A good action scene in an anime typically relies on two major elements: choreography and animation. Both require more money, time, and manpower compared to the usual dialog scene or dramatic explosion. Viewers can also immediately tell when action scenes lacked those three. Sadly, a lot of isekai anime and their action sequences came up short of those three main requirements.
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The telltale signs are too much dialog during fights, action stills, and slowed overreactions. Consequently,isekai anime with good action scenesare much easier to appreciate because of this. The following titles made sure to go the extra mile for jaw-dropping action scenes for their viewers.
8Sword Art Online
This one’s a given already,Sword Art Online’s animation even outside of its action sequences is just brilliant. The character lines and details are crisp and the animators made sure that viewers can still easily distinguish who’s who during the fast and acrobatic JRPG fight sequences.
The “camera” even pans to follow quick character movements, meaning those too are animated and they don’t just cut to when the character has already closed the gap. All that was missing was dramatic and exhilarating music that lifts up the spirits, letting viewers feel like they’re part of the fight. Such animation was more than an achievement for a 2012 anime, and frankly, itputs later isekaifight scenes to shame.
7Reincarnated As A Sword
It doesn’t really have the god-level fight scenes inSword Art Online, butReincarnated As A Swordhas its own rules and power hierarchy that it values with relative strictness. That’s why the action scenes here have more added weight and stakes to them, especially since the other main character is just a small girl who has to wield a sword that’s bigger than her.
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The anime respects this kind of physics betweenthe sword protagonistand her wielder. The fight sequences are fluid enough to not bore those who got spoiled too much bySAO’sfight animation. And while the anime uses frequent stills in their fights, the choreography’s astute assessment of character size differences makes the anime’s underdog triumphs feel well-earned.
6The Eminence In Shadow
The Eminence in Shadowis another recent title and it follows the exploits and fights of Cid, whose goal is to become that oneshady but morally uprightanime character who always helps a clueless protagonist in dire situations. There’s no shortage of fights and action sequences here though most of them are just scenarios for Cid to out-puzzle his way to a predictable victory.
The action sequences can be a little too verbose and there’s no shortage of camera cuts and stills during fights; but the destruction, the main character’s smugness, and the emotions of the fight participants make it worth watching even though Cid can often turn out too invincible.
5That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime
An isekai main character turning into a slime monster in another world is bound to attract constant scenarios for action sequences. Sure enough, there are plenty of fantasy RPG fights to behold inThat Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slimeand a lot of them have imaginative (and cool) choreography.
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There’s often an overreliance on large explosions, zoom-ins, and energy special effects; also, some sequences can get too over-the-top, but they don’t skimp out on animation frames and drawings whenever two powerful opposing bodies clash in a melee, which is what’s usually more expensive to animate.
4The Saga Of Tanya The Evil
A god-hating office worker suddenly gets reincarnated as a girl named Tanya in a fantasy World War 1 setting, of course, chaos ensues! Tanya immediately joins the war and quickly collects medals and racks up kills in this ridiculous and unlikely war epic.
The anime rightfully capitalizes well on its setting and time period but with more absurdity since on top of the WW1 weaponry, magic is also added to the fray. Action sequences are often painted as epic and violently explosive Quidditch matches or dogfights with the accompanying brutality and carnage expected in a fantasy WW1 setting. In other words, it’s glorious.
3Grimgar: Ashes And Illusions
Grimgaris often hailed as one of themost realistic isekaianime in existence (which is quite ironic for an isekai title). The realism comes from how the characters are as human as they can be, physically; that means if a sword looks too heavy, then a clueless milquetoast from another world will struggle to wield it; that’s why fight scenes inGrimgarcan look clumsy and uncoordinated.
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That doesn’t mean they’re poorly animated. The action sequences here have messy stakes since the characters are only about as skillful and as physically capable as the goblins they’re killing. This added weight and strict action rules make the anime’s fight sequences a refreshing break from all the flying, flipping, and flashy fights fromother isekai anime.
2Re:Zero
Re:Zerosadly doesn’t have frequent or generous fight scenes, but the few ones it has in both seasons are so memorable and well-animated that the viewers can’t help butexpect more from the anime. Fights tend to explode into a tense power play whenever Elsa appears, especially in front of the main character.
The melee fights aren’t exactly plentiful since magic is the main tool for fighting inRe:Zerobut even sorcery light shows display careful attention to detail, particularly in the characters' appearances during casting, powering up, or during their dialog breaks amid fights.
1Jobless Reincarnation
Just asSword Art Onlinebecametheaction scene standard to abide by for isekai anime in the 2010s,Jobless Reincarnationis the flagbearer for the 2020s (currently). This is an isekai anime with a power hierarchyand magical systemso cohesive, the fights are a delight to watch regardless of whether it’s between brash warriors or cunning mages.
The best fights, of course, involve spellswords or battlemages like the main character where a clever and resourceful mix of magic and martial arts unfolds like a painting in motion— with each animation frame carefully crafted. Needless to say,Jobless Reincarnation’s fight scenes are on the same level as shonen heavyweights likeJujutsu KaisenandDemon Slayer.
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