Isekai anime has gained popularity for presenting escapist stories where many protagonists are blessed with godlike powers upon arriving in a new world. However, the best isekai anime with underdog protagonists not only features characters who start in the most unfavorable circumstances imaginable but also those who have to fight tooth and nail to survive or become strong.

While the genre has given rise to great series like The Great Cleric, where a protagonist without natural talent undergoes training but has a long way to go, and The Weakest Tamer Began A Journey to Pick Up Trash, which depicts a harrowing life and focuses on survival, there are isekai stories that show faster signs that characters can reach the top with effort and dedication. While some don’t take the time to showcase the protagonist’s gradual growth as deeply as others, these isekai anime have some of the best examples of how underdog heroes can become overpowered.

Hell Mode: The Hardcore Gamer Dominates in Another World with Garbage Balancing

Underdog Isekai protagonists usually struggle due to having a significant handicap. But it’s hard to find someone who intentionally makes things harder for themselves other than Allen from Hell Mode. In Hell Mode, a 35-year-old gamer unknowingly gets reincarnated after signing up for a game. Despite choosing to be a summoner, the class with the greatest potential, he does so on the highest difficulty level. This gives Allen a tough start as a baby with a humble background, level 1 stats, and minimal magic power that only allows him to summon a grasshopper and a rat.

Furthermore, Allen needs to earn ten times more points than everyone else to level up. Relying solely on his experience as an avid gamer, Allen faces an uphill battle, but this is precisely what makes each step of his progress so engaging. With a cast of endearing characters and summoned beasts that make Allen seem to have his own Pokémon team, Hell Mode is surprisingly lighthearted despite its title, but it will also keep viewers entertained as Allen grows stronger, learns to fight, and overcomes any situation with his newfound abilities.

The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic

In The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic, Usato is the definition of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, being mistakenly transported to another world along with his schoolmates despite not being a chosen hero. Besides the lack of expectations placed upon him, Usato also has no affinity for combat magic. And although healing magic is rare, enduring the training of Rose, the leader of the Rescue Squad, proved to be a more agonizing ordeal than facing fate itself.

Although Usato is not blatantly despised or exiled but rather receives surprisingly chill treatment, the anime focuses more on his journey to feeling special for the first time in his life. Furthermore, The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic is a refreshing isekai anime that doesn’t rely on the usual tropes of the genre, as Usato isn’t all-powerful from the start but has to work hard to be useful in battle; healing magic is explored creatively, and it has a hilarious mentor-student relationship that makes viewers want to see more.

The Familiar of Zero

A classic isekai from the early 2000s, The Familiar of Zero is one of the most entertaining, and comically simple, representations of the underdog archetype in the genre. In the anime, Saito Hiraga is accidentally summoned to a fantasy world and treated as a slave for lacking magic, while Louise de la Vallière is terrible at magic, the worst student, and the laughingstock of her class, nicknamed “Louise the Zero,” which leads her to develop an inferiority complex.

Although Saito turns out to be a powerful familiar and Louise later awakens an ancient magic, she still struggles to fully master it, making the development of both characters feel organic. While the fact that it’s a romantic comedy piques the audience’s interest in seeing how Saito and Louise’s relationship develops, The Familiar of Zero also keeps them waiting for the moment when she finally manages to be accepted by everyone.

So I’m a Spider, So What?

So I’m a Spider, So What? ticks all the boxes for those who want to watch an anime with a protagonist who starts with absolutely no advantages. Having been bullied in her previous life, Hiiro Wakaba is the only one among her classmates who ends up alone after being reborn, and she does so as the weakest creature in a deadly labyrinth. Now becoming Kumoko, she just doesn’t catch a break in either world, as she has to face all kinds of creatures.

Even so, it doesn’t take that long for Kumoko to become strong thanks to her leveling strategy, going from surviving to evolving. While So I’m a Spider, So What?‘s story may not completely reinvent the isekai genre, it manages to hook viewers by gradually revealing information, explaining the mysteries of the plot while raising other questions. The anime’s biggest charm is the way it balances two narrative focuses, following Kumoko’s classmates as they adapt to the new world and the terrors she experiences in the labyrinth.

The Rising of the Shield Hero

With a power geared towards defense, Naofumi Iwatani started out as the weakest of the four cardinal heroes in The Rising of the Shield Hero. To make matters worse, he’s falsely accused, humiliated, and stripped from his position. Despite his brutal situation, Naofumi’s sheer determination and desire for revenge keep him resolved to become stronger, mastering his abilities little by little and eventually becoming a true powerhouse.

As an outcast, Naofumi feels compassion for those in precarious situations, acting with strategy and resourcefulness, so he isn’t the typical moralistic hero. Additionally, even though some seasons are better than others, The Rising of the Shield Hero is one of the isekai with the best world-building, showcasing diverse cultures, political intrigues, and foreshadowing major global conflicts that keep the tension alive in the story even after the protagonist grows stronger.

Welcome to Demon School Iruma-kun

For Iruma, from Welcome to School! Iruma-kun, after being neglected by his parents and taken advantage of for most of his life, being sold to a demon was actually an improvement. But even with the overwhelming affection of his new grandfather, Iruma faces all sorts of challenges in the Netherworld, as he lacks any magical power and must hide his human nature to avoid being eaten.

Iruma can only boast of his superhuman crisis evasion mechanism and his bad luck, but he evolves from a powerless being through the Ring of Gluttony and training his archery skills. Furthermore, his mental strength and social skills are top-notch, allowing him to gain a multitude of friends. Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun isn’t a run-of-the-mill shōnen and focuses more on comedy, so don’t expect the typical progression and battles of a power fantasy. Even so, although he’s still far from being the strongest character in his own anime, Iruma’s development could be leading him towards becoming the Demon King.

Ascendance of a Bookworm

Ascendance of the Bookworm is a slow-paced isekai focused on Myne’s pursuit of her dream of creating books but also follows her growth beyond her intellectual abilities, which stems from her sheer grit. Born with a frail constitution where something as simple as walking leaves her breathless, Myne not only crafts all sorts of objects but also goes from a commoner to becoming an apprentice priestess and eventually the adopted daughter of a lord.

Myne’s massive amount of mana even surpasses high-ranking nobles. However, what makes Ascendance of the Bookworm such an interesting anime is that Myne’s power isn’t free; it affected her health and was augmented by her own developed method. Not only in terms of power, Ascendance of a Bookworm manages to make viewers interested in Myne’s ambitions but also in exploring themes such as social inequality, family, and how not to be defeated despite the circumstances.

TSUKIMICHI -Moonlit Fantasy-

It’s common in isekai for heroes to be banned for having apparently weak abilities, but in TSUKIMICHI -Moonlit Fantasy-, despite having the background and lineage to be summoned as a hero, Makoto Misumi is rejected by the goddess for not being handsome enough. Makoto begins in a desolate wasteland as a Level 1, and although he shows talent for mastering magic right away, this doesn’t spare him from being constantly underestimated. Furthermore, the goddess prevented him from communicating with other humans.

Makoto’s desire to help others who have also been rejected and her refusal to side with the humans who are favored in the world make her more of a grey character, and she undergoes emotional growth throughout the story. However, it’s the desire to see Makoto teach the superficial goddess a lesson that makes TSUKIMICHI‘s story so rewarding to follow.

That Time I got Reincarnated as a Slime

That Time I got Reincarnated as a Slime sees Rimuru Tempest being reborn as a slime, a weak and harmless creature that couldn’t even see and relied on its sense of touch. Thanks to two unique abilities and his encounters with others, Rimuru absorbed all sorts of skills, growing stronger rapidly and even becoming a demon lord, making his combat prowess undeniable.

But more than having to exert himself physically, what keeps Rimuru Tempest feeling like an underdog is that, after creating his own nation, he is still constantly having to navigate political conflicts; thus, he continues to grow as a leader. Rimuru has to face large-scale battles he cannot win alone, involving preparation and strategy, and so he delegates tasks to his subordinates. Even so, after starting from nothing, Rimuru’s god-tier powers have earned him a place among the most overpowered characters in anime.

Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World-

Although he is still far from being an all-powerful character in the strictest sense of the word, Natsuki Subaru from Re:ZERO is the ultimate underdog character in the isekai genre. Relying solely on his “Return by Death” ability, which seems more like a curse, Subaru truly knows what it’s like to fail, subjected to constant loops of agonizing deaths in order to find a way to emerge victorious and save his friends.

But even without god-like physical abilities, Subaru possesses an overpowered resilience that allows him to endure trauma and mental scars, defying fate time and again. While Subaru’s character development is evident compared to the beginning of the story, and Re:ZERO features powerful characters like Reinhard, the anime’s focus isn’t on the protagonist easily defeating everyone. Subaru’s true strength lies in how he inspires others to fight together as he faces loss and sacrifice, making him a true underdog isekai character who battles against adversity throughout the entire Re:ZERO story.