Isekai anime involves a protagonist who finds themselves in a brand new world of adventure, often after getting hit by "truck-kun" or getting sucked into their favorite game world, such as an MMORPG. Sometimes isekai is really just a power fantasy with an overpowered hero at the fore, but not always.
Other isekai anime balance their narrative by creating an underpowered protagonist (Ascendance of a Bookworm), or a downright unlucky or tragic one who has the odds stacked steeply against them. Kazuma Sato of Konosuba fame is a prime example, along with Naofumi Iwatani from the gritty The Rising of the Shield Hero. In hindsight, one got the worse deal when he needed up in isekai land -- here's who and why.
Konosuba's Kazuma: Stuck With A Dysfunctional Adventuring Party
Konosuba's Kazuma Sato is a parody of isekai protagonists, and was even unlucky when he arrived in the isekai world to begin with; he wasn't hit with lethal force when truck-kun came knocking. Instead, he got scared to death when he would have otherwise survived, and his luck only got worse. Notably, his Luck stat is at the max, but that merely allows him to survive lethal encounters during his adventures and narrowly escape certain death. Otherwise, his luck is totally against him.
Kazuma tricked the goddess Aqua into joining him, only to realize she has an immature and bratty attitude and is often a liability, especially since her holy water-based powers have limited application. Kazuma began his isekai journey in poverty with only an obnoxious goddess for company, and they even slept in a barn and struggled to scrape any cash together. Then, they were joined by the young explosion witch Megumin and the masochistic crusader Darkness, who get along better with Kazuma but are even worse in a fight. Megumin is a total liability after setting off just one explosion, and the masochistic Darkness is far more interested in getting hit than harming the enemy.
Time and again, Kazuma's party got into all kinds of otherwise avoidable trouble due to each member's bad judgment and poor decision-making. Kazuma himself even went on trial for blowing up a noble's mansion, and Aqua failed to help at all. He also tried and failed to court the villain Sylvia in Konosuba: Legend of Crimson, only to strain his Luck stat to the max to achieve a scarily narrow victory in battle by the movie's end. Finally, Kazuma thought he'd get to partner up with Megumin's friend Yunyun and start a family with her, but ended up failing completely.
Naofumi Iwatani: The Shield Hero Who Was Dealt A Bad Hand
Naofumi's isekai journey in Rising of the Shield Hero was far more serious and action-oriented. He was summoned as one of the Four Cardinal heroes, each of whom wields a different weapon. Naofumi was appointed the shield hero, meaning he can't use weapons or easily fight on his own. Much worse was princess Malty's betrayal, when she framed him for a horrendous crime he did not commit, turning the entire Melromarc kingdom against him. Naofumi had to begin his adventure all alone, and it was slow going.
He bought a demi-human slave named Raphtalia and made her his trusted sidekick, and hatched a Filolial and named her Filo, later joined by princess Melty as well. Naofumi had a rough time leveling up and earning the trust of the kingdom's people, who were all aware of his dark reputation as a "devil." The Waves of invading monsters made things even tougher -- especially when other antagonistic isekai characters such as Glass appeared. Even the other three Cardinal heroes opposed Naofumi at every turn.
Naofumi was later acquitted of committing the alleged crime, and with help from the queen and princess Melty, he turned the tables on the king and princess Malty and had them removed from power. Better yet, the other three Cardinal Heroes finally accepted Naofumi as an ally.
Kazuma Vs. Naofumi: Which Isekai Hero Is Unluckier?
Despite his incredible Luck stat keeping him alive, Konosuba's Kazuma is the unluckier of the two. Most isekai heroes are unlucky by getting summoned into a new world against their will, but Kazuma didn't even have to -- truck-kun couldn't have killed him. He died out of sheer fright, a totally avoidable outcome. His luck only got worse from there, from ending up with a dysfunctional and impoverished adventurer team to his repeated failures to get what he really wants out of life.
Kazuma does enjoy his friendship with Megumin, but otherwise he can't stand his new life. By contrast, Naofumi made the most of his difficult situation in Shield Hero and found success with a new party of his own. He even defeated his nemesis, princess Malty, and became the hero he was always meant to be. Naofumi had the grit and brains to make his own luck; Kazuma simply did not, and was stuck with his bad luck regardless of stats.
