Isekai Anime With Endearing Female Friendships

Summary

• Friendship-focused isekai stories can provide a refreshing change from harem dynamics.
• Female characters with depth and growth make isekai stories more enjoyable.
• Found families and strong bonds between characters enhance the storyline in isekai anime.

Isekai is quite well known for its use of harem or reverse harem dynamics to emphasize the fantasy element of the story. However, some of the best relationships are just simple friendships between characters. In the more action-oriented manhwa, it’s seen in the way they fight together, but in stories about daily life, it’s portrayed much more clearly.

Girls and women are often misrepresented in anime and manga, so it’s always great to see content that can actually pass the Bechdel test, especially in isekai. It’s much more fun when the female characters are allowed to have their own growth and stories separate from the male protagonist. They become fully developed people rather than caricatures of common archetypes and clichés.

1

I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years And Maxed Out My Level

Slow And Steady Wins The Race

Some of the best-overpowered characters are the ones who don’t know they’re overpowered. After being reincarnated as an immortal witch, Azusa spent three hundred years doing little more than collecting herbs and killing slimes, but after doing the same thing for so long, she maxed out her level and all her skills. Once word got out that she was level ninety-nine, challengers from around the world came to spar with her. That’s how she starts getting into many peculiar situations.

It only takes a few episodes before Azusa has essentially collected an entire family. She has a dragon as a maid and apprentice, a pair of twin girls who were born from the spirits of the slimes she killed, an elf with an energy drink business, and a demon who visits on occasion. It’s a true found family, and they just enjoy living together.

2

Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear

Gaming Addict Cosplays A Bear In A New World

When a character is isekai’d inside an MMO, other people are often taken with them. Unfortunately for Yuna, god only chose her to go to the new world. As a special gift, she is given a bear costume with amazing features and incredible magic abilities. Despite being trapped, she isn’t upset. She plans to make the most of her situation and enjoy a new life while she has the opportunity. Using her amazing bear suit, it doesn’t take long before she becomes a recognizable figure in her community.

As an adventurer, Yuna meets a lot of people, helping them with requests and completing jobs. Most of the characters who remain important to the story are young girls who are helped by Yuna or drawn to the bear suit. Fina is her partner who helps with monster parts. Noir is the daughter of a noble who likes to hear of Yuna’s adventures. It’s an incredibly wholesome anime.

3

My Next Life As A Villainess: All Routes Lead To Doom!

She’s The Densest Villainess In Anime

Otome games are usually riddled with male characters who are meant to be love interests for the protagonist, and while that’s true, friendships can be made between female characters. That’s what Katarina does in My Next Life as a Villainess. After regaining memories of her past life, she fixes all the relationships with people around her to prevent being killed or sent to a different country. As a result, she created great bonds with the love interests as well as the important female characters.

Specifically, Katarina befriends Sophia and Mary, who have connections to some of the love interests, and Maria, the original protagonist. Rather than act like a villainess, she supported and helped them through their insecurities and troubles, forming an unbreakable bond between them. Unfortunately, she also used some pick-up lines from the game, so they’re also vying for Katarina’s affection.

4

Didn’t I Say To Make My Abilities Average In The Next Life?!

Proof That Being Average Is Subjective

Very few people would give up the chance to be overpowered. After all, that’s what isekai is all about, but Misato Kurihara spent her entire life alone due to standing out too much. She didn’t have close friends or fun experiences in her short life. When allowed to reincarnate, she asks god to make her average so she can live a typical life just like anybody else. The problem is the average was calculated using every single living being, including the powerful elder dragon. As a result, she became half as strong as the elder dragon.

Although the story may come off as a solo adventure, the plot mainly focuses on her time at a hunter school where she makes a party with three other girls; Reina, Pauline, and Mavis. They train together, take quests together, and even share the same room. It’s a cute anime that shows these four girls getting to know each other while doing everyday things like shopping and going to the beach.

5

Saving 80,000 Gold In Another World For My Retirement

Making Money Is Easier In Other Worlds

In some isekai, the main character is able to go between worlds, and they often use that ability to take items back and forth. That’s what Mitsuha does in this anime to make money. After her parents died, she was left with a large inheritance, but it wasn’t enough for her to live comfortably and go to college. By selling food, toys, beauty products, and more from Earth, she could make a sizable profit and even retire early. To achieve her goal, she opens a convenience store in the city.

When it comes to friendships, Mitsuha meets tons of people through her business, but not many are relevant enough to call her friend. They’re simply customers. However, there are a few she creates good memories with, including a noble named Iris, the princess Sabine, and a group of mercenaries. However, her oldest friend is Colette, the villager who saved her when she was first transported to that world.

6

I’m In Love With The Villainess

She’s The Fan Who Cheers For The Villain

Some of the best places to look for great friendships between girls are girls’ love content. Even if the relationship ultimately ends romantically, it often starts platonically. They might even be enemies. In I’m In Love With The Villainess, Rei Oohashi becomes her self-insert character Rae Taylor in her favorite otome game. Rather than one of the male leads, she is in love with the game’s antagonist, Claire Francois. Rae spends every day trying to get Claire’s attention, even if it means getting bullied.

This anime begins as a one-sided rivalry between Rae and Claire, but it doesn’t take too long until they both become real friends. Rae is infatuated with Claire as a character, but it becomes clear that she truly cares about Claire’s well-being outside her role of villainess. Even though their relationship is pretty childish, it is genuine, and they are consistently portrayed as caring for and supporting each other.

7

The Magical Revolution Of The Reincarnated Princess And The Genius Young Lady

Being An Isekai Princess Isn’t Easy

Many manga and anime start when the villainess is cast out of society. However, Euphyllia is not a villainess, nor has she done anything wrong, so when she’s ambushed by the prince, she’s saved by Princess Anis who comes crashing through the roof. Anis makes Euphyllia her assistant in magical research, and the two begin working together. Little does she know that the princess’s quirkiness comes from being reincarnated from another world.

While this is a girl’s love manga, it also showcases great friendships between female characters, with Anis and Euphyllia being the two most important. Euphyllia is able to see firsthand the lengths Anis goes to make magic more accessible, and Anis is able to see the effort Euphyllia puts into fulfilling her duty. They have great chemistry and always support each other.