8 Weirdest Isekai Manga, Ranked

Key Takeaways

• Weird isekai manga present bizarre premises and unexpected plot twists, challenging the typical genre norms.
• From a loner in another world to a dragon egg and a sentient sword, characters go through unconventional journeys.
• Stories like a spider-turned-human and a vending machine exploring dungeons bring humor, absurdity, and unique narratives.

Isekai manga never stops presenting more and more weird premises for their main stories, and it’s a genre that holds the record for creating the longest titles in all fiction, so expect to find some cool and unusual ideas out there. From stories that never cease to twist their tale to confuse their readers, to absolutely crazy satires that are the product of either a mad genius or a writer so tired of isekai that they decided to play a prank on the manga world.

This ranked list contains the weirdest isekai manga readers can find today, including a brief synopsis of what they’re about, their authors, artists, and some additional information for those who just love strange stories with quirky characters. Be advised though, this list contains some of the craziest stories of the genre; expect the unexpected.

This list contains spoilers for all manga discussed.

8 Loner Life In Another World

Not Sure Where This Story Is Going, But It’s Still Going

• Author: Shoji Goji
• Artist: buuuuta
• Genres: Isekai, Drama, Action, Comedy, Absurd

Why is this isekai manga where a bunch of high school students are transported to another world weird? Because it is narrated through the eyes of a loner who totally despises social interaction, despite being constantly worried about the safety of others. Loner Life in Another World is a strange tale. At times, it seems like it’s serious enough to become a good story, then it totally warps that perspective with the most bizarre plot twists imaginable.

The main character is ridiculously overpowered, and not serious at any moment. He prefers pretending to be more mature than he actually is, twisting the perspective of others, and fighting in the most unconventional ways. Is he flexing his skills to gather a Harem? No, he flees at the faintest advance from a female counterpart. Is he trying to prove a point? No, he is just a person who doesn’t like when others do things wrong and is desperate to show them how it’s done. The story might be flawed, but that is perhaps what makes this manga so weird; readers never know where it is going next.

7 Reincarnated As A Dragon Egg

Could Be Great, Could Be A Total Fluke, Time Will Tell

• Author: Nekoko
• Artist: NAJI Yanagida
• Genres: Isekai, Fantasy, Adventure, Reincarnation, Drama

It started as another “reincarnated as a weird creature” plot, but the story of Reincarnated as a Dragon Egg has progressed quite a lot ever since. The main character, Irushia, displays a total lack of self-awareness at the beginning, and despite knowing he is no longer a human being, he desperately tries to behave like a human. This despite having clearly turned into a dragon, which is ludicrous, because who doesn’t want to be a dragon? Lazing all day over a pile of gold, flying around terrorizing villagers; the usual dragon-like behavior.

Then, something magical happens: A girl comes into play. A human girl perhaps? Yes, but that’s a tale for another day. The girl in this case is a reptile, a female lizard/salamander (or something like that), who sticks to the MC like glue and forces him to change from being a loner to sharing the world with another being. Manga veterans might know where this is going. Seeing other similar manga, and how the story has progressed, it turns out both of them may end up becoming human. That would be catastrophic for the plot though, wouldn’t it? Maybe not. Readers should wait and see. For the moment, it’s only a weird isekai.

6 Reincarnated As A Sword

One Of The Weirdest Concepts, But Not Unheard Of In Practice

• Author: Yuu Tanaka
• Artist: Tomowo Maruyama
• Genres: Isekai, Fantasy, Adventure, Reincarnation, Comedy

Tales of sentient weapons inhabited by the soul of a former adventurer (or angry wizard) are not too scarce in fantasy stories. However, seeing as this isekai manga is all about a Japanese office worker who becomes a powerful, magical talking blade, wielded by a naive but strong young girl, things couldn’t be weirder. Or could they?

As the story of Reincarnated as a Sword progresses, the growth of both Master (name of the sword) and Fran becomes quite endearing and almost wholesome. Then Urushi, the comic relief and pet of the group, joins the cast, and many others after that. The sword keeps growing in power and gains the ability to manipulate the reality that surrounds it, and slowly but steadily, it becomes more independent of its swordmaiden. If this series keeps going in that direction, who knows? Maybe Master will recover his human body, or maybe the sword will become wholly independent.

5 I’m A Spider, So What?

At First, It Was Funny. Now It’s A Passing Fancy

• Author: Okina Baba
• Artist: Asahiro Kakashi
• Genres: Isekai, Fantasy, Adventure, Reincarnation, Comedy, Satire

First, it was only a spider. Then, it became a near god-like being governing a hive mind of spiderlings. Now it is only a human girl, again. Apologies for the spoilers if readers haven’t followed this story yet, and if they were expecting something else, sorry to disappoint, but no, this is no longer the Spider isekai they knew. The story has taken an even weirder twist: The enemies became friends, the friends became enemies, and nothing makes sense anymore.

On the other hand, I’m a Spider, So What? has a constantly growing cast of quirky characters, like the reincarnated Japanese girl in the body of a 3-year-old vampire, who has a strange relationship with his bodyguard (a 40-ish dude with the strangest and most unpronounceable name ever seen in a manga). So, yes, it will get weirder and weirder the more fans read it, even if the original premise has been abandoned.

4 Heat The Pig Liver

Now This Is Really Weird, So Why Is It So Good?

• Author:​​​​​​​ Hirukuwa
• Artist: Ituma Kato, Kunieda, Hagure Yuuki
• Genres: Isekai, Fantasy, Adventure, Reincarnation, Satire, Comedy

From the perspective of the average manga enthusiast, Heat the Pig Liver will be a very surprising story. They’ll likely be expecting some strange and zany humor but will find a wholesome tale about friendship and humanity instead, despite the MC being reincarnated into an average piglet. Yes, a small and cute pig. The reincarnation part is even weirder since he came to be a pig by passing out while eating raw pig liver. Seems like the MC never learned not to eat weird and raw food.

He was lucky enough to cross paths with Jess, a chirpy and jolly girl who can read minds, and discovered that this piglet was special before he was set on his journey to become isekai’d bacon. From that moment on, the story is all about relaxing in another world with Jess, who plans to keep him as a pet forever and ever. It’s a cool, but very weird, story, with a clear message: Cook meat properly or face the consequences.

3 The Ride-On King

Vladimir Putin Is Isekai’d And He Wants To Ride Bears And Dragons

• Author:​​​​​​​ Yasushi Baba
• Artist: Yasushi Baba
• Genres: Isekai, Fantasy, Adventure, Reincarnation, Satire, Comedy

As messed up as this concept might sound, it actually works quite well as a comedy. Similar in nature to Konosuba and other satirical manga, The Ride-On King narrates the misadventures of a certain Russian President who is suddenly transported to a world of swords and fantasy, where there are plenty of monsters to ride. His sole objective and innermost desire is to ride all the beasts of the world, and here’s where it gets tremendously weird: It doesn’t matter if it’s a dragon, or a mutant monster, as long as it has 4 legs, he will ride on it.

Just like that, one of the weirdest isekai mangas still in ongoing with this premise, though it has had its “near axed” moments, especially due to the resemblance of the Main Character with the actual president of Russia. It’s not the weirdest isekai of the bunch, but it’s still strange. Oh, also, some dragons are basically dinosaurs? There’s a triceratops, who is the main pet in the series, and who is an “Earth

Dragon.”

2 Combatants Will Be Dispatched

His Harem Banished Him To Another World, And He’s Too Dull To Notice It

• Author:​​​​​​​ Natsume Akatsuki
• Artist: Kakao Lanthanum
• Genres: Isekai, Fantasy, Satire, Comedy, Dark Humor, Sci-Fi

From the creator of Konosuba, this manga is about Combatant Nº6 and his babysitter android, Alice, who are on a quest designated by the evil organization Kisaragi to conquer another world. In reality, everything is just an excuse to send Nº6 away from the frontlines of a war against the Hero Army back on Earth, since all the (female) commanders of Kisaragi have feelings for him and don’t want his precious “Co-Worker” getting hurt. So, big idea moment: they send him to an unknown world filled with dragons and a Demon Lord to boot (Great job!).

Besides its zany humor and quirky characters, Combatants Will Be Dispatched has another strange detail that makes it even weirder than the rest of the isekai readers are used to. Nº6 Powers Up by committing acts of cruelty, debauchery, or absolute perversion. This leads to a lot of weird and awkward situations throughout the series, which are typical of Natsume Akatsuki’s sense of humor. Readers won’t be able to shake the feeling that this is one of the weirdest “sent to another world” tales ever told.

1 Reborn As A Vending Machine, I Now Wander The Dungeon

Absolutely Bonkers, Absurdity At Its Finest

• Author:​​​​​​​ Hirukuwa
• Artist: Ituma Kato, Kunieda, Hagure Yuuki
• Genres: Isekai, Fantasy, Adventure, Reincarnation, Satire, Comedy

Okay, so, we’ve officially hit peak nonsense here, and at the same time, peak comedy. Reborn As A Vending Machine is the ultimate expression of satirical comedy, created by a twisted mind who has clearly had enough of the isekai genre, and wanted to send a message. Weirdly enough, it ended up creating something cool and addictive, filled to the brim with the most memorable characters, and the most sanity-banishing situations ever witnessed in a manga. Read to believe, but the truth is that this manga has to be the most crazy, insane, and weird isekai ever made. Trust us: This is pure and unbridled madness.

From minute zero, readers are presented with the idea of a Vending Machine Otaku, a hardcore fan of those appliances that love to eat bills and never plan to give the treats in return. Then, this person is not isekai’d in the traditional way (sorry, Truck-kun has no part to play here) but he is instead crushed to death by, guess what? That’s right: a vending machine! There’s a twist though: he cannot speak, and instead uses pre-programmed answers from the typical Japanese vending appliances to manifest his thoughts. Then he meets a crazy strong girl named Lammis, who accepts the duty of carrying him around as a countermass, since she’s so bad at walking normally due to her immense strength. This is a story that readers must discover for themselves, as it’s the most ridiculous and weird isekai currently in existence.