People love underdog stories. Because there’s nothing smoother than witnessing your low-key protagonist take center stage like a rough star. where anime like “Tokyo Ghoul” spends almost a full season making the MC Zero to Hero, anime like Lookism does this job within a single episode.
We have picked up top anime like Lookism, which share similar tropes like underdog protagonist glow-up, body swapping, and ugly-to-hot protagonist transformation. So, without more fuss, check out the best similar recommendations to Lookism.
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10: One Punch Man
To begin with, “One Punch Man” is not your typical drama isekai in which the protagonist is harassed and subsequently turns into a cool character. However, it has a parallel in that the MC “Saitama” gets overpowered in a single episode.
“One Punch Man” doesn’t give us much content showcasing the transformation of MC. Although hilariously, he becomes overpowered but loses his looks, contrary to lookism.
The show follows Saitama, who was formerly an ordinary adult with formal looks until training for years to become stronger and lost his hair as a result of his severe training.
9: Beast Tamer
Beast is Fall 2022’s smooth fantasy anime. Why it’s? Because the show does not squander numerous episodes on character development and instead focuses on the smooth adventures of the MC after blessing him with hot powers.
The show follows your wholesome protagonist, Rein, who was humiliated by members of the hero party due to his useless beast-taming skills.
While babbling about his kind of useless skills, fatefully he forms contact with a powerful cat demihuman girl and becomes an overpowered master of this creature.
Throughout the storyline, he further stumbles into more fantasy opposite-gender creatures, becoming more powerful and creating his harem all along.
8: Accel World
If you can bear watching the whole season witnessing the ugliest protagonist in anime history, you’re most welcome to watch “Accel World.”Although this anime does not have any MC glow-ups, it does emphasize the topic of bullying.
Haruyuki Arita, an overweight and mistreated middle schooler, finds refuge in playing online games. His tortured life takes a drastic turn when the school’s popular girl, Kuroyukihime, persuades him to attend a unique program called Brain Burst.
7: Oshi No Ko
“Oshi No Ko” is history’s most admired show about the Japanese idol industry, and we know that lookism has similarities with pop music, fashionistas, and the idol industry.
It also has a rebirth procedure that transforms an ordinary doctor into the hot hunk “Aqua.”
The show features Aqua, who once was a regular doctor and met his demise while his patient, “idol star Ai Hoshino,” was giving birth to twins. Fatefully, he reincarnates as a child of this hot model and further accelerates the storyline.
6: Chainsaw Man
“Chainsaw Man” is one of the renowned supernatural action anime series animated by Mappa Studios, which also possesses a similarity with Lookism regarding an underdog protagonist.
The story revolves around Denji, a commoner devil hunter who does such jobs to pay off his father’s debts. Suddenly, he was ditched by his employers and was about to meet his death after being beaten up to a pulp by a powerful devil.
Fortunately, his pet devil, “Pochita,” gave him his heart, which transformed him into a powerful chainsaw man.
5: Sasaki And Peeps
“Sasaki And Peeps” is the most unconventional isekai of 2024, with a unique approach where the MC of the anime is a humdrum 30-plus-year-old MC who progresses through the tale in a slice-of-life way.
Where Lookism uses Mc’s physical appearance to help him become OP, “Sasaki and Peeps” share something similar in a slow-paced style.
This latest Isekai show follows Sasaki, a mundane employee who finally adopts a pet who turns out to be an otherworldly sage with incredible talents and the ability to travel between realms. With the help of this unbelievable creature, Sasaki can travel between worlds for his own good.
4: Parasyte The Maxim
Despite the genres of Parasyte and Lookism literally conflicting with each other, there’s a sheer similarity between the protagonists of both shows.
The MC of Parasyte “Shinichi Izumi” is a little introverted and low-profile high schooler, shy even to talk with a girl, until he becomes the host of an alien parasite that can transform Izumi’s body parts at will.
Like Lookism, there’s a limitation regarding body swapping; Parasyte depicts something similar but in an unconventional horror way.
3: Kiss Him, Not Me
Those who particularly adore sudden transformations of Mc should watch Shojo romance anime like Lookism at all costs.
This reverse harem anime follows a chubby girl, Kae Serinuma, who is a perfect otaku girl and loves fantasizing about her male classmates falling for each other.
At first, she is a chubby girl who loses all of her weight in one night while mourning the death of a fictional character. She now has attractive looks, and to her astonishment, four of her classmates have asked her out.
2: Masamune Kun’s Revenge
Where in Lookism MC was bullied by the whole society for his looks, and the MC of this run-of-the-mill rom-com anime got rejected by his crush for his fatty appearance.
Similar to Lookism, this anime doesn’t waste a lot of screen time showcasing the transformation of MC from chubby to a hot male.
As a toddler, Masamune was rejected by his all-time crush for his unattractive appearance. Now, after years, Masamune is not the same goofbag freak but a dazzling model figure who now values the importance of appearance.
Fortunately, MC and the same girl are now in the same school, and Masamune is now resolved to exact retribution for being rejected.
1: I Got a Cheat Skill in Another World and Became Unrivaled in the Real World, Too
Considering this hugely long-titled anime, the exact replica of Lookism wouldn’t be wrong since both share many similarities, like insanely bullied MC, sudden physical transformation, and a very similar plot.
Yuuya Tenjou has been humiliated not only by society but also by his family. His siblings, along with his parents, hate his existence, and he faces constant bullying in school for his fatty looks, despite the fact that he’s a wholesome, courageous boy.
One fateful day, he encounters the otherworld portal in his grandpa’s residence and dares to walk in. This was a fantasy world that helped Tenjou transform into a hot prodigy.
Conclusion:
All the above-mentioned shows bear potential similarities with the quite famous anime “Lookism,” and each delivers a perfect binge-watching experience to viewers. If somebody has liked Lookism, he will surely admire these too, and to find more similar anime to your favorite shows, don’t forget to visit Anime Dropz.
