There have been plenty of stories in which ordinary people are transported to an entirely different world, whether it be in reality or in a video game. Ordinary characters are characters that fans are meant to be able to relate to.
Another common type of character is one that experienced a lot of misfortune in their original life. The less fortunate a character is, the more likely that viewers are going to root for them. Many of these misfortunes can also be easily relatable, such as being lonely, being bullied, or many of life's other hardships. Despite having such an unfortunate past, these characters are still able to motivate themselves into succeeding in the new world.
10 Re:Zero: Subaru Natsuki Was Consumed By Feelings Of Inadequacy
Ever since he was a child, Subaru would constantly compare himself to his father. However, the sense of pride faded when others surpassed him in areas he used to be the best at. It was replaced by a feeling of inadequacy, and to make up for that, he began to do reckless things.
This only made things worse, as it isolated him. When he tried to copy his father's personality, he still wasn't able to make any close friends. Eventually, he could no longer go to school, staying at home for months and hoping his parents would give up on him.
9 Leveling Up, By Only Eating!: Kang Min Hyuk Has A Rare Disorder That Could Kill Him If Not Treated
Kang has a rare disorder called bulimic deficiency. Weighing 375 pounds, if he eats anything other than his current diet of just cherry tomatoes, there is a chance he would die. In order to help him eat whatever he wants to, his doctor recommends that he try the game called Athens, a place that gives players the satisfaction of eating without actually consuming any calories.
Kang does try his best to lose weight, but it's a difficult journey that the other world helps him succeed in.
8 Mushoku Tensei: Rudeus Greyrat Was Bullied At School & Thrown Out By His Siblings
In his previous life, Rudeus was a NEET who was bullied so badly that he was unwilling to go back to school. Although the others around him attempted to help, he pushed them all away. He gave up on himself, and eventually, everyone else did too.
He was able to continue his life living off of his family until the passing of his father. After he failed to show up for the funeral, his siblings were disgusted, throwing him out. He no longer had a home or any money to his name, forcing him to wander the streets until he was sent to another world.
7 The Twelve Kingdoms: Youko Nakajima Never Felt Like She Belonged On Earth
Youko was a withdrawn but diligent honor student. However, no one seemed to really like her, and she was harassed by both her school and classmates for having red hair.
Even her parents were ashamed of her appearance, as neither of them had that kind of hair in their families. Her whole life, she felt like she never belonged. She would eventually realize she was right, as she was accidentally sent to Japan from a different world, and was actually the rightful queen of Kei.
6 The Duchess' 50 Tea Recipes: Park Hajeong's Superiors Walked All Over Her
Park was initially eager to gain the favor of the people around her. After getting a job with a corporate accounting team, she threw herself into her work, doing everything that her boss told her to do. She even did work for her colleagues, who didn't hesitate to take all of the credit.
Forced to work overtime and never once complaining, she took the unwanted, high-risk projects. When she made a mistake once, she was forced to resign.
5 Cheating Men Must Die: Su Luxia Was Cannon Fodder In Her Original World
Su Luxia was a secondary character in a romance story, whose only purpose was to be humiliated and thrown away to progress the romance of the main leads. Like most cannon fodder, she was destined to die, but was saved by a man whose job was to save innocent characters like her from meeting a terrible fate.
However, this came at the cost of his own well-being, and Su Luxia, although she tried not to show it, is plagued by guilt.
4 The Strongest Florist: Hwang Jae Ho Wants To Be A Florist But Doesn't Have A Green Thumb
There is nothing that Hwang wants more than to run his own flower shop. However, there are a few issues that keep him from doing so. He isn't very good at caring for flowers, and they die easily in his care. He is also severely allergic to flowers.
Lastly, his father is strongly against him becoming a florist, wanting him to focus on his bodybuilding instead. Becoming a florist seemed like a pipe dream until he started to play a virtual reality game.
3 A Night With The Emperor: Penelope Zachary's Foul Language Isolated Her From Others
In Penelope's past life, she was actually an angry 78-year-old woman who had a foul mouth and a knack for yelling. It's revealed that part of the reason why she was so bitter was that her children abandoned her at some point, leaving her alone and turning her into a beggar.
The people around her showed her no pity, gossiping and saying terrible things about her, even when she was within earshot.
2 Death Is The Only Ending For A Villainess: Penelope Eckart Was Raised In A Terrible Environment
After the death of her mother, Penelope moved in with her father and half-brothers. At home and school, her brothers would endlessly torment her, and her father did nothing to stop them.
They would constantly tell her that she wasn't actually a part of the family, sabotaging her meals and making her feel like an outsider. When she finally was able to leave the house and live in a small apartment, she was sent to another world in the body of a villainess. Unfortunately, the villainess' life wasn't much better.
1 I Got A Cheat Ability In A Different World, & Became Extraordinary Even In The Real World: Tenjo Yuuta Was Bullied All Of His Life
Tenjo Yuuta had always been bullied by people who didn't like his appearance. He would often be humiliated or beaten at school just for existing, and no one did anything about it. His parents shunned him because of his appearance and raised his younger siblings to do the same.
Only his grandfather was nice to him, but even he eventually passed away. He left him a house, so his parents used the opportunity to kick him out of their house.