I'm the Villainess, So I'm Taming the Final Boss is an otome isekai anime starring the villainess-turned-hero Aileen Lauren d'Autriche. In many ways, Aileen is the new Katarina Claes, but without the "Bakarina" denseness and goofy antics. Aileen is a sharp, witty villainess who can rewrite an entire otome game's story to ensure her own survival.
Aileen has no magic or weapons, so she relies on her extensive meta-knowledge and smooth social graces to set the otome game's story on an entirely new path. She's also smart enough to foil the wicked plots of Lilia Rainworth and the Church's corrupt members. Still, a handful of isekai protagonists are even more brilliant than Aileen is one way or another.
10 Kazuya Soma Inherited A Kingdom & Transformed It For The Better
How A Realist Hero Rebuilt The Kingdom
The isekai hero Kazuya Soma didn't get hit by Truck-kun or live as a NEET like some isekai leads, but he did get himself teleported to the Elfrieden kingdom all the same. Kazaya, who had been preparing to start college, found himself king of an isekai nation instead.
Kazuya is a realist hero who has a practical, thoughtful approach to everything, hence the title How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom. He still makes mistakes, but overall, Kazuya is recognized as one of isekai's smartest heroes. Unlike Aileen, he rebuilt an entire kingdom from the inside, enacting rapid progress for the benefit of all citizens.
9 Shiroe Used His Game Experience To His Advantage
Log Horizon
Once known as Kei Shirogane the engineering grad student, the isekai protagonist Shiroe found himself in his favorite MMORPG world of Elder Tale. He loved playing that game in the Log Horizon anime, but now the game is his reality, and there is no going back. Fortunately, Shiroe knew exactly what to do.
A naturally gifted and cautious person, Shiroe soon found great success in the Elder Tale world with his wits and his analysis of everything around him. He took full advantage of his game knowledge to get ahead and soon established himself as the chief strategist of the Debauchery Tea Party group when fighting in raids.
8 Tsukasa Mikogami Is An Expert In Politics
High School Prodigies Have It Easy Even In Another World
The white-haired Tsukasa Mikogami was one of seven young geniuses to get isekai'd to the fantasy world aboard a wayward airplane. These seven youths were starting over from zero, but they did have brilliant minds and unique talents to offer, from medicine to advanced technology and political theory.
The "main" character of High School Prodigies, Tsukasa Mikogami, is an expert in politics and can sway any nation or world leader to see things his way. He played a critical role in reshaping the world around him, starting with the local Elm Village and its animal-like people.
7 Tanya Degurechaff Is A Brutal Military Mastermind
Saga Of Tanya The Evil
Saga of Tanya the Evil features one of isekai's most memorable antiheroes, the petite blonde Tanya Degurechaff. Tanya was once a vicious, selfish salaryman in Japan, only for Being X to transplant him into a parallel world where World War I stretched into the 1920s.
Now, the salaryman is Tanya Degurecheff, and she will succeed or die trying. Tanya took full advantage of the Empire's military and rose in the ranks with ease, all while leading armies to success in the never-ending war. Tanya also helped pioneer some remarkable technology to boost her platoon's effectiveness.
6 Rimuru Tempest Learned To Run An Entire Nation
That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime
In any story, a character is definitely smart if they can effectively run a kingdom, nation, or military without ruining everything. Such is the case for the slime Rimuru Tempest, the OP hero of That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime.
Rimuru may be powerful, but his mind is his best asset. Rimuru used careful diplomacy to bring together all the feuding monster races of the Jura Forest and built an entire nation for them while serving as their leader. Then, Rimuru became a world leader and stepped onto the isekai world's international political stage.
5 Ainz Ooal Gown Is The New Skeleton King Of Isekai
Overlord
Overlord stars an OP skeleton antihero named Ainz Ooal Gown. Despite his immense power, Ainz does not rely entirely on his magical power to get his way and defeat his enemies. As an overlord, Ainz can command his many minions and spies to do his dirty work for him.
Slowly but surely, Ainz reshaped the isekai game world around him and kept tabs on everyone and everything as a true overlord. No matter what any person, organization, or kingdom did, Ainz would know, and he would send his agents to carry out a clever scheme to help his allies and crush his enemies.
4 Naofumi Iwatani Survived On His Wits Alone
The Rising Of The Shield Hero
The shield-bearing Naofumi Iwatani from The Rising Of The Shield Hero absolutely has the street smarts necessary to survive in the isekai world, even when he's at a total disadvantage. Early on, princess Malty Melromarc framed him for a crime, meaning Naofumi was on his own.
Naofumi was a highly resourceful and clever hero who put a great deal of thought into everything to survive. He also planned ahead to ensure his actions wouldn't have dire consequences, setting him apart from the other Cardinal Heroes. Only Naofumi was smart enough to view the world as a real place, not a video game.
3 Myne Made Books All On Her Own
Ascendance Of A Bookworm
Ascendance of a Bookworm stars the blue-haired youth Myne, who got reborn into an impoverished, working-class family in a new world. On Earth, Myne had dearly loved books, but she can't afford them in her new family, so she will make them all on her own.
The resourceful, optimistic Myne became one of isekai's best entrepreneurs despite her new body's youth and poverty. Myne used trial and error, new business connections, and her own ingenuity to start making her own books and become a proper business leader to achieve her dreams.
2 Senku Ishigami Can Reinvent Anything In The Stone Age
Dr. Stone
Dr. Stone is an off-beat isekai anime starring the genius scientist Senku Ishigami. Before getting petrified and reborn in the new Stone Age, Senku had studied hard and invented many things to exercise his powerful mind, making him a one-person research lab.
Now, Senku will reinvent everything with his advanced knowledge of mechanics and chemistry to rebuild civilization himself. He started with ropes and pulleys, then moved on to working lightbulbs, functioning gas masks, steam engines, and more. He's also smart enough to relegate tasks and manage a large team of assistants.
1 [Blank] Is The Master Of Games
No Game No Life
In No Game No Life, the protagonist [Blank] is one identity shared by two people, the foster brother/sister duo Sora and Shiro. They always play online games as a team, using their identity [Blank] to crush all opponents with ease.
They got isekai'd to a world where games alone can resolve conflicts, meaning they're now in their element. [Blank] quickly thrived in that world, even if the games were distorted and the opponents sometimes cheated. Sora and Shiro's only weakness is that they become helpless and vulnerable if they're separated.