There are literally a ton of manga with overpowered main characters for you to read, and most of these stories are often in the isekai genre. But there are other genres that too have their fair share of ridiculously powerful characters!
In this article, I have made a list of not just the best manga but also the best manhwa with overpowered MCs. I have been reading a ton of manhwa lately, and I have to share all the amazing stories with you so that you can feel the same type of excitement and anticipation for the next chapters like I do!
While preparing the list, I discovered that there’s no shortage of manga and manhwa featuring powerful characters, but I wanted to make an article that would have nice recommendations. So, I did include a couple of isekai or reincarnation manga, but there are other titles to choose from as well. While some stories have over-the-top moments featuring the main characters, these stories are often more grounded compared to the fantasy adventures found in isekai titles.
So, don’t let me waste any more of your time because here are some of the best manga and manhwa with OP MCs that you most definitely should read this year!
Best Manga & Manhwa With Overpowered Main Characters (2022)
17. Mercenary Enrollment
Mercenary Enrollment is the story of Ijin Yu, the sole survivor of a plane crash, who ended up becoming a mercenary instead of a regular kid like others his age!
At the age of 10, the main character gets in a plane crash where no passenger, including his parents, survives except him. He ends up losing his memory following the incident but he survives and ends up becoming a mercenary.
At 19, 10 years after the crash, he finds out that he has a sister and his grandfather when he slowly starts regaining some of his memories. He is reunited with them and starts living the life of a normal teenager.
But he is not exactly a normal teenager and soon his past starts catching up with him. Plus, being a highly skilled mercenary means that he ends up getting a ton of attention from people all around him!
16. Beelzebub
Beelzebub focuses on Tatsumi Oga who’s a student of Ishiyama High School, a school infamous known as the “land of the delinquents,” and Tatsumi, being the strongest, is known as the “Demon King!”
On a day like any other, after Tatsumi beats a couple of delinquents, he finds an infant. But this infant is unlike any other infants because this particular child is the son of the Great Demon Lord of the Demon World.
The Great Demon Lord wants to destroy the world but he is too busy to do that so he sends his son in his stead. The infant has to find a strong human to raise him, so he gets attached to Oga after recognizing his strength.
Now, Oga has to survive this new life of his where he’s in charge of the “spawn of the demon lord,” and he no longer has to face just his classmates in battle but also literal demons to protect himself and Baby Beel!
15. The Archmage Returns After 4000 Years
If we are talking about the best manhwa with overpowered main characters, then there’s no title better than The Archmage Returns After 4000 Years!
Lucas Trowman was one of the strongest mages in history until he rebelled against the “Demigods,” transcendental beings who rule over everything. His efforts were futile because he was no match for the Demigod and he was easily imprisoned, condemned to spend an eternity until he loses his mind.
4000 years later, we see Frey Blake, the weakest student at the prestigious Westroad Academy. He is bullied and his life is a literal hell. In a moment of weakness, Frey consumes poison to end his suffering.
For some reason, Lucas witnesses this from his imprisonment and ends up taking over Frey’s dying body. Now, he is in a new world, 4000 years have passed, and he sees that not much has changed in all this time. He suspects this to be the work of the Demigod!
Armed with a new body and his immense knowledge of magic, he starts working to get stronger than he ever was and vows to take his revenge!
14. I Was Reincarnated As The 7th Prince So I Can Take My Time Perfecting My Magical Ability
I will be honest, this manga might not be everyone’s cup of tea. The art might be good, but the main character’s design is a bit feminine. If you can look past all this, you will have a really good time witnessing the exploits of an overpowered character!
The main character has a dreadful encounter with a noble who kills him with a powerful spell. His last moments are painful, but the only thing he regrets is that he won’t be able to learn more about magic.
However, he gets reincarnated as the “7th Prince” of the Saloom Kingdom and he is blessed with an immense amount of magical power. He now has all the time in the world, and the resources, to research all about magic as much as he wants.
And that’s exactly what he does!
He becomes ridiculously powerful, armed with magical prowess unseen or unheard of, but he is not satisfied as he just wants to experience all kinds of magic there is in the world!
13. The Seven Deadly Sins
“The Seven Deadly Sins” used to be a group regarded as the strongest knights of the kingdom of Liones, but now they are considered as enemies by the Holy Knights. The reason, a supposed conspiracy they hatched to overthrow the kingdom which led to their defeat by the Holy Knights.
But rumors persist that members of these legendary group aren’t exactly dead, but alive and living their lives.
A couple years down the line, the Holy Knights capture the King of Liones and become the rulers of the kingdom, but the daughter of the King, Princess Elizabeth Liones, sets out to find the “Seven Deadly Sins” as they are the only ones strong enough to stand up against the kingdom’s forces.
On her journey, she stumbles into a bar owned by none other than Meliodas, the leader of The Seven Deadly Sins, and he agrees to help her out. The two, along with Hawk who’s a talking pig, sets out on a journey to find the other members, defeat the Holy Knights and free the King of Liones and help him reclaim his throne.
12. The Disastrous Life of Saiki K.
When you are looking for the best manga with overpowered main characters, there’s no way you should overlook this particular comedy manga because it is absolutely amazing!
The Disastrous Life of Saiki K., or Saiki Kusuo no Ψ-nan, is a story about Saiki Kusuo who may seem like just another teenager, but that is far from the truth.
Possessing a vast array of supernatural powers, from telekinesis, teleportation and astral projection to invisibility, mind control and hypnosis, he is the strongest being on the planet.
It might seems like he’s be having the time of his life being blessed with a myriad of powerful abilities, but that’s not exactly the case. Saiki just wants to live a quite and ordinary life but the people he’s surrounded with, his friends and his family, make it almost impossible for him to have a normal day.
11. Noblesse
This is one of the first manhwa I read and it is still one of my favorites. It was a journey through and through and it was filled with one epic moment after another.
The story of Noblesse starts with Cadis Etrama Di Raizel (“Rai” for short) rising from his white coffin in an abandoned building in South Korea. It just so happens that Rai is a powerful vampire who’s been in deep slumber for the past 820 years.
A lot has changed in the world in the past few centuries and he is clearly confused, but the first thing he does after waking up is find Frankenstein, his loyal companion.
Frankenstein helps him adapt to the modern world and tries to do his best to help Rai live a peaceful and relaxed life. But things don’t exactly go according to his plan as trouble from the past soon starts cropping up and Rai and Frankenstein have to step in and show everyone just how OP they both can be!
10. Farming Life In Another World
Farming Life In Another World starts off with the main character dying because of sickness, just like how most isekai stories start. But he is given the opportunity to go to another world and start a new life, and God is ready to grant him a couple of wishes too.
The main character first wishes for a healthy body that never gets sick, then he wishes for a peaceful life, then he wishes to know the local language and for the final wish, he wants to be a farmer. Yup, a farmer!
God grants all his wishes since they are pretty normal and he even gifts him with a farming equipment, the AFT (All-Purpose Farming Tool) that is itself extremely overpowered! This tool can become a spear, a knife, an axe and more, and it can even transform into a hoe that allows the MC to grow something without needing to plant the seeds.
If you are indeed looking for manga with overpowered main characters, but don’t want to get into the action genre, then I would definitely recommend you to try out this title!
9. Monster #8
In the world of Monster #8, Godzilla-like monsters appearing is a regular affair, so an elite military unit known as the Defense Corps is tasked with defeating these monsters and keeping the civilians safe.
Kafka Hibino, a 32-year old man, once aspired to join the Defense Corps but he never was able to pass all the tests. After multiple attempts, he gives up on his dream and ends up joining the Professional Kaijuu Cleaner Corporation whose job is to dispose of the monster’s remains once the Defense Corps have done their job.
On one such job, while cleaning and disposing of the remains, Kafka comes in contact with a parasite-type kaijuu that enters his body through his mouth and turns him into a humanoid monster.
The thing is, although transformed, Kafka is in full control and doesn’t go berserk. He tries to keep this newfound powers of his a secret and goes about fighting powerful monsters to keep them from destroying everything.
But Kafka in his humanoid form is so powerful that the Defense Corps give him the moniker of “Monster #8,” a numbered monster whose strength completely overshadows the regular kaijuus that the Defense Corps so easily kills!
8. Mashle: Magic And Muscles
Mashle: Magic And Muscles happens to be one of my favorite manga series at the moment and it would be apt to describe it as a crossover between Harry Potter and One Punch Man!
The main protagonist, Mash Burnedead, is an odd one out in a world ruled by magic. Everyone in this world is blessed with magic, some are blessed with a ton of it while others have a little bit, but everyone has some sort of magical prowess. However, Mash is has no magic!
As such, his very existence threatens the way the world works and so he lives in secrecy along with his grandpa. The only thing he likes to do is physically train his body; he trains so hard that he becomes capable of overcoming almost every predicament with just his raw strength.
But when his secret is revealed, he has to enrol in the Easton Magic Academy in order to become the “Divine Visionary” and change the perception of the world about people without magic.
At the academy, he uses his insane strength, that he often dubs as “Muscle Magic,” to overcome powerful opponents. And he does it with style! This is the reason why this manga is featured among the best manga with overpowered main characters.
7. The Beginning After The End
The Beginning After The End is one of the best manhwa you can read right now. Not only is the story extremely captivating, the art is also quite amazing and the characters are pretty awesome too!
King Grey had won many battles thanks to his unparalleled martial ability and he earned both wealth and prestige thanks to this. Although he had power, he was all alone and his life was devoid of any purpose or will, and he ended up dying soon after.
He thought that was the end of his life, but he finds himself reincarnated into a new world, a world filled with magic and monsters, and he has retained all his memories and knowledge of his past life.
Now he has a loving family and friends and he wants to live a life without any regrets. But he also uses his experience to gain some powerful abilities, he makes some powerful allies and he constantly tries to better himself so that he can protect the ones he loved no matter what!
But there’s a threat looming just around the corner because the world he has been born in might not exactly be as peaceful or stable as most would think!
6. Sakamoto Days
Unlike most of the manga and manhwa on this list, this particular manga doesn’t feature superpowers and world-destroying abilities, but it does feature a main character that is too overpowered in his world.
Tarou Sakamoto, the protagonist of Sakamoto Days, used to be the greatest mercenary of all time. So great that he stood at the top of the underworld as there was literally no one who could rival his skill. That is until he fell in love with a woman and abandoned his life of crime to settle down.
He opens a convenience store and lives quietly with his wife and daughter, but his shady past won’t leave him alone.
Now, barred from killing by his wife, Sakamoto has to defeat all his opponents in creative ways and make sure that the peaceful life he has created doesn’t come to an end.
This manga is truly a masterpiece and one that you absolutely don’t want to miss out on. Tarou Sakamoto is the definition of badass main characters because he may have left the world of mercenaries behind, but he is still as skilled as he was when he was active!
5. Mob Psycho 100
This manga has been created by the same guy who also created One Punch Man, and as such it too features a main character too strong for his own good!
Mob Psycho 100 is a story of Shigeo Kageyama, a.k.a. Mob, a student who is a powerful psychic. But he keeps his power suppressed due to its destructive nature. He is generally emotionless, but when he starts feeling things and when his emotional state reaches 100%, that is to say when he is feeling rage, the person responsible for this is in for a world of hurt.
He also works with a self-proclaimed esper, Reigen Arataka, to polish his control over his psychic powers, but this esper is just making use of Mob and his abilities to rake in the dough.
4. Dragon Ball Super
I am pretty sure that you saw this coming from a mile away. There’s no way a list featuring the best manga with overpowered main characters wouldn’t feature Dragon Ball Super because it has two of the strongest characters to ever exist!
The Dragon Ball Series is something that most of us have been watching since we were little kids. It concluded with Dragon Ball Z, but then Dragon Ball Super was announced a couple years later and all of us jumped with joy.
DBS picks up right after the events of DBZ and we see that the main characters, Goku and Vegeta, are stronger than ever. But that’s just the beginning because we are introduced with the Gods of Destruction and how there are multiple universes filled with powerful mortals.
The story is still ongoing and both Goku and Vegeta are having the time of their life as they have managed to fight not only the strongest of their own universe, but also from other universes and they have become unbeatable in their own right.
3. That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime
If you are a fan of isekai stories, then this is one of the best isekai manga you’ll ever read because it’s done so well and the main character is quite unique too!
That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime follows the story of a man, Satoru Mikami, who dies in the very first chapter and is reincarnated into a fantasy world as a “slime.” This might seem like a pretty bad setting, but it’s actually pretty fun to read.
While he was dying, he had a couple of regrets that shaping his next life. He ended up gaining some pretty powerful skills when he was reborn and even though he was just a slime, he used those skills to gain magical powers by devouring anything and everything he could find.
He even meets a dragon called Veldora who bestows upon him the name “Rimuru” and they end up becoming friends.
Rimuru then goes on meeting new people, some become allies some become enemies, and through his plethora of skills, he keeps getting stronger and stronger still.
2. One Punch Man
The name itself suggests that this is one of the best manga with OP MC, and Saitama is the very definition of being overpowered!
One Punch Man is the story of Saitama who used to be your average guy trying to find a good job, but his efforts were always in vain. One day, after a chance encounter with a monster, he decides to become a “hero.”
And so he begins his training!
His training routine is quite simple, but it is so effective that he ends up becoming the strongest there ever was; so strong that he can defeat almost everyone with just a single punch. Hence the name “One Punch Man!”
You would think that a story about a guy defeating his opponents in a single punch would be boring, but it is not. It’s actually pretty well done.
The art is amazing, the other characters are awesome and apart from all the action, there’s a ton of comedy that will keep you hooked. So, I would highly recommend you to pick up this manga if you are looking for strong protagonists!
1. Solo Leveling
This is the manhwa that everyone needs to read. If you haven’t done it yet, drop whatever you are doing, pick up a good time and then start reading it. But please make sure you pick a good time because once you start reading, you won’t be able to stop!
Solo Leveling is one of the best manhwa right now and there’s no one who could convince me otherwise. It is the story of Sung Jin Woo who used to be one of the weakest people in the world, but went on to become the strongest.
Sung Jin Woo was an E-rank hunter, which means that he was stronger than your average human but the weakest when it came to being a hunter.
On a dungeon exploration mission, he and the party he’s with come across very dangerous enemies. Most of the party is wiped out, with only a few survivors. Sung Jin Woo also apparently dies, but he doesn’t!
When he regains consciousness, he finds himself outside of the dungeon and inside a hospital. He also discovers that he now has a new skill, he becomes a “player” in a “system.”
This system is a game-like setting that gives him quests and missions. When he completes said missions, he is able to level up; if he doesn’t complete missions, he is penalized. And there’s no limit to how much he can level up and how strong he can become!
What’s Your Favorite Manga With Overpowered Main Characters?
These were some of the best manga and manhwa with OP MC that you should definitely read if you haven’t already. I know that these aren’t the only ones out there but these are the best ones among the manga that I’ve read so far. I am sure that the list might get bigger and article might change in the future as I read more and more titles featuring powerful characters.
Meanwhile, let me know how you liked this article featuring the best manga and manhwa with overpowered main characters and found some cool titles to read. If that was the case, make sure you share it and if you have some feedback or suggestions, use the comments section below!
Also Read: Best Anime with Overpowered MCs