The best body swapping animation

Many media stories feature fantastical and bizarre situations, but nothing is as bizarre as the concept of body swapping. Whether it's a permanent change or a temporary switch, being in someone else's body can lead to a lot of crazy shenanigans.

Body switching has appeared in all types of anime, whether fantasy or modern, but usually only as a short fling that doesn't last long. However, few shows focus entirely on the concept itself. As a result, here they are The best body swapping anime.

Both characters must be from the same universe to be considered. Therefore, there is no anime called reincarnation or isekai where the protagonist takes over someone's body.

Updated on October 6, 2024 by Mark Sammot: This article has been updated with a profile of each body swapping anime along with the introduction of a new very long shounen series that explores the concept in one of its arcs.

12 Atashinchi movie

A classic formula suitable for body replacement

Firefighter is a long-running manga and anime series featuring episodic, slice-of-life adventures of the Tachibana family. The protagonist of the series is 17-year-old Mikan, although her mother, father, and younger brother Yuzuhiko are equally involved in the series.

Firefighter It has nothing to do with body swapping per se, but a movie released in 2003 tells a different story. In the film, Mikan and her mother switch bodies when they are struck by lightning and are forced to live each other's lives while the rest of the family finds a way to bring them back. The film is a classic body-swapping story that any fan of the trope should appreciate.

11 The legendary hero is dead!

A hybrid comedy with a polarizing hero who is swapped for a corpse

Toka Scott is a farmer with a fetish for thighs and stockings and a penchant for creating traps. When one of his traps accidentally ends up killing Sion, the legendary hero, Touka finds himself in the hero's decaying body. If Touka wants to return to his original body, he must finish Sion and seal the gates of hell.

The legendary hero is dead! It puts a fantasy spin on the classic body swap story with a bit of dark humor. The Spring 2023 anime is quite polarizing, primarily thanks to its main protagonist. Touka's antics and perversions make him rather difficult to like, and the humor helps.

10 One Piece (Punk Hazard Arc)

A fun gag in a long and divisive saga

Given that it has been around for almost a quarter of a century, each piece The introduction of a body replacement element was bound to happen sooner or later. This takes place during the Punk Hazard arc, and Love uses his Devil Fruit to swap Sanji and Nami, Franky and Chopper, and Smoker and Tashigi.

Although important in the grand scheme of things, Punk Hazard isn't generally considered a pinnacle. each piecewith the epic being over-received in the anime adaptation. Still, the body-swapping hiatus leads to some pretty funny moments, especially Robin's anger at seeing Chopper's loveliness twisted by Frankie's character.

9 Gintama (Soul Switch Arc)

A short but funny Gintama arc that swaps Gintoki and Hijikata's bodies

Gintama Due to its original position as a comedy series, it is known for parodying and lampooning various tropes, clichés and archetypes. While it may not always center around the subject, Gintama It also puts its own spin on the body-switching trope in the Soul Switch Arc, where Gintoki and Hijikata's souls end up in the wrong bodies.

in fact Gintama Fashion, madness does not end here. It turns out that half of Gintoki's soul possessed a dead cat and turned it into a forgotten monster. The other members of Yurozoya and the Shinsengumi also tangle with the rope, and soon almost the entire main cast ends up having their bodies changed. The result is one of the best examples of how Gintama Can take a concept and spin it out of control in minutes.

8 Kokoro Connect

Body shifting is a small part of this great coming-of-age anime

Five high school students, all members of the student cultural research club, Suddenly they find themselves switching bodies. After trying to figure out what is happening to them, they discover that they are the test subjects of an unknown entity called Heartseed. As they try to adapt to their changing circumstances, their bonds as friends are tested.

Kokoro Connect It is a very dramatic series that focuses on friendship bonds and emotional bonds of people. As they overcome these challenges together and rise above, the group slowly comes to understand each other in new ways. While body switching has not remained at the core of the series, it still plays an important role for a large portion of the series.

7 punch line

Ridiculous moves in the best possible way

After a bus hijacking incident, Yuta Iridatsu finds out He is thrown out of his body. including learning that he has various powers, such as possessing and gaining power whenever he sees a girl's underwear. More importantly, he also realizes that he must find a sacred tomb to restore his body.

punch line A wild paranormal series with a strange atmosphere and increasingly strange circumstances. The various weird situations that Utah has to deal with are a sight to behold, and the show's ridiculousness tells viewers not to take things too seriously. The series is written by Kotaro Uchikoshi zero escape series, and later a visual novel based on the anime.

6 Slayer Princess

A lesser-known OVA series that has a lot of fun with the body-swapping formula

After a rebellion in the kingdom of Forland, the dying king sends his daughter Alita to find her brother Kaito. While running away from the forest, he falls off a cliff and lands on Phalis the Bounty Hunter. The two manage to survive. But they wake up and find that their bodies have changed. Now Fallis must pretend to be Princess Alita and Defend your kingdom against any threat.

Slayer Princess It is a short comedy series that plays with the conventions of the high fantasy genre. The image of an original and proper princess acting like a fierce warrior is spectacular. While it doesn't have any high concepts, fantasy fans will definitely get a little kick out of this.

5 Charlotte

Anime is much more than body swapping

Every 75 years, a strange comet called Charlotte passes over Earth, and its dust causes children who inhale it to manifest supernatural powers as they mature. Yu Otosaka, after becoming a high school, Gains the ability to possess othersAnd when his power is revealed, he is forced to be transferred to Hoshinomi Academy by Nao Tomori to protect such ability users.

Charlotte Fans of shows with supernatural powers will be intrigued, and while body switching isn't the core of the story, it is the main character's signature power. This series has a lot of drama and high-speed actions and it is remarkable More serious than most anime about body switching.

4 Birdy The Mighty: Decode

A cult classic worth seeking out

One day, while walking outside at night, Tsutomu Senkawa is mortally wounded in a fight between Birdy Cephon Altera and an intergalactic criminal. Brady decides to save his own life by mixing with him to keep him alive. Until Tsutomu's body is rebuilt, These two people are forced to share a body.

Birdy the Mighty: Decode is A classic body swapping anime In which an ordinary high school boy shares his body with a powerful fighter and superheroes. While the show is mostly based on action and intrigue, Pooya has plenty of comedic moments and the interaction between the two characters is fun to watch.

3 Kaiba

A forgotten sci-fi gem

In a world where memories can be stored on memory chips, Transferring your mind to another body And memory theft is becoming increasingly common. A man named Kaiba wakes up in a room with no memories and a shelf containing a picture of a girl inside. Kaiba goes out to explore the world, recover his memories and meet the girl in the shell.

Kaiba A unique series with a classic art style that, despite being released in the 21st century, is very reminiscent of the anime aesthetics of the 60s and 70s. While it may not necessarily appeal to fans of modern anime, fans of cyberpunk and sci-fi may enjoy this rather erratic series.

2 Yamada-kun and the seven witches

Very entertaining anime that emphasizes body swapping (a lot).

Delinquent Ryu Yamada accidentally falls down the stairs on top student Urara Shirishi and discovers that both have somehow changed their bodies. After spending the school day trying to pass themselves off as someone else, they finally discover the problem. when they kiss They swap bodies with each other.

Yamada-kun and the seven wizards It starts with a fantastical premise and only gets weirder as more characters and powers get involved. While Body swapping is only part of the madness This series goes up, it can still play a prominent role. This series is a funny romantic comedy with loads of supernatural hijinks.

1 your name

Definitive body swapping anime

Bored with his life in the country, Mitsuha Miyamizu dreams of being a Tokyo boy in his next life. suddenly, He starts randomly switching bodies With a boy named Taki Tachibana. Not sure how to cope with this new situation, the two must learn to live in each other's bodies and slowly get to know each other.

your name It's a romantic drama film directed by Makoto Shinkai with some fantasy elements, yet it's very popular. It is one of the most recognizable anime films of all time and Makoto Shinkai's best work, and anime fans are still raving about it to this day.