With it usually being recommended as a way to get into the genre, we occasionally forget that it may not be part of the genre itself.
Summary:
The isekai genre is more popular than ever, but one of its presumed classics, Sword Art Online, might not actually belong to it.
Technically, the SAO characters just play the game and are not transported to a different world.
Whether SAO is an isekai or not doesn’t matter because of how much it influenced the modern view of the genre.
Isekai is one of the most popular genres these days. It makes sense: these series are usually very easy to get into, and they allow you to indulge in completely fantastical scenarios that (usually) don’t require much thought. Escapism like that is not bad per se, however, these anime occasionally get criticized for being “cheap wish-fulfillment”, a notion that can be argued both for and against. One of the series that seems to get the most critique nowadays is Sword Art Online, however, there is an important question here: is Sword Art Online really an isekai?
SAO is not actually about being transported to another world
At first glance, the question doesn’t even make sense. Like, isekai literally means “different world”, SAO takes place in the game world, of course it is an isekai! However, here is where it gets tricky. Usually, isekai anime feature the characters being somehow transported, summoned or reincarnated into the other world (which may or may not be a game world).
In this sense, SAO might not actually count as isekai: while Kirito is inside the game (and in S1 and Alicization, he is actually stuck there for extended periods of time), he is not transported there. The real world still exists in the story and plays a huge part, which is not something you usually see in isekai series.
Is that the only way to define isekai?
There is no strict definition of isekai, however. People have argued about the semantics of the term for as long as it existed. It is usually agreed that the first isekai anime is Aura Battler Dunbine (Seisenshi Dunbine), but the format and the concept of being transported into another world was radically different back then. SAO itself takes heavy inspiration from .hack series, which also featured the characters being stuck inside the game for a prolonged period of time. If .hack//Sign gets cited for being one of the first fantasy game-inspired modern isekai, it would make sense to count SAO as one as well.
The answer is irrelevant
Ultimately, whether SAO is an isekai or not doesn’t actually matter. Regardless of the answer, one thing is undeniable: it inspired many light novels, manga and anime that came after, and tropes it popularized became standardized isekai tropes. It influenced the genre, practically defining the way we see it now — outside of its premise. And while it may, indeed, not be a real isekai, that does not add to or detract from the show in the slightest.
With it usually being recommended as a way to get into the genre, we occasionally forget that it may not be part of the genre itself.
Summary:
The isekai genre is more popular than ever, but one of its presumed classics, Sword Art Online, might not actually belong to it.
Technically, the SAO characters just play the game and are not transported to a different world.
Whether SAO is an isekai or not doesn’t matter because of how much it influenced the modern view of the genre.
Isekai is one of the most popular genres these days. It makes sense: these series are usually very easy to get into, and they allow you to indulge in completely fantastical scenarios that (usually) don’t require much thought. Escapism like that is not bad per se, however, these anime occasionally get criticized for being “cheap wish-fulfillment”, a notion that can be argued both for and against. One of the series that seems to get the most critique nowadays is Sword Art Online, however, there is an important question here: is Sword Art Online really an isekai?
SAO is not actually about being transported to another world
At first glance, the question doesn’t even make sense. Like, isekai literally means “different world”, SAO takes place in the game world, of course it is an isekai! However, here is where it gets tricky. Usually, isekai anime feature the characters being somehow transported, summoned or reincarnated into the other world (which may or may not be a game world).
In this sense, SAO might not actually count as isekai: while Kirito is inside the game (and in S1 and Alicization, he is actually stuck there for extended periods of time), he is not transported there. The real world still exists in the story and plays a huge part, which is not something you usually see in isekai series.
Is that the only way to define isekai?
There is no strict definition of isekai, however. People have argued about the semantics of the term for as long as it existed. It is usually agreed that the first isekai anime is Aura Battler Dunbine (Seisenshi Dunbine), but the format and the concept of being transported into another world was radically different back then. SAO itself takes heavy inspiration from .hack series, which also featured the characters being stuck inside the game for a prolonged period of time. If .hack//Sign gets cited for being one of the first fantasy game-inspired modern isekai, it would make sense to count SAO as one as well.
The answer is irrelevant
Ultimately, whether SAO is an isekai or not doesn’t actually matter. Regardless of the answer, one thing is undeniable: it inspired many light novels, manga and anime that came after, and tropes it popularized became standardized isekai tropes. It influenced the genre, practically defining the way we see it now — outside of its premise. And while it may, indeed, not be a real isekai, that does not add to or detract from the show in the slightest.
