Summary
Isekai anime and manga are essentially power fantasies. They usually feature a weak, overlookedmain character who suddenly gets god-like powersand enjoys flaunting them to prove everyone wrong. These kinds of series are an absolute blast — they’re much faster when it comes to character development and don’t hold the same level of substance some mainstream shounen anime and manga do. But that’s exactly what makes them so fun and compelling. However, this ultimately leaves a lot to be desired in terms of other substantial aspects, particularly the part where the MC has a multifaceted personality with complex emotions and intelligence and doesn’t entirely depend on brute strength or magical powers.
It’s a shame that not a lot of isekai anime and manga explore this narrative, especially given that most of them revolve around the idea of traveling to a less advanced world than the one the protagonist originally came from. This premise naturally doubles down on the fact that the protagonist would quite literally have otherworldly knowledge to help them excel in this less evolved dimension. While many isekai series focus more on power fantasies, there are still some that delve into this intellectual and knowledge-based leverage the protagonist could have over other characters.
Light Novel, Manga, and Anime
Genre(s)
Slow-Life, Comedy, Adventure
Campfire Cooking In Another World With My Absurd Skillis a slow-life, isekai animethat follows Tsuyoshi Mukouda, a regular guy from Japan, who is transported to a fantasy kingdom. The king of said kingdom summons four people from Japan as “heroes” to use their powers for a war he is about to wage on other countries. Out of all the heroes, Mukouda ends up with the most mundane and useless magical skills and is instantly discarded from the royal court.
He’s now stuck in said fantasy world and has to survive with his very normal persona without sticking out as a weird person. Ironically, the no-good heroic “powers” he’s received from his summoning become his saving grace as they let him channel any object from Japan as long as it’s a product sold at the supermarket. Mukouda uses his “Online Supermarket” to not only cook himself and his unlikely peers great food but also to trade and make a fortune out of products that are typically considered low-value (like selling “high-quality” salt and pepper for a copious amount of money). As a result, he ends up forming a contract with one of the strongest spirits in the Kingdom of Reijseger — a wolf-like beast known as Fenrir, who vows to protect Mukouda with his life as long as the latter keeps feeding him delicious food.
Fantasy
There’s probably no other series more appropriate for a “brains-over-strength” trope than one that literally has “bookworm” in its title.Ascendance of a Bookwormis a light-novel-turned-manga (and an eventual anime adaptation) that revolves around a book enthusiast who, after being isekai-ed, is on a mission to turn her new fantasy world into a literary paradise.
In her previous life, Myne was a college student who was about to achieve her dream of becoming a librarian, before she was killed in an unfortunate accident. In her new life, she’s beentransmigrated into the body of a weak six-year-oldgirl suffering from a mysterious illness linked to the world’s mana energy. Although she’s very sick and in pain, she vows to change this world’s odd traditions where only the nobles are allowed to become smart and have books. Myne, because of her reputation as a book-lover in her previous life, uses her intellect and knowledge to make books, education, and other “elite” items more accessible to the commoners in her new realm.
Action, Adventure, Fantasy
Gateis a particularly unique isekai anime and manga series thatexplores the “world-within-world” theme. Instead of having a character transfer into another dimension,Gatebrings that entire dimension to the primary world in the form of — well — a gate. It is set in a fictional Japan where a strange gate to another world has opened up and is consistently summoning hostile fantasy creatures to the country. A group of special soldiers from the Japan Self-Defense Forces are sent into the new dimension to figure out the source of the problem and maybe establish peaceful connections with the other side.
The series follows the story of Yoji Itami, a very unassuming and subpar soldier who is part of the team sent through the gate. Itami has absolutely nothing going for him — he was a below-average cadet at his training school, has no redeeming skills, and is speculated to drop out of the forces as a second lieutenant. However, after the gate’s opening and his subsequent mission, Itami takes a complete turn and starts to show signs of not only superior intelligence, but also psychological edge, smart warfare, and excellent evasion tactics. He shows enhanced abilities under duress and later ends up becoming a key personality in obtaining peace with the race within the gate.
Action, Sci-Fi
Log Horizonis an isekai novel-turned-anime that perfectly encapsulates the aura of a protagonist with brains as opposed to brawn. It follows the story of an engineering graduate, Shiroe, and his very intellectually forward adventures in theMMORPG he gets transported towhile playing the game on a normal day.
Shiroe’s entire personality is that of a typical socially awkward genius, with a level of intellect that’s beyond what normal folk can grasp. Even before officially transcending into the MMORPG (known as Elder Tale), Shiroe was known in the gaming community for being the “villain in glasses,” attributed to his extremely sharp plotting that would sometimes border on unethical. Despite receiving one of the weaker classes after his transmigration, the Enchanter, Shiroe basically never loses because of his astute and complex way of looking at situations.
Light Novel and Manga
Adventure, Action, Fantasy
There’s nothing smarter than a protagonist who simply wants to lay low and live a comfortable life.It’s Sudden, but I Came to Another Worldis an isekai manga that features an unnamed main character with an unknown background whisked into a world where he has to unwillingly go through some pretty harrowing eventsdespite wanting to live a quiet life. He’s a pacifist at heart but still has to participate in violent interactions because of his newly discovered knight companion, Illias.
The protagonist ofIt’s Sudden, But I Came to Another Worldis a cold, calculating person who hides behind a very happy-go-lucky exterior. He knows he’s not physically strong or magically inclined, yet he not only gets situations to work in his favor but also uses some pretty cruel tactics to scare his enemies into submission. His acquaintances believe he’s seen too much malice, and can easily lose his way. Ultimately, he’s an absolute force to be reckoned with when he’s in his “thinking zone.”
Action, Fantasy, Politics
How A Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdomis a prime example of how intelligence and administrative skills can achieve what violence cannot. It follows the story of an aspiring civil servant who is transported to a kingdom on the brink of collapse and uses his intelligence to not only prevent its downfall but also elevate the kingdom to its best.
Kazuya Souma finds himself smack-dab in the middle of a political conflict in this new world called the Elfrieden Kingdom.Elfrieden’s king abdicates his thronein the spur of the moment and crowns Kazuya as the acting king — expecting him to be someone who’ll fix the entire kingdom’s vices. Kazuya takes on the challenge despite knowing how deeply rooted this country’s problems are and starts focusing on applying some massive reforms to its very foundation. He uses his civil servant knowledge to bring essential economic and administrative reforms as opposed to using blunt force and warfare. As a result, he not only resolves the kingdom’s problems but also expands the realm’s territory — all through his intellect.
