Isekai anime lets fans explore the wonders of an alternate universe. Some even take inspiration from and blend in immersive characteristics of RPG games. Most video games use high stakes and competition to hook fans in for the long haul, and their anime counterparts are no different.
However, not all video game (or video game-inspired) isekai do this. They'll instead subvert the high stakes expectations of the genre to give fans a lighter, more comical experience that shows how entertaining simply playing a game can be.
Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear
An overpowered main character is bound to make some anime fans weary. If a character is the best of the best right out of the gate, there's little tension to keep their story going. It's an especially common trope in isekai, but Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear flips it on its head.
Yuna is a 15-year-old recluse who finds herself trapped in her favorite VRMMO after receiving a comically adorable bear suit that grants her unbelievable power. There's no nefarious power orchestrating this, and Yuna actually welcomes the idea of staying in this world she loves. Independent and without responsibility, she spent her life playing this game. She needs to learn how to use the suit to survive, but the core of the story is more about Yuna recognizing and cherishing the friendships formed in-game. Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear prioritizes Yuna's personal journey, giving this isekai a wholesome, iyashikei appeal.
Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear is available to stream on Hulu and Funimation.
BOFURI: I Don't Want to Get Hurt, so I'll Max Out My Defense
Another anime that doesn't take its gaming aspect too seriously is BOFURI. Kaede and Risa -- known by their gamer aliases of Maple and Sally -- decide to play the new VRMMORPG NewWorld Online. Maple is new to gaming and therefore decides that maxing out her defense is the easiest way to play. Cue the comedy and chaos as her high defense lures in luck and challengers a-plenty.
BOFURI subverts the overpowered main character trope because Maple's renowned abilities were entirely an accident rather than a goal she sought to achieve. Her real life also isn't tethered to the game, so both she and viewers can sit back and enjoy the silliness that comes with playing a new game.
BOFURI is available to stream on Hulu and Funimation.
Didn't I Say to Make My Abilities Average in the Next Life?!
Didn't I Say to Make My Abilities Average in the Next Life?! may not involve video games, but its fantasy world is highly reminiscent of MMORPGs. It also takes living vicariously through a character to a different level. Misato Kurihara was a child prodigy whose high intellect made it difficult to make friends. In a Yusuke Urameshi-style dive to save a child from an oncoming truck, Misato dies. For her selfless act, a god-like being offers to reincarnate Misato into a world of her choosing, with whatever abilities she wants. All Misato requests is an average life.
Unfortunately, her new life is anything but. She's now 12-year-old Adele von Aschem, born into nobility and with powers that are a literal average of every magical creatures' in this world. With memories of her past life and her astounding abilities, Adele takes on the alias Mile to start fresh -- again. Mile's character challenges the quest for greatness often expected from protagonists in the genre with her goal being innocuous, albeit laughably difficult to achieve.
Didn't I Say to Make My Abilities Average in the Next Life?! can be streamed on Crunchyroll.
I've Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level
I've Been Killing Slimes is another anime that's heavily inspired by RPG mechanics without involving an actual video game. Azusa Aizawa was a workaholic salarywoman whose overworking led to her death. A mysterious goddess offers Azusa a new life free from the stressors of her previous existence, and she happily takes the offer.
Now an immortal witch, Azusa spends the next 300 years working as little as possible by hunting the lowest-level creatures, slimes. She unwittingly maxes out her stats with this repetitive task and it's not long before the rest of the world learns of her strength. While Azusa's accidental fulfillment of the stereotypical power fantasy throws a wrench in her plan, it's never entirely destroyed, and she ultimately gains friendships that enrich her life no matter how chaotic it's become.
I've Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level can be streamed on Crunchyroll.
