Before the anime Re:Zero became popular, stories about people being transported to another world – known as ‘isekai’ – were quite different. While Re:Zero is often praised for moving away from simple wish fulfillment and focusing on hardship, it wasn’t the first story to use the idea of a portal to another world.
For many years, isekai stories weren’t just about overpowered characters, romantic relationships, or wish fulfillment. While those elements have become popular recently, the genre originally served as a way to explore a variety of themes, like love, family, and classic fantasy adventures.
Digimon Adventure (1999)
The original Digimon Adventure anime, which was recently rebooted, launched the entire Digimon franchise. Often seen as a competitor to Pokemon due to their shared focus on collecting and raising monsters, Digimon Adventure was actually an isekai story—a genre where characters are transported to another world—long before isekai became hugely popular in anime.
The anime begins with seven children at summer camp who receive strange devices that send them into a digital world. There, they encounter Digimon, curious creatures who explain the basics of this new realm. Unlike many similar stories where characters are instantly powerful, these kids only have their Digivices and Digimon partners to help them find a way home. Their journey is challenging, as the digital world is full of both amazing sights and hidden dangers.
Inuyasha (2000)
Rumiko Takahashi is a highly respected manga artist, and Inuyasha showcases her unique spin on the time-travel and alternate world (isekai) genres. Remarkably, the anime remains enjoyable even years after its release. What sets Inuyasha apart from many recent isekai stories is that the main character isn’t simply stuck in the past. She regularly travels between worlds, and even introduces things from the modern era, like medicine and snacks, to the historical setting.
Let me tell you about Higurashi Kagome! On her fifteenth birthday, this poor girl gets pulled into an old well in her family’s shrine by a creepy centipede demon. Can you believe it? She pops out… five hundred years in the past! It’s like her world, but totally overrun with demons who are after this incredibly powerful jewel called the Shikon Jewel. The crazy thing is, she didn’t even know she was carrying it! Of course, it ends up breaking into pieces, and she’s stuck teaming up with Inuyasha, a really intense half-demon, to find them all. And along the way, they discover something even more unexpected – a connection with each other!
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Fushigi Yugi
While Inuyasha leans more towards supernatural adventures, Fushigi Yugi is primarily a romance story. It’s a tale where characters are transported to another world, and the focus is really on the developing relationships between them – those relationships are what move the story forward.
The story takes place in a made-up world called The Universe of the Four Gods, a book discovered by Miaka and Yui at the National Library. When they read it, they’re magically transported inside, to a world inspired by ancient China. Miaka becomes the Priestess of Suzaku, tasked with finding seven powerful warriors to summon a god and make a wish. Yui, meanwhile, becomes her opponent, hailing from a different country within this world.
Spirited Away (2001)
This classic Studio Ghibli film is the heart of what makes stories about being transported to another world so appealing. Unlike many similar stories, it doesn’t rely on game-like elements like stats or menus. Instead, it focuses on the simple magic and potential peril of finding yourself in a completely unfamiliar place. It’s an award-winning film that still resonates with audiences today, and it’s easy to see why.
The story centers around Chihiro and her parents as they’re driving to their new home. They accidentally wander into what appears to be an empty amusement park. Chihiro’s parents are tempted by delicious-looking food at a stall, but after eating it, they are magically turned into pigs. Chihiro soon realizes she’s stuck in a world inspired by Japanese myths and legends. To save her parents and find a way back to the human world, she must take a job at a bathhouse owned by the powerful witch Yubaba.
Sword Art Online (2012)
Even though Sword Art Online, often called SAO, isn’t one of the oldest series in the genre, it’s still important because of its impact. It really brought many common isekai ideas – like games within the story, incredibly strong main characters, and virtual reality settings – into the mainstream.
The story takes place in the future where virtual reality is incredibly advanced, allowing players to completely immerse themselves in games. However, when thousands of people enter a popular game, they discover they can’t log out. Even worse, if their character dies in the game, they die in real life. The only escape is to conquer all 100 floors of Aincrad, a massive floating castle.
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2026-05-02 16:37