AnimeSuki Forums

BWTraveller · 2021-03-10, 17:48

Simple request. I'm looking for fantasy works where the hero starts out completely worthless. No luck, no powers, no skills, no goddess to keep things interesting. A guy who starts out legitimately at Level 1 and has to fight and struggle to grow at all. Preferably with a similarly pathetic state socially: tends to be used, gets little to no respect, has to work hard to make something of himself that others might accept and recognize. Basically, a fantasy with a hero who's something like Deku if he never got One For All and instead had to simply build his muscles and mind and very gradually gain one thing after another through pure effort. No special skills, ever, just stuff that anyone who works hard enough is able to obtain.

Lex79 · 2021-03-11, 02:08

Try Grimgar of fantasy and Ash if you are fine with something dark, heavy and sometimes depressing.

Tenzen12 · 2021-03-11, 06:21

I reincarnated as noble girl villainess but why did it turn out this way: Despite tittle it's not really shoujo by any measure. MC has no magic, cannot invent potatos and chocolate and her game insight is straightforwardly unusable. All she have is grit, no-nonsense attitude, steel will and genes of actual psychopaths. Despite MC being reincarnated due her upbringing she is probably most medieval minded person of her generation.

AnimeFangirl · 2021-03-11, 06:40

It's old so you've probably seen it by now, but Now and Then, Here and There fits the bill. He never gets any special skills ever, there's no leveling or game system, he spends a lot of time as a prisoner and is firmly at the bottom of the social totem pole, etc. etc.

Tenzen12 · 2021-03-11, 07:11

Isekai Demo Bunan ni Ikitai Shoukougun: Mc just smart, knowledgable and knows which buttons push to get people do things. He seems to be natural born scamer, but he's honest to honest people and dishonest to dishonest ones. Either way his fighting ability is not worth mentioning at all.

Kanna no kanna: Kanna is not really pathetic from beginning, he has really great insticts and is used to fight dirty, but he doesn't posses really any OP power (he does gain unique relatively soon, but it's not really cheat). He is learning and improving as story goes, but even know he is more of jack of all trades then anything.

Nachtwandler · 2021-03-11, 16:49

Roll Over and Die: somehow. MC starts as pathetic with no stats, gets sold to slavery and is often mocked by other characters. She gets better later when she finds out how to use her special ability but still gets overpowered most of the time and suffers a lot, and only survives because of her wit or having help from allies.

SeijiSensei · 2021-03-12, 16:28

You've probably already seen Juuni Kokuki ("Twelve Kingdoms"), but I thought I'd mention it just in case. MC is female, if that matters.

AnimeFangirl · 2021-03-12, 16:59

"Reincarnated as an Aristocrat with an Appraisal Skill." He has a skill that lets him spot useful people, but he himself is weak to the point that 90% of the comments after every chapter are about how weak and pathetic he is, especially in the more recent chapters.

0cean · 2021-03-13, 09:09

Strange Dawn, but the protagonists are two girls. They have no special power per se, it just so happens that compared to the inhabitants they are... giants. So there's this whole conflict going on, that they don't really care for and they can't really adapt to the world, since everything is tiny. All they want is to go back home, but they get used by the inhabitants for their political schemes.

Watch the Opening to get a feel for it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qDsAskjshA

AnimeFangirl · 2021-03-21, 17:27

The heroine of "Seduce the Villian's Dad" has no powers at all and is as weak as a goldfish.
And there's another Korean webtoon with a heroine who is so weak she even loses HP while walking. Just can't remember the title.
It's pretty common for isekai'd heroines to have no special powers, and some are pretty pitiful, at least at first.

Moonlith · 2021-04-16, 07:57

Surprised that nobody has mentioned Konosuba.

Kazuma is a shut-in neet who dies in the most pathetic way, gets laughed at, and gets reincarnated into a fantasy world. His luck isn't much better there, getting stuck with the most worthless party members.

2021-03-10, 17:48	Link #1
BWTraveller Born to ship Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: Texas	Any fantasies/isekai with a hero who starts completely pathetic? Simple request. I'm looking for fantasy works where the hero starts out completely worthless. No luck, no powers, no skills, no goddess to keep things interesting. A guy who starts out legitimately at Level 1 and has to fight and struggle to grow at all. Preferably with a similarly pathetic state socially: tends to be used, gets little to no respect, has to work hard to make something of himself that others might accept and recognize. Basically, a fantasy with a hero who's something like Deku if he never got One For All and instead had to simply build his muscles and mind and very gradually gain one thing after another through pure effort. No special skills, ever, just stuff that anyone who works hard enough is able to obtain.

2021-03-11, 02:08	Link #2
Lex79 Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2018 Location: Italy	Try Grimgar of fantasy and Ash if you are fine with something dark, heavy and sometimes depressing. __________________ You will die, mortal

2021-03-11, 06:21	Link #3
Tenzen12 Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2012	I reincarnated as noble girl villainess but why did it turn out this way: Despite tittle it's not really shoujo by any measure. MC has no magic, cannot invent potatos and chocolate and her game insight is straightforwardly unusable. All she have is grit, no-nonsense attitude, steel will and genes of actual psychopaths. Despite MC being reincarnated due her upbringing she is probably most medieval minded person of her generation. __________________ "I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it" (Charles R. Swindoll)

2021-03-11, 06:40	Link #4
AnimeFangirl Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: The dog gossips too much.	It's old so you've probably seen it by now, but Now and Then, Here and There fits the bill. He never gets any special skills ever, there's no leveling or game system, he spends a lot of time as a prisoner and is firmly at the bottom of the social totem pole, etc. etc. __________________

2021-03-11, 07:11	Link #5
Tenzen12 Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2012	Isekai Demo Bunan ni Ikitai Shoukougun: Mc just smart, knowledgable and knows which buttons push to get people do things. He seems to be natural born scamer, but he's honest to honest people and dishonest to dishonest ones. Either way his fighting ability is not worth mentioning at all. Kanna no kanna: Kanna is not really pathetic from beginning, he has really great insticts and is used to fight dirty, but he doesn't posses really any OP power (he does gain unique relatively soon, but it's not really cheat). He is learning and improving as story goes, but even know he is more of jack of all trades then anything. __________________ "I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it" (Charles R. Swindoll) Last edited by Tenzen12; 2021-03-11 at 07:24.

2021-03-11, 16:49	Link #6
Nachtwandler Yurifag Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Kharkiv, Ukraine / Barcelona, Spain Age: 35	Roll Over and Die: somehow. MC starts as pathetic with no stats, gets sold to slavery and is often mocked by other characters. She gets better later when she finds out how to use her special ability but still gets overpowered most of the time and suffers a lot, and only survives because of her wit or having help from allies. __________________ F/GO: 828 004 124 My Anime list My VN list Last edited by Nachtwandler; 2021-03-24 at 05:44.

2021-03-12, 16:28	Link #7
SeijiSensei AS Oji-kun Join Date: Nov 2006 Age: 74	You've probably already seen Juuni Kokuki ("Twelve Kingdoms"), but I thought I'd mention it just in case. MC is female, if that matters. __________________ Taking Anime Seriously - Politics by the Numbers - Sports by the Numbers - MAL List - Avatars - Images

2021-03-12, 16:59	Link #8
AnimeFangirl Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: The dog gossips too much.	"Reincarnated as an Aristocrat with an Appraisal Skill." He has a skill that lets him spot useful people, but he himself is weak to the point that 90% of the comments after every chapter are about how weak and pathetic he is, especially in the more recent chapters. __________________

2021-03-13, 09:09	Link #9
0cean Transfer Adventurer Join Date: Oct 2017	Strange Dawn, but the protagonists are two girls. They have no special power per se, it just so happens that compared to the inhabitants they are... giants. So there's this whole conflict going on, that they don't really care for and they can't really adapt to the world, since everything is tiny. All they want is to go back home, but they get used by the inhabitants for their political schemes. Watch the Opening to get a feel for it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qDsAskjshA __________________

2021-03-21, 17:27	Link #10
AnimeFangirl Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: The dog gossips too much.	The heroine of "Seduce the Villian's Dad" has no powers at all and is as weak as a goldfish. And there's another Korean webtoon with a heroine who is so weak she even loses HP while walking. Just can't remember the title. It's pretty common for isekai'd heroines to have no special powers, and some are pretty pitiful, at least at first. __________________

2021-04-16, 07:57	Link #11
Moonlith Member Join Date: Oct 2007	Surprised that nobody has mentioned Konosuba. Kazuma is a shut-in neet who dies in the most pathetic way, gets laughed at, and gets reincarnated into a fantasy world. His luck isn't much better there, getting stuck with the most worthless party members.