing magic without any concern for its consequences.
Usually, this kind of development is annoying… but since we also have no idea about the power scaling in this world, it’s easy to be as dumbfounded as everyone in the manga.
7. Arifureta: From Commonplace to World’s Strongest
An entire class gets transported to a fantasy world, and it’s a typical class of people.
Our protagonist, who’s the usual target by bullies, gets picked on and betrayed. He’s left to die (hell of a fantasy world) but he somehow manages to survive in exchange for his sanity.
The series gets dark and psychological, but not to an unreasonable degree.
Needless to say, our MC is no longer the pushover kind after all this. After experiencing hell, he no longer has any qualms about taking human lives if needed be.
6. So I’m a Spider, So What? (Kumo desu ga, Nani ka?)
Want something a bit more creepy-crawly? Well our MC of this series has been reincarnated as a monster spider.
Similar to Re: Monster again, our MC also evolves continuously.
What’s interesting about her evolution is that she has the option of choosing what species she will evolve into.
Although the protagonist learns an insane amount of skills, she’s only borderline overpowered. There are still various battles that she only barely manages to get by.
That means she often uses her head to solve problems, not just bulldozing her way throughout the story.
5. Overlord
When a virtual game is supposed to be get shut down, we meet our MC who wants to see the game in its final moments.
And he gets trapped in this virtual world.
Unlike most isekai where the protagonist starts from zero, Overlord’s protagonist already has multiple strong henchmen.
Also, he isn’t a great person. He’s actually borderline evil, but not necessarily heinous.
He has no qualms with using humans for experimentation and doesn’t even bat an eye when obliterating entire species. Hell of a read, especially if you’ve never heard of this series.
4. Tsuki Ga Michibiku Isekai Douchuu
When our hero gets summoned into a fantasy world, the goddess of said world finds him just plain ugly.
As a consequence of being ugly, he gets banished to the ends of the world. Talk about cruel punishments.
So our MC then adventures around the world, all the while acquiring monstrous subordinates with the help of his insane amount of mana.
For someone that gets abandoned, he’s quite soft-hearted. He even creates a city that doesn’t bother with race or beauty.
Of course, that’s bound to be betrayed sooner or later…
3. Handyman Saitou in Another World (Benriya Saitou-san, Isekai ni Iku)
When the titular character gets transported into another world, he retains his skills and tools.
Compared to working a boring day-to-day job, he loves where he’s transported into.
Going on adventures is just the added bonus.
This series is a 4-Koma manga, meaning the chapters are very short. But it’s incredibly funny.
The jokes pack a punch in just a few panels. What’s better is the story actually develops, and it doesn’t just stagnate like most gag manga.
2. The Rising of the Shield Hero (Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari)
When this fantasy world is facing a world-class dilemma, their royalty is forced to summon “the heroes”.
However, only three of the four heroes are desired. The fourth is our beloved protagonist of the series.
The Rising of the Shield Hero highlights humanity’s selfishness and love of power.
Being the abandoned hero, our MC has become an outcast and a villain in the eyes of society. On the other hand, the other three heroes are basking in the limelight.
The manga uses that to show how humanity discards anything or anyone they deem as useless, even going to extreme lengths to make them suffer.
1. That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime (Tensei shitara Slime Datta Ken)
Unlike most protagonists in the isekai genre, our MC in “That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime” is neither human nor overpowered. At first.
As the title suggests, our MC gets reincarnated into a slime that can’t even see. Only after he meets a dragon friend does he acquire great power.
That’s what makes this series so entertaining. Although our MC quickly becomes overpowered, he has also experienced being at rock bottom too.
He’s neither arrogant or stupid. He actually makes logical decisions and isn’t afraid of dirtying his hands if need be.
