Summary
Over the years, anime has produced some very memorable characters and, for the most part, people can agree on whether they are beloved or hated. Most fans will count the likes ofSpike Spiegel, Edward Elric, L, and so on, as some of the most likable protagonists in anime.
Then there are the characters no one likes, but in the middle are the characters that divide opinion, usually because there is a problematic angle to them that some can look past, while others cannot. Isekai has a couple of such characters, and they can really split fanbases right down the middle.
WhenOverlordfirst debuted in 2015, it was a good isekai with anOP protagonistand an interesting world. Fans were happy to watchAinzmake his way around the world and laughed at his occasional naïveté.
As the seasons went on, it became clearer and clearer that Ainz might not be the hero of the story, but rather a villain, and while some were able to appreciate this subtle shift, others were turned off by it. Ainz is so compelling because his reasons for evil can be explained in the context of the role he is supposed to play in this video game; a custodian of a race of monsters created by some of his best friends. It all makes Ainz a complex character, but also a polarizing one.
Cid KagenoufromThe Eminence In Shadowwas made to be polarizing. This series sometimes feels like a parody as it unapologetically leans into all the cringe tropes of modern isekai, including ridiculous levels of power, harems that make no sense, and morally ambiguous protagonists.
While this certainly worked for some people, givenThe Eminence In Shadowgot a second season and has a decent rating on MAL, it also rubbed some others the wrong way, as Cid represented something reprehensible. Cid’s flashy abilities and obsession with his hero persona can be very amusing, but considering it plays into the very real fantasy of some people sometimes gives room for pause.
Arifureta: From Commonplace To World’s Strongest
Hajimeis a normal 17-year-old summoned to another world along with his classmates, and while they get impressive abilities, he gets something that feels useless at the time. Not only that, he is also betrayed by his classmates and left for dead. He survives, gains impressive powers, and now has a harem. Typical, right? That’sArifureta.
The problem with Hajime is hisquest for revengeagainst his classmates, which has led him down some really dark paths. This makes Hajime come across as unsympathetic to some who wonder why his anger fuels him to such an extreme extent.
Tanya Degurechaff fromThe Saga Of Tanya The Evilis a polarizing character for many reasons. First off,she is an antagonistas her actions don’t paint her in a good light. However, what really makes Tanya difficult to deal with for some is the simple fact that she is a grown man in a little girl’s body.
Originally a salaryman who was murdered and defied God whom he called ‘Being X’, Tanya is ruthless, mean, and her love for war makes her difficult to root for. Add to that the World War-esque setting of the show, which makes Tanya’s side seem very similar to the Nazis, and anyone can understand why Tanya is polarizing.
Sword Art Onlineisby no means the first isekai, but it was a show that grew so much in popularity that it’s fair to say it was responsible for the huge fanbase that the isekai genre has today.
What makesKiritoso polarizing is that he was also the template for the isekai Mary Sue: a character so powerful, so ‘right’, that they never seem to have any real challenges or facets to their character. The ease with which the character does everything made a lot of people fall out of love with him, and he has been controversial ever since.
The Rising Of The Shield Herowas controversial from its very first episode. Released at a time of heightened social tensions, the subject matter of assault and false allegations is very tricky, and the show went headlong into its premise which rubbed some people the wrong way.
Naofumi, who was the one falsely accused of assault, then spends the rest of the first season angry, bitter, and sometimes downright unlikeable. His acquisition of Raphtalia was also viewed as slavery, and the fact that he has a harem just doesn’t sit right with some.
Rudeus GreyratstartsMushoku Tensei Jobless Reincarnationas a jobless otaku who is a poster child forproblematic behavior. He gets isekai’d into another world as a baby, and he decides to turn over a new leaf
while he grows into the role of Rudeus.
The thing is, for some, Rudeus is still a middle-aged man (since he kept his memories from his past life) and his amorous dealings with younger girls cast him in an irredeemable light. Rudeus does seem to grow as a character, but he never quite shakes the pervert tag he has earned.
