Summary
They say everyone loves a hero, but when normal people are Isekaid and thrown into a life-or-death situation, it is normal to be a little bit scared. Even when some of these summoned MCs receive overpowered skills (or if they already had them to begin with), it is probable that they don’t want to get into complicated situations that might cause them harm.
From a schoolboy obsessed with money and comfort to a bunch of teenagers thrown into a soulslike world,reluctant heroes in Isekai animeare aplenty, but some manage to stand out for a variety of reasons.
When talking about reluctant heroes,none are more reluctant to heroism than Kazuma SatoufromKonoSuba. He is a realistic person; he knows he has no cheating skills, no over-the-norm stats (except maybe his luck), and he lacks the desire to be a hero. He only wants to have a laid-back life, enjoy good food, and participate in occasional debauchery in a fantasy world.
That’s why when Darkness and Megumin are hellbent on experiencing adventures, Kazuma is not eager to participate, which is understandable since most of their journeys end up with him beingkilled and resurrected by Eris/Aqua. When that doesn’t happen, Megumin will cause tremendous damage to the Kingdom, and Kazuma ends up paying for it, so it is easy to see why he doesn’t want to be a hero and prefers to amass riches by implementing his modern ideas in this fantasy-like world.
Yogiri Takatou is one of the strongest beings and the incarnation of Death itself, but that doesn’t mean he wants to be the hero. On the contrary, all he wants is to be left in peace, but somehow, he gets involved in a really troublesome situation when he and all his class are summoned to another world by a misanthropic Sage. Despite Takatou’s reluctance to fight, his Instant Death ability will wipe out every enemy on his path, and he doesn’t even need to bat an eye.
As a matter of fact, if not for Tomochika’s drive, they would still be stuck on that bus “sleeping it off,” sincenapping seems to be Takatou’s favorite activity. Besides the obvious satirical tone and exaggerated abilities that end up being pointless against the instant death ability of Takato, the entire show is about people who are forcibly summoned to a fantasy-like world, filled to the brim with powerful beings of all kinds.
Seiya doesn’t want to be a hero. As a matter of fact, he refuses to fight any battle that he is not 100% sure he is going to win. But what might seem like cowardice at the beginning quickly develops into some kind of dark obsession, which causes some real trouble forthe Goddess Ristarte. Refusing to fight unless he knows he will win makes it so hard for the Goddess that it is almost painful to watch.
Withher time-stopping powers, Ristarte gets demoted to a pause button so fast that she doesn’t even know what is going on. Meanwhile, Seiya trains to the border of obsession, getting stronger and stronger every time, though he has a deep reason engraved in his being. The truth is that this was not Seiya’s first time getting summoned to protect a fantasy world.
Kazuya Soma was summoned to a fanntasy world by the works of the Kingdom of Elfireden and by none other thanthe princess of the realm, Liscia Elfrieden. But Soma is not one of those glorious heroes of legend with superhuman abilities and cheat skills; instead, he is a simple office worker who got trapped in a situation he was unprepared for.
As a good bureaucrat, Soma has deep knowledge of how to administer an office, so how difficult it can be to rule over a kingdom as a proxy? The thing is that Soma didn’t know he was going to be married to the princess, so he is kind of reluctant on the idea of being a king. But since he is so good at his job, there’s no way he can leave behind all the people he learned to cherish, especially Liscia, who seems to be smitten with him. Thus, the story of how a simple office worker became a king and the hero of the kingdom begins.
Grimgar, Ashes & Illusionsoffers a realistic take on what really happens when teenagers are isekaid into a dangerous world filled with murderous beasts and granted powers. Spoiler alert: It doesn’t end well. So, if fans are looking for an Isekai anime where the protagonists are reluctant heroes, then there’s no better one thanGrimgar, Ashes & Illusions, a masterpiece created by Ao Jūmonji and directed by the legendary Ryosuke Nakamura (Your Lie In April,Airura).
The entire series deals with heavily traumatized characters, who have to struggle to survive ina merciless dark fantasy world. When one of them loses their life protecting the group, the survivors receive a blow from reality and learn that they need to work together if they do not wish to perish. It is up to a reluctant but brave new leader to gather the pieces of their shattered friendship and come up with a new plan of action to survive.
