Best Isekai Anime Featuring Protagonists With Amnesia

The story of a character coming into a new world with little to no memory of where they have come from is an intriguing narrative device through which the viewer embarks on a journey of discovery with the protagonist. It is a mechanism that has been used in anime with some popular amnesiacs like Lelouch from Code Geass and Caiman from Dorohedoro.

Within the sub-genre of isekai, amnesia has also played a role with characters, but is not as common a trope. An amnesiac protagonist can make for a more compelling story, allowing for there to be a central mystery that fans can get invested in.

Spoiler Warning: Many of the shows discussed here use amnesia as an important plot point, so some spoilers are present.

Final Fantasy: Unlimited

Kaze Is Mysterious, Only Speaks A Few Words, But Overall Awesome

Final Fantasy: Unlimited might have gone under the radar for several reasons, with one of the most prominent being that it was supposed to be a 50-episode show that ended up being only 25. It follows a pair of twins, Ai and Yu, who travel to a different world known as ‘Wonderland,’ where they search for their elusive parent via a train that also happens to have an eye on its side.

The most fascinating character and the main protagonist for all intents and purposes is Kaze, a quiet man who is draped in black and shoots like a badass. He is the one who typically takes on the monsters that the other characters encounter on their journey through Wonderland. Kaze has no idea about his past and has no memory as to how he came to Wonderland. All he knows is that he has to fight the villain, Makenshi.

Zegapain

A Forgotten Classic

Zegapain is a show from 2006 that focuses on a happy-go-lucky boy called Kyou Sogoru who lives in a seemingly normal world and is simply trying to recruit members for the swim team. When he tries to convince a beautiful girl called Misaki to join the team, she takes him into another world where he has to pilot a mecha and fight for the world he has been transported to.

Kyou is a character who goes through quite a lot and Zegapain. The show starts out slowly, but things start to unravel as Kyou finds out that the post-apocalyptic world he is tasked with saving is actually the real world, and the normal one he lived in is something else. It also turns out that Kyou had been suffering from something pretty sinister regarding his memories. Zegapain was completely overshadowed by other shows like Code Geass, which also came out in the same year.

Tenchi Muyo! War On Geminar

For A Harem Show, Kenshi Cuts A Rather Tragic Figure

The Tenchi Muyo universe is a vast one with several shows and interconnected storylines. It does have a bit of a Fate vibe to it, which can make it hard to follow. However, one of the best anime to come from the universe is War on Geminar, which follows Kenshi Masaki, the half brother to Tenchi Masaki, who is shipped off to another planet and promised a return if he commits a heinous crime. He fails and is captured.

Kenshi’s memory has been suppressed, and his mother, Rea Masaki, who has a long and complicated history with the world of Geminar, is deeply involved in that plot. The story is typically hilarious at times, providing all the fan service that usually comes with a Tenchi Muyo show. But, much like Tenchi, Kenshi is too much of a gentleman to do anything about the harem he has somehow amassed.

.Hack//SIGN

Transported To A New World With No Memories

.hack//Sign

Release Date

April 4, 2002

Directors

Kōichi Mashimo

.Hack//SIGN was the original Sword Art Online before the latter became a global sensation. .Hack//SIGN is about Tsukasa, a character who finds himself trapped in the world of a video game and has no memories of how he got there or even who he was in his own world. He spends a large chunk of the show trying to find out his true identity.

.Hack//SIGN is a part of a larger series, with this show acting as the starting point for the entire universe. Tsukasa is a powerful character who was being hunted by some players within the game, and it was suspected that he was a hacker. .Hack//SIGN is not shy when it comes to talking about darker themes, as a lot of the characters didn’t have great lives back home.

Black Summoner

Kelvin Chose His Amnesia

Black Summoner is a 2022 isekai in which a character who is going into another world, Kelvin, gives up most of his memories in exchange for stats that make him stronger. He also asks for the goddess who summons him to accompany him. With his skills at a high level, Kelvin sets to work going about the new world trying to get stronger and more fearsome.

For anyone hoping for a summoner anime with powerful summons and a protagonist who just moves them about, they’d be disappointed, as Kelvin actually turns out to be some sort of berserker who loves to battle. That said, it’s an engaging show that never leans too heavily on anything, which makes it pretty easy to binge. The art is fun, and there are some decent action sequences for viewers to enjoy, too.

The Hero Is Overpowered But Overly Cautious

A Hilarious Comedy With A Bit Of A Gut Punch At The End

The Hero is Overpowered but Overly Cautious may at first glance seem like a generic isekai show, and to some extent, this is true, but it also brings something a little different to the table. Seiya is a hero who is summoned to a new world to fight. He’s overpowered but, as the name of the anime shows, is also frustratingly cautious. He and the goddess who summoned him, Ristarte, must now fight to save the world.

It then turns out that Seiya actually suffers from amnesia. In a shocking plot twist, it was revealed that Seiya was a cautious hero because he had actually been summoned in the past, wasn’t cautious then, and failed his mission horribly. He and Ristarte (who apparently was reincarnated as a goddess) had no memory of this. The twist was unexpected and put some serious stakes in an otherwise playful comedy.

The Weakest Tamer Began A Journey To Pick Up Trash

The Story Of Ivy Tugs At The Heartstrings

The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick Up Trash might be a mouthful of a name, but it is a story with a lot of heart. Femicia is born into a seemingly loving family until it is discovered that she doesn’t have any stars for her monster tamer skill. This leads to everyone turning on her, including her family. The early scenes are sometimes heartbreaking, but Femicia, who now goes by Ivy, starts to turn things around, especially after taming a rather charming slime called Sora.

The amnesia aspect of Ivy’s story shows up with hints throughout the anime that she has a past life that she cannot remember, and her former self simply acts as a voice in her head. This premise is unique, acknowledging Ivy’s past but almost never truly bothering with it. The animation is incredible and will certainly gain goodwill for Studio Massket, who handled it. Overall, The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick Up Trash is an easy show to miss, but it is a great watch for any isekai lover.

Grimgar Of Fantasy And Ash

The Most Realistic Isekai

Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash is a 2016 anime in which a group of students find themselves in a new world with little to no recollection of their lives before the current situation. While a group of stronger individuals band together to become adventurers in the new world, Haruhiro and his weaker companions are left to survive a harsh and unforgiving new world themselves.

Haruhiro proves to be a rather sympathetic figure considering he finds himself thrust into a leadership position that he does not feel ready for thanks to the demise of Manato, the trusted leader of the group. The appeal of this show is its realistic depiction of normal people landing in an isekai world. Slowly, but surely, Haruhiro improves and tries to grow as a person and leader. It’s an underrated show, but it really shouldn’t be considering how good it is.