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Sword Art Online poster

Shows that feel likeSword Art Online (2012–2020)

In the near future, a Virtual Reality Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (VRMMORPG) called Sword Art Online has been released where players control their avatars with their bodies using a piece of technology called Nerve Gear. One day, players discover they cannot log out, as the game creator is holding them captive unless they reach the 100th floor of the game's tower and defeat the final boss. However, if they die in the game, they die in real life. Their struggle for survival starts now...

If you loved Sword Art Online, the closest series we have are Descendants of the Sun (2016), Overlord (2015) and The Rising of the Shield Hero (2019). All three share Sword Art Online's kinetic and epic feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Blue Box (2024).

10 of 12 streaming nowNetflix · Hulu · OnDemandKorea

If Sword Art Online hit the spot, these will too

Descendants of the Sun poster
Descendants of the Sun
2016 · 1 season · KBS2
★ 8.2drama · action & adventure

A romance forged under fire, where duty keeps pulling lovers apart

The difference: Grounded military melodrama — zero fantasy in its veins

After a chance meeting in a hospital, an ardent soldier falls for a gifted surgeon. Opposing philosophies tear them apart, but fate has other plans.

Overlord poster
Overlord
2015–2022 · 4 seasons · AT-X
★ 7.6animation · sci-fi & fantasy · action & adventureNetflix

Logged in for good, with a whole world's rules left to master

The difference: Villain's-eye view — cold calculation replaces the romance

In the year 2138, virtual reality gaming is booming. Yggdrasil, a popular online game is quietly shut down one day. However, one player named Momonga decides to not log out. Momonga is then transformed into the image of a skeleton as "the most powerful wizard." The world continues to change, with non-player characters (NPCs) beginning to feel emotion. Having no parents, friends, or place in society, this ordinary young man Momonga then strives to take over the new world the game has become.

The Rising of the Shield Hero poster
The Rising of the Shield Hero
2019– · 5 seasons · AT-X
★ 7.6animation · action & adventure · sci-fi & fantasyNetflixHulu

A summoned outsider clawing up from betrayal to real power

The difference: Sour and resentment-driven early — warmth takes ages to arrive

Iwatani Naofumi, a run-of-the-mill otaku, finds a book in the library that summons him to another world. He is tasked with joining the sword, spear, and bow as one of the Four Cardinal Heroes and fighting the Waves of Catastrophe as the Shield Hero. Excited by the prospect of a grand adventure, Naofumi sets off with his party. However, merely a few days later, he is betrayed and loses all his money, dignity, and respect. Unable to trust anyone anymore, he employs a slave named Raphtalia and takes on the Waves and the world. But will he really find a way to overturn this desperate situation?

Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation poster
Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation
2021– · 3 seasons · TOKYO MX
★ 8.2action & adventure · animation · sci-fi & fantasyHulu

A second life in a fantasy world taken seriously, romance included

The difference: Its hero is genuinely hard to root for at the start

When a 34-year-old underachiever gets run over by a truck, his story doesn't end there. Reincarnated in a new world as an infant, Rudy will seize every opportunity to live the life he's always wanted. Armed with new friends, some freshly acquired magical abilities, and the courage to do the things he's always dreamed of, he's embarking on an epic adventure—with all of his past experience intact!

My Holo Love poster
My Holo Love
2020 · 1 season · Netflix
★ 7.6drama · sci-fi & fantasyNetflix

Falling for someone who exists on the other side of a screen

The difference: A quiet live-action romance — no action or adventure at all

Unexpected love finds a lonely woman when she forms a connection with a humanlike hologram who looks exactly like his prickly creator.

Blue Box poster
Blue Box
2024– · 1 season · MBS
★ 8animation · dramaNetflix

Common ground in both: friendship and romance

The difference: Takes it somewhere less cerebral than Sword Art Online does

Taiki Inomata loves badminton, but he has a long way to go before he can reach nationals. When Taiki sees upperclassman Chinatsu Kano practicing her heart out on the girls’ basketball team, he falls for her hard. After an unexpected turn of events brings the two closer together, sports might not be the first thing on their minds anymore!

Love Alarm poster
Love Alarm
2019–2021 · 2 seasons · Netflix
★ 6.5drama · sci-fi & fantasyNetflix

One thread runs through both: friendship

The difference: Trades the momentum of Sword Art Online for an angle of its own

Love Alarm is an app that tells you if someone within a 10-meter radius has a crush on you. It quickly becomes a social phenomenon. While everyone talks about it and uses it to test their love and popularity, Jojo is one of the few people who have yet to download the app. However, she soon faces a love triangle situation between Sun-oh whom she starts to have feelings for, and Hye-young, who has had a huge crush on her.

Parasyte -the maxim- poster
Parasyte -the maxim-
2014–2015 · 1 season · Nippon TV
★ 8.2animation · drama · sci-fi & fantasy

The same preoccupation in both: romance

The difference: Leans harder into drama than Sword Art Online does

A species of parasitic aliens descends on Earth and quickly infiltrates humanity by entering the brains of vulnerable targets; insatiable beings that gain total control of their host and are capable of transforming themselves to feed on unsuspecting prey. High school student Shinichi Izumi falls victim to one of these parasites, but the creature fails to take over his brain and ends up in his right hand.

Outlander poster
Outlander
2014–2026 · 8 seasons · STARZ
★ 8.3drama · sci-fi & fantasyNetflixStarz

Swept into another world where love becomes the survival strategy

The difference: Adult historical romance — patient, explicit, and very long

The story of Claire Randall, a married combat nurse from 1945 who is mysteriously swept back in time to 1743, where she is immediately thrown into an unknown world where her life is threatened. When she is forced to marry Jamie, a chivalrous and romantic young Scottish warrior, a passionate affair is ignited that tears Claire's heart between two vastly different men in two irreconcilable lives.

The Seven Deadly Sins poster
The Seven Deadly Sins
2014–2021 · 4 seasons · tv asahi
★ 7.6animation · action & adventure · sci-fi & fantasyNetflix

Big magical battles wrapped around fierce loyalty between comrades

The difference: The animation quality craters in the later seasons

The “Seven Deadly Sins”—a group of evil knights who conspired to overthrow the kingdom of Britannia—were said to have been eradicated by the Holy Knights, although some claim that they still live. Ten years later, the Holy Knights have staged a Coup d'état and assassinated the king, becoming the new, tyrannical rulers of the kingdom. Elizabeth, the king's only daughter, sets out on a journey to find the “Seven Deadly Sins,” and to enlist their help in taking back the kingdom.

Xena: Warrior Princess poster
Xena: Warrior Princess
1995–2001 · 6 seasons · Syndication
🍅 63%★ 6.8drama · action & adventure · sci-fi & fantasy

A wandering warrior's episodic quests held together by devotion

The difference: Campy 90s syndication cheese — charm well ahead of polish

Xena is an infamous warrior on a quest to seek redemption for her past sins against the innocent. Accompanied by her comrade-in-arms Gabrielle, the campy couple use their formidable fighting skills to help those who are unable to defend themselves.

Looking for Alaska poster
Looking for Alaska
2019 · 1 season · Hulu
★ 8drama

Warm where it counts, romantic underneath

Miles enrolls in a new boarding school seeking adventure. There, he befriends a group of quirky students led by the captivating and troubled Alaska. As they pull pranks and explore dark secrets, a night of celebration takes a tragic turn, forcing the group to grapple with loss and the complexities of growing up.

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The best-reviewed series that share Sword Art Online’s defining feeling.