Anime fans like to argue about tropes and their value to the genre, including characters who insert themselves. What is a self-inserting character in anime? As the name suggests, a self-inserting character is a character designed with few distinguishing features so that the audience can “insert” themselves or imagine themselves in the character’s place.
Self-insert characters are often the main protagonist of an anime. While many fans hate characters inserting themselves, that doesn’t mean there aren’t good, entertaining examples. We have collected the best self-inserted characters in anime to prove that not all vanilla characters are created equal!
8 Kirito – Sword Art Online
Love him or (more likely) hate him, no discussion of self-inserting characters would be complete without good old Kirito. While many anime fans despise Kirito’s dull personality, much of what makes him so boring also makes him the perfect self-insert. At the beginning of Sword art onlinehe’s a pretty normal high school student and acts like one when discrimination against knockers (beta testers) kicks in.
He lives a fairly normal life: getting involved in his community (joining a guild), finding a girlfriend, getting married, and tackling new dungeon heists; very normal and recognizable! Almost anyone could put themselves in Kirito’s shoes, for better or for worse.
7 Subaru Natsuki – Re: Zero
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It’s really challenging to find something unique about Subaru… but he manages to captivate the audience while dying over and over again. Why? His heart! He has that determination for the anime character that pushes him through hardships. Most anime fans can relate to having a daily grind that sucks, but promises a sweet payoff, which is the very existence of Subaru. Will he ever win? We can all hope so, because aren’t we looking for our own victories?
Even his outfits scream “self-insert”. A strangely familiar but nondescript tracksuit and a nice tuxedo that are his usual digs? Join the club; it covers two-thirds of the planet. There’s nothing special about Subaru, which is exactly why he’s a good smug character. Like many viewers, Subaru is best at continuing with challenges and supporting the people he loves. And dammit, if that’s not enough for self-inserting fans, then what is?
6 Diablo/Takuma Sakamoto – How not to summon a demon lord?
While Diablo from How not to summon a demon lord? is a classic OP protagonist, his reactions to his new world are what make this character so recognizable. The show likes to play with isekai and harem tropes through satire, and Diablo is an integral part of this humor. His “average dude” approach to almost everything is so topical and at times so natural that it seems off-the-cuff.
Diablo also manages to avoid the trap of letting his newly acquired prestige influence his decisions. Well into the second season, he still makes choices the same way he did when “Cross Reverie” was just a game, more realistic than the typical isekai protagonists. through the series, How not to summon a demon lord? uses Diablo as a grounding element in a way that makes it nearly impossible for fans not to visualize themselves in their place.
5 Kyouya Hashiba – Remake Our Life
Kyouya Hashiba can really be anyone. His life hasn’t even been messed up that much, but it just didn’t go his way, so of course when he gets the chance to do better he takes it! The fact that Kyouya has pretty good evidence that enrolling in art school rather than business school will lead him to success makes this smug character unique. We’ve all had to make wise career choices and wonder ‘what if’ all the time, but this series removes that question and gives Kyouya the confidence that so often makes all the difference.
Apart from this, Kyouya has no memorable qualities, nor does he need any. The show is a fun romp precisely because viewers can live vicariously through Kyouya’s second chance. Sometimes people can do everything right and yet it doesn’t work. That fear doesn’t exist with this anime; we know everything will be all right as long as Kyouya tries his best, and it’s nice to experience the fantasy of guaranteed success through him.
4 Demon Lord Satan – The devil is a part timer!
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Yes, he is the devil; and then? That doesn’t stop Demon Lord Satan from being an average fast food worker just like millions of others. Although he also has supernatural abilities, he lacks what he has in strength in personality. Satan’s actions are based almost entirely on the people around him, which is fine, because that’s exactly what viewers are reacting to too! It’s easy to imagine the other characters as regular people in someone’s life, like a picky roommate or a PC-addicted little brother.
What makes Satan such a great self-introducer is the way he interacts with and supports these characters. He has moments where he shows some personality, but in his day-to-day life he’s just trying to survive and maybe keep the AC on a little longer. Between dealing with other characters and managing bills, the public can interact with this devil more than other minimum wage self-insertions.
3 Moriko Morioka – Recovery From An MMO Junkie
A typical NEET, Moriko Morioka doesn’t really do much except play games and take away. She becomes a protagonist by quitting her job to play as many video games as possible while figuring out how to enjoy life instead of just going through the motions, inspiring those of us who wish we could just leave the forest. were able to walk in with our PC and router.
Most anime fans can identify with gamer characters, but it’s worth noting that Moriko is one of the few female representations of a contained person, and her main love interest is the coveted “golden retriever gamer boyfriend” archetype. The things that are at the core of her personality are the same things that many gamer girls and female anime fans care about. This MMO junkie may not have a special trait or secret ability, but that just makes her much more real and much easier for gamers of all genders to put themselves in her shoes.
2 Ainz Ooal Dress – Overlord
Ainz is an average lone gamer who is stuck in a game he loves. Ainz does his best to hold onto his ideals in his new world, but as a side effect of being undead, he doesn’t have much personality. This leaves plenty of room for viewers to see themselves in his place, and can finally put their years of gaming knowledge to good use!
More than that, Ainz exudes “fake it till you make it” energy. His abilities allow him to be a commander, but his internal self-doubt resonates with viewers who find themselves in similar, albeit less fantastic, situations. He’s not a great self-introducer just because he’s so recognizable, but because he breaks through his insecurities to better utilize the skills he’s developed himself. He can inspire anyone who’s ever felt like they’re not good enough, without forcing anime fans to see themselves in his questionable moments.
1 Miss Kobayashi – Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid
A story as old as time: An office worker leaves work, goes to a bar, gets drunk… and finds a dragon girl? Well, up until that point, Miss Kobayashi was a perfectly average, introverted woman. Miss Kobayashi is as simple as can be, she dresses just well enough to get through the day like a professional adult like most people, which is why she is so easy to get along with!
Even though we don’t get a lot of details about her personality, she does get plenty of small, endearing moments. When she comes home from work and breathes a sigh of relief before taking off her shoes, there’s no need for dialogue; we all know what that’s like. When she reaches for a beer or complains to her work buddy, it just feels so natural and so normal that identification with her is almost impossible to help. Miss Kobayashi’s humble demeanor has such a reward for the audience that they wish they had their own dragon maid to lift their spirits and through her it’s easy to imagine them doing just that.
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