AP 541 - Q. Isekai Genre

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VicMonado
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AP 541 - Q. Isekai Genre

Post by VicMonado »

Howdy everyone, I hope you've been well.

You may or may not notice that the Isekai genre is everywhere these days and in multiple genres as well (A story wherein the protagonist is tranported from 1 world to another). So that's the subject this week, what do you think of the genre and are there any examples of this type of show that stands out to you, good and bad? If you were to be transported to another world, what would you choose?

Thank you for your time and I look forward to hearing from you.

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Re: AP 541 - Q. Isekai Genre

Post by xahldera »

Never watched many, if any, of the Isekai genre (At least I don't think I have). So I don't really have any thing to say about it other than "meh"? (I do like the character designs from Re:Zero and KonaSuba though).

Can't give any good or bad examples.

If I was transported to another world, it would probably be some horrific formless void where nothing exists because of my opinions or lack thereof of the genre... ;) :P
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Re: AP 541 - Q. Isekai Genre

Post by VicMonado »

xahldera wrote: Wed Jan 24, 2018 2:14 am Never watched many, if any, of the Isekai genre (At least I don't think I have). So I don't really have any thing to say about it other than "meh"? (I do like the character designs from Re:Zero and KonaSuba though).

Can't give any good or bad examples.

If I was transported to another world, it would probably be some horrific formless void where nothing exists because of my opinions or lack thereof of the genre... ;) :P
Hmmm interesting, so i take it you didn't watch anything like Digimon as a kid either? Maybe a movie like Spirited Away?
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Re: AP 541 - Q. Isekai Genre

Post by xahldera »

Nope. Missed out on the Digimon craze. And Spirited Away, though interesting, wasn't my thing ("Blasphemy!"). You could at a push say that Doraemon, that I watched in my childhood, might have had Isekai elements, but that is the closest thing I can think of. If you recall my previous discussion reply, I don't really watch many genres outside of sci-fi and slice of life.

In theory, Isekai anime should be of interest to me as I live a rather boring mundane life and the idea of being whisked away to some other world should be right up my street, but various factors mean that I am not watching as much anime as I used to and ultimately Isekai hasn't captured my imagination yet for whatever reason my stubborn mind has.
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Re: AP 541 - Q. Isekai Genre

Post by VicMonado »

Ah okay fair enough, was just being sure that you weren't just thinking about shows from the most recent craze like No Game No Life and SAO but I can see we're on the same page already. Never seen Doraemon but if there's another world I guess it counts. :)
xahldera wrote: Wed Jan 24, 2018 12:52 pm If you recall my previous discussion reply, I don't really watch many genres outside of sci-fi and slice of life.

In theory, Isekai anime should be of interest to me as I live a rather boring mundane life and the idea of being whisked away to some other world should be right up my street, but various factors mean that I am not watching as much anime as I used to and ultimately Isekai hasn't captured my imagination yet for whatever reason my stubborn mind has.
Here's my interpretation of this point. Perhaps the reason you prefer Slice of Life to something like Isekai anime in general is what it has to offer at the core. Slice of Life (or at least good ones) often highlight details and nuances that we can observe in our everyday lives. At their best I've found they can allow us to appreciate our lives no matter how "mundane" (as you put it) it can seem. While this feeling can exist in Isekai anime as well, that genre is closely associated with the romance of pure escapism, the chance to start over and experience a different way of life entirely. So my conclusion is that the role anime plays in your life is to better appreciate or allow you cope with it rather than a temporary escape. Of course I could be COMPLETELY wrong, I'm just theorising. I could go longer and try to support my point further with the Sci-fi angle but I probably shouldn't bloat this thread with psuedo-psychiatry.

Anyways thanks for your response!
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Re: AP 541 - Q. Isekai Genre

Post by QueenInoue »

I like Isekai anime. It usually turns out quite interesting. I am even reading a web comic that is Isekai. I know that lately I have heard of people not liking isekai a lot recently because they didn't like certain ones. Usually if i know its an Isekai anime i normally want to watch it.

As far as if i were to go into another world i don't know what kind of world id like to go into. Maybe one where my alter ego's aspects are real and then i would assume her name in said world. I will have to give that more thought to have a more detailed answer to that part of the question.
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Re: AP 541 - Q. Isekai Genre

Post by YotaruVegeta »

Like any other genre (or sub genre) it all depends of the quality of the production. I like some isekai, and am bored by others. I thought Re: Zero had a very interesting premise on top of its other world plot. Konosuba uses isekai and turns it into an absurd comedy. SAO gives us...a ridiculously OP main character, a damsel being violated by slug tentacles, and a girl with incestuous feelings for her cousin. Uh, well, can't win 'em all.

I think my favorite isekai of all my anime years was Now and Then, Here and There. I still have not seen Spirited Away, which I could say for a lot of Ghibli movies.

What I tend to not like is that many isekai are about people trapped in games. I think I dislike it because, on top of it being overused, it is too easily pandering to gamers. It's like when an anime has an otaku as its main character. It's so lame!

If anyone wants to check out some more isekai, I found a list, because everything has a list, dummy!

http://goboiano.com/20-isekai-anime-for ... the-genre/
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Re: AP 541 - Q. Isekai Genre

Post by xahldera »

VicMonado wrote: Wed Jan 24, 2018 1:43 pm Ah okay fair enough, was just being sure that you weren't just thinking about shows from the most recent craze like No Game No Life and SAO but I can see we're on the same page already. Never seen Doraemon but if there's another world I guess it counts. :)
xahldera wrote: Wed Jan 24, 2018 12:52 pm If you recall my previous discussion reply, I don't really watch many genres outside of sci-fi and slice of life.

In theory, Isekai anime should be of interest to me as I live a rather boring mundane life and the idea of being whisked away to some other world should be right up my street, but various factors mean that I am not watching as much anime as I used to and ultimately Isekai hasn't captured my imagination yet for whatever reason my stubborn mind has.
Here's my interpretation of this point. Perhaps the reason you prefer Slice of Life to something like Isekai anime in general is what it has to offer at the core. Slice of Life (or at least good ones) often highlight details and nuances that we can observe in our everyday lives. At their best I've found they can allow us to appreciate our lives no matter how "mundane" (as you put it) it can seem. While this feeling can exist in Isekai anime as well, that genre is closely associated with the romance of pure escapism, the chance to start over and experience a different way of life entirely. So my conclusion is that the role anime plays in your life is to better appreciate or allow you cope with it rather than a temporary escape. Of course I could be COMPLETELY wrong, I'm just theorising. I could go longer and try to support my point further with the Sci-fi angle but I probably shouldn't bloat this thread with psuedo-psychiatry.

Anyways thanks for your response!
Hey, I have no problem with the "psuedo-psychiatry". In fact I found it a lot of fun.

I personally think that the appeal of the Slice of Life just came from the fact that my mundane life also has moments where work causes me a lot of stress and I just want to enjoy some entertainment that is a bit brainless and requires little on my part to enjoy, rather than any particular deep psychological reasoning to it.

Maybe at some point I will come across an Isekai anime will watch but in the mean time, I will continue with my rather restricted viewing diet.
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