Best Isekai Anime & Manga With Characters Trapped In Their Past Lives

Key Takeaways

• Isekai anime & manga feature characters with past life memories in time loops or alternate worlds.
• Different series use regression tropes in unique ways like following reincarnated heroes at an Elite Academy.
• Varied and colorful characters are prominent in these series, offering diverse twists and themes.

Regression to a past life in isekai anime and manga is a common trope in the genre, and many series have main characters that in one way or another have kept the memories from their past lives and are currently trapped in some sort of time loop, or the best case scenario, trapped in their past with the knowledge that something really bad is going to happen in the future. But there are various alternative ways to play the regression card and colorful characters all around in several different series that are worthy of mention.

This topic includes anime and manga with characters trapped in their past lives. From a former hero who gets a third chance to do things right by going to school and learning how to be a hero to a wizard who is desperate to save his world from destruction after countless tries to prevent those he loves from dying a horrible death.

1 World Break: Aria Of Curse For A Holy Swordsman

To Protect The World, He Will Need To Be A Hero Once More

• Genres: Fantasy, Reincarnation, School Life, Sword And Sorcery, Action
• Author: Akamitsu Awamura
• Nº Episodes: 12 (S1)

World Break: Aria of Curse for a Holy Swordsman is quite an interesting reverse-isekai anime where several heroes from various worlds attend an Elite Academy. The particular thing about this school life trope is that each of them has the memories of several past lives, and has been resurrected various times. Akane Academy gathers the best of the best to nurture them into unbeatable heroes.

Here, students known as Saviours are trained to destroy world-invading metaphysical beings that are hellbent on destroying every reality. The main character, Moroha Haimura, has awakened memories of his two past lives, as Flaga the Swordmaster, and the archmage Shu Saura, the former king of Hell, making him one of the candidates with the most potential to become a true Saviour. Besides all the fan service all school life anime have, the show is pretty decent. It is based on a series of light novels written by Akamitsu Awamura that span over 22 volumes, and they have quite a lot of twists.

2 Villager A Wants To Save The Villainess No Matter What!

A Reincarnated Gamer Fights For Survival Against A Reincarnated Otaku Yandere Girl

• Genres: Fantasy, Reincarnation, School Life, Sword And Sorcery, Drama
• Author: Koutarou Isshiki
• Nº Volumes: 6

Allen woke up one day, and he remembered everything. His past life as a gamer, and the fact that he was on his second run trapped in an otome game where the kingdom would be destroyed if the “villainess” of the story, Anastasia Ramslett, were to be exiled and executed. And since Allen retained all the memories from both his past lives, and had grown fond of his mother in this new world where he was sent, he decided that the only way to protect himself and his mother was to save the villainess from her downfall.

But things get complicated when the “heroine” Amy is revealed to be another reincarnated person, and quite a vicious one at that, who selfishly wishes to go the “reverse harem” route, even if that means destroying the whole kingdom and causing the deaths of countless people, including Allen and his family. So Allen will do his best to stop this reincarnated one and protect the current timeline before it turns into the worst possible route.

3 7th Time Loop: The Villainess Enjoys A Carefree Life Married To Her Worst Enemy!

Trapped In A Deathloop, She Will Kick The Board And Live A Laidback Life This Time

An isekai’d Japanese lady endures dying over and over again, always destined to be killed by the same man. But this time she did things differently, and surprisingly, instead of getting exiled, she ends up living with his former fianceé’s enemy: Prince Arnold of the Galkhein Kingdom. Arnold quickly grows fond of Rishe, the protagonist of this romantic death loop isekai, and he is greatly surprised by her skill.

Rishe Irmgard Weitzner has been an acrobat, a runaway princess, a doctor, a knightess, a mercenary, a thief, and of course, an office worker. So, she has a lot of knowledge under her belt, and she is prepared to live this life at its fullest: by doing nothing, and enjoying a carefree life. That is the condition that Rishe presents to Arnold to become his betrothed, and from that point on, a new adventure begins. Will she be able to live happily ever after with the man that always ends her life? Or will she die once more and start anew?

4 A Returner’s Magic Should Be Special

A Mage Carries The Burden Of The World Over His Shoulders And The Knowledge Of A Terrible Future

A Returner’s Magic Should Be Special is a reverse-isekai series about a mage who had fought his whole life against the unavoidable: the destruction of his world, and the death of everyone he had loved. Desir Arman carries a heavy burden: he is the only one who knows the world where he is in is not his own, but an alternate reality, a reflection of a reflection. Transported to this world, to a date and place far away from that brutal ending he had in his original reality, Desir swore to protect this world and the people he loves from suffering the same ill fate as the last time.

No one but Desir knows the true suffering of repeating endless cycles of death and rebirth, and when he starts anew and finds the optimal route to save the world, he also grows tremendously attached to his friends at the Hebrion Academy. Will he be able to protect them this time? Or will he be trapped in a nightmarish future once more, facing the worst of the calamities ever created?