31+ Anime Where The MC Is OP But Acts Weak

Good morning, good evening, good afternoon, good night, I don’t know when you are reading this article, but anyway welcome to a new list of recommendations! Today we are dealing with a very appreciated cliche in anime which is the overpowered main character who hides his/her/their real power!

He/She/They hide their true colors in different ways and for various reasons, but I really like the reactions of people when they understand what these main characters are capable of doing! So let’s just cut to the chase!

Table of Contents

ANIME WITH AN OVERPOWERED
MC WHO ACTS WEAK (RECOMMENDATIONS)

32. Unbreakable Machine Doll

OP MC	Plot	Character Writing	Animation	Total
15/20	6/10	6/10	7/10	34/50

How cute, a puppeteer and his puppet! They shouldn’t be a threat. Yeah, the key word is “shouldn’t”…

In the early 20th century in the United Kingdom, scientists managed to mix technology and sorcery to create puppets used as military weapons. Along with his automaton Yaya, the puppeteer Raishin Akabane joins the Walpurgis Royal Academy to study and enter a competition whose winner will get the title of Wiseman. However, Raishin’s real goal is to avenge his family who was killed by a mysterious genius.

31. Black Bullet

OP MC	Plot	Character Writing	Animation	Total
15/20	6/10	6/10	7/10	34/50

Don’t judge people by the way they look! They may hide mechanical body parts…

In 2021, humanity was decimated by the Gastrea epidemic, a virus that forced humans to live near monoliths made of varanium because this material can subdue the parasite. With time, the “cursed children” appeared: they are children affected by Gastrea since birth, endowed with superhuman powers, and are all female due to the parasite’s effect.

To face the danger of Gastrea, pairs formed by an Initiator (a cursed child) and a Promoter (a human in charge of controlling his own Initiator) are in charge of preventing the destruction of Tokyo.

30. A Certain Magical Index

OP MC	Plot	Character Writing	Animation	Total
16/20	7/10	7/10	7/10	37/50

What can a boy with no particular skills do against powerful and feared espers?

In an alternate sci-fi world, the abilities of espers are created by mixing technology and science. A high school student, called Toma Kamijo, is apparently a normal boy with no special abilities, but his right arm is capable of nullifying any other esper power.

One day, Toma finds a little nun passed out on the balcony of his apartment. Her name is Index, and she possesses “perfect memorization“, the ability to memorize everything she sees or reads without forgetting any detail. This encounter will give birth to the boy’s adventures, in which he will attempt to protect Index from danger.

29. Familiar of Zero

OP MC	Plot	Character Writing	Animation	Total
17/20	7/10	7/10	6/10	37/50

A normal Japanese boy in a fantasy world full of magic and wizards. How can he survive in it?

Louise is an arrogant and selfish aristocratic magician, totally unable to use magic—every time she tries to cast a spell, she blows up everything around her. During the first days of the sophomore year, students must perform a ritual to summon their own “familiar”, an animal or monster faithful to the magician who summoned it.

However, Louise summons a Japanese boy called Saito, who does not understand what’s happening to him. With time, Saito will discover that he has an enormous power within him that he decides to use to protect his mistress.

28. Alice Academy

OP MC	Plot	Character Writing	Animation	Total
16/20	7/10	8/10	7/10	38/50

A country girl possesses one of the rarest Alices ever. And she doesn’t even know! But is she hiding something else? (Read the manga, please)

Hotaru, Mikan’s best friend, gets admitted to a school for gifted people in Tokyo, but, when she doesn’t come back home for the holidays, Mikan decides to visit her. When she arrives at the gates of the school she meets Narumi, a weird teacher, and Natsume, a student with a cat mask who wanted to escape from the school.

Mikan is confused, but her confusion rises when Narumi tells her that she may also possess an Alice, making her suitable to attend the school.

27. Sword Art Online

OP MC	Plot	Character Writing	Animation	Total
17/20	7/10	8/10	7/10	39/50

How can a normal boy complete a game so hard and dangerous? Is he strong enough?

Sword Art Online is a multiplayer RPG game based on a virtual reality system—thanks to a helmet capable of stimulating the user’s five senses, the players can directly control their own character in the game. However on the day of its debut, logged-in users found out that they can’t log out from the game. In order to do so, the players must reach the last level and pass it. Among the players, there is Kirito, a young boy who is determined to complete the game on his own.

26. Food Wars

OP MC	Plot	Character Writing	Animation	Total
15/20	8/10	8/10	8/10	39/50

How can a diner cook survive in a school full of elite chefs? Never underestimate a determined boy who has unlimited creativity!

The main character of the story is Soma Yukihira, a fifteen-year-old boy who dreams of becoming a chef in his family diner and surpassing his father Joichiro. Soma competes with him everyday in the kitchen, but he loses every battle.

After Soma graduates from middle school, Joichiro decides to go work overseas and challenges his son: Soma has to attend the elite Totsuki cooking school, where only a small percentage of students graduate each year. Soma enrolls in the academy right away, eager to prove his skills to his father.

25. Haikyuu!!

OP MC	Plot	Character Writing	Animation	Total
15/20	8/10	8/10	8/10	39/50

Who said that volleyball players should be tall? Don’t look down on shorties.

After watching a volleyball match, Shouyou Hinata decides to become “The Little Giant” of that sport. He joins the volleyball club of his middle school, but, during the inter-school tournament, he and his teammates are easily defeated by the strong team led by a formidable player named Tobio Kageyama.

Hinata doesn’t give up and, in order to win against his rival, he continues to play volleyball even when he enrolls in high school. However, he later finds out that Kageyama has joined the same school club.

24. Dragon Ball

OP MC	Plot	Character Writing	Animation	Total
18/20	7/10	8/10	6/10	39/50

I think we have watched enough Dragon Ball episodes to understand that we can’t underestimate children with monkey tails!

One day, Son Goku, a child with a monkey tail and boundless strength, meets a girl named Bulma. She is looking for the seven dragon spheres—powerful magical objects that allow you to summon the dragon Shenron, a creature that grants any wish. Goku is persuaded by Bulma to help her search for the spheres and the two set off on a long journey.

Later, Goku undergoes the training of Master Roshi and participates in numerous editions of the Tenkaichi Tournament, a world martial arts competition that takes place every three years to determine who is the strongest warrior.

23. My Hero Academia

OP MC	Plot	Character Writing	Animation	Total
15/20	8/10	9/10	7/10	39/50

The quirkless boy gets the strongest hero’s quirk. But careful guys, it’s a secret nobody should know!

In a society where almost everybody has a superpower, Midoriya Izuku is part of the small percentage of people who doesn’t possess a quirk. However, the boy doesn’t give up on his dream of becoming the number one hero, and when his childhood friend Bakugo is captured by a villain, the boy runs to save him despite his weakness.

Luckily, All Might, the strongest hero, is there to take care of the situation and is very impressed by Izuku’s actions.

22. Tokyo Ravens

OP MC	Plot	Character Writing	Animation	Total
16/20	8/10	8/10	8/10	40/50

A powerless boy who is revealed to be strong instead. We have seen it many times, but it works very well here!

Harutora Tsuchimikado, son of a secondary branch of the Tsuchimikado clan, grows up with Natsume, the future heir of the clan, and the two develop such a strong friendship, that he promised her that one day he would become her shikigami to protect her.

In the meantime, however, despite being born into an onmyoji family, Harutora continues to show no sign of magical powers, which is why he is forced to lead a completely normal life, very different from Natsume’s. However, a series of events begins to disrupt the lives of both of them.

21. Blue Exorcist

OP MC	Plot	Character Writing	Animation	Total
16/20	8/10	8/10	8/10	40/50

Rin may seem adorable and cute, but his true identity will make you change your mind! Just kidding, he’s very powerful, but he is still cute.

The world is made up of two parallel dimensions, Assiah, the human world, and Gehenna, the demon world. The story revolves around Rin, a reckless teenager who lives with his twin brother Yukio, and his adoptive father, the exorcist Shiro. However, the boy finds out that he is actually the son of Satan and that Yukio has always been able to feel the presence of demons.

Also, Shiro is killed by demons. Rin, with the power of a demon-killing sword, gains demonic traits. His new goal is to avenge Shiro’s death and defeat Satan, and in order to do so, he must become an exorcist, attending the True Cross Academy.

20. Mob Psycho 100

OP MC	Plot	Character Writing	Animation	Total
18/20	8/10	8/10	6/10	40/50

A young apatic boy is actually a powerful esper. It’s hard to tell if you look at him.

Shigeo Kageyama is a middle school student who possesses powerful psychic abilities that make him a very gifted esper. However, the boy can’t feel his emotion to the fullest, because he would lose control of his powers and explode.

To avoid this terrible scenario, he is forced to close off his emotions, trying to live a normal school life at the same time. Will the boy succeed?

19. Fairy Tail

OP MC	Plot	Character Writing	Animation	Total
16/20	8/10	9/10	7/10	40/50

Fairy Tail may seem like a guild full of reckless and hot headed wizards, but when it’s time to fight, nothing will stop them!

A young celestial wizard, Lucy Heartphilia, leaves her home to join the well-known Fairy Tail guild. During her journey, she meets the reckless Natsu Dragneel, a simple-minded and impulsive wizard who possesses the magic of the fire dragon slayer. He is on a journey in search of the dragon Igneel along with his trusty companion, Happy.

The two are members of the guild that Lucy is looking for and thanks to their help, Lucy joins the guild. Later, she will be part of a team with Natsu, Happy, the ice mage Gray Fullbuster and the warrior mage Erza Scarlett to go on missions.

18. Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic

OP MC	Plot	Character Writing	Animation	Total
16/20	8/10	9/10	7/10	40/50

What a cute little child with an adorable smile and a cheerful personality! Well, he is also a powerful being that will change the fate of the world, but whatever…

Aladdin is a mysterious child who wanders aimlessly and who seems to know nothing about the world. In his journey, however, he is accompanied by Ugo, a huge and shy djinn who lives inside his flute. One day, Aladdin meets Alibaba, a boy who seems selfish and arrogant, but who actually has a big heart and does not hesitate to risk his life for others.

After a series of events, the two become friends and decide to explore a dungeon together, which is one of the legendary buildings that appeared scattered across the world 14 years earlier and inside which mysterious treasures are hidden.

17. Kuroko No Basket

OP MC	Plot	Character Writing	Animation	Total
16/20	8/10	9/10	8/10	41/50

No one notices him because of his weak presence, but he is there on the court, ready to steal the ball!

The Basketball Club of the Teiko Middle School is famous for having five players in its ranks who are called the “miracle generation“. In addition to the five prodigies, there is also another member, Kuroko Tetsuya, nicknamed the “sixth ghost man“; he is able to pass or intercept the ball without being noticed by his opponents.

Now that middle school is over, the generation of miracles has split. But while the other five chose to attend the strongest institutions of the nation, Kuroko chose a secondary high school, because he is not looking for victory at any cost, but for the joy and fun of playing basketball in a team where everyone works together.

16. The Irregular at Magic High School

OP MC	Plot	Character Writing	Animation	Total
17/20	8/10	8/10	8/10	41/50

Not having magic abilities doesn’t mean not being strong! Tatsuya will show it to you!

The series is set in an alternate world in which magic exists and is used as a technology. In 2095, Tatsuya Shiba and his beloved sister Miyuki enrolled in high school. Students are divided according to their entrance test results: the students with the best scores will be in course 1, while those with the lowest scores in course 2.

Miyuki gets the maximum score and is selected as the representative of the first year for course 1, while Tatsuya is placed in course 2 due to his low score in the practical test, even though he obtained the highest score in the theoretical part of the exam.

15. Bungou Stray Dogs

OP MC	Plot	Character Writing	Animation	Total
16/20	8/10	8/10	9/10	41/50

With his clean face and thin body Atsushi seems out of place in a supernatural detective agency. But I don’t think this is the case.

Atsushi Nakajima was thrown out of his orphanage and now has nowhere to go. While wandering in the city, he saves a man who tried to commit suicide. He is Osamu Dazai and he is part of a mysterious detective agency, whose members possess supernatural powers and take care of risky cases in place of the police.

They are currently investigating a tiger that has recently attacked people in the area, and that has apparently some link with Atsushi.

14. The Seven Deadly Sins

OP MC	Plot	Character Writing	Animation	Total
18/20	8/10	8/10	7/10	41/50

Wait, the Sin of Wrath is actually a child? And he is ridiculously strong! And so short.

The Seven Deadly Sins are seven powerful evil knights who wanted to conquer the kingdom of Britain. They were all considered dead, but some people believe that they are still alive. Ten years later, the Holy Knights, chosen warriors of the kingdom, plan to usurp the throne.

Elizabeth, the princess, embarks on a journey to search for the Seven Deadly Sins, with the intention of asking them for help and taking her kingdom back thanks to their strength.

13. One Piece

OP MC	Plot	Character Writing	Animation	Total
16/20	9/10	10/10	6/10	41/50

A small and thin boy who carries a Straw Hat on his head should be weak and easy to defeat… in theory.

Luffy is a 17 years old boy who dreams of becoming the Pirate King and finding the legendary treasure the previous king left as a legacy. In order to do so, Luffy starts his adventure in the sea by finding the perfect crew who will accompany him during his journey. While the boy gathers new mates and new bonds, he will meet various enemies who will make the boy become stronger and stronger in order to carry out his dream.

12. The Devil is a Part-Timer!

OP MC	Plot	Character Writing	Animation	Total
18/20	8/10	8/10	8/10	42/50

The evil lord works part-time to sustain himself. This should be a ridiculous joke, but it’s actually true! See for yourself!

In the fantasy world of Ente Isla, chaos arises because of the evil lord, Satan, who, thanks to his army and four great generals, starts the conquest of all the archipelagos. A hero stands to defend mankind and turns the tide of war.

In an extreme gesture, Satan, together with his faithful general Alsiel, flees from Ente Isla through a gap, swearing to return as soon as possible to conquer all the lands. The hero, a young girl named Emilia, decides not to let him escape and follows him.

11. Katekyo Hitman Reborn

OP MC	Plot	Character Writing	Animation	Total
16/20	9/10	9/10	8/10	42/50

As much as he is a klutz, Tsuna is actually a powerful and feared boss! Or at least, this is the goal.

Tsunayoshi Sawada is a weak and clumsy boy who has no friends and is a failure in both study and sport. The only reason why he keeps going to school is to see the smile of the girl he has a crush on, Kyoko. His monotonous and boring life is interrupted by the arrival of Reborn, a child who introduces himself as a private teacher, but in reality he is a very skilled assassin of the Vongola family. Reborn’s goal is to train Tsuna and make him the worthy successor of the current boss of the Vongola family.

10. Jujutsu Kaisen

OP MC	Plot	Character Writing	Animation	Total
18/20	8/10	8/10	9/10	43/50

Yuji is the host of one of the most powerful demons ever, but who could say so just by observing him in his daily life?

Yuji Itadori is a normal high school student who is interested in the supernatural and is part of the occult club of his school. One day, he meets the sorcerer Megumi Fushiguro, who warns him of the existence of a dangerous artifact within the school.

Unfortunately the members of his club break the seal placed on it and attract evil curses that attack them. Yuji, to protect his friends, is forced to swallow the artifact, that is the finger of Sukuna, a powerful and dangerous demon, of whom Yuji becomes the host.

9. That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime

OP MC	Plot	Character Writing	Animation	Total
19/20	8/10	8/10	8/10	43/50

An overpowered slime seems a bit unreal, I mean, it’s the strangest thing ever, but here we are.

Satoru Mikami, protecting a co-worker from a robber, is stabbed and dies. However, he wakes up in a cave in a fantasy world, reincarnated as a powerful slime with special abilities. The slime receives the name Rimuru Tempest from the dragon Veldora who is imprisoned in the cave. The story that follows the adventures, evolution and rise of Rimuru.

8. One Punch Man

OP MC	Plot	Character Writing	Animation	Total
20/20	8/10	8/10	7/10	43/50

At first glance, can you actually tell that Saitama is the strongest man alive? I think that it’s the bald head that misleads us.

In an alternate world in which monsters and heroes exist, Saitama is a 25 years old young man who has become bald and ridiculously strong after a hard training schedule. He has decided to become a hero as a hobby, but now he is disappointed because his enemies are no match for him. All he has to do is punch them once to defeat them. Saitama keeps on fighting monsters, hoping to find a worthy opponent.

7. Assassination Classroom

OP MC	Plot	Character Writing	Animation	Total
19/20	8/10	9/10	8/10	44/50

A yellow octopus-ish weird teacher is actually a monster capable of wiping out an entire planet. And yet one wouldn’t think so looking at his funny appearance and cheerful personality.

A new and bizarre teacher is introduced to students in Class 3-E of the Kunugigaoka Middle School. It has tentacles, a round head, and is capable of moving at 20 times the speed of sound. Before introducing himself to his new class, he destroyed part of the moon and declared that by the end of the year he will also destroy Earth, but, for obscure reasons, he decides, in the meantime, to start teaching. Having virtually the whole world under his control, the Japanese government decides to grant his request. Thus, it’s up to the students to kill him to save the planet.

6. Moriarty The Patriot

OP MC	Plot	Character Writing	Animation	Total
18/20	9/10	9/10	9/10	45/50

A criminal mastermind pretends to be a respectable nobleman to operate undisturbed. It’s pretty brilliant if you think about it.

The main character is James Moriarty, the infamous nemesis of the detective Sherlock Holmes. In this story however, William, is an orphan who will take the second name and surname James Moriarty when he and his younger brother Louis, thanks to their new step-brother Albert, get adopted by the Moriarty family.

The story depicts how the boy, together with his brothers and other allies, creates a criminal organization in order to eradicate the corrupted English class system, targeting the upper class.

5. Detective Conan

OP MC	Plot	Character Writing	Animation	Total
18/20	9/10	10/10	8/10	45/50

A seven years old child knocks unconscious a famous private detective to solve mysteries cases in his place. Yeah, right. Who could believe this story?

Shinichi Kudo is a high schooler who wants to become a detective. He loves playing soccer and reading Sherlock Holmes stories and sometimes he helps the police in solving mysteries.

One day, when he hangs out with his childhood friend, Ran, and gets involved in a bad situation where he was drugged by men in black who are part of a criminal organization. When Shinichi wakes up, he finds out that he is not a high schooler anymore, but a seven years old child. This is how his adventure to get his former body back begins.

4. Noragami

OP MC	Plot	Character Writing	Animation	Total
18/20	9/10	9/10	9/10	45/50

A frivolous God who is also a handyman. He doesn’t seem so scary or strong, right?

Hiyori Iki is a normal middle school student, at least until she gets hit by a bus as she tries to save the life of a boy called Yato. This incident will completely change her life. After meeting Yato, who is actually a god, she finds out that, from the day of her accident, her body falls asleep suddenly, while her soul detaches from it—making her a half-phantom.

Unable to solve the problem on her own, she asks Yato for help, who promises to help her in exchange for 5 yen.

3. Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood

OP MC	Plot	Character Writing	Animation	Total
16/20	10/10	10/10	9/10	45/50

A shortie with a bad temper is the youngest alchemist ever and one of the strongest ones? Poor Edward, everyone has the same reaction every time they look at him.

The two brothers Edward and Alphonse Elric are orphans. Their father left home when they were still newborn, while a few years later their mother died of an illness. The brothers attempt to bring her back to life through alchemy, but the transmutation does not proceed as expected, heavily damaging their own bodies. So, the two brothers embark on a journey to search for the philosopher’s stone, a legendary artifact that will help them regain their formal bodies.

2. Hunter x Hunter

OP MC	Plot	Character Writing	Animation	Total
16/20	10/10	10/10	9/10	45/50

If you look at him, you wouldn’t guess that Gon is actually a powerful Hunter! He may look innocent and very young, but this doesn’t mean he isn’t strong!

Gon Freecss is a twelve-year-old boy who lives on Whale Island with his aunt Mito. One day, he meets Kaito, a professional “hunter“, and finds out that his father Ging, whom he has never met, is alive and is one of the best hunters in the world. So, Gon decides to go look for him. He takes the exam to become a Hunter where he meets other aspiring Hunters who will become his friends: Leorio, a young man who wants to earn money to become a doctor, Kurapika, who wants to avenge his clan, and Killua, a member of the feared Zoldyck family who takes the exam just for fun.

1. Gintama

OP MC	Plot	Character Writing	Animation	Total
18/20	9/10	10/10	8/10	45/50

The jobless and broke Gintoki is actually a forgotten hero. However, he uses a dead fish-ish facial expression to hide it. Everybody falls for it!

In the Edo period Japan, the Amantos, alien races from different planets, invaded Earth, forbidding the use of the sword and causing the progressive fall of the samurai era. One of the few people who still possess the valorous soul and the noble strength of the samurai is Gintoki Sakata, the head of a handyman agency. His employees are Shinpachi Shimura, an alien girl named Kagura and the giant dog Sadaharu. The story revolves around their daily life.

Which Anime Have You Watched? Do You Think Is The Best?

And here is the end of the list! Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed the article. Remember that the rankings are based on my personal opinion and experience! Hoping to see you again, I wish you a nice day and remember to stay hydrated!

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Table of Content

ANIME WITH AN OVERPOWEREDMC WHO ACTS WEAK (RECOMMENDATIONS)