Sword Art Online
Sword Art Online is an immensely important series, in that it helped to popularise an entire subgenre, a version of isekai commonly referred to as “stuck in a game” anime. The story follows Kirito, a participant of the closed beta of the titular Sword Art Online, the worlds most popular VRMMORPG.
Players use highly advanced NerveGear headsets that allow them to experience the game world as if it was real life.
When the game’s servers go live, players find themselves unable to log out, and the consequence of death is permanent, both in the game and in the real world. As the authority’s work to rescue those stuck in the game, Kirito and his fellow players struggle to survive and to find a way out of the game.
There are several seasons, each focusing on different gaming worlds, but with a central narrative thread that ties them all together.
Log Horizon
Like Sword Art Online, Log Horizon tells the tale of gamers stuck inside a gaming world known as Elder Tale. During the launch of the latest expansion, the Japanese players logged in at the time find themselves transported to the fantasy world the game takes place in.
Log Horizon is much more focused on the game world, and interactions between the protagonist Shiroe and his party-mates. Anyone familiar with MMO’s is sure to get a kick out of the way the show integrates UI and systems into its presentation, and the battle scenes are flashy and impactful.
The show doesn’t outstay its welcome and is a great introduction for someone looking for an entry point into this subgenre.
No Game No Life
No Game No Life tells the story of hikikomori step-siblings, Sora and Shiro, who are known to the international gaming community as Blank, and together they are undefeated in any given game.
One day, they are challenged to a game of chess by a god from another dimension named Tet, who later invites them to live in a world that centers around games and competition. Thinking he is joking, they accept, and the two are transported to an alternate dimension known as Disboard.
The beauty of NGNL is seeing the two siblings overcome the challenges they face with their own unique skillsets: Sora is a strategic mastermind, and Shiro is unmatched when it comes to logic and split-second calculations.
The show is full of references to gaming and is very self-aware, with characters often quoting famous lines from games like The Legend of Zelda or the Ace Attorney series.
Btooom!
Btooom! explores what it would be like if you were suddenly stuck inside a real-life battle royale game like PUBG, except everyone has grenades instead of guns and the match is televised for all to enjoy.
That is the basic premise of this explosive anime, and our NEET protagonist Ryouta finds himself in just such a scenario, on a tropical island with a bunch of psychopaths out for blood.
The show is full of paranoia and suspicion, as the principal characters are not very nice people, willing to do whatever it takes to be the last one surviving.
It is also incredibly violent and goes to some very dark places, so be forewarned. Btooom! even features multiple endings, one good and one bad… what could be more video gamey than that?
Overlord
Overlord is unique in this list, as it tells the story of what happens when a game ends. This anime tells the story of Momonga, a lonely player in Yggdrasil, once the world’s most popular MMORPG.
With player counts down and interest in the game lagging, its developers decide to shut down the servers, and Momonga resolves to stay logged in until the very end.
Rather than being logged out though, Momonga finds that the world of his favorite game continues on and that he himself is now an NPC inside of it.
He no longer has the ability to use any player actions, like searching friends lists or even being able to log out, and so he sets out to find anyone else like him, in the strange world of Yggdrasil.
Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash
Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash is another anime set in an MMO, but the players trapped inside this world have no memory of how they came to be there. The players are initially completely out of their depth but eventually begin to work together to survive, and piece together the mystery of how they came to be here.
The most upsetting thing about Grimgar is the awful weight and realism of its combat sequences. The party struggles to kill a low-level goblin, making a bloody mess of it as none have the stomach to decisively kill the thing, and in the process, some of their own are grievously wounded.
It has the feel of a hardcore survival game, with the slightest mistake having dire consequences.
Be sure to check out our list of Top 10 Best Anime Video Games of All Time, or the Top 15 Best Anime Adaptions of Video Games if this list has you in the mood for something similar.
About the author
