My Isekai Life - What We Know So Far

Anime is known and celebrated for transporting its viewers into original and vibrant worlds that quickly dust off any hint of stagnation or boredom. It's sublime escapism fiction. But anime reaches its escapism zenith with the Isekai genre. Its characters are regular people that literally transport into fantastical worlds, making the Isekai genre a little meta. But, sometimes, the way that these protagonists leave their regular world doesn't have us thirstily gulping from the cup of envy. For instance, Kazuma Sato from "KonoSuba" gets transported to his new world thanks to experiencing the most humiliating death in anime history.

Yet, if we're anything like the overworked main character in "My Isekai Life: I Gained a Second Character Class and Became the Strongest Sage in the World," then perhaps leaving the real world for another isn't a bad idea. The light novel series from author Shinkoshoto and illustrator Huuka Kazabana has its hero transported thanks to accidentally accepting a request on his computer. The slip-up begins a long and fulfilling adventure for the hero, which we will see in animated form thanks to the upcoming "My Isekai Life" anime series.

Here's everything we know so far.

Details for the anime adaptation of "My Isekai Life" first emerged at the beginning of this year. However, besides bringing the project's existence to light, there wasn't much given in terms of an official release date. But we've now got a better window of when the anime is scheduled to land. According to Anime News Network, "My Isekai Life" is currently planned for a 2022 release. No specific month within that year has been given yet.

Considering that we're just now getting the first look at how the protagonist will look in animated form months after its initial announcement, it seems unlikely that "My Isekai Life" will premiere at the beginning of the year. It's more likely that we could see the series debut during the 2022 spring or summer anime seasons. However, the wait won't be too brutal for fans, as Square Enix Manga & Books tweeted that they'll start releasing the official English versions of the manga in December 2021. The manga should at least soften the wait for the upcoming anime.

So far, the news of "My Isekai Life" has only revealed the main character featured in the original light novel series. According to the official anime website, this character is named Yuji Sanno. Yuji is the employee of a type of business that the Japanese define as a "black company" or essentially a kind of job that is heavily exploitative of its employees to the point of extreme overwork (via Tsunagu Local). Yuji unwillingly leaves that life for that of a new but dangerous one, and it's there that the character goes from being a corporate drone to one of the most potent magical wielders.

No other characters besides Yuji have been officially revealed for the anime just yet. Still, given his adventurous encounters in the light novels and manga, we can bet that Yuji won't be alone. If the anime pulls from the stories, we could see Yuji's wolf companion. We could also see the hero encounter the forest spirit Dryad who he saves in one of his early adventures (via GA Novel).

Based on what the official anime site has noted on the plot for the "My Isekai Life" anime, it looks like the series isn't straying too far from its source material. The initial story revolves around Yuji being transported into a fantasy world where he's initially stuck as a tamer. Tamers are considered the weakest class, but this turns out to be the best for Yuji. The protagonist tames many slime creatures who are able to absorb so much magical knowledge that Yuji ends up becoming one of the most powerful sages. The anime will probably explore how Yuji comes to grips with achieving so much power in such little time.

The light novel series also involves Yuji going on several different quests (via GA Novel). Fans will likely see some of his key adventures from the novels in animated form, such as encountering Dryad, talking with his animal companion wolf, and taking on massive threats like dragons and evil guilds. It's also possible that the series could delve into exactly how and why Yuji is transported into his fantasy world in the first place.