Discussion I Love Isekai

[Halo]

I love isekai.
I don't care if people think it's shit or has been ruining anime. I fucking love isekai.
It's fantasy fulfilment. Escaping your current life and being able to be a fuck off hero everyone loves. Hell I even love the ones where the MC is the villain/hated/distained because then you have actual challenge and the people who do grow close to you feel so much more worthy of being there and closer to you, than some harem you get just because lmao he mc.

I love Isekai. I watch most isekais, and hate and love plenty of them. Of course I enjoy normal fantasy as well, a character working his darndest to climb the feudal hierarchy and carve out his own piece in the world. It's admirable and reminds me how much I waste my life watching isekais instead of just doing work.

My life isn't even bad, I just find the dream of leaving everything behind and doing something brand new without fear very endearing.
The Isekai doesn't even have to be action related, or have the MC be a hero in the world. A person being swept away and using their modern knowledge just to live a slightly better life is great too.
Were you a doctor in the real world? Revolutionize the medical industry in your fantasy. Highly skilled bureaucrat? Overhaul the village you live in, make it a major player in the world. Computer Science Major? Well you're fucked

I don't know why I made this thread. I just like isekai.

 

[Hexasheep93]

Is there any isekai you would reccomend?

The ones I know that call my attention are
Konosuba cause it looks kind of funny.
Redo of healer cause I like edgy trash

And one cant remember the name very well but I think it was about making food out of monsters from dungeons?

 

[Narmy]

I don't think I have seen any "modern" isekai besides Konosuba, but Zero no Tsukaima is a classic.

 

[PhantomXero1x]

Magic Knight Rayearth,Ghilbi and Visions Of Escalowne are the only ones i liked.

 

[Taruby]

The only Isekai anime I watched was '盾の勇者の成り上がり' (The Rising of the Shield Hero). Cause it had Raphtalia, and cause it was often brought up by viewers during streams by Nick Rekieta (a youtube lawyer) alongside Redo the Healer. For whatever reason, the viewers mentioning those two series seem to believe they're both written by women. Neither of their wikipedia profiles list the authors as women, so I have no idea how this idea has disseminated itself in western circles (i.e. did someone use google translate on their wiki profile, and it added the gender pronoun 'she'?). Neither of their twitter accounts express any feminine interests either, and with Shield Hero, there isn't anything I would call a feminine touch (i.e. in Card Captor Sakura, Sakura is tricked by her older brother into taking off her shoes before boarding a plane; that's something only a woman would write).

I've read too many light novels and manga with themes that could be labelled as Isekai, along with a few that are firmly within the Isekai genre. I prefer proper science fiction and fantasy, and don't really care much for the Isekai trope of treating the world like a video game where you have stats that you can meta-game in order to cheat (it takes someone like Togashi Yoshihiro to make meta-gaming interesting).

I'm currently reading '悠久のメスガキ' (Eternal Mesugaki) on Nocturn Novels (Link). It falls within the genre of Isekai subversion cause the protagonist is aware of Isekai novels as a genre, and wants to use his reincarnation as a means to have a Tsuyoi Harem life, but because he was too much of a loser in reality, he did not have any points to put into a cheat build, and what points he did spend to retain his memories and become physically attractive and eternally youthful with magical potential are offset by the world's setting and the parameters he didn't set (he's reborn as a baby girl that grows up into being an eternal loli). Being that I haven't read too many Isekai-type novels, I don't know how many ideas in this story are original, but I liked how the fantasy world was visited by other people in Japan who reincarnated themselves into 'heroes', but these guys ruined the economy and environment by trying to impose their modern day Japanese ethics and morals, thinking what they're doing is justice (i.e. trying to put an end to slavery). One of the worst of these heroes being a Japanese dude called Yamada who, when he was finally captured and burned at the stake for all of the death and destruction he caused in the name of Justice, reverted to screaming in Japanese, which sounded demonic to the ears of the world's inhabitants. So whenever the protagonist accidentally speaks Japanese, his busty loli mother panics and throws a fit cause she doesn't want to believe her 'daughter' is demon-possessed like the accursed Yamada.

 

[Tsuki]

Agreed. Isekai's are really fun and enjoyable, a lot of the people who cry about them are just normies who aren't used to anything that isn't mainstream or Shonen (which usually go hand-in-hand, but not mutually exclusive). If people don't like them, they can go watch something else. But it's being done a lot these days for a reason; people enjoy them.

I gotta watch more of 'em. The ones I have watched are nice and enjoyable.

 

[Narbray]

my problem has never been with isekai itself, I think it's very interesting and you can get amazing stories, but that's the problem, most isakais waste their concept and create a mediocre story that is a copy of the previous one.
I usually watch a lot of isekai almost every one that is released, in general I love isekai that make the most of their idea in the right way with a good narrative, something that is unfortunately scarce,
I am a total fan of current titles like re zero and konosuba, are probably the isekai I like the most of the current ones.
the problem is not the isekai or the amount of them, the problem is how they are created.
an excellent isekai that went unnoticed at the time probably because it arrived too early or out at the wrong time is Ixion Saga DT, highly recommended

 

[Halo]

Is there any isekai you would reccomend?

I like Arifureta, kinda... comedy I guess? Cute vamp loli wife (canon)
My favorite recently was How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom. It's a student in politics who gets isekai'd to another world and made the King of a country, and then he has to try and fix the kingdom while also fighting off the classic stuff any ruler deals with, Rebellion, the old guard, corruption, etc.
Absolutely love the political parts of it even if it's incredibly simplified and dumbed down.
Obviously Mushoku Tensei is really popular right now, and for a really good reason. Good show.
If you've never seen it Zero No Tsukaima is a classic
Does Angel Beats count as an isekai? That made me cry. Go play the VN.

I've read too many light novels and manga with themes that could be labelled as Isekai, along with a few that are firmly within the Isekai genre. I prefer proper science fiction and fantasy, and don't really care much for the Isekai trope of treating the world like a video game where you have stats that you can meta-game in order to cheat (it takes someone like Togashi Yoshihiro to make meta-gaming interesting).

I will admit the best isekais are generally just fantasy, and like I said I definitely love the fantasy genre as well, and watch it quite often too.
I don't like the "God made me op omg" trope either, I prefer watching the MC struggling to adapt and overcome the brand new world, and grow as a person as a result.

Agreed. Isekai's are really fun and enjoyable, a lot of the people who cry about them are just normies who aren't used to anything that isn't mainstream or Shonen (which usually go hand-in-hand, but not mutually exclusive). If people don't like them, they can go watch something else. But it's being done a lot these days for a reason; people enjoy them.

Yeah, anime does have a tourist issue cause of faggots like rev, gigguk, and whatever other "animetubers" there are. Exploiting the hobby for their own gain. It honestly sucks it's become popular, western fans really don't have to worry about whether it's successful in the West since anime is made for Japs, and as long as they keep buying we'll keep getting shows to watch.
I don't know my point here. I hate grifters and tourists.

my problem has never been with isekai itself, I think it's very interesting and you can get amazing stories, but that's the problem, most isakais waste their concept and create a mediocre story that is a copy of the previous one.

I agree there. Definitely a lot of waste of potential in most stories, but I can still... generally find them enjoyable.
Personally I think Arifureta threw away a half decent concept, for another harem story.
Honestly recently this is an issue with most series. They've got amazing concepts/premises but they don't really try to do anything new, and it leads to another throwaway.

 

[Narmy]

Does Angel Beats count as an isekai? That made me cry. Go play the VN.

If only it was finished...

Angel Beats! -1st beat-

Angel Beats! is a collaboration project of Key, Dengeki G's, and Aniplex. The story of the visual novel is to be based on the Angel Beats! anime series. The player takes on the role of Otonashi, a newcomer to the Afterlife who finds himself in the middle of a struggle between a group of...

vndb.org

The first volume was released on June 26, 2015. Only the first volume had been released while the other five planned volumes have been abandoned with no announcement.

 

[Ebicentre]

I don't have an issue with isekai as a storytelling device. Everybody loves KonoSuba and Mushoku Tensei, and Tanya is unfathomably based. Male and/or power fantasies I consider to be separate from isekai, though they often go hand in hand because of the target audience.

What I don't like are twelve-episode gimmick stories (e.g. 'ha-hah, he's in another world but he's a vending machine!') and the industry's play-it-safe habit of oversaturating a trend. There's a reason I've been mostly watching older anime over the last few years instead of the latest seasons. Tonnes of new anime are isekai - and of those isekai/fantasy anime, too many of them are suspiciously similar to one another in terms of archetypes and plot. Even their magic systems, usually, are just glorified video game mechanics.

 

[Hexasheep93]

I like Arifureta, kinda... comedy I guess? Cute vamp loli wife (canon)
My favorite recently was How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom. It's a student in politics who gets isekai'd to another world and made the King of a country, and then he has to try and fix the kingdom while also fighting off the classic stuff any ruler deals with, Rebellion, the old guard, corruption, etc.
Absolutely love the political parts of it even if it's incredibly simplified and dumbed down.
Obviously Mushoku Tensei is really popular right now, and for a really good reason. Good show.
If you've never seen it Zero No Tsukaima is a classic
Does Angel Beats count as an isekai? That made me cry. Go play the VN.

Thanks for the suggestions. I heard of angel beats I think from one of those old top 10s saddest anime moment videos that lots of people used to make lol.

my problem has never been with isekai itself, I think it's very interesting and you can get amazing stories, but that's the problem, most isakais waste their concept and create a mediocre story that is a copy of the previous one.
I usually watch a lot of isekai almost every one that is released, in general I love isekai that make the most of their idea in the right way with a good narrative, something that is unfortunately scarce,
I am a total fan of current titles like re zero and konosuba, are probably the isekai I like the most of the current ones.
the problem is not the isekai or the amount of them, the problem is how they are created.
an excellent isekai that went unnoticed at the time probably because it arrived too early or out at the wrong time is Ixion Saga DT, highly recommended

Now I admit this may be a generalization of the genre but Ive always seen the isekai genre as just some sort of dumb fun genre with good action and/or fanservice. Of course Im not saying it cannot be used to explore deeper plots. And good on the creators that attempt to create things outside the box
So personally, I dont really begrudge it for being a little repetitive in their plots and premises.

Speaking of outside the box I remembered hearing of a inskai novel (I dont know if they made it into a manga or anime) where the protagonist is one of the monsters instead. Does anyone know the name or maybe Im just misremembering

 

[Narbray]

My favorite recently was How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom.

this is a good series although a very difficult one to recommend, the series is incredibly slow and although this is not a bad thing, the first season bored me a lot and it seemed that nothing was happening, but the second season was excellent and it was completely worth it.

I don't like the "God made me op omg" trope either, I prefer watching the MC struggling to adapt and overcome the brand new world, and grow as a person as a result.

me too,
unfortunately the cliche of the mc op is more frequent
that's why I didn't like eminence in shadow that was aired recently, the characters are so op that there is no adversity for them, that added to the fact that the joke is a little repetitive in the series and loses fun.

Arifureta

I don't know the novels, but I liked the second season of the anime, although I didn't like the first one, in the second one the story is much better oriented and it's not just random situations typical of isekai.

 

[Halo]

this is a good series although a very difficult one to recommend, the series is incredibly slow and although this is not a bad thing, the first season bored me a lot and it seemed that nothing was happening, but the second season was excellent and it was completely worth it.

I never thought it was slow, but the anime and LNs differ quite a bit. This was actually one of the few series where I read the LNs lol. It felt pretty fast paced to me, but might simply be I already knew what was gonna happen

I don't know the novels, but I liked the second season of the anime, although I didn't like the first one, in the second one the story is much better oriented and it's not just random situations typical of isekai.

I preferred it a lot more when it was just Yue and MC, which... sadly only lasted for like 1-2 books
I honestly can't remember anything about the 2nd season so can't really comment on which was better.

 

[Brazio]

Speaking of outside the box I remembered hearing of a inskai novel (I dont know if they made it into a manga or anime) where the protagonist is one of the monsters instead. Does anyone know the name or maybe Im just misremembering

Is it S-rank Monster no Behemoth? If that's still counted as Isekai, there's also Her Majesty's Swarm

 

[YakuInTheFlesh]

I generally never write of an anime just because it's an isekai (that's some normie faggot behavior), but I need the show to catch me which often doesn't happen. Especially if it's a gimmick like "Isekai, but I have a phone".
Some of the ones I liked:

• Drifters
• Hai to Gensou no Grimgar (I highly recommend this one)
• Ixion Saga DT
• Log Horizon
• Now and Then, Here and There (It was much darker than I expected)
• Re:Creators (Revers Isekai)
• No Game No Life
• SAO: Alternative GGO

Also can Digimon Adventure be classified as Isekai?

I personally would love to see some different kind of Isekai more often instead of medieval/fantasy.

 

[Halo]

• Hai to Gensou no Grimgar (I highly recommend this one)

was this an isekai? I thought it was just a fantasy show

I personally would love to see some different kind of Isekai more often instead of medieval/fantasy.

SciFi isekai when. Has that ever been done? Steampunk isekai seems like it's happened but I don't think I've ever seen a guy sent to a future/more advanced civilization

 

[YakuInTheFlesh]

was this an isekai? I thought it was just a fantasy show

Yeah it's am isekai, but it is mentioned at the start and then barely or never again iirc.

SciFi isekai when. Has that ever been done?

Now and Then, Here and There is kind of SciFi / Distopian, but I guess it's easier to make it an amnesia or time travel anime if it's in the future.

 

[Halo]

Yeah it's am isekai, but it is mentioned at the start and then barely or never again iirc.

huh. I didn't know that. thought it was just a normal fantasy show except they didn't have their memories.

Now and Then, Here and There is kind of SciFi / Distopian, but I guess it's easier to make it an amnesia or time travel anime if it's in the future.

Never seen NTHT, will give it a download and watch eventually

 

[YakuInTheFlesh]

Never seen NTHT, will give it a download and watch eventually

You absolutely should. It's pretty overlooked and never talked about.

 

[FunsLeaf]

Isekai is great, I personally prefer the more comfy stuff, like Slime Taoshite 300-nen, Shiranai Uchi ni Level MAX ni Nattemashita and Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear. Imagine leisurely exploring a fantasy world with no demon lord, or some other world ending threat, just living life in a overall peaceful world full of cute girls

Then again, I mostly read manga these days, often a lot more content there than the anime adaptations.

Also need more Isekai with modern weaponry and firearms, I really enjoyed the parts of GATE where the medieval fantasy people and monsters getting violently gunned down by a (relatively) modern military

was this an isekai? I thought it was just a fantasy show

SciFi isekai when. Has that ever been done? Steampunk isekai seems like it's happened but I don't think I've ever seen a guy sent to a future/more advanced civilization

Sentouin, Hakenshimasu! and Ura Sekai Picnic are kind of Sci Fi, one of them future guy gets sent to fantasy magic world with future tech and robot shotgun loli, and Ura Sekai Picnic is Japanese Roadside Picnic. Haven't actually watched the anime, all I know is that they both have shotgun lolis, but I enjoyed the manga.

In terms of manga, there's an Isekai about a guy waking up in a very powerful spaceship in another world that has space colonies and space elves (Mezametara Saikyou Soubi to Uchuusen-mochi datta no de, Ikkodate Mezashite Youhei Toshite Jiyuu ni Ikitai) and guy who's space battleship from human space empire got wrecked and has to build a colony from a existing medieval fantasy world before space bugs come in and kill everyone (Kouchuugun Shikan, Boukensha ni Naru.) They are both really good stories, but no anime (yet?)