There are differences between isekai protagonists when comparing males to females.
That includes:
- The writing style.
- The aesthetics.
- Camera angles.
And most importantly, the behaviour, plot points, and stories between male vs female lead roles in Isekai anime.
Let’s talk about the differences and the common traits seen in many shows.
Here’s a list.
Male Isekai Protagonist Traits:
1. Surrounded by a harem
We can use the famous Sword Art Online as an example, even if it’s a “pseudo” harem.
Kirito comes into contact with Asuna who is cold and cautious at first, but once she opens up, it leads to their eventual relationship. Then the other girls of SAO are vying for his attention.
We see the same with the anime Tensei Slime but in a more deliberate fashion. The male MC is surrounded by a harem of beautiful women (more deliberate in this case) who are vying for Rimuru Tempest’s attention (the MC of Tensei Slime).
This trait is common with male lead Isekai anime shows.
2. Same face syndrome
One common thing since the 2010s is the “same face syndrome” occurrence. But few genres or audiences are more prevalent than Isekai.
You can blame Sword Art Online for this. Kirito and the SAO series became so famous that this “plane” face became the norm for many Isekai to follow years later.
You see it in 2024, you’ll see it in 2025, and you’ll continue seeing it for the most part since it’s easy to draw and easy to stick with for the creators.
You see this mostly with MALE anime characters, the lead characters, in Isekai compared to female.
3. Always more powerful than the female counterparts
I don’t know a single Isekai where the female MCs are more powerful than the male MCs, and if so, it’s not a trend or a commonality for that matter.
It’s more the case of the Male MC being at least one step ahead of their female counterparts, whether it’s in the same anime or whether you compare a male lead Isekai MC anime to a female lead one.
The result is the same ultimately.
Of course, men are naturally stronger than women, but this logic follows in Isekai anime as well I suppose at least for the MCs of the show.
4. The story tends to be more generic and boilerplate
When you think about it deeply, and you look up the amount of Isekai there are, you realize that many aren’t just male leads, but many are also generic, boilerplate, and basic.
I mean how many Isekai anime have we seen where the titles are the same, the characters feel the same, the plot feels the same, and the cliches are the same?
These are male leads. Not to say it’s because they’re male-led, but only because that’s how the creators tend to do it.
Female driven Isekai anime aren’t like this as a standard. There tends to be more effort but there are fewer by comparison.
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5. The comedy is focused on either fanservice, harems, or the MCs relationship with women
In Another World With My Smartphone. A perfect example of this type of anime series. It’s a male-led anime with Mochizuki Touya at the forefront.
He dies, is reborn, has a smartphone with extra capabilities, and slowly but surely he develops his harem of girls and that becomes the focus of the series besides the average battle scenes and fights with monsters or slimes.
You see this to a lesser degree with Tensei Slime, but the element is still there. You also see this in the anime Shield Hero, but to a much lesser degree admittedly.
Many 2022, 2023, and 2024 Isekai anime with male leads also have these common traits of the comedy focusing on fanservice, the harems, and the relationship the MC has with the women who are the majority but the minority in overall importance.
Compare this with female lead Isekai protagonists and the picture is different.
6. There are many more Isekai with male MCS, leading to lower quality
This is only true because of the writing style the writers decide to follow, and because they decide to follow cliches, stereotypes, tropes, and the usual suspects more often than not.
Of course from a business point of view they know it works so why wouldn’t they keep up the trend? But from a creative point of view, male lead protagonists in Isekai anime aren’t that great (both the animes and the protagonists).
It’s a fault of the writing which when compared with a female lead protagonists in Isekai, the situation looks different even if it’s not a hard rule.
7. Signature black or brown hair colour
The usual black or brown hair is extremely common in male Isekai MCs. In fact, it’s hard to point out anything but that when talking about Isekai anime with male protagonists.
Of course, you have the Assassin anime where the MC has white hair, but this is more the exception than it is the rule.
The common hairstyle among male protagonists in Isekai goes along with the same face syndrome you see in a lot of these shows and the designs of its male protagonists in the world of Isekai.
Female Isekai Protagonist Traits:
1. Less fanservice
Ascendance Of A Bookworm is the best example of this in action. This anime is about a female protagonist who died after being crushed by books in the library.
Silliness aside, after rebirth she wants to indulge in her love for books in the new world but needs to make a lot more money.
She creates products like shampoos, etc, and the anime doesn’t have the slightest bit of fanservice. Just pure quality, writing, storytelling, and a great plot.
Didn’t I Say To Make My Abilities Average? This is another example of this in action.
While the quality of the series can be questioned, the elements of fanservice don’t exist here which is the point when comparing female lead protagonists vs male in Isekai anime.
It’s uncommon unless parody is at the forefront.
2. Better writing style on average
Ascendance Of A Bookworm goes without saying. It’s the gold standard of female lead Isekai protagonist anime.
With that said, there are other anime that prove this point despite not getting much coverage (typical of female lead Isekai).
The Executioner and Her Way Of Life has a better writing style on average than your typical male driven Isekai protagonists.
This anime, unlike most female lead Isekai does have some focus on “Yuri” but only spoken, not by action, and even then the writing style is not typical aside from that.
Youjo Senki is another female lead isekai where the writing style is not typical, neither is the content and yet again, where fanservice or any hint of it is not the norm.
This anime is militarily driven and is considered one of the best Isekai out there by many, including by ratings if you value that.
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3. The story is less superficial
Now by definition, you could argue that Isekai is superficial by its nature. But what I mean by less superficial is female lead Isekai aren’t centred around tasteless harems or tired tropes in general.
Even an anime like I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level despite some of its content isn’t as superficial as a male lead Isekai tends to be.
Yes the MC is overpowered, yes the MC wins a lot of battles, but all of the other typical tropes and tired tropes are nowhere to be seen for the most part. Making it less superficial, which is the point.
Youjo Senki as pointed out earlier deserves a mention here as well. It’s a standout among Isekai.
4. Female protagonist’s hair colours have more “range” for what it’s worth
This is really a minor point and nothing to shout about. But it still counts at the end of the day.
We are talking about differences between male and female Isekai protagonists and their anime shows after all.
My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! is an example of this kind of trait. Katarina has brown hair, and her fellow female characters have different hair colours.
This is common among many female lead Isekai despite how few of them there are, relatively speaking.
While this anime does have a harem which is unusual for a female driven anime, let alone Isekai, it’s tasteful and doesn’t violate the tired, boring, dumb cliches seen when the gender is reversed.
5. There are less female lead Isekai being produced
This leads to my next point. There aren’t too many female lead Isekai in the first place. Not in the truest sense.
You have Isekai where there are duos. Male and female protagonists like REZERO for example, which is one of the best examples of a quality Isekai series.
But how many quality female lead Isekai are there when compared to male?
Another issue is female lead Isekai never seem to “pop” the way the male lead Isekai. Either because the audience doesn’t care enough, or it’s not as relatable.
I’m not sure which is more true.
Or it’s not marketed as heavily by the marketing department of those pushing it.
In the end, female vs male Isekai protagonists are similar but still very different
You can have anime shows with female lead protagonists (Isekai) with harems but it’s very rare. Like the anime featuring the protagonist Katarina Claes.
With LESS amounts of Isekai being produced where female leads exist, the industry is filled more with generic Isekai not necessarily by consequence.
Quality is harder to find with male-driven Isekai MCs but anime like REZERO pave the way for those seeking quality in this context.
In the same way, Ascendance Of A Bookworm is a good start for those seeking out female lead Isekai.
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