But sometimes, we just want to see someone who (unlike us) has no problem whatsoever surpassing anything in their path. Characters that have so much power and strength that you already know they’re gonna win, and yet you still want to see it with your own eyes. If watching an unstoppable force is something you’re interested in, then here are some of the best manga that feature a truly overpowered main character.
30. Suppose a Kid from the Last Dungeon Boonies moved to a starter town?
Interestingly enough, our hero Lloyd is the weakest in his entire village here – and no, he doesn’t get a sudden power-up that makes him insanely powerful. It’s just that his village is located side-by-side with the hardest dungeon in the kingdom (a little fact he didn’t know). So his understanding of what’s strong and what’s weak is a little messed up. It’s a more comedy-focused adventure, which doesn’t take itself too seriously. But this can still be pretty entertaining for a read.
29. The Villager of Level 999
In a world where levels exist, and most people range from 1 to 5, our hero has achieved the impossible: The maximum level 999. This is definitely a good action manga, with an interesting plotline of the main character trying to find out who made their world the way it is (with levels, classes, who instigated the war between humans and demons, etc).
28. I’ve Became Able to Do Anything with My Growth Cheat, but I Can’t Seem to Get out of Being Jobless
Ichinosuke is a man who can’t seem to get a job, failing in 100 consecutive interviews. After an accident, he gets transported to a new world. And once there, he’s given a growth cheat from a goddess, but still has no job. Cue the ridiculously long title. The story here feels pretty much like a wish-fulfillment self-insert fantasy, so if that’s your thing, go for it.
27. Demon Kings Town Planning!
Demon Lords are beings that are seen as the pinnacle of evil in most fantasy mangas. But here, it’s just our protagonist. For a Demon Lord to survive in this world, he must feed on the people’s despair inside his dungeon. But Procell, our main hero, wants to feed on people’s happiness. And to achieve that he decides to make a town instead of an old-fashioned dungeon. This manga is much more focused on story and character interactions than anything else, but it’s pretty fun at that.
26. Lazy Dungeon Master
Keima Masuda is summoned to another world to become a Dungeon Master (someone who organizes everything in a dungeon: which monsters roam around, where treasure chests should be, trap placement, this sort of stuff). But there’s one little problem. He’d rather sleep all day long. Note that this feels like a more slow-paced adventure, with no “big objective” in mind, since the protagonist’s goal is to protect the dungeon and sleep. But it’s absolutely a fun read.
25. Farming Life In Another World
Here we have a slice of life manga with an unlikely overpowered hero: a farmer. Now, how does a farmer become overpowered? Well kind of by accident, actually. Machio Hiraku is a 39-year-old man from our world who dies from sickness. Upon death, he’s transported to a new world, and greeted by a god who will make any wishes he has come true. Being humble, however, he simply wishes to be healthy, live in peace, understand the local language, and be a farmer. Thinking this is all too little, the god makes sure to go overboard on every single one of them, making Hiraku not only a great farmer – but also the most powerful man alive.
24. My Instant Death Ability Is So Overpowered, No One in This Other World Stands a Chance Against Me!
With a title like this, do I even need to add anything? The protagonist here can simply kill anyone by thinking about it. While the concept is pretty absurd, the manga totally leans into it, and has some pretty funny moments thanks to that.
23. The Strongest Brave Who Craves Revenge, Extinguish With the Power of Darkness
Betrayed, used, humiliated, tortured beyond belief, and publicly executed is how our hero starts this manga. Yes, he starts like this. This story is all about revenge and bringing justice to those that have gone unpunished. If you like seeing people getting their comeuppance, you’ll love this. But be warned, the revenge he executes on his foes can be pretty disturbing – and is certainly not meant for the faint of heart.
22. Bofuri: I Don’t Want to Get Hurt, So I’ll Max Out My Defense
Kaede is a young high school girl who decides to try out a VRMMO after being invited by a friend. Once inside the game, she’s not sure what to do. So first she decides to level up since that’s what everyone’s doing… and then she decides to spend all her points in defense, because she doesn’t want to get hurt. So far, so good. But there’s a slight problem. Her character gets a little too broken, leaving even the developers in awe as to what they’re witnessing. This manga is a feel-good adventure, with lots of cute moments and plenty of comedy along the way.
21. The World’s Finest Assassin Gets Reincarnated in Another World as an Aristocrat
Just your typical “reincarnated in a fantasy world” trope, but with a small twist: The protagonist Lugh isn’t here to save the world. No, he’s here to kill the one who’ll save it. Add to that the fact that Lugh believes that fighting is senseless (because you should just assassinate your opponents) and you have a unique experience among these types of manga.
20. How NOT to Summon a Demon Lord
An elf and a cat-girl try to summon a Demon Lord to do their bidding. Makes sense so far, right? But the spell of imprisonment backfires and now they’re both his slave. Oh, and the Demon Lord they invoked? A completely inept gamer boy from our world brought over in his game character’s body. Chaos, depravity, and adventures ensue from there.
19. Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody
A late 20s male programmer gets stuck inside a video game world. And through a series of (un)fortunate accidents, becomes incredibly powerful way too quickly. There’s not much to dissect here, because after getting overpowered he decides to act as a hero – and so begins his quest to save people and explore the world. It’s a lighthearted adventure that works well enough in what it wants to achieve. Worth looking into if you’d dig the plot!
18. Villainess Level 99: I Maybe the Hidden Boss But I’m Not the Demon Lord
Being reincarnated in an Otome RPG game might be a dream to some… But being reincarnated as one of the hidden bosses in the game? Not so much. Eumiella wants nothing but a peaceful life for herself. But being level 99, with black hair in a society where dark hair is totally stigmatized, and amazing fighting abilities, her days of peace appear to be numbered. This one is a fun read, with Eumiella being a cool character to follow, and the story expanding in some unexpected directions along the way.
17. I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level
Azusa an immortal witch lives in peace killing slimes for money. But after a few hundred years, the combined experience made her a “little” too strong. Now all she wants is for no one to find out how powerful she is. Easy right? Spoilers: it’s not easy. This manga takes a much more calm approach to the overpowered hero trope, having a fluff feeling to it, and being more interested in getting a smile from readers more than anything else.
16. Rain
This manga tells a tale about a princess, the strongest man on the continent, and a war he wants no part in. While the story itself is a bit cliché and predictable, the characters are very likable (especially Rain as the protagonist), and the battle sequences are quite well drawn. But if you’re on the fence here, check out some of the reviews on MAL to get a better idea.
15. Arifureta: From Commonplace to World’s Strongest
An entire classroom is transported to another world and receives cool fighting abilities in the process. All except for our poor protagonist, who’s quickly disregarded as useless by everyone else. But when he’s left alone, he finds out that his power might not be that bad after all. Arifureta is honestly not the most original or well-thought manga. However, I’ll play devil’s advocate here and say that if you’ve ever read another isekai manga and thought “I wish this was way more edgy” then Arifueta is 100% for you.
14. A Wild Last Boss Appeared
Being stuck inside a game world is already bad enough. Being stuck there in a different gender? Welp… Meet Ruphas, a powerful black-winged overlord who has no country, armies, or allies, and now must find out what’s happening in this world. All this is going on, while simultaneously trying to adjust to her new living conditions. While it might look derivative from the Overlord series, clever twists and explanations keep the story fresh and interesting.
13. Reincarnated as a Sword
This title is perhaps a little… different from most of the other mangas on the list. We have two main characters here, neither are overpowered. Well, not by themselves at least. Fran is a 12-year-old with a desire for revenge, Shisou is a sentient sword. And when you put them both together they become unstoppable. It’s a fun manga to read with good humor, an adventurous spirit, and cool fighting techniques. And if you’re interested, Reincarnated as a Sword is confirmed to get its own anime. So keep an eye out for that as well.
12. Re: Monster
A man gets reincarnated as a very weak goblin, but can still remember everything from his previous life. Armed with his knowledge and an unusual evolution, he’ll do everything in his power to become the strongest and help his tribe. If you don’t have a lot of patience for the hero to get overpowered, this one’s for you my friend. Enjoy!
11. The Hero is Overpowered But Overly Cautious
You probably recognize this title already, and it’s a great one. We start out pretty simple: a powerful hero is summoned to save the land. The problem, as you may tell from the title, is that he’s unbelievably cautious. Our hero goes to the point of buying all health potions in stock, using his strongest attack on the weakest enemy (“just in case”), and not starting a fight unless he is completely sure of the outcome. It’s a standard isekai adventure, sure. But I’d say this one has an even bigger focus on comedy. Pretty fun read.
10. Mashle: Magic and Muscles
In a world where magic is used for everything, how is our protagonist overpowered? Well, through sheer physical strength. Mash is a young boy who was born without magic. So in order to survive in his world, he trains his body. But when his calm lifestyle with his father is threatened, he decides to acquire the title of Divine Visionary, which is only given to top-of-the-class mages. Mashle is primarily a comedy manga. And while its art is not the best out of all these OP MC options, it’s still able to make great and memorable action sequences – as well as pull off amazingly funny expressions.
9. So I’m a Spider, So What?
After a tragic explosion, an entire classroom of students dies – but not everything is lost. They all get to be reincarnated in a fantasy world. Some return as princes, or prodigies, but our poor heroine? Well, she gets to be a spider. The build-up here happens a little more slowly, with our main character struggling a bit in the beginning. But don’t fret, since this is a manga with an overpowered MC… And soon enough she gets to kick a lot of butts around. With lots of monologues (since she’s alone most of the time) and introspective moments, this series presents a protagonist that’s easy to get attached to and cheer for.
8. Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation
A 34-year-old man dies full of remorse on how he lived his life, specifically while saving someone from being run over by a truck. Right afterwards, he sees himself reincarnated in a magical world. But somehow he keeps all the memories from his previous life. With the second chance he’s being given here, he decides to make the best out of everything and live a life of no regrets. This story is fluid, always leaving you excited for the next chapter. And the characters are genuinely interesting, with their interactions always being fun to witness, and the art is quite well done. All in all, a pretty solid manga in the genre of OP MCs.
7. An Archdemon’s Dilemma: How to Love Your Elf Bride
The loner mage Zagan purchases an unexpected item in an auction of goods from a dead Archdemon, which is a white-haired elf by the name Nephilia. The focus here is on the relationship between Zagan and his newfound companion – him being completely socially inept, and her not knowing what to expect from him. There are a lot of adorable moments and cute interactions here that’ll pull a smile from even the toughest reader. Granted it’s not your typical overpowered hero plotline, but certainly a very good manga.
6. The Disaster of PSI Kusuo Saiki
Most of you probably already recognize this one, but if you haven’t read it yet, it’s worth checking out. Saiki is a pink-haired high school boy, with extraordinary psychic powers – that he absolutely hates. That’s a pretty broad summary to get you going! That said, this is a comedy-focused story, with absurdity and insanity jumping out of its pages. Plus the situations Saiki sees himself unwillingly get into are hilarious, and certainly worth a read. And this manga series also has its own anime series, which is easily one of the funniest anime ever made.
5. Overlord
Yet another “stuck in a different world” plot fills in the pages of this manga. However, the protagonist here didn’t die. He simply didn’t log off before the server of his favorite MMORPG was shut down. As a result, he got stuck inside the game as his character. This could be another cliché story among many similar isekai ideas… but Overlord shines because of its main hero. Momonga is cunning, deceptive, powerful, and will take what he wants when he wants while exploring this new world. The cast of “NPCs” of his guild is also hilarious, and adds a lot of flavor to this story.
4. Hinamatsuri
A mid-level yakuza and an alien little girl with extraordinary psychokinetic powers.
Insane? Maybe.
Incredible and funny? Definitely.
Hinamatsuri is a joyful ride, with laughing-out-loud moments, a great supporting cast of well-developed characters, and a cool plot to boot.
And like any good comedy manga, it makes you cry when you least expect it, only to have you laughing again a few minutes later.
In other words, it’s worth every page.
3. That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime
If you like overpowered MCs, you can’t go wrong with this one. Mikami lives a sad life in our world when he’s unexpectedly stabbed on the streets. Soon after that, he’s reincarnated as a small goop of slime in another world. Taking the name of Rimuru, our slime hero explores the world, and little by little becomes one of the most powerful characters in any manga. Adventure, action, comedy, heartwarming moments, this story has it all. So buckle up and enjoy the ride.
2. One-Punch Man
This is a series that almost needs no introduction. Saitama is a hero who can one-punch any problem away, be it a giant monster or an enclosed spiritual space (don’t ask). While he’s not as snarky as other overpowered heroes on this list, he can still be incredibly charismatic with his down-to-earth attitude, and careless way of life. Another thing worth noting is that the cast around him is amazing and full of different types of people, which will keep you engaged and longing for more content – even when Saitama isn’t present. A comedy-action piece with great fights and superb art. It’s basically a must-read if you’ve never checked it out before.
1. Mob Psycho 100
Mob is a young boy in high school, who just wants to impress his childhood crush. This is something that’s already hard on its own. But add in the fact he has to keep his immensurable psychic powers in check, and things can get out of hand pretty quickly. While this manga is from the same creator as One-Punch Man (so there are lots of comedy and insane action sequences), the focus is on the development of Mob. Who he is, who he wants to be, and who he becomes. Seeing this overpowered boy growing and maturing (as well as kicking some ass) is nothing short of awesome, and I invite all of you to give it a try.
