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Isekai (Japanese: 異世界, transl. "different world") is the subgenre of Japanese light novels, manga, anime, and video games. Isekai works revolve around a normal person from Earth being transported to, reborn, or trapped in a parallel universe. Often, this universe already exists in the protagonist's world as a fictional universe, but it may also be unknown to them, as is the case with Sonic X. The new universe can be an entirely different world where only the protagonist has any memory of their former life, as in Saga of Tanya the Evil, or one that they reincarnate in. It may also be one where a formerly virtual world turns into a real one, such as in Log Horizon and Overlord.

Characteristics

The subgenre can be divided into two types "transition into another world" (異世界転移, isekai ten’i) and "reincarnation into another world" (異世界転生, isekai tensei).[1] The former, where the protagonist, gets transported to another world (e.g. by traveling into it, being summoned into it, or taking possession of another being)[1], was more common in earlier works. Whereas the latter, where the protagonist dies in their original world and is then reborn in another world, became more common in newer works.

In some works the person being transported is a NEET, shut-in, or gamer (as in No Game No Life), who in the new fantasy world, are now are able to succeed through use of their comparatively unimportant-in-real-life genre knowledge or skills, or they may have special skills or equipment, such as a game interface only they can access.[2][3] Their power can range from tremendous magical abilities surpassing anyone else, as in In Another World with My Smartphone,[2] to relatively weak, as in Re:Zero, where the protagonist does not gain any special power beyond the ability to survive death in a type of temporal loop.[4]

While the protagonist of an isekai work is usually a "chosen hero", there have been a large number of alternative takes on the concept. In Drifters, the people entering the fantasy world are historical generals and other warriors who are more brutal than the inhabitants of the world themselves,[5] and in That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime, where the protagonist starts as a bloblike monster with special abilities rather than a human.[6] Some stories involve people being reincarnated as unusual inanimate objects, like a magical onsen.[7] Others, known as "reverse isekai", follow beings from a fantasy universe who have been reincarnated on modern-day Earth, including the anime Laidbackers.[8]

History

The concept has origins in ancient Japanese literature, particularly the story of Urashima Tarō, a widely known folk tale in Japan that isekai writers grew up with. It is about the fisherman Urashima Tarō, who saves a turtle and is brought to a wondrous undersea kingdom, but the story has a twist: after spending what he believed to be four to five days there, he returns to his home village only to find himself 300 years in the future.[9] The folk tale was adapted into one of the earliest anime films, Seitaro Kitayama's Urashima Tarō, in 1918.[10] Although the term "isekai" to describe the genre is relatively modern in usage, it strongly resembles famous portal fantasy stories from English literature, including the novels Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865), The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900), Peter Pan (1902) and The Chronicles of Narnia (1950).[9]

Early anime and manga titles that could be classified as isekai include Aura Battler Dunbine (1983 debut),[11] Fushigi Yûgi (1992 debut) and El-Hazard (1995 debut), in which the protagonists stayed similar to their original appearance upon entering a different world.[2] Other 1990s titles identified as isekai include the novel and anime series The Twelve Kingdoms (1992 debut) and Magic Knight Rayearth (1993 debut).[12] The anime film Spirited Away (2002) was the first world-wide known isekai anime film, although the term "isekai" was not commonly used at the time.

The .hack franchise (2002 debut) was one of the first to present the concept of isekai as an actual virtual world, with Sword Art Online (also 2002 debut) following in its footsteps.[13] A popular isekai light novel and anime series in the 2000s was Zero no Tsukaima, where the male lead Saito is from modern Japan and is summoned to a fantasy world by the female lead Louise.[14]

Later titles such as Knight's & Magic (2010 debut) and The Saga of Tanya the Evil (2013 debut) involved their protagonists dying and being reincarnated in a different world.[2][15]

The genre eventually became so popular that in 2016, a Japanese short story contest banned any isekai entries.[16] The publisher Kadokawa banned isekai stories as well in their own anime/manga-style novel contest in 2017.[17]

Isekai series

In 2017, Geode conducted a poll in Japan asking people to name their favourite isekai anime. The top ten were Spirited Away, Pop in Q, Sword Art Online, Magic Knight Rayearth, Re:Zero, The Twelve Kingdoms, KonoSuba, World Trigger, Kyo Kara Maoh! and Gate.[12]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "「異世界転生」「異世界転移」のキーワード設定に関して". Shōsetsuka ni Narou (in Japanese). Retrieved 2019-06-02.
  2. ^ a b c d "Hacking the Isekai: Make Your Parallel World Work for You". Crunchyroll. Archived from the original on 2018-03-20. Retrieved 2018-03-20. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  3. ^ "Here's What Would Really Happen If You Were Sent Into a Fantasy World". Anime. Comicbook.com. Archived from the original on 2018-03-20. Retrieved 2018-03-20. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  4. ^ "'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". The Inquisitr. 2016-12-28. Archived from the original on 2018-03-20. Retrieved 2018-03-20. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  5. ^ "FEATURE: Head Space - "Drifters" - An Isekai Gone Wrong". Crunchyroll. Archived from the original on 2018-03-20. Retrieved 2018-03-20. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  6. ^ "'Tensei Shitara Slime Datta Ken' Anime In 2018 Based On 'That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime' Manga-Novel". The Inquisitr. 2018-03-07. Archived from the original on 2018-03-20. Retrieved 2018-03-20. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  7. ^ "Japanese novel stars boy reincarnated as hot spring that beautiful women want to get inside of". SoraNews24. 2017-02-06. Archived from the original on 2018-03-21. Retrieved 2018-03-21. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  8. ^ Chapman, Paul. "Heroes Take it Easy in LAIDBACKERS Original Anime Theatrical Film". Crunchyroll. Retrieved 2019-03-19.
  9. ^ a b "Why Are There So Many Parallel World Anime?". Anime News Network. January 31, 2017. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
  10. ^ "Two Nine-Decade-Old Anime Films Discovered (Updated)". Anime News Network. 2008-03-27. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
  11. ^ Scott (2019-03-01). "(Mecha March) Aura Battler Dunbine – The First Japanese Isekai Story". Mechanical Anime Reviews. Retrieved 2019-06-26.
  12. ^ a b Amaam, Baam (18 April 2018). "The 15 Greatest Isekai Anime as Ranked by Japan". GoBoiano. Retrieved 10 February 2019.
  13. ^ Kamen, Matt (2017-10-02). "Anime: the 10 must-watch films and TV shows for video game lovers". the Guardian. Archived from the original on 2018-03-20. Retrieved 2018-03-20. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  14. ^ "10 Anime Like Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?". MANGA.TOKYO. 12 May 2018.
  15. ^ "Knight's & Magic| MANGA.TOKYO". MANGA.TOKYO. Archived from the original on 2018-09-16. Retrieved 2018-07-23. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  16. ^ "Short Story Contest Bans 'Traveling to an Alternate World' Fantasy". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on 2018-03-20. Retrieved 2018-03-20. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  17. ^ "Anime-style novel contest in Japan bans alternate reality stories and teen protagonists". SoraNews24. 2017-05-22. Archived from the original on 2018-03-21. Retrieved 2018-03-21. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
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