Summary

Isekai manga has plenty of interesting stories, though many of those hold an army ofcliche characters and reluctant heroeswho end up saving the world in the most unusual of ways. Speaking about unusual, there are some Isekai manga series that would be difficult to adapt to an anime for various reasons.

From difficult-to-adapt plots to incredible creatures that would be too costly to animate, these series might become eternally bound to the ninth art. Nevertheless, these series are definitely worth a read for every fan of this fantasy sub-genre.

6A Veterinarian In Another World

A Fresh Premise, But Producers Are Ignoring Its Potential

A Veterinarian In Another Worldholds the key to renovating the stale Isekai trend of overpowered heroes saving the world. It narrates the story of a rural veterinarian from Japan being transported to a world filled to the brim with fantastical creatures that live side-by-side with humans and desperately need an expert to heal their ailments. Sadly,due to many issues related to the plot, the characters, and also the design of the creatures depicted in the series, it would be incredibly hard to adapt it into an animation.

Besides, the decrease in popularity of the “transported to another world” trope and the oversaturation of edgy main characters with broken abilities have overshadowed the many cozy/slice-of-life alternatives that could break the cycle and bring some new light to this sub-genre. It is sad that producers have failed to recognize the potential of this premise and the natural charisma of a character that only wants one thing: to heal hurt animals.

5Reincarnated As A Dragon Hatchling

Full Of Incredible Creatures And Colossal Battles - The Budget Won’t Allow It

Also known asTensei Shitara Dragon no Tamago Datta,Reincarnated As A Dragon Egg’s story follows an unnamed office worker who has been reincarnated as a strange creature and granted access to an evolution system that makes him grow each time he reaches a certain level. In an RPG-like fantasy world, the young dragon will have to learn and adapt quickly, since he is at thelowest of the food chain in a land of monsters.

And there might reside the issue: Adapting manga series that feature many battles between non-human beings is costly. Animating non-human creatures has always been an issue and has caused more and more animation companies to turn to cheap CGI and AI - like in the case ofFailure Frame, where most creatures have spent the budget of the series and caused the narrative content to be cut greatly. It would be a shame if the same were to happen to this series, and this is probably the reason why no one has attempted to do so.

4The Galactic Navy Officer Becomes An Adventurer

Also known as theCapitan Corinthseries through its official English translation,The Galactic Navy Officer Becomes an Adventurerfollows a low-rank officer of the Galactic Empire, a force consolidated by advanced human beings, who is the sole survivor of his designated battleship and becomes the officer in charge. Abandoned in the middle of an unknown region of space and accompanied solely by the Iris Ship AI, he lands on a mysterious planet thatseems to be a world of swords and magic.

There, he meets a runaway princess who is mortally wounded, and contrary to the Empire’s policy of no intervention, he decides to use nanoparticles to save her life and heal her wounds. They slowly overcome the barriers of language and, after some time, grow fond of each other enough to call themselves partners. The main character, Alan Corinth, is searching for a way to dominate the world and prepare it for a future invasion and is willing to go against the directives of the Human Empire fleet in order to save the world from humanity’s worst enemy: the Bugs. The premise of the series is quite good, and the world-building is great as well. The problem is the low popularity of the series, which might indicate that it hasn’t nailed its target audience yet and, thus, is yet to be deemed worthy of an anime adaptation.

3Record Of Wortenia War

Great World-Building But Too Gruesome For Modern Audiences

Record of Wortentia Waris a series that has everything it needs to become an anime: popularity,a huge world to explore, and a great plot with lots of action and a not-so-overpowered main character. Its premise is based on the existence of an otherworlder in a strange land (like any other isekai), but this person has been a master of swordsmanship since he was on Earth, and he is also a student of the art of war. He doesn’t have many broken skills - only his wits and talent for commanding an army.

Sadly, the plot is quite gruesome and deals with topics such as famine, war, and cultural destruction, some of the red-flags that producers tend to avoid when picking up a series. After the apparentfailure of a certain dark fantasy seriesthat followed the same pattern, it became a trend among anime production companies to avoid such topics. Thus,Wortentia Senkifans might never witness an adaptation to anime, which is a pity, since the series is totally worth a shot.

2The Golden Word Master: The Four Heroes & The Innocent Bystander With The Unique Cheat

The Main Character Finally Has A Decent Skill And Is Smart, But His Attitude Is Insufferable

There’s no such thing as the “ideal isekai MC,” though some series are pretty close to accomplishing great character development while also maintaining the original premise of the “summoned hero” from another world.The Golden Word Masteris one of these, where Hiro, the MC, is summoned by mistake alongside the three chosen heroes, and since he doesn’t need to participate in the “battle against the Demon Lord,” he is excused and left free to roam the world. This is a chance he uses to learn, read books, try new food, and live the “relaxed” life of an academic studying a new environment through its culture and literature.

Unfortunately, Hiro has a flaw: His attitude is unbearable. He is narcissistic, rude, and annoying. On top of that, he always wears the same poker face and is basically a walking cliche. The good thing about his main ability is the power to draw powerful magic effects through “kanji,” similarly to how Nico Minoru fromThe Runawaysmanipulates the Staff of One. Arguably. Sadly, since the action is mainly focused on Hiro and not on all the great developments happening around him, this ruins the plot. That might be the reason whyproducers consider this show might be a risky bet. As such, n advancements have been made to secure it for an anime adaptation.

1Walking In Another World

Wholesome, But Its Boring Main Character Ruins The Plot

The main character ofWalking In Another Worldhas a ridiculous power, and his sole existence makes readers yawn. This manga is the perfect example of a series that would be tremendously hard to adapt into an anime because of the much-needed changes that would be required. The plot itself has a lot of wholesome moments, especially when the MC pairs up with Rurika and Chris. Sadly, he ends up being separated from them in the most ridiculous and forced of ways, and this is due to the poor choices of the MC.

Sora Fujimiya is a dull, bi-dimensional, and boring character. He is a reincarnated person who was transported into a fantasy-like world and granted the skill of “Walking,” which makes him level up by doing just that. It doesn’t make any sense, and to add salt to injury, Sora makes the dumbest possible decisions when picking up skills, basically asking to die all the time. When facing death due to his own stupidity, he ends up bargaining with the devil, which leads to him being cursed and being useless in fulfilling the mission for which he was sent to this world: Defeating the Demon Lord. No producer in their right mind would pick up a series about a cowardly, boring, walking cardboard box of a character, much less in a market that privilegesthe typical edge lord-like MC with broken skills.