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As a genre, isekai isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
And depending on who you are, that’s either really exciting or really depressing.
If you’re in the camp that’s not super into isekai shows, prepare to be absolutely enraged. Because if you thought that SAO was as bad as it gets, you have no idea how deep this garbage disposal goes.
Here’s my list of the absolute worst isekai anime ever created.
10. CHOYOYU!: High School Prodigies Have It Easy Even in Another World!
We’re going to start things off with Choyoyu.
If there’s one positive I can point to in this show, it’s the art style.
It’s no Demon Slayer, but each episode is somewhat competent in terms of design and direction. And, although very bland, the characters look rather decent.
Plus the show’s hook is actually interesting. Instead of the usual zero-to-hero plotline, you get seven MCs who were all the best of the best back on Earth.
But instead of using said hook to create interesting power dynamics and drama, the show kind of just forgets about it.
Only two of the seven leads ever actually do something, and even they feel somewhat lackluster. This is especially true for Masato as his entire personality boils down to being the Monopoly man.
The show also sends incredibly stupid “#deep” messages throughout. For example, that any systemic issue can be solved by just murdering the guy at the top and leaving everyone else alone.
You also have to love the fact that female characters (who are canonically geniuses) get reduced to the usual ecchi love interest within an episode or two.
And I don’t even know where to start with Akatsuki, as he’s just a God for some reason.
Everyone else just carried their talents over, but he for some reason just gained actual magic powers.
9. Garzey’s Wing
This is one of the worst-rated shows on MAL and for good reason.
However, I didn’t want to put it too low on the list as it does have one strength going for it – it’s so bad that it’s hilarious.
This is especially true if you watch the dubbed version. It honestly feels like the VA cast was just a bunch of random people on Fiverr who were given no context of any of the scenes they were in.
This coupled with really outdated animation (the show is a 90s baby after all) leads to a very scuffed story-telling medium.
And the story itself almost could’ve been good.
For example, it does something that I haven’t seen in an isekai before – making it so that one version of the MC gets transported to the other world while the other stays on Earth.
This plot device makes it a lot more believable that the MC is a major asset as his Earth self can just look up whatever they need in order to win.
However, it didn’t fully pan out that way.
Instead we got magic soul-stealing swans, little fairies, and exposition dumps heavy enough to break my soul.
8. Seven Senses of the Re’Union
The best way to describe this series is “We have Anohana at home”.
It follows a very similar structure where a group of friends loses one of their members, split up, and then years later find their “ghost” and reunite.
However, while both of these shows made me cry, Anohana struck me in the feels and Re’Union went straight for the brain cells.
The characters are as cliché as they come, with the MC being especially insufferable.
You know it’s bad when “being sad” is your defining characteristic, and yet you shake it off like it was the common cold.
The world-building is similarly as bland – it just copies SAO and adds absolutely nothing interesting. In fact, this entire show can be summed up as “badly copied homework”.
I honestly don’t even know what to complain about aside from that. The show gives you so little to work with that you can’t even properly rant about it.
7. The Fruit of Evolution: Before I Knew It, My Life Had It Made
Unlike the previous pick, this show had me fuming from episode one.
This is because “the MC is so ugly and fat, and gross” is literally the central plot device.
To the point where even the creature that teleports an entire class of high schoolers into the new world (which is an oof sentence in itself) decides to teleport the MC somewhere else.
And there the MC has the stupidest character arc I’ve ever seen. He just finds some random fruit on the ground, eats it, and then becomes handsome and powerful.
And let’s not forget, just because he was bullied his entire life and never had the chance to form strong social bonds won’t stop him from somehow still being a womanizer.
Not to mention one of the most powerful dudes around! Who everyone now loves and envies!
How this is not a high schooler’s diary, I have no idea.
6. Maerchen Maedchen
If someone just gave you the synopsis of this show and showed you a few screenshots, you’d almost mistake it for a medium/decent anime.
But you’d be wrong.
This show feels like a rushed PowerPoint presentation of every trope in anime.
In fact, it’s so uninspired that you could tune out for 10 minutes at a time and probably still predict what’s going to happen next.
This fact is pushed even further when you consider that most of the characters in the show have the IQ of your average plastic spork.
Their stupidity coupled with their blandness just annoyed me every step of the way. Even the power system kind of flopped as you’d immediately know a character’s entire arc just by seeing which book they were given.
Because unlike Bungo Stray Dogs (where literary references are given an interesting twist and thematically make sense), this show basically just copies the entire story.
Overall, the show has okay animation. And if the book power system was given a bit of pizzazz, maybe it would’ve worked.
But man is everyone here dense.
5. In Another World With My Smartphone
I hope that we can all agree on the fact that this show deserved a spot on this list based on the title alone.
Like seriously, how lazy could you possibly get?
The most creative thing this series has ever done was having an omnipotent being patch the MCs phone so that it still worked in the new world.
Because you wouldn’t want plot holes running this gem of a series!
Let’s talk about the MC because he basically makes up the entire show.
He has the personality of a doorknob and the likability factor of a multi-billion company.
He’s just kind of there, doing his thing.
Of course, hordes of female characters throw themselves at him just for existing. And no enemy can ever come close to the power of the iPhone hero!
Overall, this is the series that made me start hating isekai as a genre and I sincerely applaud you if you can find any enjoyment in watching it.
4. Isekai Cheat Magician
Okay, forget about enjoying the show – if you can watch an entire episode and not fall asleep/get a headache, you’re a much stronger person than me.
Because man did this show play it safe in every way possible.
The entire plot can be summarized as “MC was weak, now super strong”.
They even give you a false sense of hope by originally having the MC get transported alongside his female friend. The show even points out how she’s also extremely powerful!
But then everyone promptly forgets about that fact and the female friend gets reduced to just another groupie that fawns over the MC whenever he does just about anything.
To say that this show is boring would be quite an understatement.
I watched the darned thing and managed to retain roughly 0.001% of the information presented.
Maybe it’s like a mental anti-virus or something. But I’m honestly glad that none of it stuck around.
3. Do You Love Your Mom and Her Two-Hit Multi-Target Attacks?
Just like with the previous pick, I was done with this show after just reading the title.
Let’s be real, most anime really threads the line when it comes to what are appropriate family relations.
And I’ve heard “Oni-chan” in the wrong context so many times that I’m permanently terrified of family reunions.
But this show is so unapologetic in its approach that it somehow stings even more than usual. Especially now that we’re getting mothers involved.
Plus, the show is pretty bad even if you’re 100% for Sweet Home Alabama content.
After all, the characters are as dull as they come, and the world-building is basically non-existent.
Sure, you could say that this show doesn’t advertise itself as anything but ecchi, but that logic won’t negate the emotional damage I’ve taken while watching it.
2. The Master of Ragnarok & Blesser of Einherjar
It’s honestly impressive just how bad this anime managed to be.
It literally took every bad decision from previous shows and just jumbled them up into one dumpster fire.
First off, we get another isekai where the MC has a smartphone for some reason. Hooray!
Next up, we get that classic wet blanket personality and visual design that makes the MC indistinguishable from every other isekai MC. Even better!
Then we add that slick animation the final season of The Seven Deadly Sins is known for. Because who doesn’t love a PowerPoint presentation with incorrect anatomy and stick figures?
Now add some Overlord CGI, to really make all of the soldiers feel out of place in every scene possible. Because who doesn’t like poorly rendered PS2 characters placed on a washed-out grainy background?
Lastly, add a generic harem of female characters that will literally be impressed if the MC wipes his own butt.
Like seriously, there isn’t a single scene where some female character isn’t telling him how amazing he is in every shape and form.
And voila! You have one of the worst shows I’ve ever had the displeasure of watching!
1. Conception
And lastly, the undisputed king, Conception.
I originally thought that this show was going for some higher theme, like tackling interesting concepts themselves or something. Probably because it sounds like Inception.
But no, not even close.
This entire show boils down to “MC must sleep with 12 female characters in order to create super babies that will help in the fight against the villain”.
Do I even have to point out the fact that even by R-rated shows, this is some lazy writing?
Not to mention that it also doesn’t make a lick of sense, as he still needs to woo all of the female characters first.
Could you imagine the fate of your world resting in your hands (or in your womb in this case) and you still want to be taken to dinner first?
And don’t even get me started with the whole super baby warrior thing. This list has honestly tainted both my soul and my search history – so let’s just all agree that this is the worst isekai in the world and move on with our lives.
