Reincarnation Fantasy

An emerging genre, seen largely in Japanese web novels, wherein a protagonist from the mundane world dies, usually from an accident, and is reincarnated in a fantastic world with memories intact.

In a parallel phenomenon, this has also become a popular premise for English-language Self-Insert Fics, replacing the fantastic world with the setting of a work of fiction. This variant is occasionally used for Japanese web novels as well, replacing the source material with an original Show Within a Show, though these stories are more likely to have the protagonist replace a "canon" character, whereas fanfic tends toward Original Characters.

This genre has multiple points of appeal over a more traditional portal fantasy. An author has a ready-made excuse for the protagonist not to try to find their way home, as might be expected: That life is over. The central device provides a built-in reason for the protagonist to be "special", with years of cognitive development over their age peers -- rarely is the main character younger than high school at death, and they're more often in their 20s. It also gives the protagonist a built-in place in the new world's society, without having to make connections on their own or deal with a lack of cultural knowledge or even a language barrier. (This can be essential for settings where magic skill or the like is needed to make a difference on a large scale and is generally learned at a young age.) The Self-Insert Fic version also provides a handy excuse for authors to avoid revealing their real names on the Internet despite explicitly basing their characters on themselves.

Fan Works

 * Dreaming of Sunshine is the Trope Codifier for the fanfic version.
 * The setting of Naruto also demonstrates a number of the advantages listed above particularly well. To wield any sort of power, a character pretty much has to have been trained as a ninja from a young age, and to be wholly trusted by the main characters, it's best to have been trained by their own village. As such, the reincarnation fantasy is almost a necessity for a Naruto Self-Insert Fic.
 * In Bad Faith takes another cue from Dreaming of Sunshine: The main character becomes a canon character's Original Character twin sister, in this case Draco Malfoy's.
 * The Clan of Samsara takes the premise much further than most, with an entire ninja clan taken from across the history of the real world.

Literature

 * Mushoku Tensei is probably the Trope Codifier for the Japanese version, and possibly the most popular example.
 * Ee? Heibon desu yo?? resembles early Mushoku Tensei, but with a softer, more shoujo feeling and more technological exchange.
 * Kenkyo, kenjitsu o motto ni ikite orimasu! features the protagonist inhabiting the role of the wealthy villain from a popular shoujo manga. Her goals largely consist of staying the hell away from the drama surrounding the heroine in high school and preparing for the karmic punishment that came her way at the manga's end.
 * An Otome Game’s Burikko Villainess Turned into a Magic Otaku is much the same as Kenkyo, kenjitsu, with a more fantastical setting.