10 Anime Like Sword Art Online Alternative That You Must Watch. Sword Art Online is a cultural phenomenon, but there are various similar anime – isekai or action – that are worth watching for SAO fans. In this article, I will be telling you all about the best anime shows which are somewhat similar to Sword Art Online Alternative that you must watch. Here is the list.
1. No Game, No Life
No Game, No Life is one of the Anime Like Sword Art Online Alternative You Must Watch. This series may be short, but it packs plenty of action and dazzling visuals for any isekai lover. The two main characters are Sora and Shiro, hardcore gamer siblings who find themselves in a world where competitive games have replaced war.
This new world is a paradise for Sora and Shiro, and they go about proving how they earned such a fearsome reputation in Earth’s online games. SAO is about a new life in a video game, and No Game, No Life does much the same, except it trades swords for chess and the like.
2. Bleach
Bleach is one of the Anime Like Sword Art Online Alternative You Must Watch. It is a Japanese anime television series based on Tite Kubo’s original manga series of the same name. The story follows the adventures of Ichigo Kurosaki after he obtains the powers of a Soul Reaper—a death personification similar to the Grim Reaper—from another Soul Reaper, Rukia Kuchiki. His newfound powers force him to take on the duties of defending humans from evil spirits and guiding departed souls to the afterlife.
3. The Rising of the Shield Hero
The Rising of the Shield Hero is one of the Anime Like Sword Art Online Alternative You Must Watch. It is a Japanese dark fantasy isekai light novel series written by Aneko Yusagi and illustrated by Seira Minami.
Naofumi Iwatani, an easygoing Japanese youth, was summoned into a parallel world with three other men from parallel universes to become the world’s Cardinal Heroes and fight inter-dimensional hordes of monsters called Waves. Each hero was respectively equipped with their legendary equipment when summoned. Naofumi happened to receive the Legendary Shield, the sole defensive equipment, while the other heroes received, respectively, a sword, a spear, and a bow, weapons meant for the attack.
4. Samurai Champloo
Samurai Champloo is one of the Anime Like Sword Art Online Alternative You Must Watch. It is a 2004 Japanese historical adventure anime television series.
The series is set in a fictionalized version of Edo period Japan, blending traditional elements with anachronistic cultural references, including hip-hop. The series follows the exploits of tea waitress Fuu, vagrant outlaw Mugen, and ronin Jin. Fuu saves Mugen and Jin from execution, then forces the pair to aid in her quest to find a samurai who smells of sunflowers. Structured similarly to a road movie, the series focuses on tolerance and acceptance of minorities contrasted against its setting, with a central theme being the portrayal and acceptance of death.
5. Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba is one of the Anime Like Sword Art Online Alternative That You Must Watch. It is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Koyoharu Gotouge. It follows teenage Tanjiro Kamado, who strives to become a demon slayer after his family is slaughtered and his younger sister, Nezuko, turns into a demon.
Tanjiro Kamado is a kind-hearted and intelligent boy who lives with his family in the mountains. After his father’s death, he became his family’s breadwinner, making trips to the nearby village to sell charcoal. Everything changed when he came home one day to discover that a demon had attacked and slaughtered his family.
6. The Irregular at Magic High School
The Irregular at Magic High School is one of the Anime Like Sword Art Online Alternative You Must Watch. It is a Japanese web novel series by Tsutomu Satō. The story takes place in an alternate history where magic exists and is polished through technology and follows Tatsuya and Miyuki Shiba, siblings who enroll in First High magic high school. While keeping their connections to the infamous Yotsuba clan secret, they attempt to live their daily lives peacefully. Still, Tatsuya is shunned for his apparent ineptness, and Miyuki is validated for her magical abilities.
7. Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?
Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? is one of the Anime Like Sword Art Online Alternative You Must Watch. It is a Japanese light novel series written by Fujino Ōmori and illustrated by Suzuhito Yasuda.
The story follows the adventures of Bell Cranel, a 14-year-old rookie adventurer and sole member of the Hestia Familia. He looks up to Ais Wallenstein, a famous and powerful swordswoman of the Loki Familia, and vows to become as strong as her following a chance encounter where she saves his life from a powerful monster. While Ais is the object of Bell’s romantic affection, several other girls, deities, and mortals alike have similar feelings for him, most notably, Hestia herself.
8. Unbreakable Machine-Doll
Unbreakable Machine-Doll is one of the Anime Like Sword Art Online Alternative You Must Watch. It is a Japanese light novel series written by Reiji Kaitō and illustrated by Ruroo. A 12-episode anime television series adaptation aired in Japan between October 7 and December 23, 2013.
In the early 20th century, scientists created a mixture of technology and sorcery known as Machinart, circuits made from spells that are put into objects to bring them to life and give them artificial intelligence. These Automatons were developed as a military weapon and spread worldwide; the humans in charge of them became known as puppeteers.
9. Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash
Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash is one of the Anime Like Sword Art Online Alternative You Must Watch. The story follows a group of people who suddenly find themselves in a fantasy world without memories from before their arrival. It chronicles their struggles to survive and make a life for themselves as volunteer soldiers.
10. Accel World
Accel World is one of the Anime Like Sword Art Online Alternative You Must Watch. Haruyuki “Haru” Arita is a short, overweight boy who delinquents frequently ridicule at the Umesato Junior High School. Using his Neuro Linker to escape the torment of real life, he logs onto the school’s local network cyberspace, where he always plays virtual squash alone, and his innate video game skills bring him to the attention of Kuroyukihime, the school’s famous, highly intellectual and attractive female student council vice-president.
All the above-mentioned shows are available on Crunchyroll.