Campfire cooking in another world and
Welcome to demon school, Iruma-kun! are my main recommendations. There’s also some trash that would fit your criteria, but I wouldn’t recommend watching that (like that one slime tamer anime I can’t recall the title of). Also a dozen or so otome villainess reincarnation anime should fit your criteria, those are getting pretty popular now, though I haven’t watched any of the anime yet. Also some older stuff like Inuyasha might be up your alley, but honestly it’s been too long since I’ve seen them in their entirety, so I can’t really remember. Obviously Isekai is by far the most fan service-y theme in every possible way since most of it leans into power fantasy aspects to flatter the target demographic. In fact, if this was an actual honest question, I would recommend looking at the broader fantasy category, where there is a lot more variety and quality to be found.
Frieren is the obvious recommendation, with character-driven storytelling focused on philosophical themes. It is genuinely one of the best shows I’ve seen and it’s rare that my expectations for a manga adaptation are blown out of the water so completely. Delicious in Dungeon is also excellent and has more of a focus on little details and creatures (and food, of course) with a very different approach to storytelling and a smaller scope.
I’m a big fan of the comedy and character design in Helck, even if the production quality of the anime can’t quite match up to my other recs. The manga is definitely visually superior. The contrast between the darker aspects of the story and the comedic delivery is pretty unique as well.
Mushishi is an episodic seinen anime focused on mythology and has some of the most beautiful background art, though it has more of a historical setting with supernatural fantasy elements.
If virtual fantasy settings are allowed, then I recommend Shangri-La Frontier, which looks like Isekai at first glance, but thankfully is not. It’s also by far the most shonen anime on this list, but very entertaining.
Those are what comes to mind, but I’m sure I’m missing some obvious picks.
That doesn’t narrow it down as much as you think. What genre are you looking for?
fantasy isekai
Campfire cooking in another world and Welcome to demon school, Iruma-kun! are my main recommendations. There’s also some trash that would fit your criteria, but I wouldn’t recommend watching that (like that one slime tamer anime I can’t recall the title of). Also a dozen or so otome villainess reincarnation anime should fit your criteria, those are getting pretty popular now, though I haven’t watched any of the anime yet. Also some older stuff like Inuyasha might be up your alley, but honestly it’s been too long since I’ve seen them in their entirety, so I can’t really remember. Obviously Isekai is by far the most fan service-y theme in every possible way since most of it leans into power fantasy aspects to flatter the target demographic. In fact, if this was an actual honest question, I would recommend looking at the broader fantasy category, where there is a lot more variety and quality to be found.
I was mostly messing around, but thank you for the in depth write up. since we’re on the subject, what do you recommend for fantasy?
Frieren is the obvious recommendation, with character-driven storytelling focused on philosophical themes. It is genuinely one of the best shows I’ve seen and it’s rare that my expectations for a manga adaptation are blown out of the water so completely. Delicious in Dungeon is also excellent and has more of a focus on little details and creatures (and food, of course) with a very different approach to storytelling and a smaller scope.
I’m a big fan of the comedy and character design in Helck, even if the production quality of the anime can’t quite match up to my other recs. The manga is definitely visually superior. The contrast between the darker aspects of the story and the comedic delivery is pretty unique as well.
Mushishi is an episodic seinen anime focused on mythology and has some of the most beautiful background art, though it has more of a historical setting with supernatural fantasy elements. If virtual fantasy settings are allowed, then I recommend Shangri-La Frontier, which looks like Isekai at first glance, but thankfully is not. It’s also by far the most shonen anime on this list, but very entertaining.
Those are what comes to mind, but I’m sure I’m missing some obvious picks.
I’ve seen most of those (and read all of helck), except for mushishi and shangri la; I’ll add them to my list!