Top Alternate Universe Anime Recommendations

Kimi no Na wa.

Also known as Your Name..

Studio: CoMix Wave
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Romance , Supernatural

Mitsuha Miyamizu, a high school girl, yearns to live the life of a boy in the bustling city of Tokyo—a dream that stands in stark contrast to her present life in the countryside. Meanwhile in the city, Taki Tachibana lives a busy life as a high school student while juggling his part-time job and hopes for a future in architecture.

One day, Mitsuha awakens in a room that is not her own and suddenly finds herself living the dream life in Tokyo—but in Taki's body! Elsewhere, Taki finds himself living Mitsuha's life in the humble countryside. In pursuit of an answer to this strange phenomenon, they begin to search for one another.

Kimi no Na wa. revolves around Mitsuha and Taki's actions, which begin to have a dramatic impact on each other's lives, weaving them into a fabric held together by fate and circumstance.



Tags: Body Swapping , Time Manipulation , Urban Fantasy , Memory Manipulation , Coming of Age , Female Protagonist , Philosophy , Tragedy , Urban , Gender Bending , Time Skip , Rural , Heterosexual , Primarily Teen Cast , Environmental , Mythology , Alternate Universe , Trains , Shrine Maiden , School

Boku dake ga Inai Machi

Also known as ERASED.

Studio: A-1 Pictures
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Mystery , Psychological , Supernatural , Thriller

Satoru Fujinuma is a 29 year old manga artist struggling to make a name for himself following his debut. But, that was not the only thing in his life that Satoru was feeling frustrated about… He has a unique supernatural ability of being forced to prevent deaths and catastrophes by being sent back in time before the incident occurred, repeating time until the accident is prevented. One day, he gets involved in an accident that has him framed as a murderer. Desperate to save the victim, he sends himself back in time only to find himself as a grade-schooler one month before fellow classmate Kayo Hinazuki went missing. Satoru now embarks on a new quest: to save Kayo and solve the mystery behind her disappearance.

Tags: Age Regression , Time Manipulation , Crime , Tragedy , Time Skip , Primarily Child Cast , Detective , Male Protagonist , Alternate Universe , Super Power , Snowscape , Seinen , School , Fugitive , Ensemble Cast , Revenge , Teacher , Rehabilitation , Amnesia , Heterosexual , Bullying , Kuudere , CGI

Steins;Gate

Also known as Steins;Gate.

Studio: White Fox
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Psychological , Sci-Fi , Thriller

Self-proclaimed mad scientist Okabe Rintarou lives in a small room in Akihabara, where he invents "future gadgets" with fellow lab members Shiina Mayuri, his air-headed childhood friend, and Hashida Itaru, an otaku hacker. The three pass the time by tinkering with their latest creation, a "Phone Microwave" that can be controlled through text messages.

The lab members soon face a string of mysterious incidents that lead to a game-changing discovery: the Phone Microwave can send emails to the past and thus alter history. Adapted from the critically acclaimed visual novel by 5pb. and Nitroplus, Steins;Gate takes Okabe to the depths of scientific theory and human despair as he faces the dire consequences of changing the past.

Tags: Time Manipulation , Alternate Universe , Conspiracy , Time Loop , Tragedy , Memory Manipulation , Denpa , Male Protagonist , Dystopian , Urban , Primarily Adult Cast , Dissociative Identities , Philosophy , Chuunibyou , Tsundere , Otaku Culture , Heterosexual , Kuudere , Suicide , Amnesia , Ensemble Cast , Transgender , War , Gender Bending , Post-Apocalyptic , Maids , Shrine Maiden , Trains

Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu

Also known as Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World-.

Studio: White Fox
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Drama , Fantasy , Psychological , Romance , Thriller

In the story, Subaru Natsuki is an ordinary high school student who is lost in an alternate world, where he is rescued by a beautiful, silver-haired girl. He stays near her to return the favor, but the destiny she is burdened with is more than Subaru can imagine. Enemies attack one by one, and both of them are killed. He then finds out he has the power to rewind death, back to the time he first came to this world. But only he remembers what has happened since.



Notes:
- The first episode aired with a runtime of ~50 minutes as opposed to the standard 25 minute long episode.
- In the Winter 2020 season, Re:ZERO was rebroadcast and re-edited to fit into an hour time-slot. This edit included the first OVA and added slight modifications to certain scenes throughout. It also added an additional scene at the end of the final episode.

Tags: Isekai , Time Manipulation , Time Loop , Tragedy , Alternate Universe , Male Protagonist , Witch , Magic , Gore , Cult , Body Horror , Love Triangle , Maids , Suicide , Heterosexual , Primarily Female Cast , Unrequited Love , Elf , Yandere , Demons , Politics , Hikikomori , Coming of Age , Butler , Femboy , Tomboy , Travel , Twins , Assassins , Kemonomimi , Meta , Kuudere , Nekomimi , CGI , Dragons , Body Swapping , Crossdressing , Foreign , Tsundere

No Game No Life

Also known as No Game, No Life.

Studio: MADHOUSE
Status: Finished
Genres: Adventure , Comedy , Ecchi , Fantasy

Bored with life and considering the real world to be just a “crappy game,” savvy sibling shut-ins Sora and Shiro have withdrawn into their own fantasy world filled with video games.

However, one day they find themselves summoned to another world by a boy who calls himself “God,” their abilities are about to be put to the ultimate test! Now not only their fates — but the fate of all of humanity — will be decided by a series of games that may just be the hardest these super-geniuses have ever faced!



Tags: Isekai , Gambling , Alternate Universe , Video Games , Hikikomori , Magic , Male Protagonist , Politics , Primarily Female Cast , Parody , Gods , Female Protagonist , Travel , Kuudere , Memory Manipulation , Kemonomimi , Meta , Class Struggle , Kingdom Management , Female Harem , Nudity , Nekomimi , Elf , Super Power , Judo

Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku wo!

Also known as KONOSUBA -God's blessing on this wonderful world!.

Studio: Studio DEEN
Status: Finished
Genres: Adventure , Comedy , Ecchi , Fantasy

Kazuma Satou decides that today is the day to get out of the house for a bit. Since he dies, pointlessly, it's clearly a bad choice. The goddess who greets him in the afterlife, however, offers him a chance to be reborn in a world not unlike that of a video game, and as a bonus she'll even throw in a cool item or power! Can't possibly be a bad choice, right? Except he arrives with no money at all, dead average skills, and his "bonus" isn't useful at all--since he picked the goddess, Aqua, herself. How are the two of them supposed to defeat the evil Devil King and live happily ever after? Well, for them, it probably starts with day laboring rather than adventuring. And it's only going to get more disappointing from there!



Tags: Isekai , Satire , Parody , Primarily Female Cast , Male Protagonist , Ensemble Cast , Magic , Slapstick , Masochism , Afterlife , Anti-Hero , Gods , Reincarnation , Meta , Chuunibyou , Primarily Adult Cast , Dullahan , Alternate Universe , Swordplay , Dungeon , Succubus , Nudity , Shounen

Tokyo Revengers

Also known as Tokyo Revengers.

Studio: LIDENFILMS
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Drama , Romance , Supernatural

Takemichi Hanagaki is a freelancer that's reached the absolute pits of despair in his life. He finds out that the only girlfriend he ever had in his life that he dated in middle school, Hinata Tachibana, had been killed by the ruthless Tokyo Manji Gang.

The day after hearing about her death, he's standing on the station platform and ends up being pushed over onto the tracks by a herd of people. He closes his eyes thinking he's about to die, but when he opens his eyes back up, he somehow had gone back in time 12 years.

Now that he's back living the best days of his life, Takemichi decides to get revenge on his life by saving his girlfriend and changing himself that he'd been running away from.



Tags: Gangs , Delinquents , Time Manipulation , Age Regression , Male Protagonist , Tragedy , Primarily Male Cast , Urban , Crime , Alternate Universe , Ensemble Cast , Revenge , Shounen , Motorcycles , Heterosexual , Bullying , Suicide , School , Detective , POV , Mopeds

Mirai Nikki

Also known as The Future Diary.

Studio: Asread
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Horror , Mystery , Psychological , Supernatural , Thriller

This psychological thriller, based on the manga written and illustrated by Sakae Esuno, is about Yuki, a loner who's not very good with people. He prefers to write a diary on his cell phone and talk to his imaginary friend, Deus Ex Machina – The God of Time and Space. However, Yuki soon learns that Deus is more than a figment of his imagination when he makes Yuki participate in a battle royale with eleven others. The contestants are given special diaries that can predict the future, each diary possessing unique features that give it both advantages and disadvantages. Within the next 90 days, the contestants must try to survive until there is only one left standing. The winner will become the new God of Time and Space.



Tags: Battle Royale , Death Game , Survival , Yandere , Tragedy , Alternate Universe , Suicide , Meta , Gore , Gods , Time Manipulation , Male Protagonist , Crime , Super Power , Urban , Female Protagonist , Shounen , Urban Fantasy , Heterosexual , Age Gap , Clone , Anti-Hero , Netorare , Guns , CGI , Terrorism , Police , Henshin , Adoption , Nudity , LGBTQ+ Themes , Bisexual , Orphan , Tanned Skin , Cult , Stop Motion , Disability , Psychosexual , Boys' Love

Tensei Shitara Slime Datta Ken

Also known as That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime.

Studio: 8-bit
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Comedy , Fantasy

Lonely thirty-seven-year-old Satoru Mikami is stuck in a dead-end job, unhappy with his mundane life, but after dying at the hands of a robber, he awakens to a fresh start in a fantasy realm...as a slime monster! As he acclimates to his goopy new existence, his exploits with the other monsters set off a chain of events that will change his new world forever!



Tags: Isekai , Found Family , Reincarnation , Magic , Super Power , Shapeshifting , Kingdom Management , Ensemble Cast , Alternate Universe , Economics , Clone , Politics , Henshin , Monster Boy , Monster Girl , Fairy , Demons , Agender , Goblin , Male Protagonist , Gender Bending , Travel , Swordplay , Acting , Shounen , Dragons , Cannibalism , Female Harem , Gore , Elf , CGI

Shingeki no Kyojin: The Final Season Part 2

Also known as Attack on Titan Final Season Part 2.

Studio: MAPPA
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Drama , Fantasy , Mystery , Psychological

The war for Paradis zeroes in on Shiganshina just as Jaegerists have seized control. After taking a huge blow from a surprise attack led by Eren, Marley swiftly acts to return the favor. With Zeke’s true plan revealed and a military forced under new rule, this battle might be fought on two fronts. Does Eren intend on fulfilling his half-brother’s wishes or does he have a plan of his own?



Tags: War , Tragedy , Revenge , Anti-Hero , Military , Survival , Philosophy , Memory Manipulation , Kaiju , Terrorism , Male Protagonist , Espionage , Foreign , Monster Boy , Primarily Male Cast , Super Power , Gore , Body Horror , Ensemble Cast , Primarily Adult Cast , Slavery , Shounen , CGI , Amputation , Class Struggle , Steampunk , Alternate Universe , Guns , Cannibalism , Kuudere , Female Protagonist , Tanned Skin , Monster Girl , Mythology , Matriarchy

FAIRY TAIL

Also known as Fairy Tail.

Studio: Satelight , A-1 Pictures
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Comedy , Fantasy

Across the Fiore kingdom, wizards join guilds and make their pay by filling magical needs—but one guild has a reputation as the roughest, rowdiest, most dangerous of all: Fairy Tail!
When four young Fairy Tail members unite, their bond is forged by a power found in neither muscle nor magic and grows stronger with every mission. Whatever you do, don't mess with these friends or you'll get a taste of Natsu's flaming fist or Gray's ice hammer, suffer a painful blow from one of Lucy's celestial spirits or catch the edge of Erza's mighty blade! Whether they're stopping demons from devastating the world or wrestling in the mess hall, this mystical team manages to inflict as much damage to their rivals as they do to the surrounding area!



Tags: Magic , Shounen , Fairy Tale , Found Family , Male Protagonist , Female Protagonist , Ensemble Cast , Dragons , Time Skip , Super Power , Work , Primarily Teen Cast , Travel , Demons , Alternate Universe , Lost Civilization , Adoption , Animals , Astronomy , Tanned Skin , Nudity , Primarily Adult Cast , Isekai

Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann

Also known as Gurren Lagann.

Studio: Gainax
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Comedy , Drama , Mecha , Romance , Sci-Fi

In a far away future, mankind lives underground in huge caves, unknowing of a world above with a sky and stars.

In the small village of Jiha, Simon, a shy boy who works as a digger discovers a strange glowing object during excavation. The enterprising Kamina, a young man with a pair of rakish sunglasses and the passion of a firey sun, befriends Simon and forms a small band of brothers, the Gurren Brigade, to escape the village and break through the ceiling of the cave to reach the surface, which few believe exist.

The village elder won't hear of such foolishness and punishes the Brigade. However, when disaster strikes from the world above and the entire village is in jeopardy, it's up to Simon, Kamina, a girl with a big gun named Yoko, and the small yet sturdy robot, Lagann, to save the day.

The new friends journey to the world above and find that the surface is a harsh battlefield, and it's up to them to fight back against the rampaging Beastmen to turn the tide in the humans' favor! Pierce the heavens, Gurren Lagann!

Tags: Super Robot , Coming of Age , Found Family , Dystopian , Male Protagonist , Post-Apocalyptic , Primarily Adult Cast , Space Opera , Tragedy , Travel , Space , Class Struggle , War , Time Skip , Aliens , Politics , Desert , Anthropomorphism , Heterosexual , Outdoor , Henshin , Military , Animals , Alternate Universe , Guns , Cosmic Horror , Shounen , Urban , Nudity , CGI , Love Triangle , Suicide , Swordplay , Boys' Love

Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu 2nd Season

Also known as Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- Season 2.

Studio: White Fox
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Drama , Fantasy , Psychological , Thriller

Even after dying countless times, Subaru finally ended the threat of the White Whale and defeated the Witch Cult's Sin Archbishop representing sloth, Petelgeuse Romaneeconti. But only shortly after overcoming a tragic ending and reuniting with his beloved Emilia, Subaru learns that Rem has been erased from this world, having fallen victim to the White Whale's Fog of Elimination in the midst of Subaru's death loop. With the White Whale now gone, Subaru and Emilia are forced to confront a reality they never dreamed would happen.



Tags: Isekai , Time Manipulation , Tragedy , Alternate Universe , Male Protagonist , Witch , Memory Manipulation , Magic , Femboy , Gore , Cult , Time Loop , Assassins , Ensemble Cast , Primarily Female Cast , Body Horror , Elf , Time Skip , Hikikomori , Heterosexual , Age Gap , Maids , Twins , Yandere , Foreign , Monster Girl , Kemonomimi , Kuudere , Monster Boy , Demons , Travel

Mahou Shoujo Madoka☆Magica

Also known as Puella Magi Madoka Magica.

Studio: Shaft
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Drama , Fantasy , Mahou Shoujo , Psychological , Thriller

One night, 14-year-old Madoka Kaname has a terrible nightmare - against the backdrop of a devastated city, she witnesses a girl fight a losing battle against a dreadful being lingering above, while a cat-like magical creature tells Madoka the only way to change such tragic outcome is for her to make a contract with him and become a magical girl.

The next day, the teen's dream seemingly becomes reality as the girl she saw in her dream - Homura - arrives at Mitakihara Middle School as a transfer student, mysteriously warning Madoka to stay just the way she is; but when later on she and her best friend Sayaka encounter the same cat-like magical creature from her dream - who introduces himself as Kyubey - the pair discovers that magical girls are real, and what's more, they can choose to become one. All they must do is sign a contract with Kyubey and agree to take on the duty to fight abstract beings called 'witches' that spread despair to the human world, and in return, each one of them will be granted any single wish they desire. However, as Homura's omen suggests, there might be far more to becoming a magical girl than Madoka and Sayaka realize...

Notes:
- Due to the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, the broadcasts of episodes 11 and 12 were delayed and were later aired as a double feature on April 21, 2011.

Tags: Tragedy , Magic , Female Protagonist , Witch , Primarily Female Cast , Time Manipulation , Urban Fantasy , Philosophy , Alternate Universe , Primarily Teen Cast , Yuri , Time Loop , Coming of Age , Henshin , Kuudere , Survival , Aliens , Urban , Primarily Child Cast , Ensemble Cast , Gods , Anti-Hero , Suicide , Love Triangle , Guns , Spearplay , School , Tomboy , Anthropomorphism , Achronological Order

Ore dake Level Up na Ken

Also known as Solo Leveling.

Studio: A-1 Pictures
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Fantasy

They say whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, but that’s not the case for the world’s weakest hunter Sung Jinwoo. After being brutally slaughtered by monsters in a high-ranking dungeon, Jinwoo came back with the System, a program only he could see, that’s leveling him up in every way. Now, he’s inspired to discover the secrets behind his powers and the dungeon that spawned them.





Tags: Dungeon , Male Protagonist , Urban Fantasy , Super Power , Magic , Necromancy , Cultivation , War , Anti-Hero , Gore , Tragedy , Shounen , Survival , Swordplay , Alternate Universe , Angels , Time Manipulation , Post-Apocalyptic , Heterosexual , Travel , Bullying , Dragons , Ninja , College , Isekai

Wonder Egg Priority

Also known as WONDER EGG PRIORITY.

Studio: CloverWorks
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Drama , Fantasy , Mystery , Psychological , Sci-Fi , Thriller

This is the story of Ai, an introverted girl whose fate is forever changed when she acquires a mysterious “Wonder Egg” from a deserted arcade. That night, her dreams blend into reality, and as other girls obtain their own Wonder Eggs, Ai discovers new friends—and the magic within herself.



Tags: Tragedy , Female Protagonist , Primarily Female Cast , Urban Fantasy , Suicide , Bullying , Coming of Age , Alternate Universe , Primarily Teen Cast , Denpa , Philosophy , Ensemble Cast , Hikikomori , Afterlife , Transgender , LGBTQ+ Themes , Artificial Intelligence , Body Horror , School , CGI , Episodic , Tomboy , Age Gap , Kuudere , Isekai , Guns , Idol , Gore

Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu 2nd Season Part 2

Also known as Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- Season 2 Part 2.

Studio: White Fox
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Drama , Fantasy , Psychological , Romance , Thriller

After learning more behind the Death Loop and Witches of Sin, Subaru vows to save Emilia and his friends from further doom.



Tags: Isekai , Tragedy , Time Manipulation , Male Protagonist , Witch , Magic , Memory Manipulation , Ensemble Cast , Alternate Universe , Cult , Elf , Gore , Body Horror , Maids , Monster Girl , Assassins , Primarily Female Cast , Hikikomori , Heterosexual , Monster Boy , Female Harem , Time Skip , Time Loop , Age Gap , Foreign , Tsundere , Demons , Vampire , Unrequited Love

Hagane no Renkinjutsushi

Also known as Fullmetal Alchemist.

Studio: bones
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Drama , Fantasy

The rules of alchemy state that to gain something, one must lose something of equal value. Alchemy is the process of taking apart and reconstructing an object into a different entity, with the rules of alchemy to govern this procedure. However, there exists an object that can bring any alchemist above these rules, the object known as the Philosopher's Stone. The young Edward Elric is a particularly talented alchemist who through an accident years back lost his younger brother Alphonse and one of his legs. Sacrificing one of his arms as well, he used alchemy to bind his brother's soul to a suit of armor. This lead to the beginning of their journey to restore their bodies, in search for the legendary Philosopher's Stone.

Note: Episodes 11, 12 and 37 were adapted from the light novel "Fullmetal Alchemist: The Land of Sand."

Tags: Alchemy , Magic , Philosophy , Tragedy , Male Protagonist , Military , Coming of Age , Shounen , Travel , War , Alternate Universe , Disability , Steampunk , Body Horror , Conspiracy , Chimera , Slapstick , Foreign , Cyborg , Chibi , Anti-Hero , Religion , Trains , Isekai , Lost Civilization , Guns

Maou Gakuin no Futekigousha: Shijou Saikyou no Maou no Shiso, Tensei shite Shison-tachi no Gakkou e Kayou

Also known as The Misfit of Demon King Academy: History’s Strongest Demon King Reincarnates and Goes to School with His Descendants.

Studio: SILVER LINK.
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Comedy , Fantasy

Anos, the Demon King of Tyranny, has defeated humans, spirits, and gods alike. But even demon kings get tired of all the fighting sometimes! Hoping for a more peaceful life, Anos decides to reincarnate himself. When he wakes two thousand years later, though, he finds the world has become too peaceful--his descendants have grown weak and magic is in serious decline. Intending to reclaim his rightful place, he enrolls in Demon King Academy, where he finds that his magical power is off the charts. Literally. And because they can't measure his power, the faculty and other students regard Anos as a misfit. With the support of Misha, the one student he manages to befriend, the misfit (Demon King) begins his climb up the demon ranks!



Tags: Demons , Magic , Reincarnation , Male Protagonist , School , Super Power , Conspiracy , Memory Manipulation , Swordplay , War , Kuudere , Time Manipulation , Twins , Love Triangle , Tsundere , Heterosexual , Tragedy , Gore , Crime , Alternate Universe , Musical Theater , Primarily Teen Cast

Seishun Buta Yarou wa Yumemiru Shoujo no Yume wo Minai

Also known as Rascal Does Not Dream of a Dreaming Girl.

Studio: CloverWorks
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Psychological , Romance , Supernatural

In Fujisawa, where the skies are bright and the seas glisten, Sakuta Azusagawa is in his second year of high school. His blissful days with his girlfriend and upperclassman, Mai Sakurajima, are interrupted with the appearance of his first crush, Shouko Makinohara. For reasons unknown, he encounters two Shouko's: one in middle school and another who has become an adult.

As Sakuta finds himself helplessly living with the Shouko's, the adult Shouko leads him around by the nose, causing a huge rift in his relationship with Mai.

In the midst of all of this, he discovers that the middle school Shouko is suffering from a grave illness and his scar begins to throb...



Tags: Time Manipulation , Coming of Age , Male Protagonist , Tragedy , Female Protagonist , Heterosexual , Urban Fantasy , Alternate Universe , Primarily Teen Cast , Age Regression , Urban , Magic , Afterlife , Ensemble Cast , School , Love Triangle , Amnesia