The isekai trope in anime and manga keeps finding new and fun ways to keep itself relevant. Think of it as a carnival — one single theme taking center stage, but unfolding in the most colorful and creative ways that human minds can conjure. Still, even within the realm of isekai, there’s one plot element that’s not as explored or utilized as fans would want. And that is a nicely structured, and well-executed tournament arc.
Plenty ofgreat isekai animebranch into good tournament sequences and/or arcs. It’s true that ot all of them adhere to the traditional competition format as seen in series likeHunter x HunterandYu Yu Hakusho. However, they still manage to deliver their own unique experience.
The Eminence in Shadowis a 2022dark fantasy isekai animethat was based on a light novel released in 2018. The premise of the anime is as simple as isekai goes — the main character gets hit by truck-kun and is transported to a fantasy world where he has to scale and get stronger. The only detail here that stands out is that the main character, Cid Kagenou (previously Minoru Kageno) is an ambitious one. He has a touch of a god complex and a moderate amount of magical powers; something he got as a result of being a gamer shut-in with a lot of fictional fantasies.
The ‘tournament arc’ inThe Eminence in Shadowis not as comprehensive or emphasized as these arcs usually go. It spans only a few episodes, but does a great job of giving fans a taste of what an actual tournament arc in the anime would feel like. Cid, the protagonist, is determined to participate in the upcoming Bushin Festival for its God of War Tournament,a sword-fighting battleheld by the Midgar Kingdom as a show of strength. Cid disguises himself as a weak, unassuming character with no powers, deliberately concealing his abilities. This sets the stage for a surprising, in-the-face revelation of his potential.
Sword Art Onlinedoesn’t need much of an introduction, considering it played a major role in shaping the current momentum for isekai manga and anime. The light novel it’s based on was first released way back in 2009, followed by the anime adaptation in 2012. The in-show timeline starts in 2022 with Kirito, a gamer who gets stuck inside a Virtual Reality Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (VRMMORPG) called Sword Art Online. The entire premise of the show is a tournament, in essence. Kirito, along with thousands of other players trapped in VR, has to defeat the final boss of the game on the top floor — it’s a do-or-die thing.
Season 2, episodes 8-13 feature the “Bullet of Bullets” tournament, a massivePlayer vs Player Battle Royaleset in Gun Gale Online. Kirito joins the tournament with the intention of investigating a dangerous individual known as Death Gun. The tournament features some awesome duels and gunfights for viewers to witness.
The Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slimeis a good one when it comes to tournaments and competitions. It’s a light novel-turned-manga-turned anime that may also be considered one of the ‘founding fathers’ of the isekai manga/anime genre. The light novel made its debut in 2013, and the corresponding anime first aired in 2018. The starting plotline is just like any other isekai series—a middle-aged simpleton with a lack of a proper love life dies under ordinary circumstances and is reborn in another world. In this case though, the protagonist, Rimuru Tempest (Satoru Mikami in his previous life), gets reincarnated as a slime that can morph into and absorb any magical beings' powers.
The highly anticipated competition in the series, named the Tempest Tournament, has onlyrecently begun its adaptation into manga format. It was held in honor of Rimuru’s ascension to the throne of the demon king and was used as a means to fish out the strongest person among his peers.
Finally, a tournament arc that actually feels like one. The Misfit of the Demon King Academy is another web-novel turned manga that got its own anime adaptation in 2020. The thing that sets this particular series apart from the others is the fact that it has a traditional tournament arc that spans the length of quite a lot of episodes. The plot of the show follows Anos Voldigold,a selfless and just demon kingwho sacrifices himself to preserve the peace of the demon realm. He’s reincarnated 2,000 years later only to find out that the peace he gave up his life to maintain was in shambles. Being who he is, he’s now determined to get his throne back, so he can fix everything.
The second arc of the series is fully dedicated to the Demon Sword Tournament. It is a competition held in order to establish the strongest swordsman in the demon kingdom. While drawing in highly skilled fighters from across the nation, the tournament imposes a restriction on mixed-blood people. The protagonist, a mixed-blood himself, joins the tournament on his own terms despite the discriminatory rules of the game
The Rising of the Shield Herois another light novel that transitioned into an anime in 2017. It follows the story of an eager, unpretentious man, Naofumi Iwatani, who ends up in another realm as a Hero. His job as the said hero involves fighting waves upon waves of monsters, to protect civilians. However, despite having a purpose so grand, Naofumi faces several predicaments in his personal life that turn him cynical and distrusting. The series is basically about him trying to get over that and becomethe Hero everyone wants him to be.
While there are many tournaments featured inThe Rising of the Shield Hero, the one that follows a conventional tournament format is the arena in The Dark Coliseum featured in the Rebuilding Arc Part 1. Naofumi is forced to take part in the battles in order to generate enough money to free villagers of a certain village who have been held against their will by a malicious merchant.
