Polarizing And Divisive Isekai Manga

Key Takeaways

• Inferior Magic Swordsman has a cliché start but surprises with twists and depth.
• Live Dungeon! surprises fans with good character development and no typical harem tropes.
• My Uncle Is From Another World shocks visually but provides hilarious satire and human relatability.

Isekai manga is quite a divisive genre; some fans enjoy it, and some manga enthusiasts avoid it at all costs. And even inside the overcrowded market of isekai fantasy stories, there are series that generate quite some discord, with some of these series being so controversial that have been splitting the community between love and hate ever since they started.

The following isekai series are tremendously divisive, be it by the tropes they deal with, because they have similar content to other famous series or any other reasons that generate discordance among their fandom. From an overly used topic that ends up being quite nice due to some well-placed twists to a shocking and brutal satire from an author who hates the genre and, paradoxically, ended up creating one of the funniest isekai manga currently ongoing.

1 Inferior Magic Swordsman

Starts With A Cliché, Turns Out To Be Pretty Decent

• Genres: Sword and Sorcery, Deception, Conspiracies, Action, Shonen, Romance, Adventure, Isekai, Fantasy
• Author: Hagiu Ak
• Artist: Hiroto Kanou

Where to begin with this series? Hero sent to another world: check. A beautiful girl rescuing him and going to the “Adventurers Guild” together: check. The “from bottom to the top” trope: check. Everything in this series seems like an average isekai and more of the same. That’s why a fraction of its readers dislike this series. Now, for the positive aspects. It gets better: the story is complex, with powerful twists and a final coup de grace that nobody could expect.

It has a rough start since it is hard to swallow more of the same tasteless pudding over and over. But if readers give it a chance they might be pleasantly surprised. It turns out this isekai manga is the complete opposite of what most readers of the genre have come looking for. It has a lot of conspiracies, lots of twists, and a huge mystery to be solved.

2 Live Dungeon!

Might Seem Like Another Reincarnation In A Game Manga, But It Will Surprise You

• Genres: Gaming, Isekai, Streaming, Fantasy, Dungeons, Action, Fantasy
• Author: Dy Reitou
• Artist: Kotori Ryu

Live Dungeon! was harshly criticized for resembling other manga like Re:Zero, No Game No Life, and Sword Art Online. But, what all these stories pale in comparison to this game world isekai is its surprisingly good character development.

A Healer who learns to be a leader. A tank that lacks confidence, but learns how to protect others. A clumsy rogue learning bit by bit. And the best part of it? No ridiculous broken powers, and no Harem situations. Just people working together to conquer the dungeon. Perhaps that’s why this manga is so divisive – it lacks many of the typical elements isekai fans look for.

3 My Uncle Is From Another World

Visually Shocking, But Hilarious

• Genres: Satire, Comedy, Romance, Mature, Seinen, Isekai, Reverse Isekai, Absurd, Fantasy
• Author: Hotondoshindeiru
• Artist: Hotondoshindeiru

An old man wakes up from a coma, turns out he was in another world this whole time, and now he needs to learn how to survive in modern Japan without all the things he used to love. This manga series makes fans feel two different things. On one hand: pure joy and amusement, since it has peak comedy that mixes pure satire and slice-of-life situations seamlessly.

On the other hand, many fans are angry with the main character of the story “The Uncle” (also called The Orc) due to several things: his attitude, his decisions, and how he looks (among many other things). Everything about the MC is shocking and ugly, but perhaps that’s just what the author intended when he designed it: to be human and relatable.

4 I’m A Spider, So What?

Surrounded By Clichés And Criticism, But The Story Gets Really Good

• Genres: Comedy, Isekai, Action, Shoujo, Fantasy, Xenofiction
• Author: Okina Baba
• Artist: Asahiro Kakashi, Tsukasa Ryu

Now here’s a series that has a fanbase mostly split between love and hate. At first, it was a lovely and fun premise, a satire of the average isekai. A girl is reincarnated as a spider, learns broken powers, and has fun doing some spidery shenanigans in another world. Fans loved it that way.

But then, the author abandoned xenofiction and made her evolve into a half-person/half-spider (an Aracne). Every fan shuddered in terror for what was about to come, and the worst happened. No more spider, now it’s a girl with Spider-Man Powers. Many fans have manifested that this series lost its charm the second it went in that direction.

5 Reincarnated As A Dragon Hatchling

It Dares To Step Where No Other Isekai Does

• Genres: Drama, Isekai, Action, Mature, Fantasy, Xenofiction
• Author: Nekoko
• Artist: NAJI

This series is a great beacon of hope for those who love isekai xenofiction, but also a great disappointment for those looking for the typical love-comedy story. Many fans like the art and the pacing, but others are disappointed with how things have turned for the worse. It’s a daring take on the typical “office guy gets reincarnated in another world,” only this time he needs to survive day-by-day in the body of a small dragonling.

The world of Dragon Hatchling is no joke, and some brutal developments (and some deviations from the Light Novels) have left fans with their gears grinding in a corner. Still, it is a great isekai manga, with beautiful designs and great character development to boot. But fair warning: not for younger audiences, since the story can be quite cruel.

6 Goodbye Dragon Life

Walking The Thin Line Between Xenofiction And Cliché Isekai

• Genres: Drama, Isekai, Action, Sword and Sorcery, Romance, Fantasy, Xenofiction
• Author: Hiroaki Nagashima
• Artist: Kurono

A powerful dragon dies and is transported to a fantasy world where he reincarnates as a young human. Deciding to become an adventurer, he goes on a quest and meets a lovely half lady – half snake. And here’s where fans find it so weird: the story walks a thin line between xenofiction and some of the worst clichés in the isekai genre.

Give or take, it is a good plot if one can see beyond all the tackiness and misused clichés. It has a desperately slow pacing, so that’s why many fans of the genre dislike it, while others simply love the chill new life of the dragon lord reincarnated as a human.

7 Reincarnated As A Sword

Some Say It’s Boring, But It Has A Good Story (And No Harem)

• Genres: Isekai, Reincarnation, Shoujo, Action, Drama, Adventure, Sword & Sorcery, Comedy, Fantasy
• Author: Yuu Tanaka
• Artist: Tomowo Maruyama

An office worker is reincarnated as a sentient sword. For those who grew up loving the Dungeons & Dragons culture (and other fantasy-related series) sentient swords are a dream come true.

For those who come looking for the typical fast-paced isekai power fantasy, this series is a nightmare. It is the absolute opposite of this. It’s wholesome, heartwarming, chill, with lots of good morals and great moments. And the best part? No ridiculous cliché harems, nor arrogant heroes saying: “I’m the chosen one” all the time.

8 Killer Shark In Another World

Brutal, Unapologetic, A Rampaging Criticism To The Genre

• Genres: Satire, Gore, Horror, Comedy, Isekai, Fantasy, Mature
• Author: Kubokem
• Artist: Kubokem

If readers came here looking for the most divisive isekai manga, then this is the epitome of the concept: Killer Shark In Another World is a manga created by someone who clearly hates the “summoned to another world,” trope, and wanted to make a great satire. And they nailed it! Brutal, with absolutely no remorse, it literally throws a big giant shark (who seems to be immortal) into a fantasy world, as the summoned beast of a magical girl.

Needless to say, the thing starts to eat its way through everything in its path, sowing destruction and mayhem all around. Fans are split about this series. While mature audiences are tired of the typical isekai tropes, other fans think it is just too much. But since it never crosses the line, and it is at its best a silly satire, and at its worst a gory action fantasy manga, it deserves a seal of approval.