And in both, it almost never feels like the characters actually want to go home.
Summary:
The isekai genre can mostly be split into two types — “transported into another world” and “reincarnated in another world.”
The rise of popularity of the latter type raises concerns about the audience.
Isekai used to be about the characters wanting to go home.
Both types often suffer from the same issues.
The isekai genre has been incredibly popular during recent years. While it often gets criticized for being generic escapist fantasy, the sheer number of isekai anime that are made every season suggests that it still has a very huge following.
Of course, isekai, like every other genre, has its own subgenres. While you can pinpoint certain trends like villainess series, there are actually two fundamental types of isekai series which differ significantly from each other. The difference between the two is the way the main character is transported to another world.
Being transported to another world
The first is a more classic way of being summoned, transported, sucked into a portal or otherwise ending in another world (likely, with your body and memory intact).
This has actually been the norm for isekai since the very conception of the genre — which predates anime as a medium. The first isekai anime was Aura Battler Dunbine (Seisenshi Dunbine), where the protagonist was summoned into another world.
Over the years, most isekai anime actually followed this format. Series like Mysterious Play (Fushigi Yuugi) and The Vision of Escaflowne (Tenkuu no Escaflowne) are also among the early examples of the genre.
The popularization of isekai has spawned many different variations of the trope. In No Game No Life, for example, the protagonists are transported to another world via a game they play.
In Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- (Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu), Subaru just somehow ends up there after going for groceries, without any clear understanding of what happened. And in Overlord, the main character wakes up in the body of his in-game persona.
Have you ever seen anime where characters are transported to another world?
Reincarnation
The other type of isekai is reincarnation series — which usually start with the main character dying in the real world to be reborn in a different one. Perhaps the most notorious one recently is Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation (Mushoku Tensei: Isekai Ittara Honki Dasu), although its source material goes back to 2012.
Just like Mushoku Tensei, these series often start with the main character being reborn as a baby. Examples of that are Ascendance of a Bookworm (Honzuki no Gekokujou: Shisho ni Naru Tame ni wa Shudan wo Erandeiraremasen) and The Faraway Paladin (Saihate no Paladin).
Occasionally, the reincarnation part has the main character reincarnate not as a human, but as an animal, monster or even an inanimate object.
Re:Monster, which is airing next season, is often mentioned as one of the earlier examples of that in light novels and web novels. That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime (Tensei shitara Slime Datta Ken) is perhaps the most famous one that was already adapted into anime.
Which type of isekai anime do you prefer?
Unusual cases
There are, of course, series that break this classification. For example, KonoSuba: God's Blessing on This Wonderful World! (Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku wo!) has the main character die — but he ends up in another world as himself anyway. That said, KonoSuba is mostly a parody.
This is concerning
The rise of popularity of isekai — and more specifically, reincarnation anime — actually raises huge concerns about the audience.
The point of many isekai series is escapism, and the fact that these series are popular suggests that many people are deeply unsatisfied with their lives. There are even isekai anime where the main character dies from overwork, which is a huge issue in Japan.
Before the current boom of isekai, the genre often involved the characters trying to get back home (with limited success). Now, this is barely a thing, and it’s something that is completely impossible in reincarnation anime. Not that fans are complaining — they feel that the other world is more suited for the characters anyway.
Issues with isekai
Both of these subtypes of isekai often suffer from the same issues. The main one is that many series use generic settings, based on European fantasy, RPGs, or a mix of these. Moreover, they get criticized for being essentially power fantasies, which are often seen as a lazy form of writing.
The other issue is that the isekai part is barely relevant to many of these series. Since the characters don’t want to return home anymore, what’s the point of them being from another world? There are better ways to introduce a character who doesn’t know the local customs (for example, them being a foreigner).
As for reincarnation, it’s the same. The currently airing The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick Up Trash (Saijaku Tamer wa Gomi Hiroi no Tabi wo Hajimemashita) might be a good series, but it doesn’t need to be an isekai. The aforementioned The Faraway Paladin is also like that.
Arguably, many of these series forego isekai part altogether already. That’s why they feel like isekai and follow many of these tropes, but aren’t actually a part of the genre.
And, of course, these series can also feature reincarnation — an example like that is The Misfit of Demon King Academy (Maou Gakuin no Futekigousha: Shijou Saikyou no Maou no Shiso, Tensei shite Shison-tachi no Gakkou e Kayou).
Many anime series would be better without the Isekai part?
And in both, it almost never feels like the characters actually want to go home.
Summary:
The isekai genre can mostly be split into two types — “transported into another world” and “reincarnated in another world.”
The rise of popularity of the latter type raises concerns about the audience.
Isekai used to be about the characters wanting to go home.
Both types often suffer from the same issues.
The isekai genre has been incredibly popular during recent years. While it often gets criticized for being generic escapist fantasy, the sheer number of isekai anime that are made every season suggests that it still has a very huge following.
Of course, isekai, like every other genre, has its own subgenres. While you can pinpoint certain trends like villainess series, there are actually two fundamental types of isekai series which differ significantly from each other. The difference between the two is the way the main character is transported to another world.
Being transported to another world
The first is a more classic way of being summoned, transported, sucked into a portal or otherwise ending in another world (likely, with your body and memory intact).
This has actually been the norm for isekai since the very conception of the genre — which predates anime as a medium. The first isekai anime was Aura Battler Dunbine (Seisenshi Dunbine), where the protagonist was summoned into another world.
Over the years, most isekai anime actually followed this format. Series like Mysterious Play (Fushigi Yuugi) and The Vision of Escaflowne (Tenkuu no Escaflowne) are also among the early examples of the genre.
The popularization of isekai has spawned many different variations of the trope. In No Game No Life, for example, the protagonists are transported to another world via a game they play.
In Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- (Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu), Subaru just somehow ends up there after going for groceries, without any clear understanding of what happened. And in Overlord, the main character wakes up in the body of his in-game persona.
Have you ever seen anime where characters are transported to another world?
Reincarnation
The other type of isekai is reincarnation series — which usually start with the main character dying in the real world to be reborn in a different one. Perhaps the most notorious one recently is Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation (Mushoku Tensei: Isekai Ittara Honki Dasu), although its source material goes back to 2012.
Just like Mushoku Tensei, these series often start with the main character being reborn as a baby. Examples of that are Ascendance of a Bookworm (Honzuki no Gekokujou: Shisho ni Naru Tame ni wa Shudan wo Erandeiraremasen) and The Faraway Paladin (Saihate no Paladin).
Occasionally, the reincarnation part has the main character reincarnate not as a human, but as an animal, monster or even an inanimate object.
Re:Monster, which is airing next season, is often mentioned as one of the earlier examples of that in light novels and web novels. That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime (Tensei shitara Slime Datta Ken) is perhaps the most famous one that was already adapted into anime.
Which type of isekai anime do you prefer?
Unusual cases
There are, of course, series that break this classification. For example, KonoSuba: God's Blessing on This Wonderful World! (Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku wo!) has the main character die — but he ends up in another world as himself anyway. That said, KonoSuba is mostly a parody.
This is concerning
The rise of popularity of isekai — and more specifically, reincarnation anime — actually raises huge concerns about the audience.
The point of many isekai series is escapism, and the fact that these series are popular suggests that many people are deeply unsatisfied with their lives. There are even isekai anime where the main character dies from overwork, which is a huge issue in Japan.
Before the current boom of isekai, the genre often involved the characters trying to get back home (with limited success). Now, this is barely a thing, and it’s something that is completely impossible in reincarnation anime. Not that fans are complaining — they feel that the other world is more suited for the characters anyway.
Issues with isekai
Both of these subtypes of isekai often suffer from the same issues. The main one is that many series use generic settings, based on European fantasy, RPGs, or a mix of these. Moreover, they get criticized for being essentially power fantasies, which are often seen as a lazy form of writing.
The other issue is that the isekai part is barely relevant to many of these series. Since the characters don’t want to return home anymore, what’s the point of them being from another world? There are better ways to introduce a character who doesn’t know the local customs (for example, them being a foreigner).
As for reincarnation, it’s the same. The currently airing The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick Up Trash (Saijaku Tamer wa Gomi Hiroi no Tabi wo Hajimemashita) might be a good series, but it doesn’t need to be an isekai. The aforementioned The Faraway Paladin is also like that.
Arguably, many of these series forego isekai part altogether already. That’s why they feel like isekai and follow many of these tropes, but aren’t actually a part of the genre.
And, of course, these series can also feature reincarnation — an example like that is The Misfit of Demon King Academy (Maou Gakuin no Futekigousha: Shijou Saikyou no Maou no Shiso, Tensei shite Shison-tachi no Gakkou e Kayou).
Many anime series would be better without the Isekai part?
