I went yesterday to look at the lineup of new releases in manga and anime and roughly a quarter of the titles were isekai. Some of which don't even need to be isekai to work as stories, and only are isekai because of escapism on the part of the mangaka.
Quarter is not that much. That means there is more that is not isekai. So whats the issue?
It sounds here that you are complaining that isekai even exists. There are people who want that stuff. Leave them to it. Things not isekai are being made and you are not forced to read isekai.
It sounds here that you are complaining that isekai even exists.
Somewhat, yes.
There's something perversely wrong about isekai as a genre. I think it belies a loss of both imagination and optimism, that we can't merely have a setting, that it must be contextualized in relation to our world.
I hate it in the same way that I hate how Battlestar Galactica ended in the present. It's like they took "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away" and then felt obliged to say "no, really, see?".
And sure, isekai, lots of it is same tropes over and over again. I agree with you there. But that doesn't mean it has no right to exist if people like it and want it.
It just has to not be the only thing around. And it isn't just by your own post.
Look, isekai is just a trend just like how moe was a trend and it seemed like everything was moe but eventually anime and manga moved on.
I'm not disagreeing on that. I'm just saying that's pretty normal for the industry.
I was there in the 00s when every god damned thing was trying to be the next slice of life hit, where the escapism was the mangaka wanted his harem of cute girls that all loved his generic protag.
Many of which had interesting ideas somewhere, but attached the cliche parts anyway. One of those interesting ones was Oreimo, which became its own genre of "slice of life harem, but incest is the center."
I'm fine with isekai stories. They have purpose, they have a role in the "ecosystem" of storytelling.
But purpose is the keyword there. They need one. And not just tangentially. Like, to use the Quartet:
Overlord doesn't need to be an Isekai, or at least, a double-isekai. Re:Zero doesn't need to be an isekai. KonoSuba does need to be an isekai. Youjo Senki does need to be an isekai. You can have a tale of a misplaced lichlord without needing him to be a teenage gamer, he was isekai'd twice after all. You can have a hopeless, reviving, witch-"blessed" romantic without needing ten introductory seconds of "so I was at a convenience store". But Kazuma uses his Earthly knowledge to his advantage, and the fact others also isekai'd there shaped literally the entire setting from ancient history to present. And Tanya uses Earthly knowledge all the time, her application of modern morals in war is why she has the title "The Evil".
Digimon the isekai makes sense. There are NO humans there, their existence disrupts the world in notable ways. Inuyasha the isekai makes sense, both worlds play active roles in the plot. Hamefura: The entire plot is made by the MC trying to actively derail that very plot.
On the other extremes... Interspecies Reviewers is technically an isekai anime. But no named character is an isekai'd character, they just exist in the background lore. The sole reason it's an isekai, is to mock our world. Not really needed, but it is a comedy series so leniency. And the other opposite extreme, some people call Goblin Slayer an isekai anime. It has the walled town with the adventuring guild and the river going two-thirds past center through it. Characters have random OP powers, and arbitrary guild ranks, and the MC is powerful because he does SCIENCE! ...Not an isekai. Didn't need to be. Fits the mould PERFECTLY... And isn't. Wonderful. Amazing. Deserves more viewers just for that trait alone.
I went yesterday to look at the lineup of new releases in manga and anime and roughly a quarter of the titles were isekai. Some of which don't even need to be isekai to work as stories, and only are isekai because of escapism on the part of the mangaka.
Quarter is not that much. That means there is more that is not isekai. So whats the issue?
It sounds here that you are complaining that isekai even exists. There are people who want that stuff. Leave them to it. Things not isekai are being made and you are not forced to read isekai.
Somewhat, yes.
There's something perversely wrong about isekai as a genre. I think it belies a loss of both imagination and optimism, that we can't merely have a setting, that it must be contextualized in relation to our world.
I hate it in the same way that I hate how Battlestar Galactica ended in the present. It's like they took "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away" and then felt obliged to say "no, really, see?".
Thats your problem then more then isekai.
And sure, isekai, lots of it is same tropes over and over again. I agree with you there. But that doesn't mean it has no right to exist if people like it and want it.
It just has to not be the only thing around. And it isn't just by your own post.
Look, isekai is just a trend just like how moe was a trend and it seemed like everything was moe but eventually anime and manga moved on.
I'm not disagreeing on that. I'm just saying that's pretty normal for the industry.
I was there in the 00s when every god damned thing was trying to be the next slice of life hit, where the escapism was the mangaka wanted his harem of cute girls that all loved his generic protag.
Many of which had interesting ideas somewhere, but attached the cliche parts anyway. One of those interesting ones was Oreimo, which became its own genre of "slice of life harem, but incest is the center."
I'm fine with isekai stories. They have purpose, they have a role in the "ecosystem" of storytelling.
But purpose is the keyword there. They need one. And not just tangentially. Like, to use the Quartet:
Overlord doesn't need to be an Isekai, or at least, a double-isekai. Re:Zero doesn't need to be an isekai. KonoSuba does need to be an isekai. Youjo Senki does need to be an isekai. You can have a tale of a misplaced lichlord without needing him to be a teenage gamer, he was isekai'd twice after all. You can have a hopeless, reviving, witch-"blessed" romantic without needing ten introductory seconds of "so I was at a convenience store". But Kazuma uses his Earthly knowledge to his advantage, and the fact others also isekai'd there shaped literally the entire setting from ancient history to present. And Tanya uses Earthly knowledge all the time, her application of modern morals in war is why she has the title "The Evil".
Digimon the isekai makes sense. There are NO humans there, their existence disrupts the world in notable ways. Inuyasha the isekai makes sense, both worlds play active roles in the plot. Hamefura: The entire plot is made by the MC trying to actively derail that very plot.
On the other extremes... Interspecies Reviewers is technically an isekai anime. But no named character is an isekai'd character, they just exist in the background lore. The sole reason it's an isekai, is to mock our world. Not really needed, but it is a comedy series so leniency. And the other opposite extreme, some people call Goblin Slayer an isekai anime. It has the walled town with the adventuring guild and the river going two-thirds past center through it. Characters have random OP powers, and arbitrary guild ranks, and the MC is powerful because he does SCIENCE! ...Not an isekai. Didn't need to be. Fits the mould PERFECTLY... And isn't. Wonderful. Amazing. Deserves more viewers just for that trait alone.