We’ve all seen the classic fantasy setup: an arrogant party leader kicks out a support member because their contributions aren’t flashy enough. But what the leader fails to realize is that the party was only succeeding because of that invisible, behind-the-scenes labor.
If you’re tired of the mainstream hits and want some genuine hidden gems where the underappreciated underdog gets the ultimate payback, here are eight obscure anime you need to check out.
1. Scooped Up by an S-Rank Adventurer!
Lloyd is a White Mage who gets tossed out of his Hero’s party because they think his healing and buffs are just too weak to keep up. Because Lloyd is deeply insecure, he completely agrees with them.
The hilarious reality? Lloyd was personally trained by the legendary Lady Merlin, and his baseline for “normal” magic is completely skewed. He gets scooped up by a genuinely competent S-Rank party that desperately needs a healer. Once he starts supporting them, he casually applies buffs that give ordinary allies the power of literal demigods, leaving veteran adventurers completely stunned by his sheer magical output.
2. Jack-of-All-Trades, Party of None
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Orun is a former swordsman turned enchanter who gets booted by his childhood friend and party leader for being a “jack-of-all-trades, master of none”.
His old teammates completely looked down on him, failing to realize a crucial detail: they had become entirely dependent on Orun’s buffs and mistakenly believed the power he granted them was their own innate strength. Forced to start over, Orun combines his swordsmanship with his deep understanding of enchantment. He effectively becomes a “one-man party,” demonstrating capabilities that far exceed the combined efforts of the comrades who betrayed him.
3. The Strongest Tank’s Labyrinth Raids
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Rud gets unfairly blamed when a major dungeon raid goes south and is promptly kicked out by an arrogant hero who thinks his damage output is too low.
What the hero completely missed is that Rud’s “absorb shield” has a defense value of 9999—the highest ever recorded in history. Once an appraiser reveals his true stats, Rud becomes an absolute wall. He learns to manipulate his mana to substitute for his physical shield, eventually protecting entire armies and physically blowing major bosses out of labyrinths. It’s a great watch if you want a genuinely kind protagonist whose main goal is just finding a cure for his sick sister.
4. The Banished Court Magician Aims to Become the Strongest
Alec Ygret is a commoner fired by the incredibly insecure Prince Regulus, who publicly claims Alec is useless for only using support magic.
The truth is way more pathetic: Regulus legally forbade Alec from using attack magic because he was terrified the commoner would outshine him. Once Alec is free from the kingdom’s toxic politics and reunites with his old academy party, the gloves come off. He’s an offensive powerhouse who casually vaporizes high-level dungeon bosses and ultimately humiliates the prince in a one-on-one duel.
5. The Most Notorious “Talker” Runs the World’s Greatest Clan
If you want an anti-hero who embraces absolute ruthlessness, Noel is your guy. He is a “Talker,” universally viewed as the absolute weakest support class.
When his party betrays him and steals his expedition funds, Noel doesn’t just get mad or walk away. He tracks down his betrayers and sells them to a slave trader to recoup his stolen money with interest. Noel operates like a mafia boss, using terrifying psychological manipulation and coercion to recruit heavy hitters like assassins and swordsmen to act as his physical weapons.
6. Even Given the Worthless “Appraiser” Class, I’m Actually the Strongest
Ein gets dealt a terrible hand in a world where your worth is dictated by a divinely assigned class. As an “Appraiser,” he is treated like garbage by the sociopathic adventurers he works for.
Driven by greed, his party uses Ein as live bait for a pack of Hellhounds, forcing him to jump off a cliff just to avoid being eaten alive. He miraculously survives the fall and receives a divine artifact called the “Spirit Eye”. This eye completely hacks his worthless class, allowing him to perfectly copy and adapt any elite combat technique he observes, turning him from a helpless victim into an apex predator.
