If you look at the most popular anime titles right now, you will discover that most of them are anime with overpowered main characters. And many of them might be isekai anime titles or fantasy anime shows because that gives you the proper setting to have a powerful character. And if you love watching such shows, then you are in luck, as I have created a list featuring the best anime with OP MC!
You might ask what’s the point of a story where the protagonist can instantly take care of a fight by simply overwhelming their opponents with a show of strength, but that’s precisely what makes things interesting.
You have to be a genius to make fights featuring OP characters exciting, and most of the popular shows have done it quite masterfully. You can keep watching these characters in a battle, even though you know the outcome, and yet be thrilled by every second of it.
This is the reason why anime with overpowered protagonists are so popular. It doesn’t matter if the MC started off as a wimp and later became overpowered, or they were strong enough from the beginning or gained some OP ability at some point; this list features the best anime with OP MC that everyone needs to watch. So, let’s not waste any more time and begin our list!
Best Anime With Overpowered Main Characters (2023)
30. Problem Children Are Coming From Another World, Aren’t They?
The premise of this one is relatively simple. A group of problematic youngsters who were blessed with a gift in the form of a superpower is bored with the way they lead life. One day, all of them are summoned into another world by a bunny girl known as Kurousagi, or black rabbit. She asks them to help a community that was defeated by the demon lord, which resulted in them losing their status and their lands.
Now, as part of this “No Names” community, the group sets off to fight against the demon lord’s forces and reclaim what was lost.
Although two of the main characters are strong, the male lead is the strongest and can efficiently deal with even deities of that supernatural world, so you can expect many op-shenanigans to happen in this series.
29. Arifureta: From Commonplace to World’s Strongest
Arifureta: From Commonplace to World’s Strongest has become one of the popular power fantasy titles and a staple isekai anime nowadays. The thing about this one is that, at first, the main character was far from OP.
After his whole class was transported into another world to fight for a kingdom, Hajime discovered he was given the power to transmute objects. This ability is often perceived as weak and given to craftsmen and artisans.
As the whole class attempts to clear a dungeon, he’s betrayed and left behind once the dungeon starts to crumble. To survive inside the dungeon, he resolves to do anything and everything, even consuming the flesh of monsters he encounters. As he attempts to clear the dungeon, he meets a sealed vampire girl, Yue, who joins him in his journey to clear all other great dungeons and face the gods that made him go through all his suffering.
28. The God of High School
The great thing about The God of High School is not only the fact that its character is overpowered, but the animation of the series is overpowered as well, with fantastic choreography and action scenes to boast their excellent work.
Story-wise, however, the series is not that complex. Jin, the main character of the series, is invited to join a martial arts tournament called The God of Highschool, and the reward of the said tournament is a granted wish, no questions asked.
In the tournament, he’ll meet several powerful people. All of them are vying to win the bout and get their wish granted, and the MC will not only fight against them, but he’ll also discover who he really is!
27. To Your Eternity
To Your Eternity has to be one of the most excellent titles created in recent years. I believe it is definitely becoming a classic anime, as many other great titles have become over the years.
This one introduces a main character that is pretty much invincible, as he is immortal and has the ability to take the shapes of other things, including living beings.
At the story’s beginning, this creature takes the form of a rock and only manages to become sentient once it takes the form of a dying wolf that passed away near it. It is then that its journey to experience new things, meet new people, and learn about the world and its endless wonders, begins.
26. Wiseman’s Grandchild
One common thing about isekai titles and many anime with OP MC is the idea of reincarnation. This particular title, Wiseman’s Grandchild, is no different as it involves a Japanese salaryman dying from an accident and being reincarnated into a world of swords and magic.
As a baby, he’s adopted by the legendary sage Merlin and given the name of Shin. Merlin teaches Shin how to use magic, and he becomes a fantastic wizard in no time, even surpassing Merlin thanks to using his past life’s memories to create new magic using science as its roots.
But what Merlin forgot to teach him was common sense! So, to become a decent human being, Shin is given a chance to study at an academy, only under the promise that Shin will be allowed to lead a peaceful life. There, Shin saves a couple of students, Maria and Sicily, from being attacked by thugs, and Sicily quickly develops a romantic interest in Shin. This anime will showcase how our OP MC struggles with love, demons, and his lack of common sense.
25. BOFURI
Next up on the list featuring the best anime with OP MC is a unique title, BOFURI! The main character of this series is overpowered for all the wrong reasons. When we think about overpowered, we usually think about strength and power. But, BOFURI’s main character, Maple, decided to take a different approach to her reality.
This title focuses on a VRMMO known as NewWorld Online, and Maple decided to take a very unorthodox approach, increasing all her defenses to the max.
Thanks to it, she became virtually immune to damage, receiving 0 damage from almost all attacks. Thanks to her counter-attack skill and poison use, she becomes an indestructible force named Walking Fortress by other players after she manages to defeat over 2,000 players.
24. In Another World with My Smartphone
Although the smartphone part of this title is not the reason why our main character is overpowered, he’s OP, nevertheless. Youta was a 15 years old kid who was accidentally killed by thunder.
This was God’s mistake, so, in order to pay for it, he allows Youta to be reincarnated, and he allows him to bring something from his past life with him into the new world he’ll be born in, and Youta chooses his smartphone. God accepts his wish and makes his smartphone usable in this new world.
As a reward for being so humble in his request and for forgiving him, God gives Youta many talents, including a pretty much impossible talent for magic and the capability to use all elements. There, Youta will not only meet multiple beauties but also have many adventures and deal with many complicated political scenarios.
23. I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level
After living a painful life as a secretary lady, Azusa died from Karoshi, a type of death connected to overworking. After her death, she’s reincarnated as an immortal witch in a fantasy world, and she decides to take it easy and live a comfortable life in a hut in the mountains.
She spends her days tending to her farm, making a living out of killing slimes, selling loot, and crafting medicine. But without noticing, 300 hundred years pass by, and she reaches the max level possible, making her a powerful being in this new world. And so begins her struggle to maintain her peaceful life and trying to prevent the news of her strength from spreading.
22. Noblesse
Noblesse is a very particular case. Although it does indeed have an anime adaptation, most of its actual content (if not all) is found in its webtoon. Even then, you can still enjoy what the anime adaptation offers.
This one focuses on Cadis Etrama di Raizel’s awakening after being sealed for over 800 years. Trying to live a peaceful life, he finds his loyal servant, Frankenstein, and attempts to pass his days as a regular high school student.
But a secret organization starts to meddle around him, so using his powers as a Noblesse, he will focus on protecting his newfound friends and his peaceful lifestyle in this new, modern world. This is undoubtedly one of the best anime with OP MC at the moment!
21. How NOT To Summon A Demon Lord
How NOT To Summon a Demon Lord is one of the best ecchi anime you can watch if you are looking for the best anime with overpowered main characters!
Takuma used to be an incredible player in the game known as Cross Reverie. He roleplayed as his avatar, Diablo, playing the role of a demon lord, fighting off other players as a great PvPer. However, one day, Takuma is summoned into another world by Shera and Rem, who want a powerful-enough servant to deal with their problems.
However, Takuma finds himself in the body of Diablo, his game avatar, and the two ladies attempt to enslave him, but it doesn’t work. Instead, the spell reflects off of Takuma, who’s equipped with all his gear, his immense magical power, and a spell-reflecting ring, courtesy of his Demon Lord persona, so now Shera and Rem turn into his slaves.
Not knowing how to act due to being a Hikkikimori, Takuma decides to act as his character and starts causing chaos as the self-proclaimed Demon Lord who’s the greatest there is, while also trying to find a way to break the spell and free the ladies from being his slaves.
20. Tokyo Ghoul
Although its main character was not overpowered from the very beginning, the great thing about Tokyo Ghoul is that you can pretty much experience the MC’s growth as he turns into one.
Tokyo Ghoul’s premise involves the existence of ghouls. These beings are similar to humans but feed on human flesh to survive, as they cannot consume anything besides water or coffee.
Ken Kaneki, the main character, is sadly turned into a ghoul due to a series of events, and he has to survive as one after living as a human being his whole life. His struggles will have him face other ghouls, ghoul hunters, and an organization known as the Aogiri Tree, all while he deals with his ghoul side while trying to live as a human being.
19. Mob Psycho 100
Mob Psycho 100 is a special case because although its main character is definitely OP, he doesn’t want to be that powerful, as he wants to lead a life where he can connect with others.
Shigeo, also called Mob by his friends, is a young, expressionless kid who struggles with his emotions. He, in secret, is a powerful psychic who, under a lot of emotional stress, releases his powers, which can cause a lot of destruction, so he has decided to control his emotions as much as he can, resulting in his inability to connect with others.
Reigen Arataka, a self-proclaimed medium, takes Mob under his wing to teach him how to control his power, but Reigen’s actually a scammer. Throughout the series, Mob deals with many problematic situations, including paranormal beings and other psychics, who will make him lose control of his powers and force him to display just what he’s capable of.
18. The Hero Is Overpowered but Overly Cautious
Ristarte is a goddess tasked to save the world of Gaelbarde from a powerful Demon King, so she decides to summon a human hero to deal with the task. Gaelbarde is considered an S-Rank world in terms of difficulty, so she decides to go for the best option at her disposal – Seiya.
Seiya seems extremely powerful and talented, but to Ristarte’s regret, Seiya is overly cautious and doesn’t want to leave the goddess’ dimension until he has trained enough for the task.
Although this drives Ristarte mad due to how particular Seiya is, his worries appear to be justified, as he easily destroys his enemies once he finally decides he’s ready.
17. Classroom of the Elite
As mentioned earlier in this article, most of the OP characters on this list are overpowered due to their raw strength and power. However, in the case of this title’s MC, Kiyotaka Ayanokoji, he’s not only physically capable but also incredibly smart, deciding to hide his actual strengths to fulfill his goals, which still remain a secret for us.
The story centers around a school that categorizes its students based on their capabilities, going from D-Class to C, B, and A-Class. Depending on their skills and results, they earn points to buy food and other necessities.
Kiyotaka scores just enough in his entrance exams to land into the D-Class and slowly attempts to climb all the way to the A-Class with the “help” of his classmates, including Suzune Horikita, the sister of the student council president. If you want a unique anime with OP MC, Classroom of the Elite fits the bill perfectly!
16. Plunderer
Plunderer got a pretty interesting plot and premise, where people are marked with a counter, which goes up as long as they do the action tasked by its counter. The higher the number, the more status and power they enjoy, but if the counter reaches 0, they are swallowed by the Abyss.
Hina, the female lead of this title, whose counter increases by how many kilometers she’s walked, witnessed her mother being swallowed by the Abyss. Before she disappears, she asks Hina to find the legendary Red Baron.
In her search for the Red Baron, she finds Licht, the main character of the story, and a man with a negative counter, based on the number of women who have rejected him, and who actually hides his identity as the Flash Baron, the second person to ever turn into a Legendary Ace.
15. The Daily Life of the Immortal King
The Daily Life of the Immortal King is actually a Donghua, a popular name for Chinese anime. It tells the story of Wang Ling, a talented cultivator whose powers know no limits.
Although Wang Ling possesses incredible powers that could annihilate the world in no time, he comes off as a person with low spiritual powers. His parents use an amulet to suppress his volatile abilities, but this amulet is only a temporary solution, and along with his powers, it also suppresses his emotions.
But there are times when he lets loose and shows us fans what it means to be the Immortal King. Even considering his talent, he is now dealing with what he believes is his greatest challenge – high school – as he attempts to hide his abilities and real strength from the other cultivators and tries his best to ensure his powers don’t spell doom for the world.
14. Dragon Ball Super
I’m confident that almost everyone reading this knows what Dragon Ball is at this point, but for those who have been living under a rock, it is one of the most influential anime titles around. Its main character Goku is often claimed to be one of the strongest anime characters around. The reason? Well, he’s an incredibly strong alien who, nowadays, has reached the realm of godhood.
The whole plot of Dragon Ball Super is the continuation of the story after the events that occurred in Dragon Ball Z after Majin Buu’s defeat, when a God of Destruction, Beerus, threatens to destroy the earth if the warrior known as Super Saiyan God is not there to fight him.
So, Goku attempts to fight with Beerus. Although it results in his loss, Beerus decides to spare the planet, but the story doesn’t end there as more deific beings are introduced, and new and powerful characters are introduced in the mix. This is not just one of the best anime with OP MC, but an anime filled with several overpowered characters.
13. The Misfit of Demon King Academy
2000 years before the start of the story, Anos Voldigoad, the greatest Demon Lord of all time, decided to sacrifice himself for the sake of stopping the war, creating a barrier that would separate all races with the help of their respective heroes, promising he’ll reincarnate 2000 years after the deed was done.
Now that 2000 years have passed, Anos has finally reincarnated in a peaceful world and attends the Demon King Academy. The thing is, his kindred have weakened too much due to peaceful times, and his name has been lost to history as the people worship someone else as the Demon Lord.
With another demon king attempting to rekindle the fire of war, he’ll reveal himself to be the real Anos Voldigoad to stop his plans.
12. Blood Lad
Staz is a powerful vampire who unwillingly leads one of the many territories of the Demon World. Unlike other residents of the demon world, he rather dislikes preying on humans, contrary to his ancestors, and prefers to be an otaku, reading manga and watching anime. So his personality and tastes have been greatly influenced by them.
One day, Fuyumi, a high school student, accidentally enters the Demon World, and Staz finds himself attracted to her, but during a conflict involving the control of his territory, she dies and becomes a ghost. Staz always wanted to travel to the human world, so he vows to resurrect Fuyumi as that would mean he could fulfill his dream. Staz and Fuyumi, along with a magician and a half-werewolf, begin their quest to find the magic that could resurrect a human.
11. The Saga of Tanya The Evil
The Saga of Tanya the Evil is a personal favorite of mine, and for a very good reason – it’s a combination of magic and traditional warfare, all showcased in a single title, with a world very similar to ours during the World War.
Its main character, Tanya, is a girl “blessed” with excellent magic capabilities, which she uses for war to fulfill her goal of leading a peaceful life. In reality, however, Tanya used to be an atheist salaryman who was reincarnated by God after being murdered by one of his co-workers and is threatened with a harsh reality. If she were to die from unnatural causes, Tanya would be doomed to an eternity in hell.
And God, which Tanya calls “Being X,” mocks her by granting her more power if she decides to pray to him. Now she leads the special magic squad and is given challenging missions to prove her worth for the empire, which is dealing with a massive outgoing war against multiple countries simultaneously.
10. Assassination Classroom
Assassination Classroom is one of the best shonen titles I’ve ever seen, mostly because of its interesting and original premise and, of course, its main characters.
One day, the moon is suddenly blasted by an unknown creature. This creature claims that the world will be destroyed in a year but gives mankind a chance by offering them to assassinate him before he blows up the world.
This creature becomes the teacher of an ostracized class in a private school, and these students are tasked with assassinating him. The government decides to give a reward to whoever manages to kill it, and the students attempt to do just that at every opportunity they get. But it’s not that easy when your “sensei” can move at Mach 20 speed and is virtually unkillable by regular weapons.
9. Overlord
When we talk about the best anime with OP MC, there’s no way we’d miss mentioning Overlord, which happens to be one of the best titles in this vertical.
Just before his favorite game’s server, Yggdrasil, is turned down, our main character’s avatar, Momonga, an elder lich, is sitting on the throne of his guild, just waiting for the final moment. However, he suddenly finds himself still awake and inside the game, even when the servers are shut down, with the world completely changed from how it used to be, as the NPCs now have a personality of their own.
Now, changing his name to his guild’s name, Ainz Ooal Gown will try to make a name out of himself and his guild to find his comrades with the help of all the guardians of all the floors of Nazarick, the base they built with a lot of effort.
8. Hellsing Ultimate
Hellsing Ultimate became a classic after the OVAs covering the real story from its manga came out; it became one of the best shows to watch. The title revolves around an organization named Hellsing that deals with paranormal activities, mostly involving vampires.
Its main character, Alucard, the strongest vampire there is, turns Seras Victoria into a vampire after the first chapter and now attempts to teach her the ways of the vampire.
Although Alucard is a vampire himself, he works for the Hellsing organization and fights and kills his own kind, and he does it with style because there’s literally no one who can even put up a fight against him when he’s serious! And it’s not just an action-packed anime; it’s also a dark anime show filled with blood and gore, as Alucard is not one to pull punches while he massacres his opponents.!
7. Dr. Stone
This is one of the cases where the OP factor of the series is mainly linked to the main character’s intelligence. Although Dr. Stone deserves to be among the best anime with overpowered main characters, the main character doesn’t fight physically but uses his brains and knowledge to overcome every situation.
Senku, the title’s protagonist, loves science and has always indulged himself in attempting to understand everything around him. One day, this passion becomes mankind’s only salvation, as, one day, a sudden flash covering the whole earth turns everyone into a stone.
More than 3500 years later, Senku awakens in a crushed world where mankind’s steps are nowhere to be found, and, in an attempt to recover mankind’s previous glory, he does his best to find a solution to the petrification, trying to save his best friend, Taiju, in the process, as he knows very well he’ll need his help if he wants to go back to the good old golden age.
6. No Game No Life
Sora and Shiro are known as Blank online, a group of gamers that are pretty much unbeatable. Bored of how easy things have become, they are offered the opportunity to be summoned into another world where games pretty much decide the fate of everything, and of course, they accept.
They are then summoned into Disboard, a world where a war was stopped by the God of games, and now, all 16 races have to decide who rules through playing games – be it chess, cards, or whatever they come with. And Sora and Shiro, guided by Stephanie Dola, will attempt to put humanity first, knowing very well they are the number 16 and the weakest of all races.
5. The Disastrous Life Of Saiki K.
Although the main character of this series is overpowered, there’s no real action-based influence in the series since it’s mainly a comedy title.
Kusuo Saiki was born as a powerful esper with multiple psychic abilities that can easily put him in the superhuman category. He possesses powerful psychokinesis and telekinesis abilities, can shape-shift and hypnotize others, is clairvoyant, and can do much more. Basically, the list of his abilities is endless.
That being said, he prefers to lead a peaceful life and will only secretly use his powers for the sake of it and his friends and family. But he’s surrounded by a range of unique characters, and Saiki often finds himself embroiled in their hijinks, making his dream of leading a peaceful life just that, a dream!
4. The Irregular At Magic High School
The Irregular at Magic High School, also known as Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei, is a story centered around Tatsuya Shiba and his sister, Miyuki, as they join a magic academy.
Tatsuya is classified as a “weed,” a term used to refer to students that are not up to par when it comes to their magical prowess, whereas his sister, Miyuki, becomes one of the “blooms,” students with high scores and high magical prowess.
Tatsuya seems to have little magic, but he compensates for that with his amazing control of magical formulas, outstanding physical capabilities, and unique magic techniques, which he uses to underwhelm many adversaries, including blooms that look down on him. He also meets other talented “weeds” and does his best to lead a peaceful life alongside his sisters, the person he loves the most and wants to protect the most.
3. The Eminence in Shadow
The Eminence in Shadow may seem like just another isekai title, but it is one of the best anime with OP MC, as it is packed with both comedy and action and a pretty peculiar main character.
Before he was reincarnated, Cid always dreamed of becoming a master of shadows, controlling everything from behind the scenes, but he could never accomplish that. But after he dies in the real world and reincarnates in a fantasy world, he starts working on his dream of becoming the eminence in shadow. Equipped with a powerful intellect and vast magical powers, it seems like his dream is in his grasp!
And so he decides to roleplay his ambitions, and after he saves an elf from a curse, he makes up a story that he’s the master behind the Shadow Garden, and the elven girl, now named Alpha, joins him.
According to Cid, the Shadow Garden’s goal is to stop the Cult of Diablos from summoning their master and taking over the world. Cid has just made it all up, but he doesn’t know that the cult does exist and the Shadow Garden is indirectly ruining their plans.
2. That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime
That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime is probably the most popular isekai title at the moment, featuring one of the most popular anime characters.
Just after Satoru Mikami is killed by a man in an attempted mugging, he is reincarnated as a slime in a fantasy world filled with magic and monsters. He also discovers that he has been bestowed with several gifts, the best being the ultimate skill, Great Sage, a voice that helps him devise plans and make sense of his surroundings.
As he attempts to understand his situation as a slime and grasp the idea of what he has become, he finds a sealed dragon, Veldora, and becomes his friend. Veldora bestows upon him a name, Rimuru, which results in the slime gaining incredible powers in the process. The slime, now named Rimuru, ventures out of the cave into this new world, where he will meet many friends and enemies and create an entire kingdom where monsters and humans can live in peace.
1. One Punch Man
At this point, I believe there is no person on this planet, otaku or non-otaku, who doesn’t know anything about One Punch Man. Even then, let’s talk about why it stands at the top of the list featuring the best anime with OP MC!
One Punch Man introduces us to a world where superheroes fight off calamities and monsters to protect people. Our main character, Saitama, is an unregistered superhero who is so strong that he can beat any enemy in just one punch. Although this might be a good thing for many, Saitama is bored because he has no excitement in life, as his fights are boring.
One day, he saves Genos, a human cyborg, from a mosquito monster. After seeing Saitama take care of the monster easily, Genos becomes his disciple, and they both join the hero organization to rank up and become S-rank heroes.
Conclusion
So, these were some of the best anime shows that featured powerful protagonists and still manage to deliver really good storylines, well mostly!
If you think I did a good job in compiling this list, then make sure to share the article with your friends and let them know about the best anime with overpowered main characters. Also, if you think I missed out on some OP characters, then do let me know using the comments section below.
