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Discussion ISEKAI shit discussion

Thread Description
A thread to discuss about isekai, feel free to throw shit on the genre or defend it.

Narbray

varishangout.com
Regular
it is curious that no one had made a thread like this until now.

a Japanese writer Housuke Nojiri [idk who is but anyway], tweeted about how the isekai sub-genre is stagnant.

criticized that the isekai sub-genre in the light novel industry is stuck in "stories about op protagonists getting a harem" without a shred of originality, and invited his followers to stop consuming these stories so as "not to keep feeding the mediocrity."

unfortunately he deleted the twit, too bad, because he's absolutely fucking right.
the genre has fallen a lot and is running out of originality, I have nothing against the isekai, I like some of them a lot and some are very good, but every time more and more isekai are coming out that are purely the author's desires without contributing or caring anything to the reader, being repetitive stories.
and the worst thing is how these series receive adaptation after adaptation, even some of very bad quality receive sequels and everything.

Anyway, I'm just spouting my gibberish here.


Well, all this rambling was just to share a piece of garbage I saw recently.
in general my intention with this thread is to discuss a little about isekai, can you answer some of these questions.

What do you think of the genre?
Which isekais have you watcht hat are the worst and why?
which isekais do you like the most or do you think are the best and why?
Do you think the genre is declining in popularity?
How much longer do you think this isekai boom will last?
why do you think the genre is so popular?
if u like isekai, why u like it?
if u dislike isekai, why u dislike it?

Share any other opinions you may have about this.
you can also use the thread to recommend some isekais that may have passed unnoticed over the years.
for example I recommend Ixion Saga DT, a work very similar to konosuba that has gone unnoticed over the years and is quite funny and peculiar.

*I put the thread in the Anime section of the forum because I think it's the most general way to approach this topic, but, if the moderators allow it of course, feel free to cover novels, games and manga as well.
Anime is also the section I know the most about, so...


Edit: 2 new questions
 
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erobotan

varishangout.com
Artist
Regular
I don't like the genre in general, it's boring. I don't have a problem with getting a harem part, but the OP protagonist part is sure a big problem for me. I'm guessing this genre become popular because a lot of people really hate their life situation (life is a kusoge afterall!) and dreaming of becoming OP.

but there are some isekai that play differently: Konosuba, Sentoin Rakugo, Meikyuu Black Company, Otome Game no Hametsu Flag (hamefura). Non-OP protagonist and Lots of comedy, good amount of harem too.

i also like "Kumo desu gam nanika?" and "100-man no inochi" lots of battle with impossible odds & Good plot twist! Too bad they don't have much budget ...

and One Punch Man, Saitama is OP but he's not the focus of the story. Seems the author understands that OP hero is boring.

"Which isekais have you watcht hat are the worst and why?" Basically the flagships of this genre, Sao and Slime. Boring fest.
 

Narbray

varishangout.com
Regular
I don't like the genre in general, it's boring.
well I can understand that it is your opinion, but I don't think the genre is the problem, some isekai have proven to be interesting and/or entertaining, the problem is in the bad use that is being given to the genre which is making it repetitive and therefore boring. I guess that's why you see it that way.
I don't have a problem with getting a harem part, but the OP protagonist part is sure a big problem for me. I'm guessing this genre become popular because a lot of people really hate their life situation (life is a kusoge afterall!) and dreaming of becoming OP.
yeah these op protagonists usually make me quite uncomfortable, especially when they show off unnecessarily without contributing anything to the story other than showing off the character... god it was like the isekai of the boy taking care of slimes, the whole series gave the feeling that it was to make the character look good... that really bothered me.
Konosuba, Sentoin Rakugo
both by the same author, konosuba is an excellent series, his last film is for me a masterpiece in its genre.
Although I did not like sentouin as much as konosuba, I have to admit that it manages to break out of the bonds of its genre, overall it was fun.
Meikyuu Black Company, Otome Game no Hametsu Flag (hamefura)
I'm waiting for these to be completed so I can't give my opinion without having seen them, but they look fun. Hamefura I'm waiting for its second season to watch them both.
"Which isekais have you watcht hat are the worst and why?" Basically the flagships of this genre, Sao and Slime. Boring fest.
SAO is definitely a horrible overrated work, with that I agree, but I find slime quite entertaining, although this second season is annoying me a bit.

I think probably one of the worst isekai anime I have seen is Isekai Cheat Magician.
It was cliche, boring, OP protagonist without any sense, even the girl who came with him who was supposed to have as much talent as him and was even smarter, did nothing, did not contribute anything and that bothered me, because the protagonist just for being the op of the series always had to save the day without any reason behind it.
And to make matters worse, the animation was horrible.
 
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GonnaKyleMyself

varishangout.com
What do you think of the genre?
-It has some of the highest highs of any genre w/ Konosuba, Mushoku, etc, but the lowest lows possible. Very few middle of the road isekais exist

Which isekais have you watched that are the worst and why?
-Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody, Smartphone in Another World, 100-man, Hyukuran no Haou are all dogshitass shows.

which isekais do you like the most or do you think are the best and why?
-Konosuba is the only isekai that lands comedy well. The rest are in its shadow, and can never live up to it. Mushoku Tensei seemed like the first isekai to take a lot of risks, likely because it was a much older property than the modern LNs that get adapted. It felt fresh, but also unafraid to just have some of its major characters just be unredeemable assholes, which makes them seem more real.

Do you think the genre is declining in popularity?
-definitely not. It hits its peak in 2016, but it will last a good few years still off the back of the shitstorm it caused.

How much longer do you think this isekai boom will last?
-once the popular isekais run out of adaptable story, or stop being made, the isekai trend will die out, as they carry the genre.

why do you think the genre is so popular?
-I can imagine that working 70 hours a week in a shitty office job in japan would make me want to die and get another chance too.
 

Narbray

varishangout.com
Regular
Death March
ooh I forgot about this one
that was horrible
I'm liking this one quite a lot, especially this second season, I don't think it's the best of best in the genre, but it has a good tendency to improve and that's good.
-Konosuba is the only isekai that lands comedy well. The rest are in its shadow, and can never live up to it. Mushoku Tensei seemed like the first isekai to take a lot of risks, likely because it was a much older property than the modern LNs that get adapted. It felt fresh, but also unafraid to just have some of its major characters just be unredeemable assholes, which makes them seem more real.
mmh mushoku tensei it was good but I think people overestimate it a little bit, I think the series has the narrative on its side but its first season was quite normal, I do expect a lot from this series in the future. I did not find the animation as surprising as everyone painted it at the time.
Do you think the genre is declining in popularity?
-definitely not. It hits its peak in 2016, but it will last a good few years still off the back of the shitstorm it caused.
once the popular isekais run out of adaptable story, or stop being made, the isekai trend will die out, as they carry the genre.
I think that little by little the genre is dropping a little bit
but I also think it will last a lot more years.
I can imagine that working 70 hours a week in a shitty office job in japan would make me want to die and get another chance too.
lol yeah, This, in addition to the fact that the writers themselves translate their own desires into these works without caring much about the real quality, and no one cares much about it, since the genre is popular and generates profits.

another very bad isekai to add to the list would be Arifureta :hinata-acid:
many people like this series, many say that the novel is good and that the adaptation is bad... I don't know about the novel but the anime is horrible, it started very well and it wasted all its potential. The animation was bad in many ways as well.
 

versvlees

varishangout.com
I think that little by little the genre is dropping a little bit
but I also think it will last a lot more years.

We are going to see the tail end of all the anime adaptations coming out. It takes time for adaptations to take form after all. Even if the source materials (LN/WN and Manga) have waned in popularity. Personally, I think the isekai genre is another fad just like the whole wave of (trapped) MMORPG stories we had a few years before.

Not gonna lie I really do enjoy isekais stories. Especially, the ones with villainesses (which is a rather popular sub genre). Though, I'm aware of the over saturation and understand why people get annoyed by them.
 

Narbray

varishangout.com
Regular
Not gonna lie I really do enjoy isekais stories. Especially, the ones with villainesses (which is a rather popular sub genre). Though, I'm aware of the over saturation and understand why people get annoyed by them.
there is no problem in enjoying isekai stories, as I said above, the problem is not the genre itself.
although i usually criticize isekai quite a lot i always find myself watching all the isekai garbage that comes out every season so i'm not one to talk. maybe
One cannot maintain a diet of fine foods, sometimes a bit of trash is good.
u are fucking rigth
a good food is very enjoyable after a long time of eating trash
...although too much trash is annoying.

I take this opportunity to leave another isekai that I found very bad.
Choujin Koukousei-tachi wa Isekai demo Yoyuu de Ikinuku you desu!
this series is beyond me
the series had a lot of nonsense and inconsistencies, the main characters are not necessarily OP but everything works bc yes, and I didn't like the main character at all. The arc of the guy with the fire spirit could have been a good arc... :hinata-acid:
 

Deliberate Zero

varishangout.com
although i usually criticize isekai quite a lot i always find myself watching all the isekai garbage that comes out every season so i'm not one to talk. maybe
That's probably the issue then. I remember in the early 2000s everything was a WW2 game, until everything turned into a CoD4 modern military game. Since I got sick of those quickly, my solution was to avoid anything that looked like either one of the things I disliked.
 

FunsLeaf

varishangout.com
Regular
I personally haven't been watching much anime these days. But what I do watch usually lacks a male protagonist: Hamefura, Slime 300, and Noukin. Such Anime are much more tolerable when there isn't a male lead that all the girls are trying to fuck all the time, and especially if the male lead is a soy boy who get embarrassed at the sight of a raw

That said I have read a whole bunch of isekai manga and that shit is like cocaine, addictive as hell and probably bad for me but it helps me cope with not having enough guns and ammo.

Ultimately, as long as there are cute anime girls coming out of these shitheaps then everything is alright.
 

Narbray

varishangout.com
Regular
Slime 300, and Noukin
oh
Slime Taoshite 300-nen, Shiranai Uchi ni Level Max ni Nattemashita right?
I'm watching this one it's funny
is quite similar to Noukin, but I'm liking this one more, besides having a better quality in animation.
That said I have read a whole bunch of isekai manga and that shit is like cocaine, addictive as hell and probably bad for me but it helps me cope with not having enough guns and ammo.

Ultimately, as long as there are cute anime girls coming out of these shitheaps then everything is alright.
I understand you :nana-thumb:
That's probably the issue then. I remember in the early 2000s everything was a WW2 game, until everything turned into a CoD4 modern military game. Since I got sick of those quickly, my solution was to avoid anything that looked like either one of the things I disliked.
Well, I don't dislike isekais per se, it's just that a lot of garbage comes out.
although it's usually pretty predictable when an isekai is going to be garbage and when it's not.


this is going to be very unpopular but it has to be said, diablo and its harem isekai is total garbage.
its first season was horrible, the second season started off really well and I reckoned it had potential, but it totally wasted it.
I am not an expert in the genre so I don't think I can recommend many series.
so I'm just going to keep saying bad isekais I've seen if anyone wants to debate about it.
 

PhantomXero1x

varishangout.com
Regular
I as a well don't really like the genre at all. And the only ones i do like are magic earth rayknight,spirted away,the cat returns and angel beats.

Its really just more or less the same story again and again.
 

Narbray

varishangout.com
Regular
I as a well don't really like the genre at all. And the only ones i do like are magic earth rayknight,spirted away,the cat returns and angel beats.
mmh I hadn't thought about it but angel beats does qualify as an isekai. :ohohoh:
well, I think you can give a chance to some of them, there are quite interesting and/or entertaining ones.


what do you guys think of the so called ´´inverted isekai``... or whatever it is called in English xD, you know works like Jahy-sama
we should take them into account in this thread?
there are few but some are quite entertaining
works like Hataraku maou-sama are very funny and have lost a lot of popularity over the years, it's good to know that after all this time it will have a second season.
 
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