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Hestia is one such goddess, but she is rather low in the pecking order due to the fact she only has one follower: Bell Cranel. While pure-hearted and assertive, Bell is also relatively weak, but he is willing to put himself on the line as he explores the eponymous dungeon. Along the way, Hestia’s guild starts to grow.
Updated on January 11, 2023 by Mark Sammut: Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? 4 Part 2 is airing as part of the Winter 2023 anime season. The show promises to put Bell through the wringer like never before, and he is hardly the only beloved character who is facing insurmountable odds. While waiting for the next entry in the series, fans can check out a few other anime like DanMachi.
8 Tower Of Druaga: The Aegis Of Uruk
The Tower of Druaga is bizarre in more ways than one. Firstly, the anime is a sequel to a respected but old game, a fact the show loves to acknowledge in both blatant and subtle ways. Secondly, the first episode is a wacky parody of fantasy stories and clashes wildly with the anime’s otherwise serious tone. Both of these things might discourage DanMachi fans from giving The Tower of Druaga a try, which would be a shame as the shows are cut from a similar cloth.
While Bell strives to descend the dungeon’s levels, The Tower of Druaga’s Jil wants to climb to the top of the titular structure. This journey cannot be done alone either, so Jil teams up with a few colorful class archetypes who make up for his weaknesses (and hard-headedness). The leads also have relatively similar arcs, particularly when it comes to power scaling.
7 Made In Abyss
This recommendation comes with an asterisk since Made in Abyss is far darker than DanMachi, to the point the anime can be uncomfortable to watch at times. However, the shows share similar premises as they both follow adventurers who descend mysterious dungeons filled with awe-inspiring and terrifying things. The deeper they get, the worse nightmares they face.
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Made in Abyss tortures its heroes in ways that go beyond any setbacks endured by Bell, although both anime touch upon similar themes like human corruption. Kinema Citrus’ series also dedicates a lot of time to establishing the mythos of the Abyss, ensuring the location feels like a living entity.
6 Grimgar: Ashes And Illusions
Although not devoid of comedy, each new season of DanMachi has heightened the dramatic tension at the cost of humor. It is a dark fantasy show that emphasizes the inherent dangers of Bell’s chosen lifestyle. Grimgar: Ashes and Illusions does effectively the same thing, albeit with an isekai twist.
Stripped of their memory and lacking much in the way of survival skills, a group of teenagers are stranded in a cutthroat fantasy world that shows little sympathy for the weak. In order to survive, they begin to take on basic quests that offer high risk but little reward.
5 KonoSuba: God’s Blessing On This Wonderful World!
Kazuma Satou treats himself to a brand-new video game and then ends up dying on the way back home. He regains consciousness but in an unusual world. There’s a girl with blue hair in front of him named Aqua. She provides him with an ultimatum; live in this new world, or travel to Heaven. Understandably, he chooses to stay in the fantasy world, being an avid gamer himself, it seems like a pretty good deal. Kazuma is told he needs to work towards destroying the Demon King, an enemy that is annihilating entire villages.
He is then offered the chance to choose one single item to take with him on his journey, and he, of course, chooses Aqua. It doesn’t take him long to realize that Aqua is quite an ineffective teammate. While this fantasy world seems like a dream come true for Kazuma, he soon learns that this world isn’t as glamorous as those that are found in a video game. Before they start their grand adventure, they need to gain an income by working. If they don’t earn any money, they won’t have anywhere to live.
4 Sword Art Online
Sword Art Online is arguably one of the most well-known isekai anime shows out there and is a popular choice for those just getting into the isekai genre. What makes Sword Art Online unique, is the concept of the fantasy world existing within a video game. In this universe, there is a futuristic piece of technology called NerveGear. Conceptually similar to virtual reality (VR) headsets that exist in today’s world, NerveGear allows players to actually be present in the virtual world, giving them the opportunity to feel as if they are physically there.
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This is understandably, extremely appealing to avid gamers, with the game being set in the beautiful, medieval world of Aincrad. Immersion has never been this powerful before, but the joyous atmosphere soon turns to fear as the players find out that they are trapped in this brand-new world by the creator of Sword Art Online. They are told that the only way to escape is to beat all one-hundred levels, each more difficult than the last. They can’t log out, and if they die in the game, their physical body dies in the real world too.
3 The Rising Of The Shield Hero
Naofumi Iwatani is a university student who suddenly gets transported to a strange world. He soon learns of The Four Cardinal Heroes who are offered a spear, bow, shield, and sword to defeat the Waves of Catastrophe. Once Naofumi arrives in this world, he is cursed with the title of “Shield Hero”, and quickly becomes the butt of many jokes, as the Shield Hero is often seen as weaker than the rest.
Certain events lead to Naofumi being discriminated against by the people of Melromarc, thanks to the cunning Malty Melromarc. This, understandably, causes Naofumi to lose all trust in those around him, and vows to improve his reputation and overall strength. He quickly realizes that working alone isn’t the smartest idea, and decides to purchase a troubled demi-human slave called Raphtalia. The Rising of the Shield Hero follows Naofumi and his companion, Raphtalia, on their journey to defeat the Waves.
2 Re: Zero - Starting Life In Another World
Similarly to Sword Art Online, Re:Zero is another strong contender for the most well-known isekai anime. Even those who don’t usually watch anime within the isekai genre have probably heard a thing or two about both shows. Subaru Natsuki finds himself in a fantasy world after leaving a convenience store. At first, he’s confused as to why he’s suddenly in this brand-new world, but that confusion soon turns to fright when he’s attacked by a group of thugs. Suddenly, a girl named Satella appears and saves Subaru’s life.
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It’s explained that Satella is looking for her missing insignia, and Subaru offers to help her find it, as a way of thanking her. Following on, Subaru and Satella are savagely murdered, but Subaru instantly awakens to find himself arriving in this fantasy world again. Bewildered by the mere prospect of coming back to life, Subaru discovers that he’s traveled back in time as he comes face to face with the thugs and is introduced to Satella again.
1 That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime
Satoru Mikami comes face to face with his murderer as he is brutally stabbed in Tokyo. While he feels the pain of the attack and is slowly losing consciousness, he hears a strange and unfamiliar voice inside his head. Satoru wakes up to find that he has been reincarnated into a slime. As he takes in the surroundings, he realizes that he’s in an unknown world.
His reincarnated form allows him to consume anything, giving him the ability to imitate the appearance and overall capabilities of whatever it is that he has eaten. While he explores the area, he comes across the Storm Dragon, Veldora, a monster who has been sealed away for 300 years for destroying a town. Satoru promises to help Veldora by breaking the seal that has held the Storm Dragon captive for centuries, leading to Veldora naming the slime, Rimuru Tempest.
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