| I just came across this article: Anime-style novel contest in Japan bans alternate reality (isekai) stories and teen protagonists I got into anime thanks to 2 shows which were isekai, namely Kyo Kara Maoh (LNs: 2000; anime: 2004) and Fushigi Yuugi (manga: 1992; anime: 1995), they weren't the first anime I watched but they certainly were the ones that really got me interested, I found them "different" and attractive at the time (around 2006 when Animax aired them here). Right now looks like there are a lot of these "isekai" series, which may or may not have an anime adaptation, I'm not into LNs and haven't watched too many isekai anime either, so I wouldn't know. Out of curiosity: Which was the first isekai series? Which series made the theme/genre popular? Since when did the anime/LN industry start to get over-saturated with these type of series? |
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| I have no real idea but it seems to me after the popularity of SAO everyone was just trying to cash in on the trend. |
when ur about to have a refreshing sip of earl grey tea and someone says "traps are gay" |
| I'm guessing Fire Tripper (Inuyasha's predecessor) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire_Tripper is the first and Digimon made it popular. |
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| Pretty sure Alice in Wonderland is the first "trapped in another world" story. But I think after SAO there was a big influx of isekai series. |
| :) |
| (Excluding Alice in Wonderland) Depends on how you count it, the oldest I've personally seen without looking too much into it is Ouke no Monshou but technically it's trapped in ancient Egypt which might be a bit of a gray area. So after that it would be Seisenshi Dunbine for earliest I've seen. If the requirements are characters with fantasy elements sent to another world specifically. |
Askorti said: I'm pretty sure it is. It ticks all the boxes as to what an isekai anime is so idk what you're talking about.Menzo- said: I have no real idea but it seems to me after the popularity of SAO everyone was just trying to cash in on the trend. But SAO isn't even really an isekai... |
when ur about to have a refreshing sip of earl grey tea and someone says "traps are gay" |
| Dont even know, but, it is one of the most trashier genres out there. Pure cancer really... |
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GamerDLM said: (Excluding Alice in Wonderland) Depends on how you count it, the oldest I've personally seen without looking too much into it is Ouke no Monshou but technically it's trapped in ancient Egypt which might be a bit of a gray area. So after that it would be Seisenshi Dunbine for earliest I've seen. If the requirements are characters with fantasy elements sent to another world specifically. I think the only requirement of "isekai" as the name itself suggests is somehow or the other ending up in a different world. Time travelling to the past most probably does not count. |
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| Digimon, Inuyasha and NG Knight Ramune are older, there are others that I forget. |
Cross  AngeHey guys check my profile for current airing season anime recommendation (guaranteed best taste) |
Anyone knows who are the artists of the the two artworks here? |
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One on the left is by https://myanimelist.net/people/18533/Haruaki_Fuyuno One on the right is by https://myanimelist.net/people/14389/Runa --- To answer the thread - isekai stuff has always been around and probably always will be around. The rise in popularity recently is largely a result of the setting's popularity on Shousetsuka ni Narou, the increase in the number of light novels a few years ago that are based on web novels hosted there, and the anime adaptations that these series are now receiving. |
| There is no such thing as shit taste. Only idiots who think everyone should have the same taste as they do. |
Askorti said: Isekai means other world, he was in other worlds, yes they were virtual but they are most definitely other worlds. The reality of the worlds doesn't matter, nor does the fact that him being in the worlds wasn't permanent. The games even had real world consequences so that makes saying "the worlds weren't real so therefore it is not isekai" invalid.Menzo- said: I'm pretty sure it is. It ticks all the boxes as to what an isekai anime is so idk what you're talking about. Maybe the fact that the MC is "trapped" only in 2 of the 4 arc worlds he visits? Maybe the fact, that he was neither summoned nor had to die to enter that alternative world? Or maybe the fact, that those worlds aren't even "real". (Well, except for the last one, but that's up to much debate) Oh, and add the fact that he returns every time and spends some time in our world before diving in again. |
when ur about to have a refreshing sip of earl grey tea and someone says "traps are gay" |
| the oldest i can think of right now is Escaflowne. |
"I came here to sniff Madoka panties and kick witch ass and I am all out 'doka panties" - Homora Akemi |
| @Askorti SAO is one. Isekai means 'other world'. Doesn't matter how the MC got there or whether they can jump in and out. Point is the anime mainly takes place in other world aside from earth, and the MC is transported to said world. It could be in a virtual reality, past/future time, parallel universe etc. It's overused at this point. The fact that Kadokawa has specifically banned both the isekai genre and teen protagonists in its upcoming LN contest (assuming the news is legit) really says a alot about the trend. |
ImpalaMay 22, 2017 2:52 AM
GamerDLM said: (Excluding Alice in Wonderland) You'll have to exclude a lot. One of the oldest fantasy book series, Narnia, is isekai. And before that, there were stories like Gulliver's Travels. If you want to limit yourself to anime, AniDB easily gives an answer: http://anidb.net/perl-bin/animedb.pl?wishlist=0&vote=0&type.web=1&type.unknown=1&type.tvspecial=1&type.tvseries=1&type.ova=1&type.other=1&type.musicvideo=1&type.movie=1&tagid=6744&show=tag&reltb=animetb&orderby.name=1.1&orderby.airdate=0.1¬ification=0&noalias=1&mylist=0&h=0&do.update=update&cleanurl=1&cat.minweight=0&airing=0 Aura Battler Dunbine was there first, in 1983. |
| Eh, commenting on the article rather than the OP since the OP seems to be having his questions answered without much of a hitch, even as somebody who likes both of those things just fine I don't think that it's necessarily a bad thing. The article is right when they say that scenarios for Isekai LNs in general are getting more and more outlandish and the absurdity of some of them might either put people off or view it as a novelty type thing, which in the case of the hot spring series, it probably is. I still want to read it tho ._. I'm not saying that I feel this is a good idea out of any sort of concern relating to quality, but I do sort of feel that those two things - again, particularly the absurd isekai thing, but the abundance of high school romcoms and high school H/E stuff probably does the same to a lesser extent - kind of can create a feeling of alienation with LNs past the people who are into these sorts of things, and I sort of want them to catch on more in the west so they can get more releases over here, so something a bit different from the norm like they seem to be demanding in this contest might be able to help with that. The ideal would be that something that they're asking for becomes big and creates a bit of notoriety for being a popular LN, even if that's just wishful thinking. YenON releases a lot already, I think every LN I own bears their label, and I believe I've seen other publishers seem to be starting to dabble in it themselves, so the time could be good for this. More actual LN adaptations in the west rather than just releasing the manga adaptations of the LNs, y'know? It seems unlikely that this in particular could spring something big, but I try to hope for the best. Maybe I could even start getting LNs in German from the manga section at the bookstore I go to sometimes, rather than having to buy all of the LNs I own from an American publisher through Amazon :P I hope they catch on enough to end up in that position one day, and I think that this sort of sentiment the contest is expressing could actually help with that, even if the sort of thing I want more and more of is basically banned in this competition. There's plenty of those things in LNs already, anyway, and I don't think they'd be forgotten if the format got more widespread and started coming to the west a bit more. They're already in the early stages of heading that way, or at least that's the feeling I get when scouring through Amazon to try and find LNs to buy to begin with, so the time is ripe. So yeah. I feel like this sort of sentiment expressed by that contest might be able to help with further popularizing LNs by tearing down some of the barriers involved for a larger audience, even if I just sort of depricatively assume nothing will come out of this, the sentiment is really what sort of makes me think something like this is at least in the realm of miniscule possibility hence why I actually kind of like the idea here. At least here and I believe in the west as a whole they're nowhere near as popular or as easy to come across as manga, and I am definitely not against the idea of LNs becoming bigger so I can start getting more LNs myself. I'll be forever salty that I have to settle for the manga adaptations of ZnT and Haganai when it comes to physical purchases so I do sort of tend to pull at straws hoping for LNs to catch on more, since I like the format more than I do manga and I like books more than comics as a whole. |
ManabanMay 22, 2017 3:11 AM
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Askorti said: I wouldn't be able to say, I haven't seen it. There isn't solid guideline system as to what makes an anime and isekai anime so yes it is quite broad, It's just a term used to describe something where a character from one world is in another world(s).Menzo- said: Isekai means other world, he was in other worlds, yes they were virtual but they are most definitely other worlds. The reality of the worlds doesn't matter, nor does the fact that him being in the worlds wasn't permanent. The games even had real world consequences so that makes saying "the worlds weren't real so therefore it is not isekai" invalid. With such a broad definition, even Netoge no Yome would be an isekai. Is it really? |
when ur about to have a refreshing sip of earl grey tea and someone says "traps are gay" |
Maou_heika said: the other 2 questions got answers so i'll try to tackle this one..Since when did the anime/LN industry start to get over-saturated with these type of series? since i dont think its over saturated, just that raccoons keep watching and hyping the 1 or 2 issekai series each season |
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Askorti said: I understand all of that but like I said before, they are their own virtual worlds, note virtual, regardless of whether or not they are physically there or not, they are still worlds. See this is what I mean, there is no clear guidelines of what anime can be classified isekai and what can't. I think I'm right and you think you're right and neither of us is really right or wrong, it's all interpretation.Menzo- said: I wouldn't be able to say, I haven't seen it. There isn't solid guideline system as to what makes an anime and isekai anime so yes it is quite broad, It's just a term used to describe something where a character from one world is in another world(s). Yea, but I would like to argue a point, that the "worlds" in SAO aren't really "another world(s)". But first of all, he isn't even actually *in* them, since it's just his avatar that is, with his actual body lying on a bed in our world. Second, the worlds that he visits aren't another worlds, because they're a part of our world. They don't exist separate from it, but are a part of it, created within it. The characters of SAO never really leave our world, they're always here, on Earth. Until the project alicization arc it is not even the consciousness that leaves, because all that really happens is the brain receiving false sensory signals, all very much still in our world. The aforementioned arc sort of muddles it though, for reasons that would be kind of a spoiler. But yet still it is in our world, Earth. |
when ur about to have a refreshing sip of earl grey tea and someone says "traps are gay" |
| Quite sure they banning it because of new Manga (Source) are "Isekai". Lke 90% of it in last few month. |
| Hayzzz This crap again? Every ..I S E K A I.. shows are falling in the same type of cliche like a NEET, a Shut-In, and just a plain average guy who get sucked into different world. To Live, and to die for, and Repeat Again Look? another REJECTED Generic Isekai shows was about to aired this summer. Even I can't be satisfied with that |
 "Think about that glowing dust That destroys the night sky's dream of Just being nothing"--  -- |
flannan said: The list seems to be incomplete, I can't find most of the series I've watched which clearly were isekai.GamerDLM said: (Excluding Alice in Wonderland) You'll have to exclude a lot. One of the oldest fantasy book series, Narnia, is isekai. And before that, there were stories like Gulliver's Travels. If you want to limit yourself to anime, AniDB easily gives an answer: http://anidb.net/perl-bin/animedb.pl?wishlist=0&vote=0&type.web=1&type.unknown=1&type.tvspecial=1&type.tvseries=1&type.ova=1&type.other=1&type.musicvideo=1&type.movie=1&tagid=6744&show=tag&reltb=animetb&orderby.name=1.1&orderby.airdate=0.1¬ification=0&noalias=1&mylist=0&h=0&do.update=update&cleanurl=1&cat.minweight=0&airing=0 Aura Battler Dunbine was there first, in 1983. |
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Maou_heika said: they're community made tagsflannan said: The list seems to be incomplete, I can't find most of the series I've watched which clearly were isekai.You'll have to exclude a lot. One of the oldest fantasy book series, Narnia, is isekai. And before that, there were stories like Gulliver's Travels. If you want to limit yourself to anime, AniDB easily gives an answer: http://anidb.net/perl-bin/animedb.pl?wishlist=0&vote=0&type.web=1&type.unknown=1&type.tvspecial=1&type.tvseries=1&type.ova=1&type.other=1&type.musicvideo=1&type.movie=1&tagid=6744&show=tag&reltb=animetb&orderby.name=1.1&orderby.airdate=0.1¬ification=0&noalias=1&mylist=0&h=0&do.update=update&cleanurl=1&cat.minweight=0&airing=0 Aura Battler Dunbine was there first, in 1983. as the message on top of the site tells you, " Found an incorrect entry? Something is missing? Registered users can edit all entries. Why not sign up now? It's free!" |
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RnDNEET021 said: Wouldn't most anime MCs fall into either of the categories? Majority of the anime start with an average normal guy/girl as the MC after all. None of the isekai anime I've watched so far had shut-in/NEET MCs. Could you list a few please?Hayzzz This crap again? Every ..I S E K A I.. shows are falling in the same type of cliche like a NEET, a Shut-In, and just a plain average guy who get sucked into different world. To Live, and to die for, and Repeat Again Look? another REJECTED Generic Isekai shows was about to aired this summer. Even I can't be satisfied with that |
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Askorti said: Menzo- said: Isekai means other world, he was in other worlds, yes they were virtual but they are most definitely other worlds. The reality of the worlds doesn't matter, nor does the fact that him being in the worlds wasn't permanent. The games even had real world consequences so that makes saying "the worlds weren't real so therefore it is not isekai" invalid. With such a broad definition, even Netoge no Yome would be an isekai. Is it really? Nah, Netoge doesn't fit the isekai genre simply because they were never in a virtual world, but rather, it was just a glorification of the mmos they are playing |
Maou_heika said: RnDNEET021 said: Wouldn't most anime MCs fall into either of the categories? Majority of the anime start with an average normal guy/girl as the MC after all. None of the isekai anime I've watched so far had shut-in/NEET MCs. Could you list a few please?Hayzzz This crap again? Every ..I S E K A I.. shows are falling in the same type of cliche like a NEET, a Shut-In, and just a plain average guy who get sucked into different world. To Live, and to die for, and Repeat Again Look? another REJECTED Generic Isekai shows was about to aired this summer. Even I can't be satisfied with that SAO (You could say where Kirito Got sucked in the MMORPG game) The Same as Re:Zero KonoSuba Outbreak Company Gate Jietai If Reverse : Where a different world guy gets sucked into our world that would be : Hataraku Maou sama Re: Creators |
"Think about that glowing dust That destroys the night sky's dream of Just being nothing"-- -- |
RnDNEET021 said: Hayzzz This crap again? Every ..I S E K A I.. shows are falling in the same type of cliche like a NEET, a Shut-In, and just a plain average guy who get sucked into different world. To Live, and to die for, and Repeat Again Look? another REJECTED Generic Isekai shows was about to aired this summer. Even I can't be satisfied with that Frankly, I hate seeing people from military background getting to another world a lot more. (it is said to be an overused trope in my country's fantasy and alternate history) I'd rather have somebody like me as the MC. Also, it does not matter much who is the MC and how he got there. What happens in the show itself is more important. RnDNEET021 said: Maou_heika said: Wouldn't most anime MCs fall into either of the categories? Majority of the anime start with an average normal guy/girl as the MC after all. None of the isekai anime I've watched so far had shut-in/NEET MCs. Could you list a few please? SAO (You could say where Kirito Got sucked in the MMORPG game) The Same as Re:Zero KonoSuba Outbreak Company Gate Jietai If Reverse : Where a different world guy gets sucked into our world that would be : Hataraku Maou sama Re: Creators SAO - Kirito is a school student. Sure, he is nerdy, but at no point he was a NEET or shut-in. Gate - the MC is a soldier in active service. Sure, he is an otaku (and a lot of other people in the JSDF are too), but again, neither NEET nor shut-in. Haven't watched Re:Zero and I don't remember Outbreak Company enough (he did get a job - as a cultural representative in another world). But I would agree with KonoSuba. You're better off listing NGNL. These siblings do have problems. I would not call Hataraku Maou-sama or Re:Creators' characters NEET or shut-in. "Demon King" is a fine job. |
| The oldest isekai I can think of that were popular in anime fandom (or at least popular enough to get licensed/shown on international TV) are El Hazard and Vision of Escaflowne, which came out in 1995 and 1996 respectively. |
| "No, son, you may not have your body pillow at the dinner table!" |
| "Isekai" (another world) used to be reasonably popular back in the day; mostly stuff like Inuyasha or Kyou kara Maou! Isekai as it is now incorporates specifically, a lazy-assed fantasy RPG setting (stolen from ages old D&D, DQ, FF, etc), which was popularized by SAO; doesn't really matter whether it actually counts as an isekai or not. It's now especially prevalent in light novel/web novels, and tasteless Japanese otaku are eating it up. |
| Be thankful for the wisdom granted to you. |
| I always think of Digimon Adventure as one of the earlier ones. I think sword art online is what started the recent trend in them. |
MortalMelancholy said: "Isekai" (another world) used to be reasonably popular back in the day; mostly stuff like Inuyasha or Kyou kara Maou! Isekai as it is now incorporates specifically, a lazy-assed fantasy RPG setting (stolen from ages old D&D, DQ, FF, etc), which was popularized by SAO; doesn't really matter whether it actually counts as an isekai or not. It's now especially prevalent in light novel/web novels, and tasteless Japanese otaku are eating it up. Welcome to the 21st century. Kids these days aren't reading much books, they prefer playing games. And that's where they're going to take their ideas about how fantasy worlds work. |
flannan said: GamerDLM said: (Excluding Alice in Wonderland) You'll have to exclude a lot. One of the oldest fantasy book series, Narnia, is isekai. And before that, there were stories like Gulliver's Travels. If you want to limit yourself to anime, AniDB easily gives an answer: http://anidb.net/perl-bin/animedb.pl?wishlist=0&vote=0&type.web=1&type.unknown=1&type.tvspecial=1&type.tvseries=1&type.ova=1&type.other=1&type.musicvideo=1&type.movie=1&tagid=6744&show=tag&reltb=animetb&orderby.name=1.1&orderby.airdate=0.1¬ification=0&noalias=1&mylist=0&h=0&do.update=update&cleanurl=1&cat.minweight=0&airing=0 Aura Battler Dunbine was there first, in 1983. I partially said Alice in Wonderland because there was an anime adaptation of it in 1983 as well. But Dunbine did release the anime notably earlier but of course the actual story for alice is much older. |
GamerDLMMay 22, 2017 2:54 PM
Askorti said: Brb said: Nah, Netoge doesn't fit the isekai genre simply because they were never in a virtual world, but rather, it was just a glorification of the mmos they are playing Again, Kirito and the others aren't *in* the virtual world. Their avatars are. They're still lying on their beds at home/in hospitals. I think the main difference between SAO or like .hack series from something like Netoge or Quan Zhi Gao Shou is that SAO is a Virtual Reality where the character's minds literally go to the other world and it is like they are experiencing it as themselves while with Netoge the characters are sitting in front of computer screens like normal MMO players and imagining themselves talking in game, which gets animated. |
Askorti said: Kiouma-Riou said: I think the main difference between SAO or like .hack series from something like Netoge or Quan Zhi Gao Shou is that SAO is a Virtual Reality where the character's minds literally go to the other world and it is like they are experiencing it as themselves while with Netoge the characters are sitting in front of computer screens like normal MMO players and imagining themselves talking in game, which gets animated. It is still not quite accurate. In SAO their minds don't go anywhere. It's just that sensory impulses such as sight, hearing, smell and so on are snatched by the hardware and replaced with what the game has in it. So it's not that their minds are taken anywhere, it's just that the brain is being fooled into intercepting something else. It's only very briefly mentioned in the anime, but the novels pretty frequently point out that the world in SAO, ALO and GGO are still made out of polygons with textures and 3D models, and that all the sensual experiences are distinctly off. That you can tell right away that it's not the real world. Though the Alicization arc makes it a bit more complicated because there Oh, yeah that is a good point that it is not exactly like isekai. I am not sure if I consider VR experience to count as an isekai but I think some people do count it because it is a similar situation for the characters story-wise. Wizard of Oz would be isekai but is it if it is all a dream? Thanks for the info, I haven't read the LNs. |
Rainy11May 22, 2017 1:35 PM
| I think the oldest one I've seen was Dunbine, but it was probably .Hack that made it popular. desseroni said: Pretty sure Alice in Wonderland is the first "trapped in another world" story. But I think after SAO there was a big influx of isekai series. The Divine Comedy is even older. |
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Askorti said: Brb said: Nah, Netoge doesn't fit the isekai genre simply because they were never in a virtual world, but rather, it was just a glorification of the mmos they are playing Again, Kirito and the others aren't *in* the virtual world. Their avatars are. They're still lying on their beds at home/in hospitals. Yes, they are in the virtual world, as in their minds are inside the game. The defining statement "inside the virtual world" that netoge lacks is that they cannot escape from the virtual world nor can they move their bodies simultaneously while in the game, hence it includes the "transported in another world" trope whereas netoge is simply sitting in front of the pc. The difference between the two is pretty palpable. |
BatoKusanagi said: I think the oldest one I've seen was Dunbine, but it was probably .Hack that made it popular. desseroni said: Pretty sure Alice in Wonderland is the first "trapped in another world" story. But I think after SAO there was a big influx of isekai series. The Divine Comedy is even older. Well I was talking about the 80s anime. |
| :) |
| Magic Knight Rayearth was one of the firsts, from 1990s taking a wild guess |
| All of this isekai fad has started thanks to this fucking site http://syosetu.com/ countless anime are adapted from novels on the site almost all of the popular novels out there are isekai. some of them are decent and worth reading though but those are the ones that never get adapted which is very frustrating seriously If japanese people stick to shit taste and keep creating tons of shit shows like that anime is doomed chinese cartoons will take over anime im not even joking |
| It started from the one who created the word "isekai" and then later started with the one who wrote a series' main theme/plot is isekai. :/ |
| emm.. aren't heavenly world concept that exist since ancient times pretty much can be considered issekai? as for current isekai trend... i think it happened with booming of web novel... i like some of them personally tho soo... |
 "If taking responsibility for a mistake that cannot be undone means death, it's not that hard to die. At least, not as hard as to live on." |
| Isekai has been around for centuries, the current boom is thanks to a web novel explosion with mushoku tensei, overlord, remonster, kumo desu ga, slime etc.. all coming out at about the same time. |
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