After his death, a man is reincarnated into a new world. However, his body is not that of a human, but rather he is a legendary sword that, after leveling up his skills, becomes stuck firmly in the middle of a dangerous forest.
Begging for a wielder to come to him, he watches a slave caravan attacked by a two-headed bear. A young catgirl named Fran flees and happens across him with the pair teaming up to slay the bear and break her enslavement.
As isekai anime is an over-saturated genre now, the newer entries need a hook. This one has the hook work well because it knows how to make it interesting while still being fun fantasy. If you are looking for more anime recommendations like Reincarnated as a Sword, head on down below.
Anime Like Reincarnated as a Sword
For Fans of Human to Non-Human Isekai
So I’m a Spider, So What?
On one normal day in high school, the lives of many students ended unexpectedly. Some were reincarnated as nobles or strong heroes. Others were reincarnated as wondrous fantasy creatures.
Unfortunately for one girl, she was reincarnated as a lowly cave spider.
No stranger to hardship given her difficult school life, she vows to not give up, and through an RPG system, grows stronger each day.
Both series are isekai adventures in a slightly different wrapper, as in the main character is not a human adventurer.
However, aside from non-human main characters, these series also both have a strong focus on evolution through battle. You see it in both main characters, but Kumoko also physically changes as well as growing in power.
Skeleton Knight in Another World
After falling asleep playing games, a gamer woke up in the game world, but as a skeleton. While he is equipped well, his appearance is too frightening to live the peaceful life he wants. Yet, after meeting a beautiful elf woman, he may find himself a different path full of adventure.
Both series are isekai series where the main character is not technically human. He is at least humanoid in Skeleton Knight, however.
The big similarity here is that the main character is trying to hide their abilities. In Skeleton Knight, he not only wants to prevent people from finding out he’s an undead, he doesn’t want them to know how strong he is either much like how Shishou doesn’t want people knowing he is a sentient weapon.
To help protect their secrets, they also have a strong female companion to help them keep their cover.
That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime
After a run in with a robber, the 37-year-old Satoru is suddenly killed. He is reincarnated into a fantasy land, but not as a man. In fact, he is no longer even human!
He is reincarnated as a lowly slime.
After wandering, he comes across a dragon who he befriends and who gives him the new name of Rimuru. Absorbing this dragon into his slime body, promising to eventually break the seal that has bound him, gives Rimuru great magical ability.
He then continues to inadvertently befriend beleaguered fantasy creatures in the forest who are constantly threatened by humanity. Eventually, he decides to found a nation uniting these creatures in order to help them protect themselves.
You really can’t have a new isekai series with a non-human main character and not have That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime be a recommendation.
The difference here is that one character is a sword and leader of only one other person while the other is a slime and leader of a blossoming nation.
While That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime is more ambitious in plot, what they share is that the main characters are advocates for people that have been looked down on and oppressed.
Reincarnated as a Sword has Shishou empowering a black cat who was a slave and is otherwise discriminated against while in That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime has Rimiru leading a whole nation of oppressed creatures.
For Fans of Master-Student Companions
The 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.
While The Rising of the Shield Hero has a dynamic that would be more accurately described as master and his willing slaves, it is still a similar dynamic to what Reincarnated as a Sword has.
The main isekai’d character has strong abilities, but they are not abilities that they can take full advantage of by themselves.
Shishou doesn’t necessarily need a wielder, but it helps. Naofumi, on the other hand, uses his companions as his offensive capabilities since he lacks that as a shield hero.
I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level
Dying from overwork, Azusa Aizawa is allowed to reincarnate into a new world as a witch that will live forever. Wanting to never be overworked again, she leisurely kills slimes in order to pay for living expenses.
However, this meager amount of XP stacks over 300 years of doing it, and she finds herself at max level. Fearing someone will try to thrust work upon her, she decides to try and hide her strength.
Although Reincarnated as a Sword has frequent action, it isn’t a particular intense series. 300 Slimes is distinctly less intense.
Both series feature very, very powerful individuals and the people that follow them around.
In 300 Slimes, they are often friends, but because Azusa is so powerful, they often act like acolytes to her, despite her just wanting to have a nice fun life.
The Ancient Magus’ Bride
After being abandoned by her family, Chise Hatori is a 16-year-old teenager without hope. In order to not have to worry about herself, she sells herself to slavers, only to be purchased by Magus Elias Ainsworth.
There she is told she will become his apprentice and, in the future, his bride. Together they work together to build a relationship and work to control her own magus powers that will eventually result in her early death.
While not an isekai show, The Ancient Magus’ Bride, like Reincarnated as a Sword, follows a girl who is saved from slavery and bonded to the person that saved them. Although, the slavery was self-inflicted in Ancient Magus’ Bride.
Regardless, these powerful individuals teach their new female wards to grow stronger or better control their powers to great effect. While Reincarnated as a Sword has interesting elements to the world, The Ancient Magus’ Bride is a masterful example of good world-building in fantasy anime.
For Fans of Living Weapons
The Familiar of Zero
Louise is a self-absorbed mage at the prestigious Tristain Academy. Unfortunately, she can’t cast magic right and her classmates call her Louise the Zero.
One day during a summoning ritual, Louise messes it up again and summons a boy named Saito.
At first she treats him as a slave until she discovers a powerful brand on him, the sign of a legendary familiar known as Gandalfr.
While The Familiar of Zero is an isekai series, the thing it most shares with Reincarnated as a Sword is that it also has a sentient talking sword character that is wielded by the main human character. Although, unlike Shishou, it requires a wielder.
Keep in mind that The Familiar of Zero is decidedly a different sort of show, it is more a school-based rom-com in a fantasy world that is more like our modern world than the more medieval world in Reincarnated as a Sword.
The Sacred Blacksmith
After a war that ravaged the country, the use of devastating demon contracts was outlawed and people went back to the way of the sword. Cecily Campbell is determined to a be a protector of the people, wielding her family heirloom.
However, one day when she steps in to protect citizens from a crazed swordsman, her weapon is shattered. Thankfully she was saved by a man wielding an odd sword.
It turns out her savior is also a blacksmith named Luke Ainsworth who possesses the skill to restore her now-broken heirloom sword. As such, Cecily is determined to follow him and have him do repairs.
In Scared Blacksmith, it touched upon that the demon swords, if they are around long enough, will take human form and can shift back into swords at will. This is different from Shishou, but the series does take place in a more medieval world full discrimination as well as beasts to slay.
A sword does become a major character in Sacred Blacksmith as well.
One consideration is that the Sacred Blacksmith is unnecessarily ecchi at times and it kind of takes away from the more serious story it is trying very hard to tell.
Bleach
Ichigo Kurosaki is an average high school student except for his ability to see ghosts.
One night, his family is attacked by a Hollow, a corrupted spirit that devours souls. He and a Soul Reaper who appears named Rukia manage to fight it off. However, in the process, Rukia is injured, forcing her to share her powers with Ichigo in order to survive the battle.
From there, Ichigo must face down with Hollows and other Soul Reapers alike, not yet knowing what powerful enemies lurk out in the universe and what devastating powers lie within himself.
To be blunt, the isekai adventure of Reincarnated as a Sword and the shounen action series that is Bleach have very little in common.
I merely included Bleach for anyone that was interested in anime with sentient weapons like Shishou, because Bleach has a lot of them.
It does take awhile before the series starts acknowledging that though. However, every major sword in Bleach is a sentient type of sword with magnificent power.
Do you have more anime recommendations like Reincarnated as a Sword? Let fans know in the comments section below.
