Trying to think up a list of "good" isekai and this thinking session is getting kinda long

thing is I don't watch isekai expecting it to be good

actually I think I like isekai more when it's in light novel format

obviously there's "The Time I got Reincarnated as a Slime"

The one where the slime becomes OP by chapter 2 and stays human for 80% of the time due to a transforming mask?

Or a different one I'm unaware of?

sure that one

there's also "My next life as a villainess: all routes lead to doom was pretty good

that's where the protag is reincarnated as the villainess character in a dating sim and has to try to avoid dying

everyone is into her but she's only kinda interested in the story's original protag, a girl who she "would marry in an instant if she (our protag) were a man"

I would have recommended shield hero when I had only watched like 3 episodes of it but

gestures

y'know

digimon

but no seriously, a lot of 90s shojo had a lot "isekai" themes and they tended to be centered around how the usually female protagonist had some flaw in their home world/life that seriously held them back and their adventure in this world was a way to help confront and battle what it was that held them back

like, it's an upward journey where they better themselves

compare to modern isekai where it's typically boys that start off with some kind of ridiculous boon and it's like a teasing of "will I not become the worst person ever with all this power I have"

"I'm in love with the villainess" is pretty cute

oh yeah I've been meaning to watch that one tbh

MindEvaporator : oh! escaflowne, I forgot that technically is an isekai

the twelve kingdoms is another old school isekai

hell yeah escaflowne

another vote for 12 kingdoms! the novels are better of course but the anime did a beautiful job

oooh looks interesting

might actually give 12 kingdoms a watch

yeah! It's got some really top notch worldbuilding, which is part of the reason I do love the novels because it gets detailed out a lot more, but 45 eps for an anime is like, that perfect sweet spot for length