#fine i understand the appeal of isekai reading this post and this post only

[cerastes]

Honestly, I’m not trying to Hot Take or whatever when it comes to Isekai, really. Re:Zero is one of my favorite anime, and if you were around when it was airing, you’ll remember how Absolutely Fucking Stoked I was about it 24/7, posting theories and all, and making a PA post whenever a new ep was up. One could also mention Konosuba AKA My Favorite Comedy Ever, but let’s stick to non-parodies.

Aside from that one, though, it’s really a matter of the genre not being my thing at all. Re:Zero’s best aspect, to me, is the time loop. I love time loops and time abnormalities in general, especially when one character can remember things across loops (like in ERASED/Boku dake ga Inai Machi, god DAMN that’s a turbo favorite). The idea of going to another world is the most fundamental fantasy everyone’s had, so it’s fun in that way, and it’s easy to see the appeal, but I am not a fan of the way the genre has been handled.

I’ve mostly seen two popular ways of it being handled, and I am a fan of neither, really.

Way One is the “someone gets sent to another world and is Outrageously Powerful there” nuance. Examples include “Tensei Shitara Slime Datta Ken” and “Overlord”. Overlord was a fun watch, and season 1 as Just Enough for me. I liked it. I recommend it, even, but for me, Season 1 was enough. What I’ve read of Tensei Shitara was also fun in a light way, but what I’ve read was also “enough”. It’s a curious thing where those two are defo not bad piece of media, but just, not what I am looking for in terms of media. Once and again, I am reminded of my... Disdain, let’s call it, for protagonists that are powerful from the get-go. Just can’t get into them.

Way Two is a more regular “someone gets sent to another world and embarks on an adventure with a lot of meta humor; video game and fantasy trope knowledge is a powerful ability of the focal character”. In other words, fantasy with meta humor. I’m already not the biggest fan of fantasy, so you can see how that isn’t my cup of tea.

When it comes to the protagonists of the genre, I can understand why it is like this, but I really am tired of “NEET” or “Shy bland relatable fuck”. Re:Zero went about it well, if you ask me, because Subaru legitimately has bad aspects to him that you’d expect from a socially maladjusted NEET (like how obsessed he is with Emilia and with being useful to her and getting closer to her, just how desperately he is about having a purpose and not being lonely, to the point where he does and says insensitive shit, that’s gold, I love this dude), most other supposed NEET protags are just NEET in name/theme only, really. They are all Super Nice And Sensitive Dudes. Man, it’s ok, you can make the hikikomori a nasty fucking mess, it’s fine. It’s not about it being more “realistic”, just, it’d at least give leeway to some character development instead of just being “BUT NOW... I HAVE A PURPOSE! I USED TO BE ALL ALONE, BUT THANKS TO ALL THESE FRIENDS I’VE MET, I HAVE THE STRENGTH TO STAND UP AND FIGHT FOR WHAT I BELIEVE IN” or some other lame shit.

So end of the day, it’s not the genre for me. Watch or read Re:Zero, though. Absolutely worth your time. I hear Overlord is good, if that’s your cup of tea.