Dear Authors: Other Worlds

[@Zanador]

Saying that Isekai (the Japanese version of this) is saturated is an understatement. It's so absurdly common that most newer Isekai stories go really out of their way to do something different enough to distinguish them, and the tropes of the genre are so well-known that almost everyone tries to lampshade them or subvert them somehow. That's how we get stuff like "Isekai fantasy but the main characters are all incompetent and can't make it out of the starting town" (KonoSuba) or "Isekai fantasy but from the perspective of a relative of the guy who got Isekai'd meeting him for the first time after he comes back to the real world" (Isekai Ojisan) and so on.

[@Awsomeness103]

It has been so saturated and lampshaded, that the original isekai story that most are derived from, Jobless reincarnation, recent adaptation feels fresh and original to new viewers and readers. We have literally gone full circle in terms of telling isekai stories.

[@Zanador]

@@Awsomeness103 I agree with you main point and I'm a fan of Mushoku Tensei, but calling it "the original Isekai story that most are derived from" is not very accurate. It's certainly popular and influential to some degree, but many popular and well-known isekai like Tanya, KonoSuba, Shield Hero, SAO, Log Horizon, GATE, NGNL, and Re:Zero started publication before MT or at almost the exact same time. It might be fair to say that it's been a big influence on male-protagonist reincarnation isekai specifically, but the history of "isekai" generally and even "video game-esque isekai" goes way farther back than MT. I recommend this video for more detail: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fILEmmSKgtqLbrs as well as the follow-up comment response video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/eXKrZaiXi56Xd7s

[@shadowlightning6590]

@@Zanador Well MT did basically popularize the main tropes in Isekai we see today so it's fair to say that it's one of the og ones kind of like Evangelion where there were a lot Gundam series before it but Eva revolutionized the mecha genre as a whole.

[@carlosdanielcalderonmontoy3723]

@@Zanador And Juuni Kokuki

[@Charistoph]

@@Zanador, even worse, there were ones like Escaflowne that came out over 15 years before Mushoku Tensei. It probably gets missed because it's seen as a Fantasy-Mecha series, but there is an isekai element to it. And let's not forget the old classic Mario Brothers who get isekai'd to the Mushroom Kingdom for their hit video game series. That's not even considering old literature like Urahima Taro, Alice in Wonderland, Doroty and the land of Oz, Peter Pan, and so forth.

[@alexinator-hh5fe]

I'm so happy the Dear Authors series was created. It allows for so many differing opinions and thoughts to be shared

[@josiahdingus4541]

In the past few years many of the tropes of the "Isekai" genre have been adopted by the increasingly popular "Regression" or "Second Chance" genre, where instead of the character being transported to a new world they are sent back in time to inhabit their younger selves with a new understanding of the world and the resolve to take vengence or prevent undesirable events.

[@theheirslair9581]

Am I showing my age my name-dropping Quantum Leap here?

[@eyereid]

Regression is pretty much every other Manwha ever created

[@LightningRaven42]

They're also complete garbage in their vast majority with very, very, very, very few being exceptions (Ascension of a Bookwork, Jobless Reincarnation despite its major flaws and Grimgar of Fantasy And Ash being notable exceptions).

[@victoriamasters]

@@LightningRaven42 I really enjoyed erased as well

[@LightningRaven42]

@@victoriamasters I couldn't forgive its terrible ending. It was decent enough, but bad ends pretty much retroactively ruin good stories for me. I, sadly, can't get past them.

[@verzeihturncoat27]

"Ascendency of a Bookworm" feels like a Merphy self insert isekai

[@ravenpotter4004]

As a wannabe author and avid reader, I adore this series. And I love the community aspect of it too, yall are great :))

[@swolechihuahua4905]

Truck-kun certainly is the most magical of portals 😂

[@thewingedserpent5823]

I don't even know how that started considering that trucks are relatively rare as "causes for isekai". Being summoned is by far the most common

[@marocat4749]

@@thewingedserpent5823 i think jobless reincarnation one of the relative early works that was copied merciless later. Pretty sure thats why.

[@swolechihuahua4905]

@@thewingedserpent5823 I know, did it for the memes 🙃

[@thewingedserpent5823]

@@marocat4749 the truck-kun meme is mostly a western meme and mushoku Tensei wasn't that well known until the anime came out recently.

[@danielgwynne7266]

@@thewingedserpent5823 was it not? I read it about a year before the anime

[@gaara_of_the_desert1118]

I know you aren't a tv fan but The Owl House is an amazing example of this trope while also being a sort of subversion of common tropes associated with those types of stories.

[@DL-idk]

I remember loving Digimon as a kid. I liked Pokemon too, but there's something special about being transferred into a new world and the fact that there are no adults there sounds especially appealing to kids

[@hotplotsandsynonyms]

The reason I preferred Digimon is because it felt more like genuine friendship. The digimon hunted the kids down and said "Hey, we're friends now!" and the plotlines were all about the kids learning to work together and trust each other in order to protect things they love. Pokemon (for all that it can be genuinely fun) is about forcibly catching creatures and training them so you can prove you're better than everyone else.

[@Mr.-Roybot]

Yeah Digimon was the perfect portal world for me as a kid. Not only because there were no adults but there were no humans at all. And the humans that were there didn't gain new powers (for the most part) but helped their Digimon partners gain new powers

[@dragon297]

@@hotplotsandsynonyms Yeah it really is a shame that Pokemon caught on while Digimon didn't. Because for a children's show, Digimon honestly had a substanial amount more depth to it's story and character relationships. Compared to Ash who is still 10. It's genuinely worth a watch/rewatch as an adult because many parts of it still hold up.

[@dorianzane2548]

I’ve always loved both but Digimon Adventure definitely had me more engaged with it’s story and characters. The whole concept was crazy too. It was like if Chronicles of Narnia and Tron had a baby.

[@svm9269]

I cried every time the Digimon ended as a kid, despite watching it numerous times. It is the dearest series I think of when I remember my childhood. You all made me want to rewatch it - playing the first episode now.

[@eliasbischoff176]

The concept you described as "humans are still humans" is one of the main reasons why I love Sci Fi and Fantasy. Every one of these stories has to take some position on how much our world has shaped human "nature", how much we would change if we lived in a different world and, by keeping certain things the same, what can be seen as an inherent human quality. Doorway fantasy enables the author to deal with these questions more overtly, because they can contrast the earth-humans with the otherworld-humans.

[@orpheos9]

His dark materials is a super interest format of this. The first book you are entirely in a low fantasy world and you don’t think it’s a portal world but you get hints of other worlds. And then the second book snaps you the normal earth world without warning and stays there for a bunch of chapters

[@ViridianForests]

What's fascinating to me in His Dark Materials is really the portals themselves too! Visually, they're those random holes between worlds you'd encounter in most portal fantasies, but they have a dark origin and there is weight to their creation.

[@marykedewitt1362]

As an author that has been working for years on a “portal world” this video gave me hope and I’m so glad this is still loved by so many people ❤ Shall keep working to get it out there for you all 😊

[@facundoprieto1030]

If you like doorway fantasy you should totally watch Infinity Train!! Every car it's a different world and it is amazing how they use them to explore and grow the characters!

[@2gjones1]

Murphy: whole new world. Me : reflexively singing a new fantastic point of view 😂

[@sailinglin584]

Same 😂

[@dianemiles2720]

A new dear authors always drops when I am walking away from my writing for a few too many days and it never fails to get me back in the saddle. I use these as motivation even if I'm not writing about the subject of the video.

[@kammy6340]

I will always love Dear Aunthors...I'm so glad Merphy decided to resume it. It's such a refreshing take to hear from other readers.

[@VinnyTheory]

What I’m learning is avid readers are WAY more tolerant to stories than normal readers are. They can handle a little world building, a little slower of act 1 pacing for set up and fantastical elements. It’s really nice to hear. I was about to cut 3 crucial scenes in act 1 to improve pacing, but after seeing this video I’m keeping them

[@PBRatLord]

Not enough people talk about The Owl House for how well the parallel world, The Boiling Isles is set up, especially for a project aimed at younger audiences.

[@maxlee8780]

Do we consider Harry Potter and Percy Jackson to be portal worlds? I definitely do not.

[@jaginaiaelectrizs6341]

I mean, I can see why some people might; since the fantasy elements often enough do kinda of exist off in their own areas not totally integrated with our world. But, to me, they're more "secret world"/"hidden world"/"world-within-a-world" type stories at most. 🤔 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️ Sometimes it's difficult to say what exactly constitutes a whole separate genre versus what is really just a subgenre and/or a variant of some other genre.😅🙃😁

[@dunnejos8423]

My favorite portal fantasy is absolutely His Dark Materials, and I love the subversion of the trope by starting off in the fantastical/sci fi before getting into the mundane.

[@unavezms8167]

I love when it's like "our world has suffered a catastrofe and now it's DIFFERENT". And like characters can find remnants of our world and then think what the hell is this thing for. Kinda like Horizon series (okay, not a book but still). 😍😍😍

[@espantapajaros33]

God I love dear authors ahaha I NEED to hear your thoughts on Witch Hat Atelier, I love the magic system and the way the rules are flawed and nuanced, and how the main girl "stumbles into" magic... I think you'll like it too

[@רוניבןעזרא-ו6ש]

About the price to pay - I think Infinity Train does it really well in the ways its world is not different from our own. Time passes the same way, so you'll be away from your home exactly as long as your journey needed to be. If you are harmed, injured or even dead it's the real you who takes this damage, no magical healing.

[@JTZombiE]

waking up to see a new Dear Authors video is like waking up to Christmas Day

[@genevieveatwater4533]

I absolutely love portal fantasy, though as an author I find it very hard to write. The only one I have in development is one where the main character start in a world that’s already not the real world and go to another bigger more colorful fantasy world. Regardless, this video is very interesting and I enjoyed it. As a note, when you’re getting into the isekai genre, Watch yourself. Some of them are very fun, but the genre is well known for being oversaturated and very morally questionable. Make sure you get good recommendations and don’t just pick up one randomly

[@mcdoobies7328]

Every time I open a book I step into a new world. It's why I love reading so much.

[@SageK.03]

One of favorite stories with doorway fantasy are by Brandon Mull. i.e. Five Kingdoms & Fablehaven/Dragonwatch He does an amazing job of tying the worlds into ours and showing the main character (especially in Five Kingdoms) being shocked and affected by this drastically new world that they’re in. I LOVE it SO much!!!! He’s one of my favorite authors. 🥰

[@blakewise5588]

100% agree. I didn't love The Beyonders as much. That "portal" was quite unique. lol But 5 kingdoms and Fablehaven were great!

[@andrewwall4250]

It’s not a book (it’s a cartoon on Disney+) but I feel like you’d like the portal fantasy series “The Owl House”. It does stuff with its themes, humour, world building and magic that you’d probably enjoy based off of what you were saying in this video. It occasionally pokes fun at common fantasy tropes too. Like, one of the first things the series does is deconstruct the Chosen One trope.

[@late_prince8945]

What bathers me a bit with these stories, is how easily the mc adapts to the new world. I don't expect every story to be like that, but it would be nice to see more that tackles problems someone may face after being sent to another dimension. Like, how convenient it is these creatures from the other end of the galaxy speak perfect english. It would be fun if they even still used an earthly language, but a different one from the ones the mc knows. But you also can make an easy explanation for that. But please, don't just resolve it with a quick magical translator. One thing I really liked in the Owl House, is that it was mentioned Luz can't eat most of the things in the Demon Realm, or that one ep in Amphibian where two characters from different worlds drunk each other's energy drinks, and it worked on them like drugs. Here on Earth, you can't go to another country without a proper vaccine, because there are new viruses you have never encountered. The would be a gloomy story, but imagine one where the whole plot is: You just started a pandemic in magical universe.

[@jaginaiaelectrizs6341]

That's something people fail to consider in time travel stories too! Different diseases &/or natural-immunities depending on what was common exposure in which time period versus what would be new exposure with no natural immunities built up against it or whatever! Like, the most they usual consider is "well, my character is from the future so they've been vaccinated against x-things" or whatever; they rarely consider new things someone from the future could be carrying back to the past before anyone's ever had exposure to it yet. 👀 😅🙃🙃😁

[@orochiran]

If you're interested in isekai manga and light novels I'd recommend Konosuba for an overall lighthearted and fun story; Re: Zero for a seemingly lighthearted world filled with many dangers, mysteries and psychological trauma; and Youjo Senki for more cruel world where war is just the everyday life of the protagonist (this one looks the most similar to the real world though, specifically to WW1 and WW2 era but with magic and slight changes to places and names). There's also Dr. Stone, which is technically the same world but feels like a different one. I'll just say that there's a hell lot of science done in creative ways, so if you're interested in that it's definitely worth checking.

[@vincent-rf4hv]

Isekai is a big trope in manga the best known isekai story is probably "That Time I Got reincarnated as a slime" and "Overlord" The light novel is better since its more advance in the story than the manga

[@JAKEBB]

This is my up there as on favourite video types on this channel, keep being awesome merphy

[@valentinomunoz9687]

If you do end up reading some Isekai light novels I would highly recommend 1) Overlord (darker series) 2) The Saga of Tanya the Evil (mostly darker) 3) Restaurant to Another World (super chill) 4) That time I got reincarnated as a slime (Comedy) 5) Konosuba (one of the highest rated comedy Isekai)

[@kamarassakka9922]

How come you didnt even mention the best at all. Mushoku Tensei and Re. Zero

[@carlosdanielcalderonmontoy3723]

@@kamarassakka9922 yeah xD

[@valentinomunoz9687]

@@kamarassakka9922 I'm still early on in those series so I didn't feel confident enough to recommend them.

[@Junosensei]

@@valentinomunoz9687 I'd put Re:Zero on top and Mushoku Tensei next, though Mushoku Tensei has too many divisive sexual themes to be a comfortable recommendation. You will grow into Re:Zero much like most people grow into One Piece. It has the same deliberate planning and long-term payoff that comes with the author having planned out the overall mystery and the plot of each arc before starting. He has such a deep understanding of his world and characters that he can write a bunch of side novels and short stories that both explore the history of the world and each character's motivations in depth, and sometimes even present "What if" scenarios that reveal nonexistence futures that could have resulted from Subaru's choices--the latter of which sometimes reveal more about the world, introduce new characters that will eventually appear in the main story, or hint at the future plot, despite being false narratives that never happened.

[@annafirnen4815]

I feel like time travel stories where the main character is transported in time can also count as an "other world" trope. Technically they are still on Earth, something familiar, yet it's hard for them to adjust to the way people lived in the past or live in the future. Someone from the future can have a knowledge which helps them while exploring the past world but their way of thinking can put them in trouble (like Claire in Outlander was accused multiple times of being a witch lol). Meanwhile putting someone from the past into the future can completely shake their world with new innovation/discovered information. In a scenario like that I actually like when the main protagonist isn't as shaken with everything new they see. What I mean by that is, I've read/watched a lot of stories where the characters finds themselves in a new world (be it actually new or they were thrown into the future) and they just don't want to come to therms with the fact that things in this place are done different because of how shocked they are. They try to do everything THEIR way without listening to people/beings around them which puts them into unnesessary trouble. Instead what I like more is when the charcter is definitely shocked but ACCEPTS that everything they see is new and different and they are actually CURIOUS to explore the world and they seek a guidance of someone familiar with the know-hows.

[@jaginaiaelectrizs6341]

Plus, time-travel stories often utilize literal "portals" of some kind or another! Only tangentially related here, but I kinda like stories where someone(or someones) from another world is transported into our world, too-like, reverse otherworld fantasy; or stories where characters swap places, or take turns traveling to each other's worlds at different times. ^--^

[@brnadig394]

Please never stop this series. Keep it going in some way shape or form. This is probably mymost favorite series of videos in whole of KZbin. Please please please with a cherry on top.

[@colibri224]

About parallel worlds : One of the reason the Pixar movie "Onward" was quite disappointed to me was because it was initially sold on the idea that fantastical and magical creatures had discovered modern technologies. I was like "YES!!! Show me a version of the modem world completely adapted for this creatures !!! This look interesting! " But instead we got a cute but a bit boring story about two brothers. And the modern setting was only used for jokes (ex: the centaur step-dad riding a little car not adapted for him) Aah... It was such a let down...

[@caitlyn.m.t9618]

I'm surprised you never mentioned The Ocean at the End of the Lane. Coraline is also a big one for me, the book and the movie. But another big one for me that is in this area is Over the Garden Wall. It is a children's miniseries, that is honestly basically a movie, that follows these two brothers who get lost in this dark and strange wood that features talking animals, walking pumpkins, and a beast that everyone is frightened of. It is very autumnal, halloween-eque, and folkloric in some ways too. I always say it is somewhat wayward children esque because it has a similar feeling with how the woods is done. You should look into it.

[@keravnos2231]

Hell yeah!! 😄 Haven't seen a Dear authors segment in ages!! Another favourite thing about this trope that I love is when there's a central portal world as a connecting medium, where theyre like a transportation service for adventures or a dangerous black market tavern

[@megan88]

Golden compass! It has other worlds and parallels and doing it great!

[@xyznightwing]

I love this topic so much. Recently, I finished an anime series called 'The Twelve Kingdoms', and essentially the main character gets chosen to be the queen of one of the kingdoms and she and two other characters get get sucked in this storm and end up stranded in this world. What's fun is watching these characters learn, adapt, and grow in this world. It's beautiful and painful, and the worldbuilding is fantastic.

[@Junosensei]

The two side characters from the anime exist in the novels at the beginning as classmates, but they don't actually travel with the MC. In the novels, MC is usually silent and we get her thoughts more than her speech, so the anime director decided to add her two "friends" in to give her inner voice more screentime and conflict. The novels are good. I hope we get an English re-release some day.

[@tyriquesmith8850]

I love this series, and this topic was very interesting too. I mentioned it a while back, but there is a dark portal fantasy light novel called Re:Zero that I think you would really enjoy. Thanks for the video! See you next time.

[@alexandregomes6784]

YES! Dear authors is back! I love this series! Keep up the great work Merphy

[@BranniganCarter]

I’m so glad you did this one. Currently half through writing a novel where this happens

[@zuffin1864]

There are these 2x2 trap doors to these crawl spaces in my house, and i think they would be great for being a portal to another world

[@darrellhon2868]

As an aspiring author, I love popping into this channel and check-marking aspects of my WIP whenever Merphy mentions them in the Dear Author series. I checked a lot of boxes during this video. That made me happy.

[@pRahvi0]

I totally agree with the point about childlike curiosity. I sometimes feel too "adult" (i.e. I know too much) to feel any magic or mystery in it anymore. My curiosity to find out anything new is dwindling as the unanswered questions remaining seem more and more far-fetched while the answers seem more and more ambiguous and/or difficult to get. But to think about a world I know practically nothing of? That would be awesome! It would really re-ignite the spark of adventure.

[@KhTOON]

I really love the Dear Authors Series as someone who is writing his first story i find this really helpful

[@taylor_green_9]

My favourite portal fantasy is the Dragonwall series by Melissa Mitchell. A 20-something woman from modern US goes to a magical world, to a country ruled by dragon shifters, and gradually discovers her place in that world

[@jaginaiaelectrizs6341]

Sounds interesting-I'll have to look into it; Thanks!

[@jesusHchristofwellington]

A great example of this trope is the inkheart series by cornelia funke, I won't get into spoilers but the way people move through the different worlds is amazing and really well realised

[@Faith-Trust-Pixie-Dust]

Portal fantasy is one of my FAVORITE genres!! I even wrote a Peter Pan retelling because I love it so much hah

[@hotsake7819]

Tanith Lee's The Secret Book of Paradys is a great example of this trope and the themes you spoke about.

[@Karutapja]

One of the series I really love is Myth Adventures by Robert Lynn Asprin. I guess it is written mainly for teens, but it is just so chill read with amazing world building. The most enjoyable magician's apprentice trope, travelling to different worlds and having fun adventures. I only wish there were more books in the series.

[@joehebert789]

I really enjoyed this as I am trying to implement this trope into a short story. Perfect timing.

[@Hildervinge]

This was so much fun to watch! I have published one book, a middle grade portalfantasy. So this was truly amuzing. In my book, the main character loses her best friend and have to handle grief for the first time. The friend comes back in a little boat and take her to the afterrealm. The whole adventure is a symbolism of her grief and the prosess of moving forward. I am really proud of it, and kids really love it. I like the fact that my consept seem to be a bit uniqe as well 😄 unfortunatly its in norwegian, or else I would gift you one since your channel was a huge inspiration and motivation when I wrote it.

[@jaginaiaelectrizs6341]

That is so cool! Congratulations ^-^

[@Hildervinge]

@@jaginaiaelectrizs6341 thank you 😍

[@allanc_me763]

For me, one of the "other worlds" done very well is the Edolas Arc from Fairytail. I loved that part

[@coffeedudeable]

Once you do get into isekai please check out "Overlord". It's a bit dark I'll admit but they take the idea of going to another world very seriously where that other world has its own deeply fleshed out plotics, religion races, and centuries of lore and all of those are essential plot points for the main character to learn about and try to navigate. It also separates itself from other isekai by having the main character play as a demilich (basically a skeleton mage) and although he maintains his human brain the other world is slowly stripping his humanity away to make him think more and more like the monster he presents as. This leads to a constant battle of our MC trying to show humanity while the world around him (friend and foe) deem him a monster.

[@cheesebooks26]

I really liked your point about with parallel theming! The idea that sometimes no matter how you structure a society, and how different it is from ours, some things remain. I think usually it's something like authoritarianism in some degree, poking at the idea that no matter how the society is structured someone will always find a way to take advantage of people they consider "less than." On isekai manga/anime, I do like them but I will say sometimes they can feel like a power fantasy for the author haha! A big trope with them is usually something like "nerd dies and reincarnates into a fantasy world and then they're super overpowered now and ALL the ladies like him." Isekai manga/anime are the most fun to me when they break that mold [rarer than you think]. I think "Ascendance of a Bookworm" is a very good one tho, where a librarian dies and when she's reincarnated into a fantasy world all she wants to do is make a library/bookstore so she can read. But she's born into a poor family, and books are reserved for royalty becuase this was Pre-Printing press times. So she goes about trying to invent a book industry. Love it

[@Odd_D_User]

A portal fantasy I would absolutely recommend is "The Wandering Inn". The other world the main character lands in is dense with history, politics, magic systems and more. It is enough to justify an entire series on its own. Then the conflicts the main character gets into as she learns to survive in that world while bringing the best of our modern world make for such a fun and gripping story. I would almost call her Luffy-esque in the way she tackles problems. Every question I have about what would really happen if someone from present day Earth was sent to a fantasy world is explored and answered. It is everything I would ask for from portal fantasy and it's free to read online.

[@TheM1844]

One portal world series I enjoyed as a kid was the Secrets of Droon. While it's for kids it goes between the two worlds throughout the series which I find really unique as while you learn more about the portal world, you also begin to question and wonder about the normal world as well

[@lindapenttinen3382]

I have faced this dilemma of late world building. I have written my story for 9 full chapters so far and several finished side stories when I realized I should have build the world first 🤣 it is not too late but still 😅

[@indigo4740]

I hope you can get into Re:Zero light novels. Truly a top tier Isekai story imo

[@dorianzane2548]

I know it’s not strictly the same thing because it’s sci-fi set on Earth but the ‘Bioshock’ video games still make me feel that specific portal fantasy excitement and intrigue. ‘The Dark Tower’ and ‘His Dark Materials’ are my favorite book series examples of portal fantasy.

[@leopard2690]

lord of Mysteries gotta be my Favorit "other world" story because of the way that Element is used in later volumes. there is also owari no chronicle where the survivors of 12 worlds flee to earth after theirs got destroyed in a war

[@fourcatsandagarden]

other worlds are one of my favorite things, but also one that I've found I am very picky about because a lot of them are underwhelming but then I suppose that can be said of most fiction, there's a lot of underwhelming stories for all the good ones

[@carbonc6065]

This is an important video--as always, thanks for your contribution to the literary world on KZbin!

[@EMan753]

Happy to see this, I also love reading/watching/writing about the other worlds/magical world trope!

[@doofus_flamingo]

Merphy, if you like one piece and hitchhikers guide you would love discworld from Terry pratchett.

[@marocat4749]

If she doesnt, shame on daniel to not yet convert her.

[@haku1145]

This was great, Merphy! So glad to see another episode of dear authors. And I completely agree with One Piece feeling like an 'other worlds' story, even if it's not, because of the crazy variety between the islands.

[@christiansvan734]

The character who's an atheist has to be Jason Asano of He Who Fights With Monsters. I think him not really... being affected by the other world is part of it all. He does start getting affected and taking in the situation and rules as the books move on, but i really like how he barely reacts in the beginning, both as it fits his personality. And it fits with how he most likely is kind of shellshocked, both by the fact that he got transported to the other world, and how his "welcome" to this other world being less than nice, especially for someone who's dealing with what he was dealing with both in the new world, and what he hadn't fully healed from his old world. And what's more, He doesnt really get any time to actually decompress from that whole debacle, as the little time he gets to decompress has to be focused on the latest crisis, the latest situation. He's pretty much constantly in a state of solving a problem. I think him not reacting and being kind of aloof is good, it's part of his character arc. And it's done so well.

[@ryans6442]

I just finished rereading The Thief of Always by Clive Barker. It’s kind of childish and pretty similar to Coraline (although I think this book came before it), but I read it when I was younger and was nostalgic for it. I’m not sure how much I can say about it without spoiling it but I’d highly recommend it to anyone looking for a quick read. Basically there’s a young boy who is so board that he a spirit comes to show him a magical house that’s a paradise for children, however as he explores it he gets more curious about it and learn how dark the house really is

[@Megamanlanprime]

For Isekai, I usually recommend Mishoku Tensei, (one of the first isekai’s), Konosuba (a great Isekai comedy), Re:Zero (a strong and very well done deconstruction of Isekai tropes, and such a good story), Re:Creators (a Reverse Isekai where a bunch of fantasy characters are brought to our world and meet their “creators”), and Familiar of Zero (another early Isekai that’s a lot of fun IMO)

[@manymusings]

I soooo needed this video right now. I'm fleshing a portal fantasy story right now.

[@andrewfielding8126]

Some of my Favourite Portal world stories are: Mordant's Need by Stephen Donaldson. The Gwen Farris series by P S Power. A Medieval Tale by Lina J Potter. Schooled in Magic by Christopher Nuttall. And since some how Harry Potter can be a Portal world story😕. I will add the Keeley Thompson, Other Places & Alternate Places series by P S Power.

[@taylorhagen3916]

This is by far my favorite form of Fantasy

[@meganborella3300]

Keeper of the lost cities is a lesser known decent example of portal fantasy. As well as faerie wars.

[@marinamclain2287]

If you like doorway stories, you might like Nightmares by Jason Segel & Kirsten Miller. It’s middle grade and has really great friendships in it. Also, Dragonfly by Frederic S. Durbin is another great middle grade doorway story. Both of these are in my top favorite books of all time.

[@susantownsend8397]

I’m enjoying the Invisible Library series. All the worlds are parallel and similar; the fun is watching the protagonist understand and figure out how to deal with the differences.

[@whitefang9758]

My favourite series returns!

[@robertpayne613]

I highly recommend the full murderhobo series be dakota krout, especially if you're a D&D fan. Is that book you mentioned with the guy who meets the goddess he who fights with monsters?

[@tremulo5568]

I think you would reeaally love Made in Abyss. It's got a couple of issues but such an awesome worldbuilding! Found family, interesting topics, lots of wonder and longing! Love it :)

[@carlosdanielcalderonmontoy3723]

One of the best worlds I have seen/read in fiction and obviously one of my most favorites.

[@PatrickRyanBookReviews]

I just read The Legend of Black Jack, and not only is it my favorite portal fantasy... it's my favorite book of the 60 I've read so far this year.

[@Charistoph]

It's always interesting to see how a "portal to another world" story goes. They usually fall under several starts. Traveled. The protagonist travels to a new world and can go back at need or desire. Mostly seen in science fiction, but a lot of multi-verse (see DC and Marvel comics) or planar fantasy like some Dungeons & Dragons themes fit this, too. These are usually the easiest to do as it can be treated like going to another country or continent. Transported. The protagonist is taken against their knowledge or will and can't get back, or can't easily get back. See the likes of Escaflowne, Mario Brothers, Alice in Wonderland, and others. I would probably fit Sword Art Online in to this that changes to a Traveled if I was going to consider it as an isekai. I don't usually consider SAO an isekai, though, as I don't really consider a MMORPG virtual scape an actual different world. Tron is more of an isekai than SAO. Soul insert. The protagonist dies in our world, but wakes up in an aged body in the new world. For some reason the spirit who was in the body is no longer available, or is no longer in control. This usually induces stories of mistaken identity and confusion as they bring their old habits in to this new body. Ascendance of a Book Worm is like this. Awakened reincarnation. Protagonist has their spirit put in to a new body in this new world, but are aware of their old life from a very early age and learn about their new society like any child would. Mushoku Tensei and World's Greatest Assassin is like this. Late awakened reincarnation. Kind of a mix of the two previous, and tend to be the rarest. The protagonist's spirit is reincarnated, but their memories of their old life aren't immediately available, but they become aware of them over time. I think I've only seen Spirit Chronicles do this. This of course, doesn't consider actual other worlds like Tolkein's Middle Earth, Anne McCaffrey's Pern, Naruto, and One Piece, where they are wholly in their own world and the people from our world only observe them.

[@naedid2512]

I love seeing new places and meeting new people. If I could go to another world, I'd love to see a partly submerged town with tall buildings. I'd see locals trying to salvage from underwater. It'd be a great location for treasure hunting.

[@nikgokuhil]

Even if its not doorway or isekai story, you should really try watching Mushishi, you will love its world. Its one of the best done otherworld and it focuses more on exploring the world than any other otherworld series

[@xyznightwing]

Yes Mushishi is so beautiful

[@brookevice3519]

I just realized an amazing series that I think Murphy would love! It's called Ascendence of a Bookworm. Summary: girl who loves books ends up in another world where books are not common. It's heartwarming and adventurous and I love it.

[@NameNotAChannel]

So, I'm mainly into this in the TV genre... Star Gate (SG1, Atlantis) - I love the egyptian and sci-fi settings, so perfect mix for me. Sliders was a favorite show for a while, before it went off the rails in later seasons. Dr Who (before the retcon) People will likely (or have enmass) suggest Inuyasha, manga-wise. I watched the anime on Cartoon Network when it aired.

[@matarax]

This is a really interesting take, because I am not a big fan of portal fantasy or Isekai, whereas my wife loves these stories. I love fantasy that is just totally separate from our world; it usually takes me out of the story when I see our world and another is explored. She got me more into Urban Fantasy because I love noir stories mixed with other genres (fantasy, horror, and/or sci-fi) and I do admit one of my favorite series is the Dark Tower series, which is partial portal fantasy and I felt like it worked in that story. It is great that we live in a time when there are so many choices in speculative fiction.

[@MrSongsword]

I'm also a huge fan of portal fantasy/Isekai. Here are a couple of sub-genres that are fun for discussion on themes, etc. 1) Second chancers. These are generally the ones who choose to not look back to the old world because they feel rejected by it. In manga/anime these tend to be your otakus who happen to fulfill the "everyman" role. 2) Coming-of-Age. These tend to be like Narnia, with their protagonists gaining the strength and showing themselves that they are ready to venture into adulthood and the real world. I haven't seen many that show the before/after very well, but it is still an intriguing one for themes. 3. Specialists. A power fantasy where the backstory of the protagonist basically allows them to be overpowered (op) in the new world. Think "world's best x sent to a world with magic." 4) Civilization builder. This one uses the protagonists' typically common knowledge from our world, and brings it to better their lives and the lives of those around them in another world. This one tends to focus on how they are able to have a large impact on a community and build a place where they belong.

[@JonRowlison]

I love that you have The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy on the shelf behind you. Have you read all 4?

[@canofbeans5982]

The Wandering Inn is a fantastic portal lit rpg I've read, it has rpg game mechanics as the world function for everyone. Every persons a part of it. Like you van have the class farmer to popstar. Also Schooled In Magic is a good one if you wanna see someone use science to take advantage of their situation. Aka make money and survive. It's also got some surprisingly dark moments. There's one character who gets like, stuck in his death. He tries teleportation magic and it ends very badly

[@kylemesserschmidt7123]

I've been hoping to suggest Wandering Inn as an isekai. It starts a little slow with one particular main character, but expands more and more with more a huge cast of characters and many more earthlings being teleported to this world and having different experiences.

[@xyznightwing]

Just started reading it and it really is quite fantastical

[@randomdoesstuff1267]

YES YES YES A THOUSAND TIMES YES!! BEEN WAITING THE LONGEST TIME FOR THIS SHHSHAKSFSOAKES8A As someone who loves this series and has also been putting together a multiverse story of my own, I've been on the EDGE OF MY SEAT since the community post was made and have been binging the LIFE out of it. OOO I WANNA GO WRITE! AND WATCH THIS VIDEO!

[@freitas1527]

I think that you will really like Kingdom. It's a war story manga. It's just like every war that have existed, but like no war story that have ever been told

[@ValieNion]

I've two recommendations for this theme: the Chrestomanci Series, by Diana Wynne Jones, at least a couple of books are focused on this one wizard who has 9 lives, since he doesn't have another of himself on all paralell worlds, as everyone else. It's very young and very magical. The other is the Inter World Trilogy by Neil Gaiman and Michael Reaves, where a boy discovers his world is one of a trillion other alternate worlds, and he sets out to find his other selfs to keep the worlds safe.

[@ApequH]

I love the enthousiasm in this video

[@RainyLS]

This Dear Authors reminded me of an isekai I really like. It's called Ascendance of a Bookworm where the main character is a bookworm transported to a world where she has no access to books, so she has to make her own.

[@klulu-kun]

I'm more fascinated by doorway fantasy with a horror element like Coraline, Otherside Picnic, and even Stranger Things on a more sci-fi side.

[@therethan-family1234]

Once again, I am recommending you to read "Ascendance of a Bookworm". It is my favorite Isekai-Lightnovel with an absurd level of worldbuilding. Other stories have a few characters and fill the rest of the world with telling instead of showing. Bookworm has close to 100 named characters, and we know enough of all of them to imagine them as the protagonists of their own stories. Even greater, every single volume of Bookworm has a prologue, epilogue and at least 2 post-credit chapters all from the perspective of other characters, which gives us a different view of what our MC sees.

[@hayapatel_]

Do you know where to find translated versions of the light novels? I've seen the illustrations for a few of them and they are gorgeous :']

[@BurningmonkeyGTR]

One of the most interesting Japanese isekai properties is Ascendance of a Bookworm, it does a lot of interesting things with making the protagonist a sickly 5 year old girl with the memories of a 21 year old trainee librarian in a low magic medieval style fantasy setting, and she insists on attempting to bring books to this new world. It was originally a light novel, but has since been adapted to both manga and anime

[@daximil]

There was a book series I read as a child (so I can't vouch for how well it's held up over time) called The Apprentice Adept series by Pier Anthony. The series was about two parallel worlds where one was Technological while the other was Magical. The protagonist was a member of the lowest cast in the Tech world, but one day he could suddenly see a mysterious curtain of energy that, when he passed through it, he found himself in the magic world and he would gain all these magical powers while there. It turned out that everyone who lives here has a version of themselves in each world. Normally when you die in one, the version of you in the other world dies at the same time. But somehow, when someone murdered the version of him in the magical world, he survived. So the rules of the worlds demanded that he be both versions of himself, which is why he could travel and had powers while in the magic realm.

[@isaacthecorncob]

I love the Five Kingdoms series by Brandon Mull. The world is a dimension that prople slip into randomly. There are five kingdoms (duh) where each one has a different type of magic unique to it. The culture is familiar at times but still whimsical and terrible in different ways. The world is like a place between realities and dimensions. There's a really cool spirit world within it and a wall of clouds where floating castles are spawned from dreams. The skies change each day/night, each one from a different dimension or world.