In 1992, Army of Darkness, also known as Evil Dead 3, told the story of a regular retail worker who essentially was isekai’d from his vacation cabin to the middle ages to fight demons. In 1983, Aura Battler Dunbine showed us the story of an 18-year-old that is whisked away from Tokyo and taken to a magical world to, you guessed it, fight evil.

Modern-day average Joes becoming heroes in another world isn’t a new idea by any means. Maybe the fact that these stories have been around for so long could explain why we have been getting increasingly ridiculous isekai projects out of Japan. We are getting to a point where people are reborn into weirder and weirder situations. From slime to a vending machine, here are the six most bizarre isekai anime.

Skeleton Knight in Another World

Warning: This anime has a fun premise but opens with a violent sexual assault scene that can disturb some viewers. Similar scenes appear throughout the show. Look into this series with caution.

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Skeleton Knight in Another World stars a reborn skeleton knight who wears overly clunky armor to hide his skeleton body. At first, you’d think there isn’t much tension in this anime. The main character is extremely overpowered and can use magic and strength. He battles demons, saves lives and manages to charm entire villages. But saving the day can make keeping a low profile hard as he tries to conceal his actual appearance.

Watch Skeleton Knight in Another World on Crunchyroll.

Reincarnated as a Sword

Reincarnated as a Sword opens with a mysterious stranger getting hit by a van, letting us know he is dead. Though mere moments after his death, he sees a magical world. At first, our main character seems almost excited to be reincarnated. Until he notices he is nothing more than a sword with eyes, and his excitement fades to panic.

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By the grace of whatever god brought him into this world, he isn’t a sword that can’t move on its own. But he is also a sword. He is accompanied by the actual protagonist of the show, a young girl. She has a noble quest, and he will help her accomplish it. If you can’t come back as a hero, you might as well be their weapon.

Watch Reincarnated as a Sword on HIDIVE.

That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime (TTIGRAS)

While the premise seems silly and simple, the show is anything but. TTIGRAS has a well-written and diverse cast that makes you care about the world. There are multiple species and social structures within the different species and lore.

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Adapted from the light novel of the same name, That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime is precisely what it sounds like. We follow our average-joe protagonist in an isekai where, that’s right, he is reincarnated as a slime. The title does leave much room for surprises. What might surprise you, however, is that this series got two seasons and an OVA—making this the perfect show to start if you’re looking for a binge.

Watch That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime on Funimation.

So I’m a Spider, So What?

Animated with a seamless blend of 3D and 2D, we see a high school girl reborn into a magical world as a giant spider. But she isn’t alone; she has hundreds of cannibalistic siblings who were born with her. On top of that, it seems her others from her class were reincarnated.

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But what’s that? They all reincarnated as humans or magical beings, and she is the only spider. Get ready for genuine hijinks, drama and the rise of a new kind of hero. Training is brutal, and overcoming the cruel fate life has dealt her is harder. Can she do it?

Watch So I’m a Spider, So What? on Crunchyroll.

Reborn as a Vending Machine, I Now Wander the Dungeon

Coming out in July, the anime is exactly as the title says. In classical isekai fashion, a typical guy dies, returns to life in a magical world and meets adventurers to journey with. Except this guy is a vending machine and can’t exactly move independently. Lucky for him, an insanely strong baddie runs into him and decides to strap him to her back. With that, let the journey begin!

Watch Reborn as a Vending Machine, Now I Wander the Dungeon this July on Crunchyroll.

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Heat the Pig Liver

Set to come out sometime in 2023, Heat the Pig Liver is about an otaku who passes out after eating pig liver. Raw. Thus the name. When he comes to, he is in the body of a way too adorable pig in a magical world. We don’t have a set release date or know if streaming will be available for this title, but keep an eye out.

BONUS

Aru Asa Dummy Head Mic ni Natteita Ore-kun no Jinsei

This one couldn’t make it on the official list because it doesn’t meet enough qualifications for me to consider it a true isekai. When you think of Isekai, you might think of a world of adventure and magic. If you’re looking for that in Aru Asa Dummy Head, keep looking. In a bizarre turn of events, this isekai doesn’t feature a magical world or hero and barely counts as an isekai at all. The dang thing is scarcely an anime with only three-minute episodes. It is written for the male gaze, as the whole “show” is written from a lifeless object perspective of high school girls. Creepy.

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Nonetheless, the anime community considers this one of the weirdest isekai of all time, so it had to be included on our list. Follow this literal dummy head during his reincarnated life as a dummy head. Until suddenly, he isn’t a dummy head. This weirdo is reborn as a random object every episode. The only constant is that he peeps in on the same girls working on an ASMR part-time job. 

Watch Aru Asa Dummy Head Mic ni Natteita Ore-kun no Jinsei on Crunchyroll.

If you were mysteriously taken to another world, what would you want to be reborn as? Funny answers only!

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