Mind control series

[Oobaka-san]

I'm looking for two types of series, both involving characters with powers of mind control, hypnosis, memory manipulation, or other such powers that can make people believe and/or do things they wouldn't ordinarily do.

First, something I've wanted for a while but never found anything really good: stories with a hero with these sorts of powers. Something like Shinso from MHA, where his ability to alter minds or override will makes everyone feel like they're dealing with a villain and he has to simultaneously endure the jabs and constantly prove his virtue. It just seems like it'd be a nice change from the stories where a hero becomes about 80% villain upon gaining those abilities. Like, in the series Class Teni (...), when the MC is kicked out for his power to make women fall for him and seek to please him in any way and responds by doing exactly what the kickers feared and steal all the girls starting with the worst kicker's own girlfriend, I can't help but think it'd be so much more interesting if he'd taken off into the woods and come back a week later riding a dragon, forcing them to accept him, and then trying to deal with the constant questions whenever a girl seemed to like him at all whether their feelings were legitimate or a result of his power.

Second, and the main thing I am looking for currently: stories where the antagonist has mind control powers and is able to use it on major allies of the protagonist. Doesn't matter whether the protagonist knows from the start or finds out later. The core is the struggle to deal with people that are dear friends and trusted allies (and maybe major love interests or harem members) suddenly turning on them and at minimum cutting ties or dumping him and at worst becoming active enemies until a method is found to break the spell. I just skimmed and now started seriously reading a series called "Keikenchi Chochiku de..." containing this as a major element, though the brainwashed allies are rather distant from the MC for most of the story aside from the very beginning where they kick him out of the party and indirectly reveal that all the girls (including his fiance) were sleeping with his best friend the "hero" (though he doesn't personally learn about the mind control for a long time).

 

[Manko-sensei]

Isekai Ojisan is the way to go for that hero, and when you finish the anime you can read the manga. Anime sites have tags for all that, for instance memory manipulation. As for the antagonist part, the word you need to use as a filter is saimin, really popular on hentai sites. But maybe if you want NTR I can call the expert, @Mangamoz ? Visual Novels, doujinshi and manga has far more than anime can offer.

 

[boursk]

This is a fairly common way to introduce strife in isekai shows. Though in a lot of those cases they end up as the "big reveal", so I'll just write the rest in spoilers tags.

Spoiler

Sokushi Cheat's big strife is about brain washing. An entire class gets isekai'd and everyone except for four people get powers installed into them, but that also messes up their personality in such a way that they're all homicidal maniacs. The main girl (and three others) who didn't get powers was easily left as bait by (among the other classmates) her best friend to fend against a dragon, so that the rest could run away.

Rekishi ni Nokoru Akujo ni Naru zo is an isekai where the MC is the antagonist of the otome game she used to play. The heroine of the game turns out to have a mind altering passive that makes everyone around her love and agree with her. She isn't aware of this ability initially, so she influenced most people in the school due to her ability without her own knowledge. And since the MC is antagonizing the heroine because she's more of a realist and thinks acting evil is cool and classy (even though the result of her actions end up being a force of good), she gets a lot of people against her as a result.

Isekai de Tame shita is still early days. The MC has taming abilities that don't only work on beast and monsters, but also on humans. So they're in the middle of exploring just how much of an effect it has on the mind of humans when they are tamed. Two people have been tamed at this point, but they already liked the MC before they were tamed, so it's still unclear how they were affected mentally. Not quite the strife you're looking for, but it does (promise to) explore the mind manipulation genre.

Fukushuu wo Koinegau Saikyou Yuusha deals with a lot of brainwashing, but it (arguably) isn't the main thing. A goddess brainwashes the saint who will end up in the MC's party. However, the saint will end up brainwashing a crazy amount of people which causes a fairly large part of the MC's strife, since one of the people she brainwashes is the princess who majorly messes up the MC's life. This is a revenge story, so don't expect much redemption happening. Oh, and do expect a lot of sexual violence.

Yondome wa Iya na Shizokusei Majutsushi doesn't really fit the bill perfectly, but the entire class is turned against the MC through circumstances and the MC gains a type of super rizz passive that makes undead(?) automatically like him. There seems to be an extra person whose name is phonetically the same as the MC, who gains all the perks meant for the MC and takes the MC's place among the classmates. He ends up with the girl who likes and is indebted to the MC and the entire class ends up killing him in his second life (the entire class died in chapter 1). Classmates are also send to kill the MC in his third life by the reincarnation god.

Since NTR was mentioned, I'll add Isekai NTR to the list. While most of the story doesn't apply to your request, the current arc deals with an antagonist that uses brainwashing. The MC loses his allies and eventually gets manipulated through the same ability as well.

I tried to come up with a varied list of titles. Hopefully there's something among them that you can enjoy.

 

[TestAddress]

Chizuru-chan Development Diary

This is MK Ultra

 

[Oobaka-san]

One thing I guess I should have mentioned considering NTR. As I've said in other places, I have no problem with sexual violence or hentai, and I'm fine with any type including light novels, anime, and games as well as manga (it doesn't even have to be translated, I'm pretty fair at translating). As far as NTR goes, that's the one area where I'm only cool when redemption is achieved. Especially in hentai. Though I have seen that. I don't remember the name but I know in the past I read a hentai manga that was sort of a harem thing centered around a group of heroes, detectives or vigilantes of some sort. At the end the villain used some sort of drug to make all the guy's girlfriends into love slaves. Then they either overcome the drug or it wears off, and the girls that were crawling all over him all start pummeling him simultaneously, with reactions ranging from blind rage to crying uncontrollably that someone other than the hero was inside them.

As for saimin, particularly saimin hentai, I've seen the stuff, but I'm pretty sure just about all that stuff has the "hero" possess the power and use it for evil nonconsensual stuff. As I said, I'm aiming for stuff where either the villain uses it on the hero's friends/love interests or the hero has it but tries to use it for good while tolerating everyone automatically assuming he's going to be as villainous as he can.

Funnily, I do remember one manga where the hero was like that. The guy was trying to enter a school for mages that required unique powers so he could be with his childhood friend. Finally his powers awakened, and they made women temporarily fall madly in love with him. He struggles to figure out how to control it so he can use it strategically without things turning out very badly for all involved. Sadly, it was axed quite early on.

BTW, looks like I put this in the wrong section, it should be in Manga as that's the main thing I'm looking for (though I'm fine with anime, light novels, or games).