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Makima from the shonen anime Chainsaw Man is not the only villain to have reincarnated. Many shonen anime characters, be they isekai or otherwise, have a reincarnation aspect. This generally means a person's soul is reborn in a different body upon death, similar to how The Doctor in Doctor Who regenerates into an entirely different body with the same soul or the Avatar in Avatar: The Last Airbender.
This might mean that, for example, Kid Buu being reincarnated as Uub at the end of Dragon Ball Z for a villain or a regular person reincarnating as a slime monster like Rimuru Tempest in That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime. These are only two examples of such beings that went through reincarnation in shonen anime. This list will go over ten shonen anime characters who are reincarnated.
Disclaimer: Spoilers are included for every shonen anime profiled on this list. The opinions expressed in the article reflect only the author's. Only one example per anime.
Kid Buu into Uub, Asura into Naruto, and eight other cases of reincarnation in shonen anime
1) Asura and Indra Ōtsutsuki as Naruto and Sasuke (Naruto)
The "Children of Destiny" trope came in hard with Naruto Uzumaki in the shonen anime Naruto: Shippuden. As this revelation took place in the latter half of the series, here's a quick explanation. When the legendary Sage of Six Paths' sons Asura and Indra died, they were continuously reincarnated into their descendants: the Senju and Uchiha clans. Sasuke and Naruto descended from those clans and grew up in a relatively peaceful era.
This changed when Indra's Curse of Hatred made Sasuke leave the village and nearly go fully villainous. While the two were able to work together and fought to stop Kaguya, they had one final fight wherein the Curse of Hatred was broken. Naruto and Sasuke are now best friends, more than the Sage of Six Paths hoped for his sons during their era.
2) Kid Buu into Uub (Dragon Ball Z)
Much like Makima in Chainsaw Man, Kid Buu of the shonen anime Dragon Ball Z was reincarnated as the eldest of five children named Uub. Goku had told Kid Buu he wished he would come back to fight him again, and King Yemma made sure his soul was reincarnated into someone good.
Uub made sporadic cameo appearances in the Dragon Ball Super manga as a possibility for the Tournament of Power and later helped Goku achieve Perfected Ultra Instinct by sharing energy.
During the 28th World Martial Arts Tournament, 10 years after Kid Buu's original defeat, Uub fought Goku and even pressured him. Goku decided to train Uub in the final scene of Dragon Ball Z, and he ended up helping at the age of 15 during Dragon Ball GT against a possessed Vegeta.
He actually managed to fuse with Magin Buu, match Baby possessed Vegeta, and buy Goku enough time to defeat the aforementioned parasitic fusion.
3) Mikami Satoru into Rimuru Tempest (That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime)
Let's be real, a shonen anime isekai like That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime was bound to be on the list of reincarnations eventually. It may fit under the Portal Fantasy/Isekai genre, but the manga is shonen targeted. Mikami Satoru was a middle-aged salaryman working as a general contractor who got stabbed while protecting one of his co-workers from a robbery.
After dying, he was reincarnated into a fantasy world as a basic Slime enemy. After more than a few days of boredom, he was met by a Storm Dragon named Veldora. The two became fast friends, and Mikami was henceforth named Rimiuru Tempest. Tempest would grow from a basic slime to a formidable foe, to god of that world in a rather quick matter of time.
4) Kazuma Sato into Adventurer (KonoSuba)
Another isekai, another shonen anime, but this time it's less about becoming a god and more about trying to relax. Unfortunately for Kazuma Sato in the shonen anime KonoSuba, his adventuring party was rather dysfunctional. The series is less adventurous about defeating the Devil King and more about trying to control everyone's abilities and temperaments.
Even that peaceful life, however, is constantly interrupted by the appearances of the Devil King's generals and other threats demanding their attention. The "Adventurer" title refers to his class since he never chose one. He was a 17-year-old shut-in who reincarnated after trying to save a classmate from a tractor and became an astute adventurer.
5) Kite into Reina (Hunter x Hunter)
Kite from the shonen anime Hunter x Hunter used to be an expert Hunter that was tracking down Gon's father, Ging. While his Nen abilities served him well, he was no match for the Chimera Ant Royal Guard Neferpitou. When Kite was reincarnated, he was reborn in the body of a Chimera Ant by the name of Reina.
Reina was initially a regular girl born to the Chimera Queen and was in early childhood by the time of the Chimera Ant arc. Reina had all of Kite's memories and was accompanied by the Chimera Ant Koala to atone for Koala's sins as an Ant. They will need to train up, but it appears the Nen ability Crazy Slots helped preserve Kite's soul in Reina's body.
6) Washu Hakubi - goddess to mortal and back (Tenchi Muyo!/Tenchi Universe)
Washu Hakubi is a reincarnation of herself. This aloof genius in the shonen anime franchise Tenchi Muyo! used to be one of the Chousin or three sister goddesses that created the universe. Washu chose to seal her godly powers and consciousness into three gemstones and descend to the mortal plane to analyze the mysteries of the universe and prove the existence of higher-level beings.
Washu was sealed for 100 million years, regressed to the size of a human child, erased her own memories, and ended up married on another planet. This led to tragedy, so she decided to go back to being an adolescent girl. Needless to say, when she was living with Tenchi, there were many explosions and a lot of weird things going on. She even discovered Tenchi was the higher being she was looking for.
7) Priest Seto into Seto Kaiba (Yu-Gi-Oh!)
What's worse than an egomaniacal, temperamental, millionaire kid obsessed with card games, dragons, and defeating his rival? The reincarnation of a priest that carries much of the same attitude and willingness to sacrifice everything for the so-called "greater good." This is the nature of Priest Seto's reincarnation into Seto Kaiba.
Where did Seto's Blue Eyes obsession come from? Priest Seto saved a snow-white-haired and blue-eyed girl named Kisara, and the girl released her spirit, The White Dragon, to save his life.
Basically, the Blue-Eyes White Dragon was the spirit guardian that saved him from King Akhenaden, who was possessed by Zorc. Priest Seto's actions will be recorded in the Tablet of Lost Memories, which will be triggered during the Battle City arc. Seto Kaiba is very much the same.
8) Fushi: divine being to a human being (To Your Eternity)
A being that takes and reincarnates into many forms, Fushi was created by the Beholder as a white orb. Fushi first took the form of a rock, then a dying arctic wolf, then a white-haired boy. To Your Eternity is heavy on the concept of reincarnation, as many people die and are reincarnated and resurrected time and again throughout both the shonen anime and manga.
Fushi lives his life as an older human, then his body encompasses the entire planet after 600 years. He also has the power to revive the dead and uses it to help the people he loves. His entire character goes from god to human, with more than a few bumps in the road regarding immortality and his good friends. He eventually prioritizes his friends' happiness over his own.
9) Anos Voldigoad: Demon King to Hybrid (The Misfit of Demon King Academy)
Approximately 2,000 years ago, the demon king Anos Voldigoad grew tired of the endless battle of being the Demon King of Tyranny and thus sacrificed his life so long as peace would forever reign. Two thousand years later, he's reincarnated as a demon and human hybrid with most, if not all, of his hilariously overpowered abilities. This doesn't, however, mean everything is fine and dandy in the modern world.
The problems in the modern world are: his throne is taken by an imposter, his generals are all hypnotized, the discrimination that caused much suffering in the past is worse due to a rigid caste system, and he's technically a commoner here. While he is arrogant and overpowered, he's not a bad guy. He's pretty easygoing for a former king who would qualify as a shonen anime villain.
10) Sun God Nika and the Joy Boy into Monkey D. Luffy (One Piece)
Monkey D. Luffy is the chief protagonist and captain of the Straw Hat Pirates and apparently the reincarnation of the Joy Boy in the shonen anime One Piece. To summarize, Luffy bore the Will of D due to his middle name since he was destined to change the world by force of his will.
His Devil Fruit just so happens to be the Zoan-Type fruit model Nika, allowing Luffy the powers of a literal cartoon character. He was able to reach Gear V after a long fight with Kaidou.
The true nature of the Fruit's ability for those able to tap into the Zoan type's true abilities is evidently linked to the Sun God. Nika was known as a warrior of liberation who freed slaves. Nika was pushed as a concept of freedom which definitely fits with Luffy's entire behavior and desires.
To conclude, it turns out that reincarnations in shonen anime aren't limited to just Makima from Chainsaw Man. It's also not exclusive to isekai, as these examples from shonen anime like Luffy from One Piece or Kaiba from Yu-Gi-Oh! demonstrate perfectly.
