Bored with the world that surrounds him, loner Yotsuya Yusuke is one day transported to a new world with two girls from his class. There he finds out that they have been playing a game with ten increasingly difficult rounds. After beating each round, they get to pose a question to the game master before heading back home. On this, the third round, Yusuke finds himself excited for the first time in a long time, only for his battle class to be rolled as a weak farmer. Together with his teammates, they struggle to survive and move forward or face certain death.
For as generic isekai as it sounds, there is actually something interesting and special about I’m Standing on a Million Lives. It is vicious and not the harem you expect. If you are looking for more anime recommendations like I’m Standing on a Million Lives, then head down below.
Anime Like I’m Standing on a Million Lives
For Fans of Isekai But Everyone Sucks
Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash
Thrown into a fantasy land with no memories of their previous life, the strong among this new group of people bind together while the weak are left to fend for themselves. Grimgar tells the tale of the struggles of the weak as they pick up combat skills and fight the creatures of the world in order to earn a living.
If you enjoy the fact that not just the main character, but all his peers all suck a lot at their new fantasy reality, then Grimgar will be your jam. Both series essentially follow the heroes that are just terrible at fighting and have to struggle to earn every speck of experience. The difference is that in Grimgar, the main character isn’t put at such a disadvantage with his class.
Re:Zero
When Subaru Natsuki goes out for a midnight snack run, he suddenly finds himself transported to another world. As a bewildered teen in a land of swords and magic, he wanders around and ends up attacked by thugs. After being saved by a mysterious woman, he agrees to help her get back something that was stolen. Unfortunately, it ends in both their deaths. With his dying breath, he finds that he possesses the power of revival, escaping his death by the repeating the last few hours.
In both Re:Zero and I’m Standing on a Million Lives, the main character dies frequently. Once that happen, they respawn, basically. Essentially, each time they die, they use this knowledge to gain the upper hand in their new world.
Rising of the Shield Hero
The stories tell of four heroes summoned from another world – the sword, spear, bow, and shield heroes who will prevent calamity. With darkness bearing down on them, the Kingdom of Melromarc summons these heroes from modern day Japan. For otaku Naofumi Iwatani, unfortunately he is labeled the shield hero, the weakest of the group. Worse yet, betrayal sees him labeled as a criminal and outcasted. With hatred and vengeance consuming him, he sets forth to grow strong.
Both series are isekai series where the main character is “the weak one” in combat class compared to his peers. Yet, despite that, they end up being literally the best fighter out of all them due to their intelligence. Both series also focus on basically preparing for the next mission or monster we as well.
For Fans of Vicious Fantasy
Goblin Slayer
A young priestess fresh out of the temple is excited to start her life as an adventurer. On her first day, she joins an adventuring party to go slay some goblins. However, like so many young adventure parties before them, they underestimate the goblins. It ends with two dead, one viciously raped, and the priestess saved from fate by a man whose only mission in life is to slay all the goblins.
While I’m Standing on a Million Lives isn’t as occasionally shocking with its violence, it does share both an interesting fantasy setting and a main character that is not the best with people, yet people enjoy him. It is just that Goblin Slayer is more solely focused on, you know, slaying goblins rather than the variety of missions that I’m Standing on a Million Lives has.
Gantz
Kei Kurono is an apathetic young man that, while waiting for his train, runs into a childhood friend. When a homeless man falls onto a track, his friend coaxes him into helping save his life. Unfortunately, the train comes in and they both die. However, they both wake up in a strange room with other recently deceased people and a big black ball that tells them to kill aliens in order to gain their freedom.
Despite Gantz being sci-fi in genre, both shows share characters forced into a game (with an odd looking game master) that takes place in rounds. If they win, they live and get to go back to their life. If they lose, they die. While I’m Standing on a Million Lives has some graphic moments, Gantz goes above and beyond as well as tosses in some lewdness.
Made in Abyss
The Abyss is an enormous cave system and the only unexplored place in the world. No one knows how deep it goes, but generations of bold adventurers have descended into it. In the town at the edge of The Abyss, an orphan named Rico dreams of raiding, as her mother did before her. One day while exploring the murky depths, she meets a boy, who turns out to be a robot, kicking off the start of her epic adventure.
What Made in Abyss and I’m Standing on a Million Lives most have in common is they both look like different shows. Made in Abyss looks childish, but it is a dark and occasionally gory adventure. I’m Standing on a Million Lives looks like a generic harem isekai, but it isn’t harem and is actually rather intelligent for what it is.
For Fans of Cold and Calculating Main Characters
Darwin’s Game
After receiving an invitation, Kaname starts playing a mysterious new mobile game called Darwin’s Game. Unfortunately, when his opponent attacks him in real life, he must fight to survive. After narrowly winning his first fight, he discovers a hidden world of players that kill in order to win points.
While I’m Standing on a Million Lives is clearly an isekai, it reminds me quite a bit of a survival game anime. In Darwin’s Game, the main character isn’t quite as cold and bored with his life, but both main characters show a particularly keen mind when it comes to playing the game and manipulating it to their advantage.
Btoom
Unemployed and living with his mother, Ryouta Sakamoto’s only real achievement is being the top player in Japan of a video game called Btooom! However, one day he wakes up on an island with nothing but a small green crystal embedded in his hand. He soon finds out that someone wants him and others players to play Btooom! for real if they want to live.
Both series feature a guy getting taken to a new place against their will. Btoom isn’t an isekai, but it does follow a character being forced to play a vicious game and both main characters aren’t really the most friendly sort. Both have their gory moments, but as Btoom is in the survival game genre, the stakes are higher since he will be dead for real at one misstep.
Saga of Tanya the Evil
Once one of Japan’s most shrewd salarymen, after being pushed in front of a train to his death by a scorned ex-employee, a man is reborn as an adorable orphan girl after pissing off a mysterious being that calls himself God. While the female form and affinity for magic are not a punishment, being born in a world in the midst of a brutal World War is. Now, Tanya uses her calculating mind from her past life and magnificent magical abilities to spread terror on the front lines of the war, becoming one of the most dangerous people in the imperial army. This is all in effort to earn a promotion that will see her safely back to a life of comfort on the back lines, showing up the God that put her in this world for humbling.
Aside from both being isekai series, Saga of Tanya the Evil and I’m Standing on a Million Lives both feature main characters that have a certain amount of disdain for everyone around them. While Yusuke isn’t actually evil like Tanya, they do share a certain misanthropic view of the world.
Do you have more anime recommendations like I’m Standing on a Million Lives? Let fans know in the comments section below.
