Summary
One of Isekai anime’s greatest traits is itsvast and vibrant high-fantasy worldwhere we get to see characters from different races interact with each other. Some of those races, such as elves, dwarves, goblins, and demons, are pretty much a staple in most high-fantasy stories. That’s why you can find them in almost every fantasy isekai anime ever made.
This article, however, will go beyond the familiar races and focus on the unique ones instead. From the blood-churning swarm of Taratect inSo I’m a Spider, So What?to the beautiful and curious group of angels called Flügel inNo Game No Life, here are ten isekai anime with unique fantasy races.
So I’m A Spider, So What?
The protagonist of this series, Kumoko,was reincarnated as a race of murderous spiders called the Taratect. Other than Kumoko, Taratect spiders mostly behave like wild animals. That being said, after they evolve to a certain level, Taratect will evolve into a sentient being. This is the case for most beast-like races in this isekai anime.
These beasts make up the majority of unique races in this particular fantasy world. Sure, there are common races like elves, humans, and even vampires, but the most interesting races in this series have to be the beasts who evolve from lower-level forms, such as Wyrm and Taratect, to higher beings like the wise Dragon and the mysterious Arachne.
Lots of Different Races Living in Secret
Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World-
Based on Tappei Nagatsuki’s popular novel series, Re:Zero − Starting Life in Another World follows Subaru Natsuki, a directionless and self-conscious teenager who is summoned to a fantasy world and quickly becomes involved with a half-elf princess named Emilia. Blending action, horror, and comedy, Re:Zero is a challenging isekai anime that touches upon themes of perseverance, depression, and self-esteem.
Unlike the previous entry, the story ofRe:Zerohappens mostly within the confines of human society. As such, the characters involved in the story are also mostly humanoid races, such as Elves, Oni, and different kinds of beast humans. The most unique and interesting races inRe:Zero,however, are the mixed race, such as Demi-Human and Demi-Beast.
Demi-Human, also known as Human-Hybrid,is the cross between humans and other races, such as elves or beast humans. The most famous Demi-Human is none other than the heroine of this series, Emilia, who is a half-elf demi-human. Demi-Beast, on the other hand, is the cross between organic creatures and inorganic objects, such as swords or spears. This bizarre creature was the creation of the Sin Archbishop of Lust, Capella Emerada Lugunica.
The world ofRising of the Shield Herohas quite a few different races in it, with the most common ones being the Demi-Human. Whatever animals you’re able to think of, there’s a demi-human for it, such as Panda demi-human, Elephant demi-human, andeven Killer Whale demi-human.What makes this series unique, however, is the fact that there are different worlds out there apart from our heroes’ original world.
Each of those worlds has unique races that couldn’t be found anywhere else. The most stand-out one is the Spirit People from Glass’ World. They look practically indistinguishable from normal humans, albeit appearing slightly transparent. Unlike other races, however, Spirit people combine their life force, magical power, and soul power into energy, which allows them to have a much stronger attack. That being said, getting injured is akin to draining their life force away, which significantly increases their chance of dying in combat.
Gate
The fantasy world depicted inGate-Thus the JSDF Fought There!,aptly named the Special Region, is quite possibly the most brutal and violent world in this list. There are numerous races in this world and all of them are ready to fight the invading Japanese army with the full might of their muscle, swords, and magic.
Some of the most interesting races inGateare a race of highly intelligent werewolves called Volralden, a race of shapeshifting demi-humans called Dars, and the most intriguing one of them all, a race that combines elegance and ruthlessness, the Warrior Bunnies. This race of female warriors may look like supermodels with bunny ears on, but make no mistake, they won’t hesitate to slaughter their enemy while showing you a captivating smile at the same time.
Mushoku Tensei Jobless Reincarnation
In high-fantasy settings, there’s usually a divide between different races. They usually live in different countries and only mingle with each other out of necessity. That is not the case at all inMushoku Tensei.Humans, elves, dwarves, and other races live side by side with little to no friction between them. And it’s all because of the existence of the Adventurers Guild.
Adventurers Guild exists in every major city and they encourage everybody, no matter the race, to be an adventurer, which makes the Adventurers Guilds the most diverse place in the world. The most intriguing race in this world is the demons and their subspecies, such asthe intelligent Migurd (Roxy Migurdia), the relentless Superd (Ruijerd Superdia), and last but not least, the Immortal Demon Race (Badigadi).
How A Realist Hero Rebuilt The Kingdom
Kingdom of Friedonia, the setting of this series, is quite possibly the most robust fantasy world on this list. From socioeconomic problems to defense and military issues, from the sick and starving population to the threat of approaching the demon king’s army, this series was designed from the ground up to be as robust and believable as possible.
The only reason why it isn’t higher in this list is because there are not manyunique races in this series,which is the whole point of this list. Apart from the usual Elves, Beastman, and Dragons, the most stand-out races in this series are the Three-Eyed People and the Kobito. The former is pretty self-explanatory, but the latter one is actually quite interesting. Kobito is a race of humanoid people who stop aging after they become teenagers. A fully mature Kobito looks like a 12-year-old human.
Overlord
Unlike the other heroes in this list who are transported to the new world by their lonesome,Suzuki Satoru (Ainz Ooal Gown)fromOverlordwas transported to the new world along with his entire guild building and every NPC that he and his fellow guild members have created over the years. That means their HQ, the Great Tomb of Nazarick, is one of the most diverse places in the entire world.
Make no mistake, there are elves, goblins, and even different types of dragons and undead in this new world, but the sheer variety of races in Nazarick is simply mind boggling. Dark elves, succubus, werewolves, vampires, slimes, zombies, insects, and many more. Not only that, Ainz is still actively searching for new races to add to his ranks. The latest notable additions include Lizardman, Naga, Merman, and many others.
Tsukimichi - Moonlit Fantasy
Tsukimichiis quite similar toOverlordin regards to its decision to gather the different races in one place. InOverlord,most of the unique races are found in the Great Tomb of Nazarick, while inTsukimichi,our protagonist Makoto actively gathers different non-human races to be citizens of the Demiplane, a special dimension created by his retainer, Tomoe.
Some of the most interesting races in Demiplaneare Gorgon, Alke, and Al-Elemera. Gorgon is a race of humanoid females that can petrify everything they see and touch. Alke is a race of giant spiders with the upper body of a human and the lower body of a spider, sort of like the Taratect. Lastly, Al-Elemera is a race of palm-size creatures that is said to be a race between fairies and spirits.
The Jura Tempest Federation is the Home to So Many Races
That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime
Based on Fuse’s novel and light novel series, That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime is an isekai anime that follows Rimuru, a guy who reincarnates in a fantasy world as its weakest monster. However, that soon changes.
In a way, the Jura Tempest Federation is the expanded version of Nazarick and the Demiplane. InOverlord,most of the unique races are concentrated within the walls of the Great Tomb of Nazarick.Tsukimichihas more unique races thanOverlordand most of them are contained within the Demiplane, which is akin to a mid-size town. The Jura Tempest Federation, on the other hand, is a full-blown monster country. Its size is actually bigger than most human countries.
As the name suggests, the Jura Tempest Federation is a collection of smaller independent regions that swear allegiance to theDemon Lord Rimuru Tempest.Each of those regions has its own unique races, such as the Dragonewt in the swampy area, the Tengu in the mountainous area, and the Dryad in the forest area, just to name a few. Even within Rimuru’s inner circle, he has Onis, Demons, Dwarves, Orcs, Tempest Wolves, and a True Dragon as well.
The World of Disboard Has 16 Sentient Races In It
No Game, No Life
No Game, No Life follows siblings Sora and Shiro, master gamers who are transported to a world where all conflicts are resolved through games.
The story ofNo Game No Lifetakes place in Disboard, a world where violence is forbidden and every conflict has to be solved through games. There are 16 sentient races in this world, collectively known as Ixseed. These races are ranked based on their affinity to magic. Humanity, known as Immanity here, is ranked 16th, the weakest race of the bunch.
Apart from humans, there are several familiar races within the Ixseed, such as rank 14th Werebeast, rank 12th Dhampir, rank 11th Demonia, rank 9th Fairy, rank 8th Dwarf, rank 7th Elf, and rank 4th Dragonia. The rest are basically unique races that only exist in this series, such as rank 15th Siren, rank 13th Lunamana, rank 10th Ex-Machina, rank 6th Flügel, rank 5th Gigant, rank 3rd Elemental, rank 2nd Phantasma, and rank 1st Old Deus.
What makesthe world ofNo Game No Lifeso interesting is that these races are not only there to fill up the world, but they are an integral part of the story. Every encounter with a new race feels like unlocking a new area and finding unique characters in a game. This makes our heroes’ journey to climb their way up the ranking so much more exciting to follow. This is also whyNo Game No Lifedeserves the top spot on this list.
