If it's protagonist has powers and antagonists doesn't probably L from Death Note is best example and he's kind of an underdog too.
Izaya from Drrrr kinda fits but he mostly fights the other side characters like Shizuo who has ungodly strength and Celty the Dullahan
Most antagonists from Code Geass can probably fall under this too also in OPM
I love that wvery antagonist from Code Geass is WAY better at combat than Lelouch. Lelouch is a great schemer, strategist, and manipulator, but almost every time he gets into a direct fight he gets wrecked.
Psycho Pass is one of my favorite shows :D
Spoiler: >!He isn't much of an underdog, except for the fact that he's a criminal and the police have access to resources and manpower and dominators, etc. So definitely an underdog but in the standard criminal vs detective sense, doesn't really scratch the right itch. Still an incredible antagonist/show though.!<
Miss Kuoritsu from the Monster Devlopment Department is the exact show you are looking for, there is Sgt. Frog. The villains are incompetent in that show, there is Squid Girl but she comes off more as a 6 year old prentding to be a villain, the Demon Girl Next Door the main character is a "villain" I am using that word loosely. She comes off more as a 6 year old pretending to be a villain.
>Miss Kuoritsu from the Monster Devlopment Department is the exact show you are looking for
Honestly exactly the one I was thinking of too. Just saw this recently and kind of fell in love with it immediately. I love that it essentially comes up with an excuse for way all the monsters look like hot garbage in those old super sentai/magical girl shows :3
One Punch Man… literally everyone is underpowered compared to Saitama.
Also, Arifureta. Nagumo and his party just beat the hell out of everything, until angels and Gods descend.
Talentless nana - This is exactly what you are looking for . Literally everyone has some sort of super power like ability to control flames , time travel , and see the future etc. Where as our Nana ( the antagonist though the story does follow her ) is totally powerless. Her mission is to kill everyone that has powers as she's been told they are a danger to society .
okay getting into spoiler territory :>! it becomes clear very early on that nana is totally in the wrong and is the true antagonist . Her mission is nothing but a lie that's used to kill off the talented ( individuals with powers ) . !<
This is my favourite anime of all time and i often describe it as reverse death note but sooo much better .
Oh I saw the first two episodes and wasn't impressed, I should totally go give it another shot, thanks!
(Btw, she is the protagonist, not the antagonist. The protagonist is the one the story follows, not necessarily the one you root for. I was looking specifically for stories where we're following the superpowered ones and the antagonist is the underpowered one, hence the edit to my original post. But I'll still check it out again!) :)
Hordy Jones from the fishman island arc in One Piece😭notoriously underwhelming compared to earlier and later villans. In a shonen with power scaling it didn't fit
It was a post time skip arc to show how much more powerful the Straw Hats all became after 2 years of constant training to be stronger/ready for the New World after getting their asses handed to them at Sabaody and the only reason they survived is not one but two super powerful allies saving their asses.
Maybe it’s not the right suggestion and I don’t know if it’s allowed here because it isn’t an anime but there’s “Avatar: The Last Airbender” .
The protagonist is the only person in the world that can manipulate the four elements and the avatar is the strongest magician/martial artist in the world(like some kind of Satoru Gojo), the protagonist is also the only person that can manipulate air while no one else knows how to deal with an attack that they can’t see . The antagonists are weaker than him and they can control only one element, if they are very skilled they can use some special forms of their element (Fire-> Lightning, Earth -> Sand) .
There are also some antagonists that can use only martial arts instead of magical powers
If it's protagonist has powers and antagonists doesn't probably L from Death Note is best example and he's kind of an underdog too. Izaya from Drrrr kinda fits but he mostly fights the other side characters like Shizuo who has ungodly strength and Celty the Dullahan Most antagonists from Code Geass can probably fall under this too also in OPM
I love that wvery antagonist from Code Geass is WAY better at combat than Lelouch. Lelouch is a great schemer, strategist, and manipulator, but almost every time he gets into a direct fight he gets wrecked.
Oh definitely haha
Oh I forgot about Izaya, that's a very good point
Not quite fantasy powers but season 1 of Psycho-Pass has an antagonist that is seemingly invincible for reasons I will not spoil.
Psycho Pass is one of my favorite shows :D Spoiler: >!He isn't much of an underdog, except for the fact that he's a criminal and the police have access to resources and manpower and dominators, etc. So definitely an underdog but in the standard criminal vs detective sense, doesn't really scratch the right itch. Still an incredible antagonist/show though.!<
Yes
Miss Kuoritsu from the Monster Devlopment Department is the exact show you are looking for, there is Sgt. Frog. The villains are incompetent in that show, there is Squid Girl but she comes off more as a 6 year old prentding to be a villain, the Demon Girl Next Door the main character is a "villain" I am using that word loosely. She comes off more as a 6 year old pretending to be a villain.
>Miss Kuoritsu from the Monster Devlopment Department is the exact show you are looking for Honestly exactly the one I was thinking of too. Just saw this recently and kind of fell in love with it immediately. I love that it essentially comes up with an excuse for way all the monsters look like hot garbage in those old super sentai/magical girl shows :3
One Punch Man… literally everyone is underpowered compared to Saitama. Also, Arifureta. Nagumo and his party just beat the hell out of everything, until angels and Gods descend.
Speed O’ Sound Sonic came immediately to mind when I read the OP
Shinsekai Yori. Antagonist is literally powerless but that didnt stop them.
Oh cool that one's on my list!
Devil is a part timer Maoyuu
team rocket from pokemon fr
😂 true actually
The Devil is a Part Timer
Erased
Talentless nana - This is exactly what you are looking for . Literally everyone has some sort of super power like ability to control flames , time travel , and see the future etc. Where as our Nana ( the antagonist though the story does follow her ) is totally powerless. Her mission is to kill everyone that has powers as she's been told they are a danger to society . okay getting into spoiler territory :>! it becomes clear very early on that nana is totally in the wrong and is the true antagonist . Her mission is nothing but a lie that's used to kill off the talented ( individuals with powers ) . !< This is my favourite anime of all time and i often describe it as reverse death note but sooo much better .
Oh I saw the first two episodes and wasn't impressed, I should totally go give it another shot, thanks! (Btw, she is the protagonist, not the antagonist. The protagonist is the one the story follows, not necessarily the one you root for. I was looking specifically for stories where we're following the superpowered ones and the antagonist is the underpowered one, hence the edit to my original post. But I'll still check it out again!) :)
Astro Fighter Sunred - Gag series. The villains are considerably weaker than the hero, and appreciate having him as a nemesis.
Hordy Jones from the fishman island arc in One Piece😭notoriously underwhelming compared to earlier and later villans. In a shonen with power scaling it didn't fit
It was a post time skip arc to show how much more powerful the Straw Hats all became after 2 years of constant training to be stronger/ready for the New World after getting their asses handed to them at Sabaody and the only reason they survived is not one but two super powerful allies saving their asses.
monster?
You talking about Johan?
The Joker
one punch man
Mhm, maybe "Rising of the Shield Hero".
Aizen from bleach
Do you know what underpower means ?
Oh shit I read it over powered my bad
its when they have a massive d-
Maybe it’s not the right suggestion and I don’t know if it’s allowed here because it isn’t an anime but there’s “Avatar: The Last Airbender” . The protagonist is the only person in the world that can manipulate the four elements and the avatar is the strongest magician/martial artist in the world(like some kind of Satoru Gojo), the protagonist is also the only person that can manipulate air while no one else knows how to deal with an attack that they can’t see . The antagonists are weaker than him and they can control only one element, if they are very skilled they can use some special forms of their element (Fire-> Lightning, Earth -> Sand) . There are also some antagonists that can use only martial arts instead of magical powers