Some fans can’t wait for the age of isekai to be over.
Summary:
Some of the most popular Winter 2024 anime are non-isekai fantasy series, which makes fans wonder if non-isekai fantasy is overtaking isekai once again.
They are all adaptations of older source material, which has nothing to do with the popularity of LN isekai adaptations.
Isekai anime are still here to stay for a while.
To many, fantasy in anime has become synonymous with isekai — or at least, the first assumption about a fantasy series would be it also being isekai.
However, the last few seasons seem to be backtracking on this trend: more and more non-isekai fantasy series are hitting the mainstream audience. Is it an indication of the isekai genre’s downfall, and are non-isekai fantasy anime coming back?
Winter 2024 has a few very popular fantasy anime that aren’t isekai
If you look at this season, we have Delicious in Dungeon (Dungeon Meshi), Solo Leveling (Ore dake Level Up na Ken), and Chained Soldier (Mato Seihei no Slave). From last season, Frieren: Beyond Journey's End (Sousou no Frieren) is still airing, which is arguably the most popular anime airing right now — and definitely the most well-received one.
All these series would seem to indicate that the most popular fantasy anime are not isekai nowadays.
However, it’s not that simple. All of these are adaptations of source material that is much older than them — for Solo Leveling and Delicious in Dungeon, the source is over 10 years old and is already over. These don’t have much to do with the isekai boom of recent years.
This season still has many isekai anime
The isekai boom is also characterized by having many series that borrow elements from games, such as the level system. Solo Leveling is like that, and while it is not an isekai, it’s definitely an indicator that these kinds of settings are still popular.
Moreover, despite it being based on a webtoon, the original form of Solo Leveling is a web novel — which is also true for many modern isekai anime. Other aforementioned anime are adapted from manga, which doesn’t have much to do with the overabundance of isekai series which are usually adapted from light and web novels.
Just this season, we have 9 isekai anime, only one of which — Tales of Wedding Rings (Kekkon Yubiwa Monogatari) — is not a light novel adaptation. Most of the rest are uniform to the genre and follow standard tropes.
Even series that aren’t isekai feel like they are, as in the case of The Strongest Tank's Labyrinth Raids -A Tank with a Rare 9999 Resistance Skill Got Kicked from the Hero's Party-.
Isekai series aren’t on a downtick
Overall, isekai anime are still definitely popular, and outside of a few outliers, fantasy anime still mostly follow their tropes even if they aren’t necessarily part of the genre. It seems like this trend is going to stay here for a while, whether you like it or not.
Some fans can’t wait for the age of isekai to be over.
Summary:
Some of the most popular Winter 2024 anime are non-isekai fantasy series, which makes fans wonder if non-isekai fantasy is overtaking isekai once again.
They are all adaptations of older source material, which has nothing to do with the popularity of LN isekai adaptations.
Isekai anime are still here to stay for a while.
To many, fantasy in anime has become synonymous with isekai — or at least, the first assumption about a fantasy series would be it also being isekai.
However, the last few seasons seem to be backtracking on this trend: more and more non-isekai fantasy series are hitting the mainstream audience. Is it an indication of the isekai genre’s downfall, and are non-isekai fantasy anime coming back?
Winter 2024 has a few very popular fantasy anime that aren’t isekai
If you look at this season, we have Delicious in Dungeon (Dungeon Meshi), Solo Leveling (Ore dake Level Up na Ken), and Chained Soldier (Mato Seihei no Slave). From last season, Frieren: Beyond Journey's End (Sousou no Frieren) is still airing, which is arguably the most popular anime airing right now — and definitely the most well-received one.
All these series would seem to indicate that the most popular fantasy anime are not isekai nowadays.
However, it’s not that simple. All of these are adaptations of source material that is much older than them — for Solo Leveling and Delicious in Dungeon, the source is over 10 years old and is already over. These don’t have much to do with the isekai boom of recent years.
This season still has many isekai anime
The isekai boom is also characterized by having many series that borrow elements from games, such as the level system. Solo Leveling is like that, and while it is not an isekai, it’s definitely an indicator that these kinds of settings are still popular.
Moreover, despite it being based on a webtoon, the original form of Solo Leveling is a web novel — which is also true for many modern isekai anime. Other aforementioned anime are adapted from manga, which doesn’t have much to do with the overabundance of isekai series which are usually adapted from light and web novels.
Just this season, we have 9 isekai anime, only one of which — Tales of Wedding Rings (Kekkon Yubiwa Monogatari) — is not a light novel adaptation. Most of the rest are uniform to the genre and follow standard tropes.
Even series that aren’t isekai feel like they are, as in the case of The Strongest Tank's Labyrinth Raids -A Tank with a Rare 9999 Resistance Skill Got Kicked from the Hero's Party-.
Isekai series aren’t on a downtick
Overall, isekai anime are still definitely popular, and outside of a few outliers, fantasy anime still mostly follow their tropes even if they aren’t necessarily part of the genre. It seems like this trend is going to stay here for a while, whether you like it or not.
