Iyashikei isekai in general is far better than the trash "loser hero (who is always a guy) gets summoned to another world and gets godlike powers and/or millions of girls" isekai that have sadly been all the rage for the past few years.
While there's plenty of trash in that category, I'll just say that I thoroughly enjoyed Overlord and Slime. Honorable mention to Konosuba.
Overlord stands out because the main character is the villain. So a despicable personality with anti-hero choices actually makes sense. The author is also clearly a well experienced dungeon-master, but never lets the dice-rolling / D&D system get in the way of the storytelling... but it is clearly present for those intimately familiar with the system. High recommend to players of D&D 3.5 and/or Pathfinder.
Slime stands out because the "loser hero" actually has a very positive personality, and the show doesn't take itself too seriously. The "loser-ness" of Rimuru Tempest is played for laughs / comedy, and otherwise Rimuru makes many good decisions leading to a strong and prosperous new life.
Konosuba looks like a Harem, but its really an anti-harem because no one seems to like each other. This, and other issues of subversion, make it a good inversion of the standard Isekai. But Konosuba leans hard on the sexual jokes / fanservice angle, which makes it difficult to watch for some audiences.
I bring this up to contrast with something like... Goblin Slayer... which I argue is the epitome of "Loser Hero with Harem" Isekai. (Despite not being an Isekai technically, Goblin Slayer is heavily implied to be a D&D system). Its a shame because the music + animation is so lovely too:
. But Goblin Slayer's decisions are toxic, the author bends the D&D rules to play favorites (making the lead character do shenanigans far outside their respective power levels). The anime almost seems to reward poor behavior and toxic personalities... and its not just Goblin Slayer, but a whole bunch of anime in this genre too.
Strongly disagree. I always hated Western cartoons because (a) there was no overarching plot and character progression (b) what plot there was is mostly aimed at literal children. Iyashikei isekai is aimed at adults and has actual world-building and character development, which is the hook to keep you coming back.
Hmm... now that I have young nieces, I've been watching a lot of kid shows with them, while also trying to get them into the more story-driven anime I've grown up with. Either way, I think I've learned to appreciate Barney, Sesame Street, Doug, Arthur... and many other kid shows.
I do have my limits. I can't stand Paw Patrol or Bubble Guppies. But I think I'm mostly surprised at how much more enjoyable Barney / Sesame Street is to my adult brain than my kid brain years ago. (I always liked Author however, still do). Especially Barney, where the sing along-songs are clearly designed for the audience to learn while Barney is singing (a lot of call / recall and rounds), and join in. Actually "participating" in Barney is a bit more fun than I was expecting.
The simple joy of singing about "frog on the log", and the low-stake problem solving (Oh no, Barney got his mouth stuck with Peanut butter! The kids need to work together to find milk and solve the problem) reminds me a
LOT about Iyashikei animes as a concept and as a "healing" kind of feeling. I think there are more similarities here than a lot of people might be willing to admit. Yeah, Barney never really changes and you don't have any development beyond each episode... but there's definitely a "soothing" similarity in the genres.
With that being said: my nieces are more about asking for Dragonball Z (they're too scared to watch it on their own. They like that I'm able to tell them to get ready for character deaths and minor spoilers so they know when to hide). So they're leaving the Barney & Friends / Thomas the Tank Engine stage of their life now. I guess I'm just surprised at how much I personally was "fine" with Barney as an adult, and my anime-brain really can only describe it as a Iyashikei like feeling.
. But that was for me, well over the age of consent; for the kids, I didn't want them rotting their brains that early. Kiki's journey to discover her strengths and independence thru perseverance was, I thought, a wonderful message. Totoro didn't throw that many deep messages their way, but the underlying story of family and love was something I wanted running under everything I could show them.
