The Best Isekai Anime & Manga With King Protagonists

Key Takeaways

• Heroic Chronicles Of The Three Continents follows a child emperor restoring his country with no ridiculous harems.
• Otherworld Nation Founding Chronicles starts with a rough orphan story & pacing issues, awaiting series restoration.
• The Ideal Sponger Life impresses with a non-harem story & competent King Consort, queen-led monarchy.

Isekai anime and manga often have the quirkiest characters, and most of the time we see them ending up as rulers of their own fiefdoms (and even kingdoms). But the truth is that not every isekai main character is destined to be a king or a queen. Though they make quite an effort to protect those who are weaker than them, even if this makes the rest of the world hate them.

Here is a list of the best Isekai anime and manga with King protagonists, for all of those fans of fantasy worlds and royalty who want to see some kingdom management drama with their daily quota of “transported to another world” tropes.

8 Heroic Chronicles Of The Three Continents

The Story Of How A Child Emperor Restored His Country

• Genres: Action, Fantasy, Romance, Shounen, Kingdom Management
• Authors: Shibano Kaito, Yuu Kamija
• Nº Volumes: 4

Born in a decadent Empire, the young but wise Hercule is destined to become a ruler. Armed with the knowledge from a mysterious world named Japahn (named like that in the Light Novels), this young monarch implements a series of reforms that will revolutionize the world as they know it.

A decent read, with easygoing pacing, no extreme plot twists, and most importantly: no ridiculous harems ruining the plot. Since this genre has a tendency to present main characters who accumulate love interests like overdue bills, it’s hard to imagine an isekai series without this characteristic trope. But lo and behold, there’s one, and it is so good to read that it makes one wonder: why can’t every series be like this one?

7 Otherworld Nation Founding Chronicles

How A Group Of Orphans With An Isekai’d Leader Created A Kingdom

• Genres: Action, Fantasy, Romance, Seinen, Kingdom Management
• Authors: Sakuragi Sakura
• Nº Volumes: 9

Otherworld Nation Founding Chronicles also known as Isekai Kenkokuki has a rough start, with a group of abandoned children being adopted by a Gryphon, and then a twist where the leader remembers his past life as a Japanese student and then becomes the adoptive son of a monarch, destined to rule the kingdom.

As he marries the princess (and another couple of girls, like in every cliché Isekai) the main character becomes the king of a nation. The series is good, but the pacing is a nightmare, and this might be the main issue and the reason why it has come to a sudden halt. Luckily, the author has revealed their plans to restore the series at a yet-to-be-revealed date.

6 Farming Life in Another World

A Farmer Becomes The Ruler Of Its Own Nation

There are many reasons why Farming Life in Another World is one of the favorite series of those who seek a Kingdom Building trope, since it starts from the bottom: absolute zero civilization in the middle of nowhere, and becomes a farmstead that quickly evolves into a recognized independent nation in the Demon King’s Territory.

The detailed worldbuilding and the animation of this series are fascinating, and it is considerably entertaining. But that doesn’t mean it is perfect since it has many flaws and pacing issues. But, the good thing is that the Maga is way ahead of the animated version and gets good around Chapter 110, so it is worth a shot for every fan of isekai fantasy series.

5 Isekai Apocalypse Mynoghra

A Gamer Reincarnates As The Dark King Of The Evil Nation

• Genres: Adventure, Dark Fantasy, Action, Drama, Gore, Kingdom Management
• Authors: Kazuno Fefu
• Nº Volumes: 4

A gamer who is absorbed by his favorite game reincarnates as the Dark Monarch of Mynoghra, the Evil Nation. But this ruler, with the ability to summon heroic units from the Dark Side, is quite reliable and amicable, even for a powerful dark lord.

A series with lots of gruesome combat, and a lot of drama, quite characteristic of a Dark Fantasy setting. It has its ups and downs, but the writing is overall good, and the character development is decent as well.

4 The Ideal Sponger Life

A Queen From Another World Goes Husband-hunting In Modern Japan, Brings Back A Lazy But Smart Guy

• Genres: Adventure, Fantasy, Action, Political Drama, Comedy, Kingdom Management
• Authors: Watanabe Tsunehiko, Ayakura Juu
• Nº Volumes: 17

To be fair, this series is surprisingly good despite its slow pacing and nearly exhausting political drama, but for readers who are absolutely into that kind of story, it might be the best thing they’ve read in the genre. Combining Isekai, comedy, drama, and kingdom management, this series is about a fellow Earthling who is suddenly summoned to another world by Queen Aura, to become her husband.

He ends up being quite a competent King Consort, doting father of two, and diplomat and does his best to outmaneuver his political foes while Aura remains the figurehead of the Capua Kingdom. Decent character background design to top off a near-perfect worldbuilding.

3 How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom

A Normal But Smart Guy Gets The Throne In Another World

Why is this series about a student from Earth becoming a monarch in another world so good? Well, for starters, the main character is not into harem, despite having plenty of chances to form one (and is asked several times to do so). He sticks to the female lead (Princess becoming Queen Consort) and together they rule the Kingdom. So far, so good.

The plot takes a turn for the worse when there’s the typical and cliché internal conflict that ends with the trope “from enemies to friends,” which is predictable since the main antagonist for the most part of the story is a former General of the Kingdom. The rest of it is good, but the anime does not measure up to the Light Novels and Manga series, since it cuts out a lot of content.

2 The Twelve Kingdoms

If The Perfect Queen Doesn’t Exist In Your World, Go To Japan And Kidnap One

A timeless Masterpiece, that has become one of the most beloved series of all time. With worldbuilding deeply intertwined with the plot, a story that starts being confusing but slowly unravels into a mysterious and fascinating cross-cultural exchange between worlds, and a powerful subplot that makes you shiver with emotion.

Twelve Kingdoms deals with a lot of mature topics, like coming of age, the feeling of not belonging, cultural shock, discrimination, racism, and war, and it does it masterfully. Definitely worth a watch if fans are looking for the ultimate “A Queen To Rule Them All” trope.

1 King From Now On!

A Bullied Teenager Becomes A Ruler, What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

This popular Shounen series is about a young Student (standard Isekai protocol) transported to a world of fantasy and magic where it is revealed that he will become the new Demon Monarch. This story about a 15-year-old becoming the Devil King is no joke, and it deals with a lot of profound topics like accepting oneself, overcoming grief, and maturing over others’ expectations.

With a special emphasis on cultural shock, the story of how Kyo adapts to this new world (and his duties as a monarch) is quite endearing, and vexing at the same time. There are a lot of cliché situations, but they do not ruin the plot and are mixed in with some light humor. So, in the end, it is one of the best series with a King as the protagonist.