The best body swapping anime

Many stories in the media contain fantastic and bizarre situations, but nothing is as strange as the concept of body swapping. Whether it's a permanent change or a temporary change, being in another person's body can lead to a lot of crazy shenanigans.

Body swapping has appeared in all kinds of anime, be it high fantasy or modern, but usually only as a short escapade that doesn't last long. However, several shows focus exclusively on the concept itself; as a result, here they are best body swapping anime.

In order to reason, both characters must be from the same world. Hence no reincarnation or isekai anime where the main character takes over someone's body.

Updated October 6, 2024 by Mark Sammut: This article has been updated with specs for each body-swapping anime included, along with the introduction of a new very long shonen series that explores the concept during one of its arcs.

12 Atashin'chi movie

Decent classic Take On The Body Swap formula

Atashin'chi is a long-running manga and anime series featuring the episodic adventures of the Tachibana family. The protagonist of the series is 17-year-old Mikan, although her mother, father, and her younger brother Yuzuhiko are equally central to the series.

Atashin'chi itself has nothing to do with body swapping, but the movie released in 2003 is a different story. In the film, Mikan and her mother switch bodies when lightning strikes them, forcing them to live each other's lives while the other family members find a way to change them back. The film is a classic body-swapping story that any fan of the trope should appreciate.

11 A legendary hero is dead!

A mixed comedy with a polarizing protagonist who trades with a corpse

Touka Scott is a thigh and stocking fetish farmer with a penchant for setting traps. When one of his traps accidentally kills Sion, a legendary hero, Touka finds himself inside the hero's decomposing body. If Touka ever wanted to return to her original body, she would have to finish Sion's work and seal the Gates of Hell.

A legendary hero is dead! it gives a fantasy twist to the classic body-swapping story with some dark humor to go with it. The Spring 2023 anime is quite polarizing, mainly because of its main character. Touk's antics and perversions make him quite hard to like, and the humor is spot on.

10 One Piece (Punk Hazard Arc)

A fun gag in a long and divisive saga

Since it has been around for a quarter of a century, One piece the introduction of the body swap element was bound to happen sooner or later. This situation occurs during the Punk Hazard Arc, when Law uses his Devil Fruit to cause Sanji and Nami, Franky and Chopper, and Smoker and Tashigi to switch bodies.

Although Punk Hazard is important in the grand scheme of things, it is not generally considered the pinnacle One piecewith the saga overstaying its welcome in the anime adaptation. That said, the body-swapping gag leads to some pretty funny moments, especially Robin's anger at seeing Chopper's cuteness twisted by Franky's personality.

9 Gintama (Soul Switch Arc)

A short but hilarious Gintama arc that sees Gintoki and Hijikata switch bodies

Gintama is well known for parodying and shading various tropes, clichés, and archetypes due to its primary status as a comedy series. Although it does not have to constantly focus around the object, Gintama also did his own twist on the body-swapping trope in the Soul Switch Arc, in which Gintoki and Hijikata's souls end up in the wrong bodies.

In truth Gintama fashion, the madness doesn't stop there. It turns out that half of Gintoki's soul possessed the dead cat and turned it into an amnesiac monster. The other Yorozuya and Shinsengumi members also fall into disarray, and soon almost the entire main cast ends up with changed bodies. The result is one of the best examples of how Gintama it can take a concept and spiral out of control in minutes.

8 Kokoro Connect

Body swapping is a minor part of this overall great coming of age anime

Five high school students, all members of the Student Cultural Research Club, they suddenly find themselves swapping bodies. After trying to find out what is happening to them, they discover that they are the subject of an experiment by an unknown entity called Heartseed. As they struggle to adapt to their changing circumstances, their bonds of friendship will be tested.

Kokoro Connect is a very dramatic series that focuses on friendship and the emotional bonds that people have. By taking on these challenges together and coming out on top, the group slowly comes to understand each other in a new way. While the body swap doesn't remain at the core of the series' main issue, it still plays a large role for much of the series.

7 Punch Line

Ridiculous antics in the best possible way

After the bus hijacking incident, Yuta Iridatsu realizes this he was thrown out of his body. Between learning that he has various abilities such as possessing and gaining power whenever he sees a girl's underwear; more importantly, he also discovers that he must find the sacred tome to get his body back.

Punch Line is a wild supernatural series with a bizarre setting and increasingly strange circumstances. The various strange situations that Yuta has to deal with are a sight to behold, and the ridiculousness of the series tells viewers not to take everything too seriously. The series was written by Kotaro Uchikoshi of The Zero Escape series and later a visual novel was created based on the anime.

6 The murderous princess

A lesser known OVA series that has a lot of fun with the Body Swap formula

After a rebellion in the kingdom of Forland, the dying king sends his daughter Alita to find her brother Kaito. While escaping through the forest, he falls off a cliff onto the bounty hunter Falis. The two manage to survive, but they wake up to find that their bodies have been switched. Now Falis must pretend to be Princess Alita and defend your kingdom from any threats.

The murderous princess is a short comedy series that plays with the conventions of the high fantasy genre. The image of a prima and a proper princess acting as a tough warrior is a sight to behold. While this isn't anything groundbreaking, fantasy fans will definitely enjoy it a bit.

5 Charlotte

More than just Body Swap Anime

Every 75 years, a strange comet named Charlotte passes Earth, and its dust causes children who inhale it to exhibit supernatural powers at puberty. Yuu Otosaka, when he became a high school student, gains the ability to possess othersand when his power is revealed, he is forced by Nao Tomori to transfer to Hoshinoumi Academy to protect users of such powers.

Charlotte he appeals to fans of the show with supernatural powers, and while body-swapping isn't the main focus of the story, it's the main character's signature power. This series has a lot of drama and fast action, and a lot of it more serious than most anime about body swapping.

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. To save his life, Birdy decides to fuse with him and keep him alive. Until Tsutomu's body can be rebuilt, the two are forced to share a body.

Birdy the Mighty: Decode is classic body swapping anime in which a normal high school student shares bodies with a powerful, superhero warrior. While the series is mostly based on action and intrigue, the dynamic has plenty of comedic moments and the interactions between the two characters are fun to watch.

3 Kaiba

A forgotten sci-fi gem

In a world where memories can be stored on memory chips, mind transfer into another's body and memory theft is becoming more common. A man named Kaiba wakes up in a room with no memories and a locket containing a picture of a girl inside. Kaiba goes to explore the world, restore his memories and meet the girl in the locket.

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

2 Yamada-kun And The Seven Witches

A highly entertaining anime that emphasizes body swapping (to an extent)

Delinquent Ryu Yamada accidentally falls down the stairs on top student Uraro Shiraishi and discovers that the two have somehow switched bodies. After spending the school day trying to impersonate the other, they finally figured out the problem; when you two kiss they exchange bodies with each other.

Yamada-kun and the seven witches starts with a fantastic premise and only gets weirder when more characters and powers are involved. While Body swapping is just part of the madness this series is growing, still able to play a significant role. This series is a hilarious romantic comedy with lots of supernatural shenanigans.

1 Your name

Anime Definitive Body Swap

Bored with her life in the countryside, Mitsuha Miyamizu wishes she could be a boy from Tokyo in her next life. Suddenly, starts switching bodies randomly with a boy named Taki Tachibana. Unsure how to deal with these new circumstances, they both have to learn to live in their bodies while slowly getting to know each other.

Your name is a dramatic romantic film directed by Makoto Shinkai with several elements of fantasy, while being very popular. It remains one of the most famous anime films of all time and Makoto Shinkai's best work, and anime fans rave about it to this day.