Isekai: Stepping into Another World

[@gatzsuds]

Speaking of Tenii - "High School Prodigies Have It Easy Even In Another World" bothered me exactly on the axis of imperialism, these children are by formula conquistadores of a new world using their identity superiority of being 'prodigies' to harvest and manage their resources with no care for the natives of the World, one of the prodigies' entire 'prodigy' status being being a Teenage CEO, all of them being by right entitled to the land by virtue of being bringers of knowledge, it's a very upsetting framework to see as someone from Latin America, very sincere about it's exceptionalist ideology. It opened my eyes to that theme even further than the general plain-text monarchistic shape of these worlds granted by rpg powerfantasies already did, and your much deeper foray into this topic without even knowing of this show really surprised me, you do amazing research! A great video essay, thank you!

[@quintustheophilus9550]

Well, Japan was an empire and colonized Taiwan and the Korean peninsula. They weren't shy of their imperialistic ambition... (PS: As a Latin American myself, I agree with you.)

[@noodless8105]

You pretty much put into word why I kind of hate that isekai in particular. (Saludos de México)

[@Eterrath]

This video is absolutely crazy. The way this genre gets made a joke out of nowadays in the global community, though mostly justified by the oversaturation of pretty much the same type of shows, might give anyone the idea that Isekai is just the face of mediocrity in the industry, and make them disinterested to actually learn about it. But the way you are able to portray everything including something like SAO without a shred of disrespect is extremely impressive. Influences in animanga are rather difficult to learn about as the community doesn't consider them important for some reason, although they shape many genres into what they are today. Besides, not being/knowing Japanese can also be a roadblock more often than one would expect. So I can't thank you enough for bringing these comparatively unexplored aspects of anime and manga through these intriguing video essays. Most of the actual community thrives so much on stuff which is not this, so basically you're doing god's work no matter what.

[@PauseandSelect]

I immensely appreciate your kind words.

[@diegoseba12]

Isekai is nowhere near as derided globally as americans would like to think it is.

[@davifelizardo4187]

​@@diegoseba12 I don't know about the "globally" part, but when it comes to the western world(Latin America, Europe and North America) I say it is pretty accurate. As a Latin American myself, I can see most of the talking points(isekai is trash, is oversaturated genre, everything fantasy code is isekai and etc) is very applicable into Brazilian, Spanish and European forum and discussion.

[@PauseandSelect]

I want to extend support to Inori, a writer and deserves all the love in the world for their wonderful work: t.co/iYGK13Znai *2023-05-17 Update: I'm in Love with the Villainness has an anime adaptation! Alright back to Japan Sinks 2020 and Isekai Part 4. To clarify: despite the shot's implication, it wasn't Nagatsuki Tappei that I got that one info from. Just to be clear. July 28 2020: Okay, so I know it's just an introduction and I mentioned specifically that I didn't touch on everything, but I REALLY missed out on my favourite lineage - the war lineage! The whole kaku senki (what if) and orijinaru senki lineage, the reiji matsumoto stuff that you can really see vibe in stuff like Zipang into Nihonkoku Shoukan, damn damn damn I should've mentioned it. July 29 2020: Erebus mentioned that my spelling of Tenni (in the video I mispelled it as Tenii) is incorrect, that was an error in the script, I forgot to double check the spelling before recording. Sorry about that! July 07 2021: Someone mentioned that Isekai Smartphone is listed under Tenni instead of tensei. My bad, I defaulted to setting instead of doublechecking!

[@xxMapSyrxx]

I was just going to ask about Isekai Part 4. Thank you for the clarification.

[@kristijancavic]

Hi, wanted to ask, how do you write Tenii? Having trouble finding the word. It also sounds more like Tenni, but I could easily be wrong. I assume first kanji is 転?

[@PauseandSelect]

@@kristijancavic Hi Erebus, yep that's my bad, it was a spelling error in the script that I unfortunately didn't double check. You're right, it's tenni, spelled as 転移

[@PauloGarcia-sp5ws]

Again, I can't state how informative your videos are. You make amazing content. As a westerner who only knows a very limited amount of Japanese, your videos really help to clarify why trends in Japanese media are occurring and where they originated from in a way that is easy to understand and digest. Keep up the great work.

[@PauseandSelect]

You are too kind The Spanish Inquisition, I'm a westerner myself, and my Japanese, while it's functional, isn't the most amazing. I just read as much as I can and am constantly paranoid that I'm wrong, haha.

[@SoShiBias]

The thing that stuck out most for me ever since I watched the previous parts of this series is the LN authors sites. It does make sense to why so many of them share such close proximity of similarities. I found myself catching these shows sporadically, yet still getting the feeling like these stories are always trying to "1-up" each other or filling holes that are not explored, but in a very slow or insignificant scale. Knowing they are all products from a competitive space explains it. Now I'm also interested in the notion of authors using the premise to comment on social issues, literally borrow a different world to vent their frustration with creativity. Though that might funnel the authors into very specific group of people like 'salary-man boi'. Not sure how much is that coincidence or just the nature of this LN bursting phenomenon. Btw this is edited in 1 day? That's incredible and I cannot imagine how is that possible. Those manga panels could've taken days, well, for people who lacks the experience. Why both videos on the same day, instead of splitting them 2 days to trick that yt algorithm?

[@PauseandSelect]

Well the manga stuff I had already edited and composed for other videos, so I kinda cheated by taking footage from some other videos I had already made, haha. After that it was shoot, clean, color-correct, and make coffee.

[@SoShiBias]

@@PauseandSelect I thought as much, but still pretty darn impressive.

[@Flamesofthunder]

Not going to lie, this simple format is pretty darn good. Also I'm happy to see a much more academic focus on Isekai. Media exists not in a vacuum but influenced via events, and I personally find it interesting how Isekai is a genre that's indictive of the Japanese psyche in a form. I would also like to add a hunch, something I need to do more research on and that's the relation between disconnectivity and Vtubers. I have a personal hunch that V-tubers and Isekai might share some form of connection.

[@PauseandSelect]

Hmmm, that's a pretty interesting connection. I hadn't thought of that in the sense of V-tubers, so I'm curious to see what your germinated end product looks like!

[@CecilyRenns]

always happy to hear more rep for I Favour the Villainness, and it's cool to see creators support fan translations like that

[@PauseandSelect]

Yep, Inori is fantastic! I really hope the best of success for them!

[@Matortheeternal]

Thanks for making and uploading these Joe. It's going to be nice to share these around. :)

[@PauseandSelect]

ofc mator!

[@otkanime5232]

I just stumbled upon this channel and I am so fucking excited. Anime from an academic lens. Let's go.

[@theiceking1035]

This video is so underrated.

[@hamrover1045]

this is way more digestible than the multiparter, I'm impressed by how well this was done, great work!

[@slaggix]

I'm not a big fan of isekai but I watch a lot of them since I want to understand the appeal and it sometimes gives me more insight what kind of stories are popular. Your video is a great addition to my observations

[@PauseandSelect]

Thanks for watching it slaggix!

[@LimeyLassen]

"I'm not a big fan of isekai but I watch a lot of them" Haha same, same

[@FayoreiRPGMmag]

Thank you for this video! I had no idea why isekai were exploding all of the sudden, but it makes perfect sense for a site with a KZbin-like algorithm where what is popular kind of snowballs in a circle. I know at the end you said this could be a niche video, but it's perfect for an isekai newbie like me who only knew of a couple before the boom happened!

[@secretplatypusperry]

I sure do love interacting in the comments section with my favorite creators!

[@PauseandSelect]

sweat emoji

[@inabeena8407]

Your videos are the type of anime analysis I've always wanted from the youtube anime community. Thanks for making this comment, I love all the topics you dive into.

[@PauseandSelect]

Sorry about the late response, but thank you Ina!

[@LimeyLassen]

This is great! The lingering criticism I had of your work was that it wasn't accessible enough. This video strikes a really good balance.

[@PauseandSelect]

Thanks Limey!

[@oklahomadb8r]

better than the crunchyroll video

[@PauseandSelect]

Thank you, Jefferson!

[@_Seileach]

To be fair, anything by that atrocious company is a low bar.

[@darkfenix1990]

This video is just amazing. I honestly would like this channel to have the same visibility. Editing, investigation and data. Wow.

[@flameloude]

This comment is purely to help with youtube analytics.

[@PauseandSelect]

This response is purely to help with youtube analytics.

[@TehCheeezyPoofz]

@@PauseandSelect The comment responding to this response in relation the the comment in question is purely to help with youtube analytics.

[@endersteph]

@@TehCheeezyPoofz So is this one.

[@Taka_Sakagami]

Man, I was watching Hachinantte the other day-not the pinnacle of anime, or of adaptation work, but a comfy traditional story-and decided to check out what people thought about some select episodes. Turns out, an incredible amount of people believe it's an Isekai in name only. I was baffled. The show constantly engages with not only the typical modern Isekai tropes, but the greater ideas common of other Syosetu titles also. Admittedly it engages with such things in a very simplistic sense, but nevertheless, its identity as an Isekai show is pretty solid in my mind. It really made me question... What do these viewers think Isekai is? If I wasn't months late to those episodic discussion posts, I'd have probably asked the people directly. I could still ask them now, technically, but in all honesty, I don't really care that much; I'm just typing a vaguely relevant comment in order to boost those analytics.

[@PauseandSelect]

That's interesting considering Hachinantte is one of the biggest isekai chart toppers on syosetu right now. I am interested in what they mean by isekai, though, cause it definitely came off as very isekai to me, lol.

[@momomomomomomomomoto]

First video the first video that I watch from this channel and it is is awesome. Subscribed

[@emilianoaventura5295]

Just commenting before finishing the video because is the first time I heard anyone mention Tondemo skill which is not only my favorite Isekai but also my second favorite manga in general, just really like those guys

[@glorioustigereye]

Good timing because Re:Zero season 2 is coming out and a lot of Re:Zero I feel is a criticism of living through media. In the latest episode you can tell Subaru has an interest in magical high school anime. The posters a lot like the type of low tier anime the viewer is supposed to project themself on to.

[@Nyo_Fight]

I've been watching all the isekais in the last few months, your videos on the topic help me a lot to enjoy more. Something that is very uncomfortable is how it has become a habit of people to criticize with all fervor and anger all the isekais that are launched today. And most negative criticisms are points that make an isekai, an isekai. I just wanted to say this, now I'm going to finish watching the video, thank you very much.

[@pasty609]

People are just getting tired of the genre. If your main gripe with a show is that it's using a stale plot device then I thinks it's fair to criticise it simply for being an isekai.

[@Matortheeternal]

A lot of the criticism is actually directed towards elements of narou, rather than isekai.

[@akileaves2669]

I think in part it's also because the anime adaptations a lot of isekai get aren't particularly stellar, so people begin to attribute the poor quality of the adaptation to it being an isekai when most of the times the source material, and it's manga adaptation (if it has one) are not really that bad.

[@VashdaCrash]

@@Matortheeternal wait, what is narou?

[@PauseandSelect]

@@akileaves2669 I also think it's also a situation where a lot of it is a media mix scenario, where you're expected to read (or know) the web novels / light novels, manga, etc., so it's moreso you're inhabiting a world and you're kinda seeing how this world is presented to you. This is especially important considering that Kadokawa is huge on that, and they adapt a lot of these.

[@gabzpot]

Great video, man. Thank you. This video needs a sequel or more.

[@loudnoises8197]

Thank you for the interesting and thought-provoking videos, internet anime man

[@PauseandSelect]

Thank you for your kinds words, internet commentor.

[@drema8226]

I get giddy when you call media ‘texts.’

[@christinawalker101]

the goat

[@PauseandSelect]

Thanks Christina!

[@wgolyoko]

Very good introduction, works for people having simply heard about isekai stories, and people having seen or read a ton of them can get a new perspective. Thanks for the video :)

[@skylights22]

Very very useful! Thank you!

[@Disc147]

I think the quintessential isekai if someone were to ask me for one in the greek "forms" would be Hannes Bok's The Sorceror's Ship in 1942. I tripped across it at University and did big keke for two minutes straight. It was also popularly explored in a lot of English (like the country not the language) fantasy novels in the seventies and eighties even in Howl's Moving Castle (He gets his name from the common Welsh last name Howell as the character is a Welsh Mystic). Most of the crop however were really shitty paperbacks from which I have never recovered. You could also mechanically argue that tolkein derivative fantasy narou isekai are just an extension of table top RPG's and the anachronisms the act of playing pretend and meta-gaming generate. A lot of the Otaku to Alternate World isekai really like to lean on the concept of meta gaming whether for laughs or no. I dunno maybe I'm crazy. Chalkzone is still the best isekai.

[@Matortheeternal]

Not sure about The Sorcerer's Ship because I'm not familiar with it, but I agree with the idea that a lot of isekai seems to stem from a tradition of amateur remixing of high-fantasy works. Alternatively, I suppose you could argue that this is more an element of narou than isekai. Honestly, separating elements between narou and isekai seems to be the most interesting and challenging component of gaining a proper understanding of these media. From what I've learned it seems like 90% of what we might conventionally associate with isekai in the west may actually just be more broadly associated with narou and have nothing to do with *isekai* itself specifically.

[@PauseandSelect]

It seems like an interesting direction. On the subject of table-top, I've been thinking of discussing Maoyuu Yuusha and Goblin Slayer, since they're both born from online RP boards, but I need to figure out how I can get a grasp of those communities before going deeper into anything.

[@Disc147]

@@PauseandSelect Yeah I imagine it would be a bit of a challenge, they've got a lot of splintered RP cultures over there.

[@josiahdublin7816]

Just leaving a comment because stuff like this is top shelf.

[@PauseandSelect]

Thanks!

[@puaus547]

This stuff is the stuff, like...really.

[@overlord606]

Very good channel.Thanks.

[@BobJones-bg4ui]

Cool, wanted to see this since I missed the panel.

[@PauseandSelect]

Shame you couldn't make it Bob, but I hope you enjoyed the video!

[@nuyunuyuyu7592]

How odd, though it isn't unexpected for a hidden gem of a creator to talk about a hidden gem like Dungeon Seeker... I really like your content

[@DeathAlchemist]

It's interesting hearing the roots of Isekai and how they trace it. I do wonder if any of then have heard of Cavendish's The Blazing World.

[@McDudes]

great video! as usual!

[@PauseandSelect]

Thanks for your kind words McDudes!

[@shadowmaksim]

I know the video is years old by the time of this comment but dang it, it still holds true to this day. Like, I literally had this conversation with a friend of mine recently and I, in a much less researched sense, brought up some of the exact same points brought up here. I'll admit, I have some unpopular viewpoints when it comes to Isekai...aka Another World...aka Portal Fantasy...aka whatever. Biggest one is that I refuse to even consider it a genre. At most, in my mind, it's just a plot device at best, something that helps drive a story. But yeah, as you mentioned, there just is no set definition of what makes up a Portal Fantasy. You can ask multiple people and everyone will have their own definitions and qualifications of what makes one. Sure, some broad strokes will apply, but even then, there will always be plenty of exceptions. Fantasy based? Very common but not always. Game like with stats? A popular modern trope but there's plenty that don't use it. OP protagonists? Another popular modern trope but, again, there's plenty that don't have it. One way trip to the other world? Not really. Has to be a modern person going to that other world? Surprisingly, there's a lot that are the other way around or that person in question is far from normal. The transported person is the main character? You'd think so and that usually is the case but even that is messed around with. It all becomes this messy discussion of, what even is Portal Fantasy? Does virtual reality actually count or not? What about dimension shenanigans like time travel or parallel universes? Does sci-fi with planetary travel count? The afterlife with places like heaven or hell? Etc? I've seen people argue over plenty a series on whether or not they should count or not because of just how general of a concept it is. Stuff such as "YuYu Hakusho" or "Inuyasha" I've seen give so many people pause since they contain those exact elements. So commonly, I'm seeing series that have Portal Fantasy aspects get regarded as not being Portal Fantasy ("Iruma-kun" most recently) and shows that don't have Portal Fantasy aspects get referred to as being Portal Fantasy ("Interspecies Reviewers" oddly enough). If you know the AniTuber The Anime Man, aka Joey, he does this all the damn time and it's infuriating. But that does bring an interesting point and you touched about it in your video. Despite being or not being Portal Fantasy, they all tackle similar core topics and values, which probably is why there is so much mix up at the surface level. And that's just the "modern" stuff. As you mentioned, the use of this plot device literally spans decades in Japanese media. Heck, back in the 80's and 90's, it indeed very commonly was used with mecha funnily enough. "Dunbine" as already mentioned, "Rayearth", "Escaflowne", "Wataru", "Orguss", etc. This is still kind of is the case with modern series like "Knight's & Magic", "Smartphone" (after its genre shift anyway), "Tenchi Muyo! War on Geminar", "Muv Luv Alternative", etc. Much less how it's been commonly used world-wide as well. Like dang, I grew up watching western Portal Fantasy. "ChalkZone", "Evil Dead", "Black Knight", "Cyberchase", "Dragon Tales", "Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century", "Alice in Wonderland", "Wizard of Oz", "Narnia", "Samurai Jack", etc. And again, you can still modern examples, like "Infinity Train" or "Over the Garden Wall". This idea of having an entire other world to become part of has been engrained in me since I was a child growing up. To dial back a bit from this tangent, the point I'm trying to get at is that Portal Fantasy is frustrating to talk about...cause so few people are willing to actually hold a proper discussion about them. So for this video, I guess all I can say is thank you for validating all those pent up thoughts I've had for years.

[@ruedelta]

Perhaps interesting to analyze isekai through the lens of non-Japanese works, since it may give us some insights on the essential characteristics of isekai as viewed by other cultures. 萌妻食神 (Adorable Food Goddess) is a pretty interesting example and its jump is definitely coded in more traditional Chinese mechanisms (coincidences) that one would expect in say, wuxia.

[@PauseandSelect]

You know, I've always been meaning to get to Chinese and Korean works. I've mainly been focused on what's going on in Japan, but I really hope someone goes into some sort of a deep dive on that end. The wuxia connection does sound really interesting, I've seen a few Chinese isekai that seem to go in that direction, yeah, so I'm curious as to how that plays out and why that is.

[@ruedelta]

@@PauseandSelect Part of it is media censorship/state guidelines for sure, but only going with that explanation is awfully reductive. I think there is a lot more to be said about how the cultural context of the readership influences the parameters of isekai, especially if there are differences observed in Korean works as well.

[@EliahNebb]

right on

[@jebe4563]

While ReLife from 2013 didn't make as big of a splash as modern isekai proper, it comes across as a more on the nose and maturely handled version of the main sentiment/issue they're trying to unpack and work out. Isekai as a concept in Japanese animation showed up with some routine in the 80s, 90s, and 00s. There however are significant differences in tone, handling, and underlying sentiments with something like Dunbine, Rayearth, El Hazard, or Utawarerumono and post SAO isekai which seem to fall inline with those present in ReLife.

[@clayton_watchonly]

Just an idea on the video, would you like to add kanji next to romaji for specific japanese proper nouns in the future videos? It's kind of hard to relate the romaji to its meaning directly for those who know kanji, eg. politicians name mentioned in the apocalypticism introduction or specific terms like 転生. Also, I believe adding kanji can at least feels like more 中二病(ry Btw although I know kanji but I'm not from Japan, I'm from Hong Kong. Sorry for terrible grammar. Anyway the jump part is excellent, thank you for making this video Joe.

[@PauseandSelect]

That's a good idea, starting from here, will do! Sorry about that Clay.

[@clayton_watchonly]

@@PauseandSelect Thank you very for understanding it! Orz

[@InorexDergle]

Alright, real talk: how the hell is it that this video and online manga sites are the only western sites that have anything on that "A-kun no Sensou" series?

[@tintinjokes]

DOING GREAT STUFF MY DUDE

[@PauseandSelect]

THANK YOU MY DUDE

[@dianagp1036]

I really enjoyed this more scholarly take on isekai anime, especially how the mode of transference or lifting into another world changes the narrative of the story. The section in tenii in particular interested since for a while I'd been looking for isekai that deal the protagonist's knowledge of the modern world affecting they interact with the new world their in. Like, maybe they miss how food tasted in their previous world, or something simple like that. I was disappointed when the ones I found had the protagonists simply import japan down to every detail.

[@smokeman2645]

Getting back into reading manga. Good refresher for a layman like me. Also is that a "V" from you copy pasting patreon names at the very end hahaha :)

[@ArilandoArilando]

6:00 Where is that from? Also it looks a lot like Minas Tirith from LOTR.

[@davidsabillon5182]

Very interesting topic. Like commented and subscribed 👍

[@PauseandSelect]

Thanks for the support!

[@crackle6875]

When Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies rolled out...

[@MysteryCorgi_VN]

I appreciate this video. It reflects a lot of thoughts I've had in regards to fiction posted online representing certain cultural anxieties at a given time. I noticed a lot of isekai/related media oriented towards men is about the power fantasy while more of the "otome" style isekai tales directed at a woman audience from both Japan and Korea have a lot of "survive in social situations that are stacked against you" or just plain "try to defeat death flags" focus. Also lots of the main characters are ravenous foodies. Which I think is a fascinating glance at gendered anxieties and societal expectations.

[@Matt_Kole]

I really loved the vid. One suggestion is if it is an intro video, you shouldn't reference a bunch of titles without explaining what you are referencing. you sparked my curiosity to read about izanagi and Urashima Tarō, but it could have been summarized within the video itself

[@mrxcs]

6:00 What anime is this? knight's & magic?

[@PauseandSelect]

Yes it's Knight's & magic.

[@PPCAPOGAMING]

First time I have seen your face, have you ever shown it before? I bet I'm probably late to the party. BTW the video was great as usual.

[@PauseandSelect]

I've shown my face before, but there's always something different because I'm constantly finagling and trying to figure out new ways of presenting content, often to the detriment of the channel's consistency.

[@PPCAPOGAMING]

@@PauseandSelect Quality over quantity all the way! I prefer this very well put together and thought out videos than most crap you find in anitube. It's a bummer that youtube encourages producing shit videos for the sake of more content tho.

[@PauseandSelect]

@@PPCAPOGAMING I don't watch a lot of KZbin other than video editing stuff and cat videos, so I can't really speak much about anitube, but I'm glad you like this direction!!

[@PPCAPOGAMING]

@@PauseandSelect Gotta love the cat videos xd

[@28empoleon]

I love your videos! This helped me understand isekai more since it’s not a genre I typically watch or read (maybe because of its male demographic and protagonists since I’m a woman) I’ll definitely give it a shot again.

[@PauseandSelect]

There are a TON of female-centric isekai, if you're interested, no need to be stuck with male protags. There's a flurry of shoujo and otome-game isekai, and we're getting some really fun ones ("Killing slimes for 500 years" and "I'm a spider, so what"), so if you wanna stick to anime and just avoid some of the stranger, more problematic elements of male-dominated isekai, I think it's not long before we get more female-protag isekai. That said, thanks for watching, I hugely appreciate it!

[@rosebloom8620]

a n a l y t i c s b a b y y y y y y y

[@PauseandSelect]

t h a n k s r o s e b l o o m

[@maibhe6754]

I wonder if the "brony in Equestria" MLP fanfictions could be interesting to compare to the Japanese isekai. I have little experience with Japanese isekai, and know barely anything about "brony in Equestria", but the way people describe/complain about them makes them seem similar. The main character having hands is often a powerful ability that makes them stand out and do things others can't, and he may also end up being surrounded by the characters from the show (possibly forming a pseudo-harem or dating one of them?) I think it could be interesting to compare the two, they may be similar but with little interaction. Too bad I'm more interested in the meta aspects than actually reading the stories, because I probably won't do it unless I get really into MLP fanfiction.

[@PauseandSelect]

Hmmm, I dunno much about the "Brony in Equestria" stuff, so I can't say for sure. But I'll trust you on that, if you think it's similar enough, then sure thing.

[@maibhe6754]

@@PauseandSelect Like I said I haven't read any/much of it so it's just based on how I've heard people describe it

[@maibhe6754]

I just realized that the comparison likely stops after the more superficial elements. Isekai anime are interested in exploring many different concepts, whereas MLP fanfics are mostly interested in just the MLP world, but may explore that from different angles. Hm, maybe uhh no nevermind

[@LimeyLassen]

It's probably a broader connection with self-insert fanfics. People have been writing stuff like this for decades, and naturally there are always shared elements.

[@juliobroca6188]

Genial!

[@futseb]

The oldest Isekaï before the name i can relay to is Vision of Escaflowne, about an high school girl in modern japan with some kind of family tradition of fortune telling get sucked into a medieval world full of mechas where she finds herself a real prophetess that barely influences but not determine the events. The isekai, the other world, live here its own life. The girls is merely a way for the main hero to accomplish it's destiny. She is part of the plan, not making it.

[@frankjaeger2565]

Aura Battler Dunbine aired 13 years before Escaflowne

[@GilLiesHere]

Watch 'Noukin'

[@Psaiko_Showcase]

5:01 What Manga is this? I need the name please.

[@didles123]

You said that SAO exploded due to being pushed by "Kono Light Novel ga Sugoi". It looks to me that that magazine gave SAO a high ranking because it had already gotten popular, since the ranking system is somewhat of a popularity contest. In 2011 when it got into the top 10 for the first time, it was already a top selling light novel. The light novel version published by ASCII Media Works only started getting published a couple years earlier in 2009. It looks like what prevented SAO from falling into obscurity was due to Accel World winning the Dengeki Novel Prize, since that is what cause it to be published by ASCII Media Works.

[@DooMWhite]

17:37 Where is that from?

[@PauseandSelect]

It's from Berserk of Gluttony, which isn't an isekai, but I think it's a lot of fun.

[@DooMWhite]

@@PauseandSelect Tyvm, sir.

[@Pelthis]

Isekai is one of my favourites genres and I'm kinda sad so many of them look rushed and plagued by too much fanservice, but it won't prevent me from watching them anyway, as I got nothing better to do. But hey, I don't mean to tell about my whole life, just leaving a comment here as a sacrifice for the gods of Algorithm

[@PauseandSelect]

Lol, thanks Pelthis.

[@Kuroshiro24]

the guy underneath the paper in your thumbnail looks like Japanese Einstein

[@PauseandSelect]

lol koizumi?

[@ssengageisop3952]

Nice

[@LybertyZ]

Beware of retroactively creating a historic lineage for a recently coined term -- a word/term/name created when a new word was 'needed' because of a trend or movement should be grounded in the time it was popularized; otherwise you just end up with Wikipedia-type revisionism.

[@petrolandcoffee]

I've been thinking lately about why I have such a deep hatred for the majority of isekai . Deep down I knew my opinion isn't really fair and I feel like I'm writing of an entire genre like how other people write off anime entirely and I feel like this video has given me at least some sort of framework to articulate my thoughts and to appreciate the context these shows exists in.

[@oscarsantos4813]

I am sorry I am 1 hour trying to get the name of the manga were the demon king is an Otaku. I can not find it in the description, I tried to search for "ekuno senso" however is not showing me anything. What's the name of the manga?

[@rika714]

A-kun (17) no Sensou - I, the Tycoon? or A-Kun no Sensou

[@Baibakov88]

Those were some yummy jelly doughnuts in the thumbnail.

[@PauseandSelect]

Nothing beats a jelly-filled donut!

[@Kuudere-Kun]

SAO is a perfect example of the problems that come from defining Genre too Pedantically. It may technically qualify as a Death Game more then it does an Isekai, but as someone who's been a fan of works of both genres SAO satisfies what one seeks from Isekai far more then it does a Death Game story.

[@Matortheeternal]

I strongly disagree. SAO does not satisfy what one looks for from isekai, it's far more in line with what one looks for from VRMMO-kei. It does juxtapose its characters against a "fantasy world" with ludic elements, but the characters do not recognize this world as autonomous or real. This greatly changes the nature of the narrative, conflict, and themes and how they are approached. SAO doesn't really read properly as an isekai work because its world isn't *real*, it's virtual, and its characters know this.

[@Kuudere-Kun]

@@Matortheeternal "it's far more in line with what one looks for from VRMMO-kei" but that Genre is inherently closer to Isekai then it is Survival stories.

[@gesundheitspakxt6641]

Wow

[@gunsmithcat7542]

The classic example of a modern Isekai would be Alice in Wonderland. The odlest, modern Isekai Anime I can think of would be Escaflowne.

[@ruedelta]

I'd say Inuyasha predates and belongs.

[@gunsmithcat7542]

@@ruedelta Shame me, but I've never seen it :)

[@ruedelta]

@@gunsmithcat7542 You're probably better off for it honestly. :P

[@Matortheeternal]

@@ruedelta Pretty sure that Inuyasha does not classify as isekai. Kugome does not go to a different world, but rather back in time. So it's not literally "another world", it's "our world, but in the past".

[@ruedelta]

@@Matortheeternal It's a past with demons and priests and ninjas, so it is basically another world. The important distinction is to juxtapose against our own reality. Recreators also plays around with the themes but obviously does it in reverse.

[@PirateJohnson]

I like DigiMon...

[@pwnmonkeyisreal]

Thinking about the Isekai motif of "modernity is awesome" when a character either directly brings or thinks of a modern invention to the new world, I realize it is almost 100% positively received by the Locals. What is interesting to me is that I have yet to read/watch a character mention the positives of an un-modernized world. Benefits might include the lack of heavily processed foods, clean air and water, pristine nature, etc.

[@baitzadustoimsad7852]

i think the popularity of isekai is directly proportional to how fucked up the world is. no proof, this is just based on me rt now. im consuming too much narou to feel good. rather than a literary movement i prefer to think of it as a socioeconomic phenomenon. from buddhism to sufism to people going to the new world(america) to modern world hikikomoris, its getting harder to "physically" escape, unless you are rich.

[@PauseandSelect]

There is some discussion I've come across that suggests that's the case, or at least a similar sentiment is shared among some authors.

[@zacharychieply2035]

the root of all iseki is wish fulfillment, every single person on the face of the earth has had regrets in the their life, and wishes they could do it over. this is why re:zeo is my favorite iseki because its humiliating by being "anti-wish fulfillment"

[@Matortheeternal]

smol brain

[@ProgShell]

I find Isekai incredibly interesting in concept but the only one I really like is Konosuba. So watching these videos is basically me just learning what Konosuba was making fun of all along.

[@PauseandSelect]

Yeah, Konosuba's a lot of fun.

[@maibhe6754]

These are just my feelings that may not be accurate, but in my mind, isekai should be part of the premise of the story, something that happens to kick it off. If they travel to another world halfway through, I don't think it's really isekai, and especially not if it happens at the very end. I also feel that it doesn't count if they can travel back and forth between worlds freely and constantly. And a lot of people take it very literally, so if it isn't actually another world it isn't isekai, which I also disagree with, for example Now and Then Here and There may take place in a distant future so many will say it's not isekai but I feel like it's not very relevant, it still uses the same technique to start the story. Also, I don't think .hack//Sign is an isekai. I do think that being trapped in a game can count, but in .hack//Sign it's only one of the characters and the others can travel freely, and they are also constantly communicating outside the game. These are just my feelings though and I don't have that much experience with japanese isekai media.

[@coopergore2884]

This comment only serves the purpose to engage analytics, but is phrased a bit differently than the others.

[@PauseandSelect]

This response only serves the purpose to engage analytics, but is phrased a bit differently than the other one.

[@chicoamorim429]

youtube analytics.

[@PauseandSelect]

heh

[@TheNicestPig]

Nice C-2 Heavy Transport on the thumbnail, wondering why it's there. There are no C-2s in the video, this is clickbait

[@PauseandSelect]

Someone recommended I draw it, lol. To be fair I had to trace the nose and some of the body, so technically I didn't draw that. I did draw the onigiri row from scratch though.

[@TheNicestPig]

@@PauseandSelect cool.

[@JoJoboiWav]

comment

[@PauseandSelect]

reply

[@Nerdcoresteve1]

The Wizard Of Oz is definitely Isekai. Alice in Wonderland arguably is.

[@andeven1]

first

[@PauseandSelect]

You won.

[@andeven1]

but at what cost ঁ^ ঁ

[@MRWHO-gt8zo]

Iseikai =op niggaz + harem + European setting x Japanese culture

[@MRWHO-gt8zo]

And with Tolkien and Rowling inspired universes

[@Matortheeternal]

@@MRWHO-gt8zo I think you're thinking more about elements of narou. Isekai is often associated with a high fantasy (dragon quest-inspired) setting, but there are exceptions to this such as Youjo Senki and Escaflowne.

[@quaggyboy4277]

I hope that you will try to consider watching an upcoming anime in Winter 2021 called " Mushoku Tensei" which dubbed to be "The Granddaddy of Modern Isekai" and also being credited to the boom of the isekai shitstorm LNs and anime in Japanthat try to replicate the success it made in Syosetu as the #1 most popular story in the website for 6 years...( Even after the story itself ended...)