Isekai has become a very popular genre in Japanese anime. If you like anime, you probably already know everything there is to know about it. However, if you’re new to anime or simply don’t understand the genre, this post may be of assistance. I will explain what an isekai is and the various details that can set them apart from one another.
Isekai is a Japanese genre in which a character is transported to another world. That is the most basic definition of the genre. However, transportation and the world can differ greatly.
Another World
Another world simply refers to any other type of world or reality. It could be a fantasy world, another universe, or even a virtual reality.
There seems to be some debate about whether time travel is considered an isekai or not, because it is not truly “another world.” However, if it is a parallel timeline or if a new world is created as a result of time travel, some will consider it an isekai. I googled the question, and there appeared to be many people with differing views on the subject.
Personally, I consider it part of the isekai genre if the main character’s time travel creates a different version of the world because those manga/webtoons tend to feel similar to other isekai where the main character ends up in a story they know. They are both aware of some possible future events.
Examples of worlds
- A world of a video game:
- An MMO
- An Otome game
- A dating sim
- A world of a novel, manga, or webcomic the main character read
- A whole different fantasy world
Transportation
The transportation component of an isekai can also vary. One of the most common ways for many main characters to be transported to another world is through death.
The manner of death varies because each writer invents their own details in a story. One of the most commonly used methods of death is being hit by a truck. It’s one of the most common ways to get isekai’d, to the point where it became a joke. Writers purposefully include it in their stories as a cliché, and many fans have given the truck a nickname, “Truck-kun.”
In some cases, the writer does not specify whether or not the main character died, only that they fell asleep one night and awoke in another world. For example, I’ve read a number of webtoons in which the main character was reading a novel at night, fell asleep, and then woke up in the morning to find themselves as a character in the novel.
Other modes of transportation could include being summoned to the other world by a spell, discovering a random portal, being kidnapped by someone from the other world and transported to their world, and so on.
In the case of virtual realities, the characters usually are playing the game and become stuck, unable to log out. Sword Art Online is one of the most well-known examples of this.
Reincarnation
When the main character dies and ends up in another world, this is referred to as reincarnation. Sometimes the stories begin with the main character as a baby or young child in a new world. Other times they simply wake up in another body, even if it is an adult.
I’ve seen webtoons where the main character doesn’t explicitly die, but instead enters an adult, teen, or child body (but not a baby) and considers their previous life to be a past life.
An isekai’d main character will frequently use their knowledge of the story or modern times in their previous life to help them live in their new world.
Examples of common isekai plots
- The main character wakes up as a villain in the story they read and must use their knowledge of the game to prevent themselves from dying.
- The main character(s) gets stuck in a video game and can’t log out.
- The main character is summoned to another world through magic for a specific role like a hero, saintess, or bride.
Examples of isekai anime/manga/webtoons
- My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!
- The Rising of the Shield Hero
- Saga of Tonya the Evil
- Sword Art Online
- Log Horizon
- The Saint’s Magic Power is Omnipotent
- KonoSuba
- Happily Ever Afterwards
- That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime
Conclusion
When it comes to Isekai, there can be a lot of plots that are very different from each other, but there can also be a lot of plots that are very similar to each other. Some may have grown tired of all the isekai because, as its popularity grew, so did the number of isekai.
A common plotline in manga, manhwa, and other webtoons is the main character becoming the villainess of the story they read or game they played and having to change the plot so they don’t die. However, this does not imply that the individual stories will be the same, as the personalities of the characters vary and what happens varies depending on what each author creates.
Personally, I still enjoy isekai plotlines, even if they have the same main concepts as others. But I think the beauty of anime, manga, and other webtoons in general is that there are so many stories and genres out there that someone will find something they like. So, even if you’re one of those fans who is tired of isekai or it’s just never been your preference, there are plenty of other genres to read and watch.
Check out my anime/manga glossary as well!
If you have any questions about isekai, or if you believe I have left anything out, please leave a comment below.
Side note: No, the image above is not of isekai anime other than Saga of Tonya the Evil. I didn’t think I had enough isekai anime on DVD or Blu-ray, so I chose a picture of anime in general instead.