One of the most popular types ofanimeis undoubtedly the power fantasy. Anime that don’t make people think too hard always have plenty of appeal to them, and the ones that make it easy for a person to imagine themselves as an overpowered hero are often the best examples because of how easy it is to find a new one at any given time of the year.
With how popular the genre is, there has always been a benefit in putting as much effort as possible into both the writing and the animation of every new power fantasy, and while not all of them are worth someone’s time,there are plenty of great power fantasy animewith the writing and visuals to make them worth watching well beyond the basic idea of escapism. A few of those anime are especially worth highlighting, as even if they aren’t the deepest shows, they’ll most certainly have something great to offer more often than not.
Arifureta: From Commonplace To World’s Strongest
Cast
Arifureta: From Commonplace to World’s Strongest follows Hajime Nagumo and his high school classmates as they are transported to a fantastical world. Unlike his peers, Hajime lacks powerful abilities and must navigate a monster-infested dungeon, where he faces the challenges of survival through determination and sacrifice.
In Asread’sArifureta: From Commonplace to World’s Strongest, an entire high school class is transported to a fantasy world and given powerful magical abilities, all except Hajime Nagumo, who only received a common alchemical ability. During a dungeon raid, Hajime’s classmates cast him off to the depths of the dungeon for being a waste of space, and it’s there that Hajime discovers how broken his powers truly are as he sets himself on a path of vengeance against the world.
Between the edgy nature of its story and its indulgence in fanservice and harem hijinks,Arifuretahas all the hallmarks of a clichédisekaianime, and it never truly sheds that label. That being said,Arifureta: From Commonplace to World’s Strongest’s complete earnestness in knowing what it is makes its power fantasy work surprisingly well, and it ends up being fun to watch largely because of how bad it is.
In Teddy’sI’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level, after reincarnating as an immortal witch in a fantasy world, Azusa Aizawa, once an overworked office worker, just wants to spend her new life relaxing. However, after killing slimes for 300 years, Azusa’s abilities have all reached their maximum potential, and after word gets out, she finds herself getting drawn into one stressful situation after another.
Overpowered protagonists are a given inisekaianime, but what makes Azusa stand out from her contemporaries is how she had to gradually work for it and, above all else, how genuinely easygoing her story is, even when she’s sometimes forced into a bigger plot.I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Levelexcels at balancing lighthearted adventures with overpowered nonsense, and that’s made it great to watch for the past few years.
White Fox’sCautious Hero: The Hero Is Overpowered but Overly Cautiousstars Ristarte, a novice goddess who’s finally been given her first world to save by guiding a reincarnated hero, Seiya Ryuguin. Seiya is incredibly powerful from the start, so it should be easy, but to Ristarte’s annoyance, Seiya’s incredible paranoia always has him do things in the most roundabout ways, making their journey anything but easy from her perspective.
Isekaiparodies are hardly an oddity at this point, butCautious Herostands out for tackling it with the unique gimmick of the hero’s constant paranoia, all of which leads to great jokes about the genre from start to finish. Add in some surprisingly great animation and twists with the premise, andCautious Hero: The Hero Is Overpowered but Overly Cautiousstands out as one of the best power fantasy parodies a person can watch.
BOFURI: I Don’t Want to Get Hurt, So I’ll Max Out My Defense
Bofuri: I Don’t Want to Get Hurt, So I’ll Max Out My Defense follows Kaede Honjou as she navigates a virtual reality MMO game. Seeking to avoid pain, she invests heavily in her character’s defense, surprisingly unlocking powerful abilities that enable her to embark on various in-game adventures with unique challenges.
In Silver Link’sBofuri: I Don’t Want to Get Hurt, so I’ll Max Out my Defense, when Kaede Honjo joined the new VRMMO gameNew World Online, she maximized defense for her character, Maple, to avoid taking damage as much as possible.New World Onlinewasn’t designed for something like that, though, so Maple’s unconventional play style repeatedly lets her break the game to unlock one broken ability after another as she slowly becomes one of the game’s best players.
Video game anime are often rife with power fantasy tropes, and sure enough,Bofuriis one of the best power fantasies for the absurdity of Maple becoming increasingly overpowered by doing very little, all while getting to hang out with her friends with no real stakes to her adventures. It’s one of the easiest anime for a person to insert themselves into, and that’s why it’s so fun to watch.
InNexus’The Eminence in Shadow, Minoru Kageno died while indulging in his fantasies of becoming a powerful mastermind fighting evil from the shadows, and he doesn’t give that up after reincarnating as Cid Kagenou. In his new life, though, all of Cid’s delusions are inexplicably true, and he now finds himself at the head of the Shadow Garden, a secret organization that mistakenly believes Cid to be the mastermind he always wanted to be.
Between Cid being overpowered, his living in a world where all of his craziness is rewarded, and having a harem of beautiful and powerful women devoted to his every word,The Eminence in Shadowhas no reservations about being an unabashedly trashy power fantasy. That honesty, however, combined with its surprisingly high quality, makes it incredibly fun to watch, and the way it so quickly took off in popularity speaks for itself.
Studio Bind’sMushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnationstars an obese shut-in evicted from his home following his parents’ deaths who died saving some kids from a speeding truck, the only useful thing he did with his life. The man was then reincarnated into a fantasy world as Rudeus Greyrat, a boy with a natural affinity to magic, and he decides to use the opportunity to live a life he can actually be proud of.
Not only does Rudeus slowly grow to be one of the strongest characters in the story, but he somehow gets three beautiful wives and children who will go on to save the world, all while never dropping his perverted nature or being truly punished for it. Add in the gorgeous visuals and direction of the anime, andMushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation, for better or worse, gets to the pure essence ofisekaipower fantasy anime.
In the world of A-1 Pictures’Solo Leveling, people can awaken to supernatural abilities and work as “Hunters” who earn a living fighting monsters in dungeons. Jinwoo Sung is regarded as the world’s weakest Hunter for being an E-Rank Hunter, but when a near-death experience leaves him with video game-like powers, Jinwoo will use them to become stronger than anyone and earn enough money to support his family, regardless of how that might change him.
Jinwoo going from a complete weakling to someone who can defeat everyone who crosses his path without breaking a sweat is the epitome of power fantasy, and the way that he’s also rewarded with a healthy family and a loving wife at the end of his journey only emphasizes that aspect of the story.Solo Levelingis the most iconic power fantasyof modern anime, an honor that it’s unlikely to lose any time soon.
Eight Bit’sThat Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slimestars Satoru Mikami who, after his death, is reincarnated as a slime in a fantasy world. Satoru eventually takes up the name Rimuru Tempest, and with the power to copy the abilities of anything he absorbs, Rimuru gradually becomes one of the strongest characters in the series and is constantly at the center of major political conflicts.
Not only is Rimuru anotherisekaiprotagonist who gets to be the strongest character with lots of cute girls at his beck and call, butRimuru spends most of his time using his wits to build up political power as opposed to force, so it’sa great power fantasy for giving Rimuru a perfect balance of brains and brawn. It’s easily one of themost popularisekaianime of the past decade, and there are few anime better for diehard power fantasy fans.
Madhouse’sNo Game No Lifestars Sora and Shiro, a pair of master gamers known under the collective identity of Blank who are summoned to the world of Disboard by the god Tet. In Disboard, the sixteen different races determine their hierarchy of power by playing games, and with Imanity, Disboard’s equivalent to humans, in last place, Sora and Shiro decide to use their gaming skills to put Imanity on top one game at a time.
As often as Sora and Shiro may outsmart their opponents, it never gets old because of their unending charisma and, above all else, how creative the show always is with their victories. Add in a unique art style and some gorgeous animation, andNo Game No Life’s presentation makes it one of the most unique power fantasy anime a person can watch.
Dragon Ball
Toei Animation’sDragon Balltells the story of Son Goku, an odd young boy with a monkey tail and inhuman strength, as he goes on adventures with his friends, often in search of the titular wish-granting Dragon Balls. The series started as a martial arts comedy that drew inspiration fromJourney to the West, but it eventually shifts gears into a sci-fi epic with over-the-top battles and feats of strength constantly being scaled against the entire universe.
Not only does Goku get to be one of the strongest characters in the universe who’s always going on crazy adventures, but at the end of each adventure, he always goes back to friends and family who love him, no matter how insensitive he might act every now and then. Few anime are as iconic asDragon Ball, and there’s no better contender for the best power fantasy anime a person can watch.
