Best Isekai Anime Where the Protagonist Has No Powers

Isekai anime has become a significant part of the mainstream anime landscape. There’s always a couple of isekai anime popping up every season, each with its own stories and gimmicks. Most of those gimmicks have something to do with the main character’s unique powers, be it in terms of absurd physical prowess or overpowered magical abilities.

However, there are a small number of isekai protagonists who don’t receive any blessings when they come to the new world. This topic is dedicated to these regular people who somehow manage to thrive in the strange fantasy world that they find themselves in. With that in mind, here are the best isekai anime where the protagonist has no powers.

7

The Dungeon Of Black Company

A Cunning NEET In Another World

• Title: Kinji Ninomiya
• MyAnimeList Score: 7.22
• Japanese VA: Katsuyuki Konishi

Kinji Ninomiya is a proud member of the NEET community (Not in Employment, Education, or Training). There’s nothing more in this world that he loves more than lazing around and playing games, or watching anime. But Ninomiya knows that it is impossible to do so without a stable income. So he spent years building his wealth, from struggling as an amateur swing trader to eventually owning three large apartment buildings, so that he would never have to worry about money ever again.

Right when he finally achieved his dream, Ninomiya was transported into another world where humans and demi-humans live side by side. As a newcomer to this strange land, Ninomiya finds himself working to the bone in a crystal mine just to put food on the table. Not one to give up so easily, Ninomiya utilizes his cunning mind and shrewd businessman practices to climb his way back to the top of the food chain.

6

Handyman Saitou In Another World

He Can Do Everything But Fight

• Title: Saitou
• MyAnimeList Score: 7.38
• Japanese VA: Ryohei Kimura

In a world where adventurers have to battle fearsome and dangerous monsters to get the treasures and resources that the dungeon has to offer, you would think that people who couldn’t master swords or magic would be useless, right? There’s no way somebody like a handyman who doesn’t even have any fighting skills can contribute to a team of seasoned adventurers, right? Well, Saitou proves otherwise.

Saitou may not be able to fight raging monsters and angry swordsmen, but he is more than capable of supporting his teammates. From ensuring their equipment is always in perfect condition to mapping the dungeon to unlocking doors and detecting traps, he is a handyman who can do it all. In fact, his team has become way more effective and efficient ever since he joined them. Saitou is proof that you can still thrive in an isekai world as long as you have valuable skills to offer.

5

Restaurant To Another World

The Best Chef In The Fantasy World

• Title: Master
• MyAnimeList Score: 7.41
• Japanese VA: Junichi Suwabe

The fantasy world in most isekai anime has a lot of things going for it. Beautiful landscapes, fascinating wildlife, and interesting cultures comprised of different races and species, just to name a few. What it doesn’t have is gourmet cuisine. Make no mistake, these worlds have plenty of delicious foods with unique ingredients, but they are far from the fine dining experience as we know it in the modern world.

In the Restaurant to Another World, a Michelin-star-level Western restaurant called Nekoya finds its front door connected to a fantasy world. Like any other respectable chef, the owner and head chef of Nekoya—a man simply known as “Master”—sees it as a chance to spread his food to the citizens of this new world. As expected, the people of this fantasy world love the explosion of taste that they feel with every bite of every food in Nekoya. Master proves that there is a different way to conquer a new world without having to use any kind of special power.

4

Grimgar Of Fantasy And Ash

A Normal Young Man In A Fantasy World

• Title: Haruhiro
• MyAnimeList Score: 7.66
• Japanese VA: Hosoya Yoshimasa

The story of Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash offers one of the most realistic depictions of what it would most likely look like to be suddenly teleported into a fantasy world. After all, everybody who is transported into this world doesn’t have any sort of special ability whatsoever. They are as powerless here as they are in their original, modern world. Not even Haruhiro, the protagonist of the story, gets any sort of special treatment from this isekai world.

So what would happen if they fought against a strong monster, you might ask? Well, they would get injured. And if the injury was bad enough, they would lose their life. Despite those difficult circumstances, however, Haruhiro and his friends keep moving forward. They strengthen their bodies and learn all the skills that they need in order to survive in this harsh new world. It takes some time, but they eventually become bona fide adventurers.

3

Gate – Thus The JSDF Fought There!

A Trained Soldier In A Fantasy World

• Title: Youji Itami
• MyAnimeList Score: 7.68
• Japanese VA: Junichi Suwabe

GATE is one of the few anime that showcase the clash between the swords and magic of the fantasy sword and the guns and equipment of modern warfare. At the center of it all is Youji Itami, a 1st lieutenant of the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) and a proud Otaku. He is quite similar to Ninomiya from The Dungeon of Black Company in the sense that he works hard to support his hobby.

Youji Itami is a regular soldier, just like the other JSDF members. He doesn’t have any special abilities, be it in the form of super strength or any sort of magical abilities. What he does have, however, is years of combat experience as a JSDF soldier, great leadership ability, a good head for negotiation, and a natural charisma that can attract people to his side. And that is how Youji Itami thrives in an isekai world despite having no powers whatsoever.

2

Ascendance Of A Bookworm

A Book Lover In An Illiterate World

• Title: Myne
• MyAnimeList Score: 7.97
• Japanese VA: Yuka Iguchi

Ascendence of a Bookworm is a bit like The Restaurant to Another World in the sense that the story focuses more on the protagonist’s expertise, rather than combat or adventure. In the Restaurant to Another World, it’s all about cooking. In Ascendence of a Bookworm, it’s all about book production. Not just writing books, but actually binding papers into books and mass printing those books.

To be fair, though, Myne, the main character of Ascendence of a Bookworm, has quite a substantial amount of magical energy. However, the one thing that makes her stand out and thrive in this new world is not her magic, but rather her exceptional knowledge regarding the process of making books. From carving letters in a clay tablet to mass printing storybooks with illustrations, Myne single-handedly revolutionized the book industry in her new world.

1

No Game No Life

The Genius Gamer Sibling

• Title: Sora and Shiro
• MyAnimeList Score: 8.04
• Japanese VA: Yoshitsugu Matsuoka (Sora); Ai Kayano (Shiro)

In No Game No Life, every conflict has to be resolved through games. Whether it’s a minor dispute between regular people at a small bar or a major disagreement between neighboring countries, everything has to be settled through games. So, imagine what happens when two professional gamer siblings from Earth are summoned to this strange new world? Well, the answer is chaos. That’s what happens.

When the super introvert gamer siblings Sora and Shiro are summoned to this new world, they challenge the monarch of the land, win, and become the representatives of the human race. Soon, they begin targeting neighboring nations inhabited by other races, each deemed superior to humans, and conquer them one by one. Needless to say, they don’t have magical energy or any sort of special powers whatsoever.

The older brother, Sora, uses his cunning mind and exceptional understanding of psychology to predict and manipulate their opponents. The younger sister, Shiro, uses her remarkable memory and lightning-fast instinct to outmaneuver their opponents. These are the only weapons that these siblings use to defeat their opponents. They don’t need any kind of special powers to rule over their new reality.