reverse isekai

noun

A subgenre of isekai where people from a fantasy or fictional world are transported into modern-day Earth, rather than the other way around.

First used 2017
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Meanings

nounreverse isekai (countable and uncountable, plural reverse isekai or reverse isekais)

plural reverse isekais

  1. JapaneseuncountablefictionA subgenre of isekai where people from a fantasy or fictional world are transported into modern-day Earth, rather than the other way around.First known use 2017

    Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid is a reverse-isekai show? That's actually a really cool concept

    2017 January 22, @alltsun_nodere, Twitter, archived from the original on 18 Jul 2024
    4 more examples

    Thinking intensely about the reverse isekai story that lives rent free in my head where a depressed writer gives up on her novel and the protagonist and the villain lose their powers so they find a way to travel to the author's world to make her finish her book

    2020 December 29, @OccultasHQ, Twitter, archived from the original on 10 Apr 2024

    The anime is a “cute girls doing cute things” spin on the reverse isekai subgenre and follows a group of two angels and two demons sent to Earth, particularly Gabriel, who arrives on Earth in search of knowledge.

    2023 October 18, Maham Arsalan, “10 Best Reverse Isekai Anime to Watch Right Now”, in Comic Book Resources:CBR, archived from the original on 10 Apr 2024

    Quite a number of reverse isekai anime start with a human summoning a being from another world, usually to ask for some assistance. So, in terms of premise, Dropkick On My Devil! is about as predictable as they come; however, the show is anything but typical.

    2024 February 13, Mark Sammut, “Best Reverse Isekai Anime Of All Time, Ranked”, in Game Rant, archived from the original on 10 Apr 2024

    One of the biggest hits of the Winter 2024 anime season was Solo Leveling, a show that took the reverse-isekai formula and gave it a dark twist.

    2024 April 5, Trent Cannon, “Solo Leveling season 2 release date: Crunchyroll set to Solo Leveling: Arise from the Shadows when it airs - but when?”, in Popverse, archived from the original on 10 Apr 2024
  2. countableAny piece of media in this genre.

    Idea for a reverse Isekai where tired/angry space alien gets to live life as a humble Japanese salaryman observing other humans

    2018 October 26, @blackbookalpha, Twitter, archived from the original on 10 Apr 2024
Cite this entry
APA

reverse isekai. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/reverse%20isekai

MLA

“reverse isekai.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/reverse%20isekai. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “reverse isekai,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/reverse%20isekai.

Source: reverse isekai on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.