8 Best Reincarnation Anime of All Time Ranked: New Life, New You

Reincarnation happens surprisingly often in anime. 

Just because a plot device is popular doesn’t make it bad. However, it can be difficult to tell a good series from the not-so-good ones. This article will feature reincarnation anime worth watching. 

List of the Best Reincarnation Anime Series

1. KonoSuba
2. That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime
3. Re: Zero – Starting Life in Another World
4. My Next Life as a Villainess – All Routes Lead to Doom
5. Parallel World Pharmacy
6. Ascendance of a Bookworm
7. I’ve Been Killing Slimes For 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level
8. Didn’t I Say To Make My Abilities Average in the Next Life

1. KonoSuba

If you like comedy, KonoSuba is a good choice. 

It’s a funny parody of isekai, with a good mixture of snarky dialogue, and physical humor. The protagonists are horribly flawed, but fun to watch.

Upon arriving in the other world, Kazuma takes the obnoxious goddess Aqua with him, over her objections. 

It just gets funnier from there. We follow his team of potentially powerful allies (all female, but it’s not a harem series). Each member’s strength is negated by some quirk. Missions tend to end in anti-climatic “victories,” or in comical failure.

The Megumin spin-off prequel is wonderful; while a third season of the main series is expected in 2024.

• The first two seasons, and the movie, are available at Crunchyroll.
• The Megumin spin-off is also available at Crunchyroll.
• If you’re in Japan, you can find the series at Netflix Japan.

How to Watch KonoSuba on Netflix Anywhere in the World

This method works on both desktop PCs and mobile phones or tablets.

1. Purchase (or start a free trial) of a VPN. I can confirm that NordVPN works for this purpose.
2. In the settings, choose Japan as your location.
3. Fire up the VPN and wait for it to do its magic
4. Once you’re connected, navigate to Netflix (browser or app)
5. Search “KonoSuba” in the Netflix search bar and you should see the anime pop up.

Enjoy! Please note that if your Netflix library doesn’t update to reflect the country you selected in your VPN, you may have to clear the Netflix cache first and try again.

To do this on mobile, go to settings -> apps -> Netflix -> clear cache. To do this on PC, you have to clear the cache in your web browser.

I’ve had no trouble using this method and I still use NordVPN to watch anime from various Netflix country libraries daily.

2. That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime

That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime is a fun and light-hearted series, but it can get serious when need be.

Rimuru Tempest is a former human who becomes what would normally be the lowest possible monster. But Rimuru is more like Kirby, with the ability to suck up and mimic skills. Rimuru quickly becomes the extremely powerful founder of his own nation. 

His evolution is just one brilliant thing about this series, which features a lot of heroic “evil monster” characters — goblins, oni, lizardmen, etc. Many of the villains are human. 

The series has a lot of cute characters, from Rimuru himself, to the plucky goblin shonen hero Gobta, to the childish Demon Lord Milim. But the series also throws these  cute heroes into some serious battles.

• You can find the series at Crunchyroll.
• Crunchyroll also has the comic spin-off series, The Slime Diaries.
• You can watch the series in English and various Asian languages at Netflix Hong Kong.

3. Re: Zero – Starting Life in Another World

Re:Zero features a more dark vision of reincarnation.

Technically speaking, we don’t see Subaru Natsuki die before he enters the fantasy world. But he certainly reincarnates plenty of times after his arrival. 

Subaru’s major ability is Return By Death, which allows him to leap back in time to a “checkpoint” whenever he dies.  

As it turns out, Subaru’s isekai is way more dark and dangerous than some isekai worlds. His looping ability — and the knowledge that he gains each time — is often his only defense.

Subaru soon gets involved in the political intrigue of the world, with a succession crisis being a major plot device for the series.    

A third season was announced in 2023.

• You can find Re:Zero at Crunchyroll, including OVAs and Director’s Cut.
• The series also has some silly spin-off comedy shorts at Crunchyroll.
• Netflix Hong Kong has the Director’s Cut.

4. My Next Life as a Villainess – All Routes Lead to Doom

Unlike most isekai series,  My Next Life As a Villainess features a romantic visual novel. 

In her previous life, Catarina Claes played the visual novel that her isekai world is based upon. Therefore, she knows all of the plot devices. But she also knows that she’s trapped as the villainess. 

In a desperate attempt to save herself, Catarina “breaks” the game by being nice and friendly — not to mention a tomboy, and a lovable dork. She’s also surprisingly clueless about her harem.

The end result is a clever and funny romantic comedy. 

• You can find the series at Crunchyroll. 

5. Parallel World Pharmacy

First of all,  Parallel World Pharmacy is not the same as Drug Store in Another World: The Slow Life of a Cheat Pharmacist.

Cheat Pharmacist made it onto my 2021 isekai list. Although it’s still a fun series, Parallel World Pharmacy is better.

In the series, a medical researcher finds himself in a medieval world where medicine is limited to the rich. Reborn as a young noble, Pharma de Medicis is determined to bring good health to the masses.

Unfortunately, this makes him an enemy of those who profited off of the old way of doing things.

Naturally, because it came out in 2022, Parallel World Pharmacy includes a clever story arc which mirrors COVID-19.

• You can find the series at Crunchyroll.

6. Ascendance of a Bookworm

The protagonist of Ascendance of a Bookworm loves reading so much that she attempts to bring book publishing into a medieval world where books barely even exist.

Main’s quest has many challenges. She doesn’t know how to read when she reincarnates as a little girl. Her family is poor. She suffers from a rare, magical disease. Making paper is hard.

However, she is determined to do whatever it takes to achieve her goal. Over time, she invents and sells various things which don’t exist in the isekai world. She even becomes a priestess when it looks like it will help her.

• You can find the series at Crunchyroll.

7. I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level

The lengthy title describes how this cute and clever series starts. Young witch Azusa tries to live a simple and quiet life. But her immortality accidentally leads to her becoming extremely powerful.

As a result, our hero attracts unwanted attention from various intruders. With her good-natured charm, this quickly turns into an all-female mixture of family, harem, and nakama. 

Overall, this is a comfy isekai series.

• You can watch this series at Crunchyroll. 

8. Didn’t I Say to Make My Abilities Average in the Next Life?!

This isekai comedy features Mile, a heroine who asked to be “average” when she was reborn.

Unfortunately, her wish gets misinterpreted. She ends up halfway between the weakest and the strongest creatures in the fantasy universe. She’s a lot stronger than most people — which is embarrassing for her.

Mile soon leads a foursome of powerful academy schoolgirls. Naturally, she fails to hide her ridiculous strength.

The series is also full of otaku references, thanks to Mile’s nerdy past life.    

• You can find this series at Crunchyroll.

Conclusion

This article is not quite a remake of my 2021 isekai article. For one thing, many good series have popped up since then. 

Also, I limited myself to reincarnation scenarios. Re:Zero bends that rule, but other good shows were left out.

Thanks for reading this!