16 Anime With Underpowered Protagonists

Natsuki Subaru has one supernatural ability: he returns to a 'set point' after dying. This makes him functionally immortal. He collects trauma, just like people collect Pokemon cards. Subaru builds plans and pushes others to follow them. He also botches plans and angers everyone. Combat proves hard for him; he often needs others to carry him through. Watching him fail repeatedly and still try is part of his appeal.Re:Zero.

Satou Kazuma spent most of his first life playing video games and watching TV. Then, he gets reincarnated into another world.Kazuma gains some magical abilities. He does not become the overpowered isekai hero fans expect. KonoSuba parodies the isekai genre. The fun comes from watching Kazuma fail.Kazuma gains a few magical abilities. He does not become the overpowered isekai hero fans expect. KonoSuba parodies the isekai genre. The fun comes from watching Kazuma fall on his face.

Most characters in Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid...Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid.Super-powered dragons shoot flames, use psychic powers, teleport, and more. Kobayashi remains a normal human computer programmer. She likes drinking after work with her maid-obsessed friend. Kobayashi has no powers, unless a super strong dragon falls for her and fights for her.

Yukiteru Amano would be destroyed without his yandere girlfriend Yuno Gasai. His main ability is the Observance Diary. This diary gives him details about anything he sees. The diary helps in the survival game. It does not give him physical strength, fighting skills, or the mind to use the info well.

Osamu Mikumo has a sharp strategic mind. His direct combat skills need work. As leader of the Tamakoma Second, he takes his flaws seriously. He works to improve them. He wants to improve his team as a whole unit, not just himself.

After Yato saves her from a bus, Hiyori gains the ability to separate her spirit from her body. This is very dangerous. Separation too long risks her death. Yato tries to help her reunite with her body. She sometimes gets involved in the ayakashi attacks he fights. Her abilities, like enhanced senses and some martial arts, remain limited.

Takemichi Hanagaki starts as a lackey in a middle school gang. He spends most time getting beaten by his superiors. Eventually, Takemichi leaves the gang life and takes a simple retail job.

Gang activity causes things to change after his ex-girlfriend Hina dies. A freak accident lets him travel twelve years into the past. He befriending superiors and climbing the Tokyo Manji power structure aims to change the future so Hina survives. However, he remains as physically and emotionally weak as before. He lacks the strength of Mikey or Draken, and he is not a genius using strategy to cover his weakness.

This setup makes him easier to relate to than if he could instantly alter everything.

Mikado Ryuugamine has more power than he knows how to use. He started the Dollars, an Ikebukuro gang he is losing control of. If he had super strength, control over a sentient sword, or other powers the side characters show, he might manage the situation better. For now, a drive to lead an interesting life fuels him, sometimes overriding his need to keep himself and loved ones safe.

Due to poor grades, Tsukune Aono, a human boy, attends a demon school to get an education. As a human with few special powers, he is weaker than almost everyone he meets.

Tsukune gets much stronger in the manga. The anime shows less strength gain, which is a poor adaptation of the source material.

After eating a mermaid scale, Yashiro Nene turns into a fish when submerged in water and starts growing scales if she gets wet. Her contract with Hanako, a powerful spirit protecting high school from supernatural threats, lets her stay human on land. Nene sees other spirits and aids in conflicts, though her help rarely involves fighting.

Red Blood Cell is one of millions of body cells. She sees how the body works and the threats it faces. While she generally performs her job delivering oxygen, she performs worse than her cell colleagues. She can be cowardly and often gets lost. Viruses, bacteria, and other enemies frequently attack her. Without the White Blood Cell, she likely lost her life. Her job is not to fight those germs!

Leonardo Watch possesses one powerful ability: the All-Seeing Eyes of God. This lets him predict the future, control others' vision, read minds, make hallucinations, and see the world's 'truth.' Leonardo struggles using these powers; he gets overwhelmed easily. He is not a fighter. Because he is a pacifist, Leonardo tries to avoid fights whenever possible.

Jurai Andou loves his power, Dark & Dark, but it is one of the most useless things in anime history.Jurai Andou can make a dark-colored flame in his hand. This flame burns lukewarm. It looks cool; it does nothing else. A second stage would help if he controlled it, but he cannot. It is an eternal flame causing severe pain. It cannot be put out and will destroy Jurai unless someone cuts off his hand. Jurai survives activating it only because his friends have powers that regrow body parts.Jurai Andou can make a dark flame in his hand that burns at a lukewarm temperature. This looks cool, but it does nothing else. Controlling it would be useful, but he cannot. It is an eternal flame causing severe pain; it cannot be put out and will eventually destroy Jurai unless someone cuts off his hand. His friends' powers regrow body parts, which is why Jurai survives activating it.

Keiichi Maebara is surrounded by female friends who use torture tools to pull out fingernails and chop them with axes, showing great strength and violence. Keiichi mostly tries to keep the peace while his town suffers from Hinamizawa Syndrome and destroys itself. His main skill is talking people down from violent acts, but this fails sometimes. Keiichi also plays baseball, sometimes using a bat for self-defense.

Emilico serves as a 'face' for a member of Shadow's House named Kate, acting as a 'doll.' Members of the Shadow family emit so much soot that their own faces are hidden; this is fine at home but not in public.

To become a full Doll, Emilico must perfectly copy Kate's feelings. She also needs to do much physical labor. Emilico is not suited for this, so she constantly almost fails. Her good attitude and real love for Kate might matter more than meeting Doll standards.

Myne was a librarian named Motosu Urano before being moved to a fantasy world. She had no fighting skills. When she woke up as a sickly five-year-old girl, things changed. Her illness comes from too much mana, which destroys her internally unless she removes it. This mana sometimes gives her strength bursts, but she mostly uses it to get good care for her poor family and access supplies to pursue her dream: making books available in a world where only rich people read them.