re-zero anime

Anime Like Re:Zero – Starting Life in Another World

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.

Pineapple-penning together isekai and time travel elements, Re:Zero created something unique among a sea of same-y isekai anime. If you are looking for more anime recommendations like Re:Zero, head on down below.

Anime Like Re:Zero

For Fans of Traveling Through Space or Time

anime series like steins gate

Steins;Gate

In a rickety old building in Akihabara, mad scientist Rintarou Okabe and his lab assistants work on so-called future gadgets.

However, their most successful contraption to date, the Phone Microwave, a machine that can turn bananas into gel, also has the added function of sending emails into the past, thus altering the flow of history.

Although at a glance the two seem very different, with Re:Zero being more fantasy and Steins;Gate being more realistic science fiction, the concept is essentially the same.

Both anime feature time travel – or time looping – that centers around saving people from death as well as the main characters being the only ones to recall things post-time travel.

While Steins;Gate is a little slow at the beginning, it gets progressively darker, but Re:Zero wears its innate darkness on its cuff, lacing it with a good bit of comedy.

Steins;Gate. Time travel. So obvious, right? If you are looking for solid time travel anime, check out these 13 Time Travel Anime Series That Aren’t Steins; Gate

higurashi anime

Higurashi – When They Cry

After moving to the small village of Hinamizawa from Tokyo, Keiichi Maebara spends his peaceful days playing games with his four other classmates in their rural school.

However, as the village approaches its annual festival, Keiichi learns of the horrific local legend that surrounds it, one where each year someone dies on the festival eve.

When he asks his friends about it, they are all suspiciously silent.

The stories of these two anime series could not be more different, but they share a crucial similarity – time looping.

Whereas Re:Zero just repeats the same events so he can change the outcome, Higurashi tells the different timelines of the story based on the main character’s choices. Unfortunately, the way Higurashi tells its story can be confusing, right up until you watch enough of it that everything makes sense.

While Re:Zero adds an element of horror into the isekai genre, Higurashi fully commits itself to being a horror anime.

gate anime

Gate – Thus the JSDF Fought There

Japanese Self-Defense Force solider and otaku Youji Itami is in the Ginza district of Tokyo feeding his hobby one afternoon when a gate to another world opens and medieval soldiers flood modern day Japan.

While Itami, in conjunction with the local police, manage to save many civilian lives, his hero status forces him to go beyond the gate with his fellow soldiers to explore a mysterious new world filled with swords, magic, elves, and dragons.

Like in Re:Zero, Gate features a main character that goes from the modern world to a completely foreign fantasy world. However, in Gate they can go back and forth between worlds.

In both series, the main character ends up kind of disrupting the flow of their new fantasy locale, ultimately learning to adapt to the world around them.

no game no life isekai

No Game No Life

In the real world, siblings Shiro and Sora are NEET shut-ins. However, in the virtual world, they are a legendary gaming duo.

One day, after a strange email, they find their reality taken away as they are transported to the realm of Tet, God of Games. Here, Shiro and Sora must play games to defeat the sixteen races of this world as well as Tet in order to become the new gods.

In both No Game No Life and Re:Zero, the main characters find themselves transported to a new world where they have a hard time at first until they adjust to the rules of the world.

Both series follow gamer types who were outcasts in their previous life, but do end up thriving in their new world.

In their own different ways, both anime are solid subversions of isekai anime. Re:Zero uses the horror of the situation well while No Game No Life wields a unique world.

Erased anime

Erased

Recently, the detached, struggling manga artist Satoru Fujinuma finds himself going back in time to just minutes before tragedy strikes around him.

He has saved many lives with this power of “Revival,” but when he is wrongly accused of murdering someone close to him, Fujinuma finds himself sent back to his childhood.

As he discovers, the recent death in his life is somehow connected the kidnap-murder of three children in the area that is about to happen. This time, he may be able to use his power to save more than just one life, easing his past regrets in the process.

While Erased isn’t a fantasy series, it does focus on a character that can frequently go back in time to try and fix things that happen.

Both Re:Zero and Erased really focus in on the psychological effect of being able to do this. However, as Satoru doesn’t fail quite as often, it isn’t quite as bad on him as it is for Subaru.

yu no anime

Yu-No

Recently, Takuta Arima’s father, a historian and researcher, has disappeared. While on summer vacation, Takuya receives a package from his missing father as well as a letter explaining that parallel worlds exist.

Inside the package, he realizes that his father has sent him a device that allows him to visit these parallel worlds and decides to use it to find his father.

Both series follow a main character who is kind of useless being able to go back and forth in time in order to try and get a result that they want.

It is a little less finessed in Yu-No, but much of the same psychological focus is there.

charlotte anime

Charlotte

Yuu Otosaka has the ability to slip into other people’s mind and control them for five seconds at a time. He has been using it to get good grades, but after he is caught by the enigmatic Nao Tomori, he is forced to transfer to a special school to safeguard children with these powers from discovery.

At this supernatural new school, he is forced to join the Student Council where he uses his powers to hunt down other young people who are using and abusing their own powers.

While unlike Re:Zero where the ability to go back is a major thing that happens often, Charlotte only has that as one element of a larger pool of powers.

However, both anime focus on the psychological side of this ability and end up being deceptively more mature series then they first appear.

For Fans of Isekai Settings

anime series like konosuba

KonoSuba

On his way back from buying a new game, Kazuma Satou died a pathetic death. However, he awakens before the Goddess Aqua who gives him two choices – go to heaven or reincarnate into an actual fantasy world.

Naturally, the gamer picks the fantasy world. Now Kazuma must deal with defeating an evil demon king, useless party members, and paying living expenses.

When Re:Zero isn’t being tone-shiftingly brutal, it can actually be quite a fun in its comedy and slice of life moments.

If you enjoyed that about Re:Zero and didn’t quite want the darker moments, Konosuba captures exactly that with its overall silly plot.

Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash anime

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.

Both Re:Zero and Grimgar add a refreshing spin on an increasingly crowded isekai anime genre. While never specifically mentioned, Grimgar features people from the modern world placed in the new world.

In both Grimgar and Re:Zero, the characters must adapt and grow or die, although in Re:Zero it is not quite so permanent.

Both fantasy worlds feel distinctly real with non-forced drama and genuine reactions to the experiences.

anime series like is it wrong to try to pick up girls in a dungeon

Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?

In the fantasy city of Orario, there is a massive labyrinth underneath it. For brave adventurers, glory and fortune can be found within. In order to tackle the challenging monsters inside, adventures join guilds of strong gods and goddesses.

However, for newbie adventurer Bell Cranel, no good guild will have him, except for Hestia, a goddess with no followers. Together they team up to grow strong and find glory.

While DanMachi is not an isekai anime, it maintains a similar fantasy world that places a focus on adventure.

Ultimately what makes DanMachi and Re:Zero alike is the sense of adventure that comes from exploring the world of the series. It leads you to interesting places, challenges, and characters.

Both anime do very well at making the series grow more complex in scope as it goes on.

the rising of the shield hero anime

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.

Both Re:Zero and The Rising of The Shield Hero are both beloved isekai anime and chances are good that if you enjoy one, you will enjoy the other.

However, they have more than that in common. Both anime feature main characters that are thought of as pretty inept, but they do their best to make what little ability they do have work for them.

At first, both The Rising of the Shield Hero and Re:Zero are about the struggle, but soon they grow into their power.

jobless reincarnation anime

Jobless Reincarnation

After being chased out of his NEET nest, a man instinctively saves some teens from an oncoming car and is killed.

He is reborn as Rudeus Greyrat, a baby and new firstborn son of a local knight. Finding he has great potential for magic, Rudy vows to make the most of his new life even if he is still a perverted otaku on the inside.

Re:Zero and Jobless Reincarnation are isekai anime where every character is kind of a better person than the main character is most time, be it in terms of power or attitude. Subaru may be kind of useless sometimes, but Rudeus has his biggest flaws in his personality.

However, as they interact with these other characters, they themselves grow.

That said, Jobless Reincarnation can be a little uncomfortable with its relationships.

that time i got reincarnated as a slime anime

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.

Do you enjoy how vast the world of Re:Zero is, filled with creatures and people? While That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime is very much the same in that regard. It also has a great array of lovely ladies as well.

If you enjoy isekai, both Re:Zero and That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime are considered two of the best isekai anime.

For Fans of Swords and Magic Action

fate stay night anime

The Fate / Stay Night Series

The Holy Grail War is a battle royale in one city in Japan among seven magi selected to be Masters. These Masters summon a Servant, a Heroic Spirit of historic or mythical heroes past, and gain command seals to order their Servant to do their bidding.

Together, Masters use their Servants to fight a proxy war for the Holy Grail—a magical artifact capable of granting its wielder any wish.

In the Fifth Holy Grail War, Rin Toosaka is among the magi entering the competition. With her Servant, Archer, she hopes to obtain the Holy Grail and have her wish granted. However, when Rin’s classmate Emiya Shirou accidentally enters too, things get much more interesting.

Not unlike Higurashi, Fate / Stay and Re:Zero similarity to each other is the repetition in storytelling. While the Fate/ Stay series explores different paths of the visual novel in each series, Re:Zero repeats a bit of its story line after the previous death.

However, while both anime feature swords and magic, Fate / Stay still maintains a setting in modern day Japan.

The Fate series can be difficult to get into. Here have this guide that outlines the full Fate Series Watch Order

Sword Art Online anime

Sword Art Online

Virtual reality has progressed so far that it is now a fully immersive experience. For Kazuto Kirigaya, nicknamed Kirito, he was one of the lucky few to be able to beta test the MMO, Sword Art Online.

However, during its official launch, players soon realize that they cannot log out and are now trapped in the game where death in-game means death for real.

Now they must learn to cooperate with other players in order to survive and escape.

In both Re:Zero and Sword Art Online, both heroes escape (or are taken from) a reality they find boring to a fantasy world where they are somehow special. Both worlds are a medieval fantasy setting in which you need to quest and earn money to survive.

However, Re:Zero is reality while Sword Art Online is virtual reality. As the series go on, you also watch both series grow exponentially in their scope and complexity.

akame ga kill group

Akame ga Kill

Tatsumi is a naive boy from a rural village that makes the trip to the city in order to join the military and help his hometown.

However, after he is rejected, he ends up joining Night Raid, a group of assassins part of a revolutionary movement to overthrow the government. From there, he must fight a brutal and increasingly bloody shadow war.

While not an isekai anime or even steeped deep in the same kind of fantasy, Akame ga Kill and Re:Zero feature group of unique characters that each usually have some powerful abilities.

Furthermore, both Re:Zero and Akame ga Kill follow rather naive young protagonists and puts them in brutal situations.

worldend anime

WorldEnd

It has been five hundred years since humanity went extinct at the hands of the mysterious beasts that roam the land. Now the surviving races have retreated to floating islands in the sky out of reach of most of the beasts. However, there are ones nimble enough to put these people in danger.

A small group of young girls, a race called the Leprechauns, are now raised as the only ones that can wield ancient weapons to fend off invasion by the beasts, but it often requires them to sacrifice themselves and they don’t often live to see adulthood.

Enter Willem, the last surviving human woken from his slumber and sent to watch over these girls, still feeling the sting from the final battle where he lost everything five hundred years ago.

Under the very bright and color standard anime veneer of both Re:Zero and WorldEnd lurk dark and heart-breaking stories.

While both series have their very dark moments despite their usual cheerful looks, WorldEnd does often lean towards the more heart-breaking side of things.

anime series like rage of bahamut

Rage of Bahamut

Thousands of years ago, ancient dragon Bahamut terrorized the world. However, when gods and demons allied themselves to prevent the world’s destruction, they sealed him away, splitting the key among them so he would be eternally imprisoned.

After the dragon was sealed, humanity returned to normal. However, things are about to get very abnormal for bounty hunter Favaro when he meets a mysterious women that holds half the key to Bahamut’s seal.

While Rage of Bahamut isn’t an isekai anime like Re:Zero and the characters are “less cute” in many instances, both stories feature a pretty expansive and interesting world that continues to grow with the series.

Furthermore, they masterfully meld comedic moments with more mature tones as they explore their story in a fantasy land. The characters in Re:Zero were often a charming point, and the same can be said of Rage of Bahamut as well.

Do you have more anime recommendations like Re:Zero? Let fans know in the comments section below.

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