Summary
- Tanya Degurechaff from The Saga of Tanya the Evil is a sociopath who doesn't hesitate to kill, using anyone for her own gain.
- Ainz Ooal Gown from Overlord becomes cold and calculating in his undead form, killing anyone who poses a threat to him or his NPCs.
- Toyohisa Shimazu from Drifters is an indomitable opponent who never shows mercy and will do whatever it takes to win in battle.
There are a lot of 'tropes' in isekai series, whether these are manga or anime series, it doesn't really matter. Most isekai heavily rely on tropes, and one of the biggest ones is the protagonist's first time having to kill someone else. The vast majority of the time, these main characters are brought in from present-day Earth in a peaceful time, and as such aren't at all mentally ready to be in a situation where it's 'kill or be killed'.
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While some shows, such as Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash, explore this concept of killing and death to a very deep level, a lot of other series handle the concept pretty poorly. Because of this, it can be pretty satisfying to have an isekai protagonist who goes through this process rather quickly or doesn't even hesitate to kill at all. Let's go over some of the most recognizable isekai protagonists that are like this so that readers or viewers who are tired of this trope know which series to try out next.
7 Tanya Degurechaff
The Saga of Tanya the Evil
First up is the most obvious inclusion on this list, Tanya Von Degurechaff, the protagonist (or antagonist, depending on the viewpoint) of the Saga of Tanya the Evil. In their first life, Tanya was a middle-aged businessman and now in their second life, Tanya is climbing the ranks of the Empire's military force utilizing whatever is necessary and killing whoever they need to in order to make things just a bit easier.
To put things simply, Tanya is a sociopath who will use anyone (or kill anyone) if there seems to be merit in doing so. Everyone and everything is a resource to Tanya, and they really don't make strong emotional ties with anyone. Because of this, it can be said that Tanya doesn't at all hesitate in killing. It can even be said that Tanya revels in the act of killing, as doing so raises her own value that much more.
6 Ainz Ooal Gown
Overlord
Thankfully the next character on here is a lot more likable and a lot more relatable than Tanya is, though it might not look that way given that Tanya is a small human girl and Ainz is an 8-foot undead skeleton. However, Ainz was also a normal person who got pulled into the world of his favorite MMORPG (or a world very similar to it) when its servers shut down for good. After becoming his player character, Ainz quickly realized that his new body was having some effect on his morals, as he noticed himself becoming much more cold and calculating. Additionally, Ainz noticed that he didn't really have much love for humanity anymore (despite often shapeshifting into one while undercover), and was now very capable of killing anyone and anything if they at all posed a danger to Nazarick or his beloved NPCs.
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It's not like Ainz kills people for fun and it's not like he does it without any forethought, but by season 3 of Overlord it's pretty safe to say that if Ainz needs to kill something or someone there's very little that can stop him from doing so.
5 Shimazu Toyohisa
Drifters
Moving on to the next protagonist, the 'hero' of the series called Drifters. Toyohisa Shimazu is the main character of this story, and he's basically a shonen protagonist who is obsessed with fighting but doesn't stop when his opponent is knocked out. Toyohisa is all about the thrill of the battle, doing whatever it takes to win, and overcoming any odds that are stacked against him.
Technically this mentality did already cause him to die once before being brought to the 'new world' alongside Nobunaga and Yoichi, but it's also this very same mentality that makes Toyohisa such an indomitable opponent. Toyohisa Shimazu is pretty much the definition of an 'honorable warrior' and as such he would never disrespect his opponents on the battlefield by showing them mercy at the end of his sword or holding back in any way.
4 Mikoshiba Ryouma
Record of Wortenia War
This next protagonist is one that, at first, might not seem like a 16-year-old. In all honesty, the hero of Record of Wortenia War has a bit of the same issue as someone like Jotaro in Jojo's Bizzare Adventure, as both characters have the build of a massive bodybuilder but are described as 'high-schoolers'. Regardless, Ryouma's absurd build actually works to his benefit, as the guy is very quickly transported to a new world as soon as Record of Wortenia War begins and must kill to escape being immediately put into metaphorical chains at the hands of the O'ltormea Empire.
The only reason Ryouma was able to take in the summoning situation so quickly and turn on (and eventually kill) his summoners is due to the martial arts he was taught by his Grandfather back on earth. These martial arts were entirely focused on killing the opponent rather than subduing them, so naturally if Ryouma learned these arts with the intention of eventually having to use them he would need to be mentally prepared to kill.
3 Walm
Record of Highserk War
This next inclusion is sort of a loophole, as Walm, the protagonist of Record of Highserk War, originally did hesitate to kill. However, this is only ever alluded to or outright shown in flashbacks, and when Walm is shown in battle at the start of Record of Highserk War he'll kill whoever he needs to and deal with the mental whiplash later.
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Walm, like all isekai protagonists, was not born in the world that Record of Highserk War takes place in. Rather, he used to be known as Takakura Raizou back on earth before he died of a heart attack. After waking up in this new world in a new body, Walm had to eventually enter the army of the Highserk Empire to survive and feed his family. Walm obviously struggles with the atrocities of war in this new isekai world, but if he doesn't kill the opponent in front of him, then he'll die and his family will die as a result, so Walm always does what he needs to do and this can usually be seen using the manga's unique artstyle to show the range of emotions in Walm's eyes.
2 Teacher
Reincarnated as a Sword
Moving on to a pretty unique inclusion, the sword known as 'Teacher' in the Reincarnated as a Sword series. In life, Teacher was just a normal person, a regular 30-year-old salaryman. In his new life, however, Teacher is a sword, a literal sword. And, while Teacher can sort of 'wield himself' as a sword using telekinesis and a whole slew of other skills, the majority of the time he's wielded by the Black Cat beastman known as Fran.
Because of this, it's not really Teacher killing creatures or other people a lot of the time, but rather Fran doing the killing using Teacher. Of course, if Teacher didn't want to do this, it wouldn't happen, as the sword she uses is his own body. However, Teacher doesn't really hesitate to kill anything if he feels it's worth doing, especially so if not killing said creature or person would put Fran at risk.
1 Kelvin Celsius
Black Summoner
Last up is Kelvin, the protagonist of the Black Summoner series. This might seem like an odd inclusion to anyone who has read or watched Black Summoner, as Kelvin isn't exactly a character that goes around killing others all the time. Usually, Kelvin likes leveling up and he kills a ton of monsters, but he's more about winning a battle than beating his opponent and killing them.
However, it's been proven multiple times throughout the events of Black Summoner that Kelvin doesn't really have any reservations about killing someone if he feels they deserve it or if he feels there is no other choice.
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