If you’ve been even moderately involved in the anime and manga fandom at some point within the past 10 years or so, you’re no doubt familiar with the genre/trope known as “isekai”: a story mechanism, literally translating to “another world” or “a different world,” by which a character magically transports to, gets reincarnated into, or otherwise finds themselves in — you guessed it! — another world.

It’s become such a staple of Japanese popular culture that earlier this year, it officially made it into the Oxford English Dictionary — showing just how recognizable the genre has become worldwide.

We’ve talked on this BLog before about how trends in Japanese pop culture at large can affect even the relatively niche corner that is BL manga (such as the rise of streamers and Vtubers that Ames eloquently discussed) — and it’s no surprise that we’ve seen a steady increase in BL mangaka making use of isekai in their stories lately.

Even if you’re not a huge fan of isekai in general (it seems every other anime coming out these days is an isekai, amirite fellas?), I think it’s pretty likely you’ll find something to your taste when it’s used in a genre as subversive and diverse as BL. As I’ve always said, BL mangaka are endlessly creative, and when they see an opportunity to tell a touching story about love that transcends space and time, or to depict NSFW situations with hot fantasy creatures, they’ll take it!

I’ve handpicked 5 series to introduce today that make me especially grateful I was born in just the right era to enjoy BL isekai manga 🙏 Whether you’re looking for some LOL-worthy comedy, tearjerking drama, or just some good ol’ otherworldly dick-downs, you’ll find it all down below!