The 10 Greatest Portal Fantasy Anime of All Time, Ranked
Lucas Kloberdanz-Dyck is a writer for Collider. He grew up creating lists, stories, and worlds, which led to his love of anime and video games. He attended Sheridan College where he earned an Honours Bachelor of Game Design. Lucas and his group won 1st place for technical innovation at LevelUp Toronto 2023, and he was also an intern for the Oakville Film Festival of Arts.
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TV is the perfect form of media to escape after a long day, letting the story suck fans into a new world, and anime in particular is home to some of the best escapist series. Many viewers are obsessed with Isekai, the ultimate form of escape, which presents anime series such as Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation and Konosuba: God's Gift on this Wonderful World to enjoy.
However, there is a similar, yet lesser-known genre that is just as good. Portal fantasy anime are shows in which a portal takes characters into another world, but as opposed to being stuck there, they can go back and forth. That is why this list will rank the ten greatest portal anime of all time based on aspects such as writing, animation, originality, fan opinion, critical acclaim, and overall quality.
10 'Restaurant to Another World' (2017-2021)
Action is the most popular genre of anime, and it pairs nicely with portal fantasies, but for a more relaxed vibe, the cooking genre may be better. Restaurant to Another World takes place in a small restaurant in a Japanese supermarket, but on Saturday, it opens up a portal across plenty of fantasy worlds where supernatural and mystical guests visit to try some new cuisine.
As opposed to the typical high-stakes portal fantasies with world-ending stakes, Restaurant to Another World is the perfect anime to sit back with a plate of food and enjoy. This cozy little restaurant is the getaway for many magical guests, who get to enjoy daily specials and new food, making it a unique, yet amazing portal fantasy with unexpectedly fun worldbuilding.
9 'Blue Exorcist' (2011-present)
Portal fantasy anime can be broadly defined, and one anime that technically fits into the genre is Blue Exorcist. After a dark yet fateful night when Satan attacked, he was sealed, but not before having two children with a human. Years later, when the kids learn the truth, the youngest joins the exorcist academy in order to become strong enough to fight his father and prove everyone wrong.
Rin is a bit of a punk, but Blue Exorcist isn't the best delinquent anime ever; instead, it mixes the genre with its portal fantasy aspect to create a larger supernatural style. The portal fantasy parts aren't major, but they do allow characters to travel between the underworld and the human realm. Overall, Blue Exorcist is an engaging battle shounen that focuses on the characters and the emotional beats.
8 'Flip Flappers' (2016)
Most of the anime on this list are lesser-known, but one of the especially obscure portal fantasies is Flip Flappers. Cocona doesn't know what to strive for, but the mysterious appearance of Paprika gives her a purpose: joining the titular organization to collect mysterious crystals while battling against evil beasts and their rivals with the same goal.
Flip Flappers uses the portal fantasy genre in a unique way, allowing it to be a psychological expression of the mind where each portal delves into a different psyche. This approach, in turn, leads to new genres, settings, and storytelling styles, with the show utilizing the portal genre remarkably well and with much creativity. With vibrant colors, stellar animation, and impeccable vibe, it is all about the visual style and underlying themes.
7 'Sword Art Online' (2012-present)
Isekai and portal fantasy aren't the same genre, but they can overlap, and that happens in one of the biggest anime shows, Sword Art Online. With the biggest VR game of all time coming out, millions of fans buy it to be fully immersed. However, when it traps all the players inside, they must not die, or they will meet the same fate in the real world.
Sword Art Online isn't a flawless Isekai anime series, but it is arguably the most influential, essentially kickstarting the modern interpretation of the genre. While the characters were stuck inside the world at first, later in the show they could travel between the real world and it, making it a portal fantasy anime that knew exactly how to hook fans with its narrative and video game-based style.
6 'World Trigger' (2014-2022)
Reboots are becoming more common nowadays, but one of the most unexpected anime to get one is World Trigger. When an interdimensional gate opens and releases otherworldly technology into the world, it also releases hostile aliens that wreck the surrounding area. However, humanity has already reverse-engineered the technology, creating a specialized force to take down these aliens.
On the surface, World Trigger may seem like a typical alien invasion with portals. However, it breaks this genre down, resulting in a cerebral series with incredibly tactical action. Through coordination, knowledge, and strategy, the characters battle against these aliens in compelling action sequences that are just as smart as they are entertaining. The upcoming reboot should be even better.
Collider Exclusive · 8 Questions · 2 Minutes What Fantasy World Do You Belong To? Middle-earth · Grand Line · The Continent · Camp Half-Blood
Pick your magic, your crew, where you want to wake up and who you would rather be fighting, and we will tell you which world you actually belong in. Four are open to you: an ancient kingdom living through its last good age, an endless sea full of pirates, a continent that pays people to kill monsters, and a summer camp where the Greek gods are extremely real and mostly a nuisance.
💍Middle-earth(Rings of Power)
👒Grand Line(One Piece)
🐺The Continent(The Witcher)
🔱Camp Half-Blood(Percy Jackson)
01
What kind of power do you want? Every one of these worlds runs on a completely different sort of magic.
02
Who is travelling with you? Nobody gets through any of these stories entirely on their own.
03
Where do you want to wake up tomorrow? The best fantasy is usually just somewhere you would genuinely like to live.
04
How are you making a living out there? Even in fantasy somebody has to pay for the horse.
05
There is something in the woods. What do you do about it? All four of these worlds keep something unpleasant out there in the dark.
06
Who is the villain of your story? The enemy tells you far more about a world than the hero ever does.
07
What do you actually believe in out there? Every world hands its heroes one rule and asks them to hold onto it.
08
A thousand years from now, how are you remembered? Eight questions in, this is the one that decides your world.
The Map Is Drawn Your World Is…
Four worlds and four completely different ideas of what a good life looks like. This is where you belong, what it would ask of you, and what you would get back in return.
Middle-earth
You belong somewhere old enough that the mountains have names and somebody can still tell you who gave them. Middle-earth is for people who think the right thing is worth doing even when it will not be finished in their lifetime.
- This is the only world on the list where doing good is understood as a very long defeat, fought anyway, by people who will never see how it ends.
- You are drawn to grandeur, to white cities and deep forges and the sense that almost everything you touch is older than your entire family line.
- The Rings of Power is set in the last good age before it all goes wrong, which gives every quiet scene in it a slightly unbearable weight.
- You would take the hard road, and you would take it on foot.
The Grand Line
You want the sea, a crew, and absolutely nobody telling you where you are allowed to go. The Grand Line is the world for people whose main ambition in life is finding out what is over there.
- One Piece has run for decades on one very simple engine, which is a group of people who each want something impossible and have decided to go and get it together.
- You collect people. Your ideal crew is a set of misfits who were each written off somewhere else before you turned up and offered them a better idea.
- The world is enormous and deliberately ridiculous, and the emotional gut punches land harder because of that rather than in spite of it.
- You would set sail knowing the map runs out, which is more or less the entire point of it.
The Continent
You would rather be feared and useful than liked and useless. The Continent is a world where the monsters are the straightforward part of the job and the people are where it all gets complicated.
- Witchers get paid to do what nobody else will and resented for existing at all, which is a trade most people would refuse and you would probably accept.
- You have no real illusions about which side is the good one, largely because on the Continent that question tends to have a disappointing answer.
- The best of these stories are not about the fighting. They are about somebody with a rigid code being repeatedly cornered into caring about people.
- You would take the coin, finish the job properly, and be out of town before the story got told wrong.
Camp Half-Blood
You want the myths to be real and loose in the actual world, and you want to find out at about thirteen that you were never anywhere near as ordinary as everybody kept telling you.
- Percy Jackson takes the oldest stories we have and drops them into car parks and diners, which makes the gods considerably funnier and a great deal worse.
- You would be the kid every school gave up on, who turns out to have been built for something nobody thought to test for.
- The series is genuinely about friendship rather than destiny, and it says so out loud every time a prophecy tries to get in the way.
- Camp Half-Blood is the real fantasy here: a place where the thing that made you difficult everywhere else is the thing that makes you belong.
5 'Solo Leveling' (2024-present)
This list is home to some popular shows, but the biggest is undoubtedly Solo Leveling, which became a worldwide sensation over the past few years. With dungeons spawning around the world, humans have developed powers capable of taking them on. Unfortunately for Sung Jin-woo, he is the lowest level, but that may all change when he gets the ability to level up.
The portals only take characters to standalone dungeons, but that is enough to qualify it as a portal fantasy. Not to mention, Solo Leveling became the biggest anime of the past few years because of its outstanding animation and riveting fight scenes. It is the ultimate power fantasy, and while it isn't a perfect anime without plot armor, Solo Leveling is still a fun ride of action and exhilaration.
4 'The Devil is a Part-Timer' (2013-2023)
Another Isekai anime that blends the genre with portal fantasy is The Devil is a Part-Timer, which saw a new season after a decade. After the Demon Lord and his army are on the verge of defeat, he and his assistant travel to Earth to tend to their wounds and prepare for the coming battle. However, life here is strange, and they first need to make some money, like working at a fast-food chain.
The Devil is a Part-Timer is a distinct premise that puts one of the evilest characters into a wholesome situation where they need to work at a restaurant. With this comedic setup, it puts these demonic characters into the simplicity of life and how they begin to get consumed by its culture. Fun, wholesome, and unique, it is a charming portal fantasy anime.
3 'InuYasha' (2000-2010)
Isekai is completely different than what it was during the 2000s, but it used to be headlined by InuYasha. When a high school girl is pulled into a well, she ends up in another world reminiscent of ancient Japan. In this new war-torn world, she must team up with the titular demon to find the shards of the broken artifact that may be the key to stopping the war.
Even though InuYasha is an Isekai, the protagonist can travel back to her own time and bring useful information and technology, bridging the two genres to create the best of both worlds. As one of the most influential Isekai anime shows, it also perfects the portal fantasy genre by turning culture shock into character development. Today, InuYasha remains an undisputed classic and one of the best anime of the 2000s.
2 'Gate' (2015-present)
The release timeline for some anime can be strange, and for Gate, after over a decade, it is finally getting a second season in 2027. After a gate opens in Japan and swarms of monsters pour out, the JSDF quickly retaliates by sending a squad inside. As a recon unit explores the new world, they must build a base to form a stronghold in enemy territory, but not everyone is evil in this new place.
As opposed to a one-way alien conflict, Gate uses its portal fantasy to serve as a sort of border, creating plenty of political and military situations. On top of its fascinating tactical and political warfare, this anime also uses its fantasy aspects to blend right in. Gate is an anime with few bad episodes, creating a wonderful pace which pits modern military might against fantasy armies, leading to a blend of grounded storytelling and fantasy wonder.
1 'The Twelve Kingdoms' (2002-2003)
A lot of anime on this list are somewhat recent, but The Twelve Kingdoms is an older series that is just as good. On a seemingly boring school day, a girl is taken to a Chinese-inspired world by a man who swears loyalty to her. When she is left to fend for herself, she must survive after she learns of her fate as the chosen monarch for this world and help her people.
The Twelve Kingdoms disregards typical power fantasy tropes and instead focuses on the gritty psychological aspect of being transported to a new world. It has elements of political realism and fantasy amazement, using action and drama in sync to create what is arguably the best portal fantasy anime. The themes of loneliness and trauma pair nicely with its divine laws and celestial beasts, resulting in a genuine masterpiece.
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