Isekai

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Isekai ( Japanese 異 世界 , in German about "Other World" ) is a subgenre of Japanese fantasy - light novels , mangas , anime and video games , in which a normal character from the real world is transported or reborn in a fantasy world or a parallel universe .

history

Japan

The concept of the Isekai genre goes back to the work Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll published in 1865 . Other western works also take up this concept, such as Peter Pan , The Chronicles of Narnia , The Neverending Story or The Wizard of Oz , which are viewed as western examples of the genre. Since then, this concept has been further worked on.

The Japanese web novel website Shōsetsuka ni Narō, on which many newer Isekai works have their origin, before they are revised by publishers as light novels and then manga and anime, differentiates between the two categories isekai ten'i ( 異 世界 転 移 'transition into one other world ' ) and isekai tensei ( 異 世界 転 生 ' rebirth / reincarnation in another world ' ).

The former was common in early Japanese titles that can be classified into the genre, such as El Hazard and Fushigi Yuugi , in which the protagonists were transported alive into the parallel world. In later works after the turn of the millennium, such as Knight's and Magic or Saga of Tanya the Evil , the protagonists died in the real world and were reborn in a parallel universe. With Spirited Away , one of the world's most successful anime films is also assigned to the genre.

Works like Inuyasha and The Vision of Escaflowne took up this concept of traveling between reality and a parallel world and managed to create a bond between the audience and the characters. In the years shortly after the turn of the millennium, there were hardly any publications in this genre, so this was considered dead for a long time.

The .hack franchise was one of the first works to take up the concept of the Isekai as a virtual world, a little later Sword Art Online (SAO) followed this example and expanded it. Since the launch of Sword Art Online (SAO), the genre has exploded with regular releases and even the creation of the Isekai subgenre Trapped in MMO . Franchises like Log Horizon or Overlord were seen in phases as an alternative to Sword Art Online because of their different approach to the genre . In Recovery of an MMO Junkie , the virtual world gradually became a sideline, reversing the very concept of the genre.

Shows like Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku o! , Re: Zero - Starting Life in Another World and In Another World with My Smartphone take up video game influences such as different classes, level systems, the sudden activation of new skills or a new beginning after death, whereby these elements follow the mechanics of typical role-playing games.

In 2016, when the genre was at its most popular, an organizer of a short story competition banned all Isekai works. The publisher Kadokawa also banned this genre in its light novel competition the following year.

In April 2019, the anime Isekai Quartet was broadcast, parodying the genre and well-known representatives such as KonoSuba , Re: Zero , Overlord and Saga of Tanya the Evil .

South Korea

In South Korea , the literary genre exists Isegye (이 세계), which in recent years by various Manhwas and Webromane pick up on the same themes as Isekai, could gain popularity. Many works have since been published outside of South Korea and have achieved a level of awareness similar to Japanese Isekai manga and anime series.

Characteristic

The first works that can be assigned to the Isekai genre featured female main characters, such as Fushigi Yuugi or The Vision of Escaflowne from the 1990s. This changed in the early 2010s and the protagonists were more of the male sex. The characters who are transported or reborn in a parallel universe have since been mostly Hikikomori , NEETs , Otakus or gamers who regard the new world as a wish-fulfillment. In this they can - in contrast to life in reality - be successful through their video game experience. Often video game worlds are also used as a theme for a parallel world (e.g. Log Horizon or Sword Art Online ). Newer works also aim at the fulfillment of sexual pleasure, so that many newer Isekai works collide with other genres such as the harem and etchi . Isekai anime has grown in popularity in recent years and has evolved from being a female shōjo target group in the 1990s to being a male shōnen target group.

The protagonists' powers range from devastating magical abilities as in In Another World with My Smartphone to very weak as in Re: Zero - Starting Life in Another World , in which the protagonist has no special power other than the ability to manipulate death through time to survive.

Although the protagonist in Isekai works is usually considered to be the “chosen hero”, works like Drifters or That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime overturned this characteristic of the genre. In Drifters , historical generals and other warriors who are more brutal than the inhabitants of the parallel world travel into the same, while the protagonist in That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime is reborn as a blob-like monster with slightly different abilities than a normal person. In other works, the protagonists also become "material" again as inanimate objects.

criticism

Criticism of the genre is that there is often a lack of ideas, ingenuity and creativity, as many elements are repeated and more emphasis is placed on fan service , current hypes and what has already been tried and tested for good sales figures, instead of placing more emphasis on quality and innovation. Differences to other works are sometimes only minor or even absurd.

Since the Internet makes it possible to publish a large number of works with little production effort, the mass also leads to a decline in quality and inconsistencies and logic errors in the fictional world. This is then often reflected in the design of the parallel world and characters. On the other hand, many ideas and scenarios remain unused.

Works (selection)

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ 「異 世界 転 生」 「異 世界 転 移」 の キ ー ワ ー ド 設定 設定 に 関 し て . In: Shosetsuka ni Narou. Retrieved June 2, 2019 (Japanese).
  2. ^ Mike Toole: Old School Isekai. In: Anime News Network. January 21, 2019, accessed on January 22, 2019 .
  3. ↑ a b c Rachael Lefler: Thoughts on the History of the Isekai Genre. The ReelRundown, November 12, 2018, accessed December 26, 2018 .
  4. ↑ Matt Kamen: Anime: the 10 must-watch films and TV shows for video game lovers. The Guardian , October 2, 2017, accessed December 26, 2018 .
  5. ↑ a b Sebastian Wienecke. February 26, 2018, accessed December 26, 2018 .
  6. ^ "Short Story Contest Bans 'Traveling to an Alternate World' Fantasy". Anime News Network, accessed December 26, 2018 .
  7. ^ "Anime-style novel contest in Japan bans alternate reality stories and teen protagonists". SoraNews24.com, May 22, 2017, accessed December 26, 2018 .
  8. ↑ Chang Kim: Why Online Mobile Publishing Is the Future. Publishersweekly.com, November 22, 2019, accessed December 30, 2019 .
  9. ↑ Nick Valdez: Here's What Would Really Happen If You Were Sent Into a Fantasy World. Comicbook.com, November 21, 2017, accessed December 26, 2018 .
  10. ↑ a b c The Isekai phenomenon is both a curse and a blessing. In: Sumikai. December 22, 2018, accessed June 25, 2019 (German).
  11. ↑ Patrick Frye: 'Re: ZERO - Starting Life In Another World - Death Or Kiss' Official Trailer For Visual Novel Released: Upcoming PS4 And PS Vita Game's Screenshots Revealed. Inquisitr, December 28, 2016, accessed December 26, 2018 .
  12. ↑ Peter Fobian: FEATURE: Head Space - "Drifters" - An Isekai Gone Wrong. Crunchyroll, December 22, 2016; accessed December 26, 2018 .
  13. ↑ "'Tensei Shitara Slime Datta Ken' Anime In 2018 Based On 'That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime' Manga-Novel". Inquisitr, March 7, 2018, accessed December 26, 2018 .
  14. ↑ "Japanese novel stars boy reincarnated as hot spring that beautiful women want to get inside of". SoraNews24.com, February 6, 2017, accessed December 26, 2018 .