Isekai Cheat Magician

Anime series with the most OP Protagonists!
Most of these are Isekais or VRMMOs where the protagonist enters a new world and gains incredible powers, but the list also includes protagonists who were born powerful or became powerful in their own world.


Who do you think would win in a battle between these protagonists?


Is the stack missing your favorite OP Protagonist? Send me a PM!

Yo, welcome to the official isekai recommendation list for people who want to get into isekai but just don't know where to start. The purpose of this is to introduce some of the most popular and well made isekai so that people new to isekai can watch the best of the best the isekai genre has to offer.
This list is not in order of best to worst but simply isekai I believe are worth watching, however this is of course subject to my personal opinions.

You may wonder what makes this official in any way? Well, my only qualification is I've watched the vast majority of all isekai and really like the genre, however if you don't end up agreeing with this list after 2-3 working days then I can guarantee your money back!

Disclaimer - most typical isekai are lower effort power fantasies where the protagonist shows off how cool he is and gets a harem. Enjoying this trash is a trait of a typical isekai watcher and, although I do enjoy them, I will only be covering the generally well written and innovative isekai here that stands out from the rest.
Most of this is the basics that will then send you down the dark path of watching isekai and so if my list succeeds and you end up an avid isekai fan...I can only apologise.

Firstly, what exactly an isekai is can be debated. For the purposes of this I will limit it exclusively to anime where the main character is sent to a fantasy world and cannot return to his own world.
This subsequently does not include game worlds such as sword art online, reverse isekai like re:creators or isekai where they travel between worlds like gate. Yes under the actual definition of isekai these can be argued to fit and if you disagree with how ive done this please direct all complaints to 'earnshaw30' on mal.

If you read this whole thing then firstly thanks but also i'll now shamelessly ask you to check out my reviews because you clearly have a lot of spare time on your hands. My gimmick is I only review things that fill me with a passionate hatred and so if that sounds fun to you then great!

this is the list of my favorites isekai... feel free to suggest some others isekai if I'm missing out... this list groups animes with most similarities together...

it's been said that watching isekai anime is like going downward spiral into a rabbit hole of darkness and some depravity ecchi stuff... folks, people are being over dramatic because some isekai are lewd doesn't mean theres any decent isekai that don't rely on lewdness or other hentai stuff... I'm here to demythify that... at least argue against that false premise...

on this list you will find family friendly isekai that are healthy and wholesome...
just to update that for now but if take your time you will find what are marked family friendly isekai that will get you straight out of the world depravity... is not given but yeah just want to let people know that is not completely a dark path... those who went to the dark side did by choice... so do you rather not go to the dark side?

for those insisting that isekai genre is whatever because of repeating classical trope is like arguing that romance genre is bs because you for sure will know that the stuff usually is the lovey dovey and kissing or some whatever tragedy and sadness... every genre is known for its quirks is totally normal, do people really have its expectations in the right place?

my short recommendation if you like Mushoku Tensei meanwhile waiting for the second season then watch:

-The 8th son? Are you kidding me?

this anime should a be good pick...It does share many elements it got the good stuff as expected of nicely done isekai with all its tropes... cough cough a harem...

-Wise Man's Grandchild

please people don't scream generic... if you just care about generic part or repeated trope then maybe you don't enjoy isekai anime... but here's some similarities to mushoku tensei.

the protagonist:
-was ran over by a car.
-still have some science knowledge from previous life
-started as a newborn baby
-improves magic with science knowledge
-is very op... as much as Rudeus... Guess Mushoku Tensei this season will be about the magic academy.

- Grimgar: Ashes and Illusions

that time I recommended Goblin Slayer to fill the goblin slaying reference that was lacking in Mushoku Tensei. this is a much more older reference for fantasy isekai anime, pretty good. I'm not sure if this anime is pretty popular or not I just saw it recently and Omg it has very good representation of different roles of a party for a lot of anime in this genre. it has very much the similar mechanic in how magic works. this anime was before goblin slayer, I thought this one has serve as inspiration that's why I found that Goblin Slayer even though wasn't isekai has a lot of good quality in it.

-Goblin slayer

is very bloody is not very advisable if you can't handle gore...this anime helps expand on the goblins topic that was barely covered in Mushoku.

some may wonder why goblin slayer is on the list if the mc isn't reincarnated or teleported to a fantasy world...my answer to this is... to think about it this way, the main difference between an isekai in contrast to a straight forward fantasy, is the Mc origin backstory, so in the end it doesn't even matter whether isekai or non-isekai the fantasy world setting is the same for both... capiche? in simple terms this is being used as reference material...

put it bluntly if we have Rudeus Greyrat and the goblin slayer...the latter have a backstory usually in Japan being hit by truck-kun... this being said the main point is that after watching Eris the goblin slayer FYI the Mushoku Tensei OVA ...I got curious and then... yeah after that you want more goblin slaying action in a longer series...what else?

-Skeleton Knight in Another World

even though this anime is of somebody who suddenly woke up in the game... it seems more of that sub-genre of games world isekai... like the fact this one doesn't have the game interface and pop-up menu that's been seen in these others isekai.

-That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime aka Tensura

I highly recommend it... this anime will share and borrow narrative elements from different isekai I consider it a rich and very elaborate and wholesome anime...

ok... I like this one because it doesn't have a game user interface in which is a good thing ... instead it has the better idea of having an ai voice assistant... the reason behind why I'm recommending skeleton knight and Tensura, I saw it has fast travel and teleportation in which is a big deal of a topic in Mushoku for the future so folks watch more isekai with Teleportation and fast travel really a big deal and is interesting... there's some others anime that has it not mentioned for now maybe later or ahead down below keep an eye peel...

-The Faraway Paladin

some says that this anime did took inspiration in Mushoku Tensei... seems it does it also have its own thing... maybe its cover more on the Paladin sides of things, truly is really well done in that sense I did enjoy the concept of paladin that's not very often seen in the genre, as we know mostly the protagonist usually is a mage... the paladin thing did blew my mind what is the middle ground between an mage and a warrior .... ta-da! a Paladin...

basically these are the recommended watch order just to be a more enriching experience on isekai that got ideas that are more elaborate in different story... people complain that isekai are generic but I think is an evolution so it may happen that some ideas are repeated but we can see that it works better than other I think that Mushoku Tensei was able to wrap a lot of ideas pretty well some others too, so I consider it a masterpiece...

if you are looking for something similar to the Shield hero...a Hero Merchant Mc with a lot of ladies' companions, then I recommend watching:

1-Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody

yeah, as I this one does follow our Shield Hero foots, going around with a lot of ladies in a cart like any proper gentleman... seriously my role model!

2-Black Summoner

another of our fellow Shield Hero friend Bought a slave to fight too... Nice!

some trends and ideas in the isekai animes has been argue that summoner is the strongest form of a mage because they rely on the spirit as a source of power, that's why suddenly summoner concept is becoming more common and more animes are working around on that idea.

summoning abilities is something that the top names isekai use it is a very a powerful spell...

3-Parallel World Pharmacy

this anime shares some similarities between Shield hero and seijo... what they have in common is the healing and crafting potion abilities...

4-The Saint's Magic Power is Omnipotent

this anime shares similar vibe introduction both were summoned from a ritual to fight some calamity ...and was treated poorly upon arrival ... but Naofumi had it rougher in comparison...

5- Seirei Gensuki

Our protagonist in this anime is pretty Op and also follows Shield Heros footstep to have demi human slave companion with nightmares during night sleeps... does it sound familiar?

6-Meikyuu Black Company

both mc are the boss... does business in a shady way, both have an Op female bodyguard that are always hungry...

7- Harem in the Labyrinth of Another World

in this anime the Mc bought a slave too... the same way Naofumi did, certainly but the main difference is that this anime went much much further than Shield Hero...

8-I'm Standing on a Million Lives

on this anime the mc has similar restriction on weapon that can be equipped by the hero following certain rules...

*LOG HORIZON---*
- Log Horizon is an recommend anime to watch at some point in time because is like the grandfather to some recent isekai anime. if you enjoy anime related to be isekai in a mmorpg game world.

***if you are looking for anime similar to konosuba in the premise of non-handsome Mc
you may watch...
1- isekai ojisan
2- Tsukimichi -Moonlit Fantasy-


***Guide to watch for people with busy schedule
Considering time is limited the usual must watch based on people recommendations,
is to start out with Mushoku Tensei, then go for Tensura and lastly Shield Hero...if you were able to chew on these 3... after that it should be easy to look for the next thing to watch... this list center around those 3 primary top tier isekai... you may notice that whats up and below share the most similarities between them...


enjoy...

the pasture is greener in the dark side.... sooo you my puritan friend... is corruption enticing? are you avoiding the so-called dark side, or do you only watch family friendly isekai?

*UPDATE*
- reached the limit of the list... wondering if there's some great isekai anime left out?
and lastly thanks to the people who sent there's suggestion.

Shousetsuka ni Narou, “Let’s become a novelist!”, is Japan's novel publishing website where anyone can publish and read novels free of charge. These animes are the anime of Shousetsuka ni Narou origin, in which some of them are popular series.

Part 2 -> https://myanimelist.net/stacks/5031
Part 3 -> https://myanimelist.net/stacks/5032
Part 4 -> https://myanimelist.net/stacks/31489
Part 5 -> https://myanimelist.net/stacks/49254

A collection of anime with overpowered main characters, either in relation to physically / magically or to their extreme talent in tactics (e.g. always multiple steps ahead of the enemy, knowing their next move, etc)

For anime with multiple seasons, only the first season is included in this list.

Note: this list only includes anime that I have personally watched or read the manga of.

Derivatives of this list:
Isekai Anime with OP MC - https://myanimelist.net/stacks/30347
Anime with an OP MC who hides their powers - https://myanimelist.net/stacks/30348
Anime with "Seemingly Weak But Actually OP" MC - https://myanimelist.net/stacks/47743

This is a part of a series of stacks that are about artistic tendencies in anime (and that border the fine line between sophisticated and pretentious).

This stack is a work in progress.

Bibliography:
Morrissy, Kim. “Mushoku Tensei Is Not the Pioneer of Isekai Web Novels, But...” Anime News Network. 19 March 2021.
NineOuh. “What's the Point of Isekai? The Cultural Implications of the Genre.” Anime News Network. 21 August 2020.
Pause and Select. “Talking to a Private Isekai Author.” Patreon. 9 maart 2020.
Tagliamonte, Giovanni and Yaochong Yang. “Isekai: Tracing Interactive Control In Non-Interactive Media.” Paratextualizing Games Investigations on the Paraphernalia and Peripheries of Play. Eds. Benjamin Beil, Gundolf S. Freyermuth and Hanns Christian Schmidt. Bielefeld: transcript, 2021. 347-359.

Just some isekai to waste your time with sometimes. I mean, seriously, who doesn’t watch isekai to be disappointed sometimes with the overused trope of "Trashy/Normal MC > Reincarnates Into OP MC > Beats Up All Enemies." However, despite what I've said, there are some decent isekai you could check out.

If you are into protagonists who are very strong from the very beginning instead of a "From Zero to Hero" Anime then these anime are for you.

A list that contains Isekai/fantasy (Game worlds) animes.

Continuation of https://myanimelist.net/stacks/12544

MAIN LIST: https://myanimelist.net/stacks/13593

CONTINUATION OF THE MAIN LIST BECAUSE OF SIZE LIMIT

Almost every single isekai and reverse isekai anime is there in this list (made in Fall 2022 and there is a part 1 if you haven't checked it out)

Edit: Updated Winter 2023

These shows have booba in them

i like all of these lol

These anime primarily focus on one or more childhood friends. The friends might have reunited after a long period of time apart, or they might be characters who start a relationship in a Romance anime. A Childhood Promise might also be involved.

Main character is either OP from the get go or becomes OP as the series progresses (Will mention if it's the latter)

1. No animes where MC is OP but we don't get enough action (EX: I've been killing slimes for 300 years and Problem Children Are Coming from Another World, Aren't They?)