Isekai. Always with the medieval fantasy and such.

Zoey

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Something that's always confused me is why do all* Isekai's take place in a generic medieval fantasy setting. Isekai is in an interesting position in that it allows an author to explain foreign concepts about their world by letting the mc teach the reader in normal earth terms, this opens up the possibilities allowing for all sorts of interesting ideas and concepts that would otherwise be difficult to narratively implement (as in, why are the natives of this world explaining basic stuff that everyone there would already know). So why use the generic medieval fantasy setting when the main reason you'd use a generic medieval fantasy setting is so you don't have to explain stuff.
Also I know that some people use the the genre so they can use earth jokes.

Anyway did that make any sense? Feel free to tell me if I'm just spit balling here.

*Maybe not all but most.
 

LostLibrarian

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Isekai in itself is less of a genre and more of a setting and auxiliary means. It helps to connect easier to readers (especially with wish-fulfillment), it allows you to use the same descriptions as we use in modern times (it's a fantasy cow that looks like a cow with wings), and it also has the possibility of knowledge cheats which makes the writing easier.

Most people write generic medieval fantasy, because they enjoy it and because it - especially with soft magic systems - is easier to write. People who write Science Fiction or really unique stories often also don't follow trends or need such help with their writing. So they often go for a fully unique story. But even with that you have quite a few science fiction isekai (especially space ship stuff)...

In short: most Isekai is generic medieval fantasy because a lot of the (trending) webnovels are generic medieval fantasy...
 

BenJepheneT

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I feel like there's an inherent reason for this that was lost somewhere down the 250th discount spin-off of Tolkien's-Middle-Earth-but-Japanese series. My gut feeling tells me that the original isekai writers knew what they were doing and why they had a medieval fantasy setting with taverns and kingdoms and such and I hope that gut feeling was true because if there really is no reason to it and everyone that is just ayy lmaoing with the setting just because they can then I can officially say I've lost hope in the isekai genre as a consumer.

It's not that there aren't any good isekai stories set in generic medieval fantasy worlds. Throw a dart at the latest anime line-up and you'll probably get a decent one. But it's like watching your favourite artist make a kick-ass debut album with potential, only to continue down the line with either the same calibre of an album, rehashes of that same debut album, or just remixes of that opening track from the debut album with the quality nosediving as the tracklisting goes on. It's a genre shot dead on arrival with some amazing execution but ultimately uninspiring, unambitious, beige drywall concepts and ideas that, if turned culinary, will taste like Kellog's cornflakes on dry toast.
 

Leti

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Isn't Isekai the name of a Japanese department store?
Wait, that's Isetan.
Actually, the use of a generic medieval fantasy setting for a transported/transmigrated stories isn't something new. Alice in Wonderland, Narnia, and Wizard of the Oz already existed before the Japanese invented the term. Isekai stories these days tends to follow their footsteps.
 

Assurbanipal_II

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Medieval settings are easier to write and offer many advantages from a military and economical standpoint. :blob_evil_two:

Industrialisation has happened yet and there no reliance on ranged weaponry. We all like our swords and spear, and duking it out with musket and line formations isn't funny, not to mention actual rifles and guns.

The medieval age is still a heroic age compared to our post-heroic times. :blob_evil_two:
 

JayDirex

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Isekai in itself is less of a genre and more of a setting and auxiliary means. It helps to connect easier to readers (especially with wish-fulfillment), it allows you to use the same descriptions as we use in modern times (it's a fantasy cow that looks like a cow with wings), and it also has the possibility of knowledge cheats which makes the writing easier.

Most people write generic medieval fantasy, because they enjoy it and because it - especially with soft magic systems - is easier to write. People who write Science Fiction or really unique stories often also don't follow trends or need such help with their writing. So they often go for a fully unique story. But even with that you have quite a few science fiction isekai (especially space ship stuff)...

In short: most Isekai is generic medieval fantasy because a lot of the (trending) webnovels are generic medieval fantasy...


lost librarian gave the most accurate answer. But something left out is that authors and readers really like reading medieval fantasy. It's been that way since before Tolkien. and medieval settings are the best place to swing a sword and a shield and kill people in medieval ways without consequence.

add in a touch of soft magic and there's no better setting for wish fulfillment.
 

ChronicleCrawler

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To show how awesome a modern person is. Some authors (inserts me) wants to do some humble bragging in the medieval ages but is too tired to go sci-fi. Aside from that, medieval ages has a lot of uncanny nobles who I just want to slap after reading a lot of history books and watching GoT. See the feels?
 

Zoey

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Isn't Isekai the name of a Japanese department store?
Wait, that's Isetan.
Actually, the use of a generic medieval fantasy setting for a transported/transmigrated stories isn't something new. Alice in Wonderland, Narnia, and Wizard of the Oz already existed before the Japanese invented the term. Isekai stories these days tends to follow their footsteps.
I feel like those stories don't really take place in a generic medieval fantasy setting more just a medieval fantasy setting.

Also maybe it's just me, but isn't Alice in Wonderland more like an acid trip gone wrong than anything?
 
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Moonpearl

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I personally like "generic" Medieval settings because the readers are already familiar with the expectations of the setting, which means that you can just focus on playing around with what you need. Then what you change, or the expectations you break, are able to take on more significance.

"Generic" fantasy is a language of its own, I guess - much like fairytale elements. You can either recite the same old story or build something new with it.
Because of that, it's a helpful vehicle for exploring themes like human nature, human suffering, what it means to be human, whether history is really doomed to repeat itself all the time, etc. (And unlike sci-fi, it doesn't have to pretend to be scientific and limit itself like that.)

Otherwise, I also like all the greenery and the focus on nature, of course. I always think of great green hills and untouched forests when I think of fantasy. The kind of beauty that industrialism has destroyed now.
That and the future is gloomy and depressing, and technology is gloomy and depressing and largely the cause of our downfall, so...

As a reader, I'm also less likely to read an isekai that's travelling into other settings anyway. There's a nine out of ten chance it's just going to be misery porn.

(Unless you mean the ones where they literally don't do anything to make the setting their own. Like, not even putting an interesting spin on elves or cities or anything. In that case, it's because those authors were generally setting out to make an extremely bland novel anyway.)
 

binarysoap

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Something that's always confused me is why do all* Isekai's take place in a generic medieval fantasy setting. Isekai is in an interesting position in that it allows an author to explain foreign concepts about their world by letting the mc teach the reader in normal earth terms, this opens up the possibilities allowing for all sorts of interesting ideas and concepts that would otherwise be difficult to narratively implement (as in, why are the natives of this world explaining basic stuff that everyone there would already know). So why use the generic medieval fantasy setting when the main reason you'd use a generic medieval fantasy setting is so you don't have to explain stuff.
Also I know that some people use the the genre so they can use earth jokes.
By having the setting a "generic medieval fantasy," the author can skip a lot of explanations, because the assumption is that the reader already knows it. Heck, I even saw a professional review docking points off a novel because the random cellphone that rang in the MC's pocket "gave them whiplash," simply because the first scene was typically medieval fantasy with a knight killing bandits with a sword. The thing is though, even a "generic medieval fantasy" tends to have their own unique aspects to it, and that's when your interesting ideas and concept can be explained.
 

AkalE

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I think it has a lot to do with the fact that fantasy generally is set in medieval settings.
Ofcourse there is sci-fi, but considering how rare they are, you can imagine how rare sci-fi isekai will be.

The other reason that many have already said : it's much easier to begin with a medieval setting. You can refer to already found solutions to say hygiene concerns in a per-industrial revolution town. But how do you solve an FTL malfuction in deep space? You know how to make money in a pre-industrial world, but how do you do it in a modern world?

Finally the mechanization of a futuristic world that seems to be at odds with the isekai theme. The future doesn't seem to be a world where a chosen one can change the worlds. That requires the author to write stories based on an emotion quotient and not massive power-ups after which the MC will conquer the world.
 

ForestDweller

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Something that's always confused me is why do all* Isekai's take place in a generic medieval fantasy setting. Isekai is in an interesting position in that it allows an author to explain foreign concepts about their world by letting the mc teach the reader in normal earth terms, this opens up the possibilities allowing for all sorts of interesting ideas and concepts that would otherwise be difficult to narratively implement (as in, why are the natives of this world explaining basic stuff that everyone there would already know). So why use the generic medieval fantasy setting when the main reason you'd use a generic medieval fantasy setting is so you don't have to explain stuff.
Also I know that some people use the the genre so they can use earth jokes.

Anyway did that make any sense? Feel free to tell me if I'm just spit balling here.

*Maybe not all but most.

Because only a chosen few can write something like Twelve Kingdoms.
 

Sabruness

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Industrialisation hasnt happened yet and there no reliance on ranged weaponry. We all like our swords and spear, and duking it out with musket and line formations isn't funny, not to mention actual rifles and guns.
ehh, when it comes to warfare i prefer industrialized warfare because it's more complex. i think why we dont see much industrialization stuff is because of attention spans and lack of understanding. if a large portion of your readers have relatively short attention spans, the simplicity of people whacking each other with fancy metal and wood where strength and little thinking is required would tend to be more appealing than having to explain and plot out the tactical and strategic nuances of warfare with firearms. It's the same with understanding. whacking people is simple whereas managing the complexities of warfare with firearms requires a bit more understanding.

Medieval fantasy isekai can actually be done pretty well but most seem to half-ass it and take the well-trodden, cliche routes. It also is a shortcut to absurd-level power fantasy.
 

Assurbanipal_II

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ehh, when it comes to warfare i prefer industrialized warfare because it's more complex. i think why we dont see much industrialization stuff is because of attention spans and lack of understanding. if a large portion of your readers have relatively short attention spans, the simplicity of people whacking each other with fancy metal and wood where strength and little thinking is required would tend to be more appealing than having to explain and plot out the tactical and strategic nuances of warfare with firearms. It's the same with understanding. whacking people is simple whereas managing the complexities of warfare with firearms requires a bit more understanding.

Medieval fantasy isekai can actually be done pretty well but most seem to half-ass it and take the well-trodden, cliche routes. It also is a shortcut to absurd-level power fantasy.

You do injustice to ancient warfare. Whacking undersells a bit, but I would be more interested what you consider under complex. You might not know, but I know one or two things about warfare. I never considered it particularly complex. It is different and it has its own challenges.
 

Discount_Blade

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I've always wanted to do an isekai into, not really modern, but maybe late 1800's, early 1900's? So, right around the time the majority of the world was connected in some form or another, but before cars and whatnot. When electricity was seen as an eccentric luxury for wealthy. Problem is, I have extensive education on Ancient and Medieval history. European and Asian, though certain time periods and/or dynasties interest me more than others and so I know more about them. MY knowledge regarding history dies out for Europe after the conclusion of the Hundred Years War and in Asia, and for Asia, ost of my interest is in East Asia. I get bored after Korea's Later Silla ends in the early 900's, I get bored of China after the fall of Ming, and in Japan Iose interest around the time the Edo Period begins. There are isolated conflicts I like that are modern, like the French & Indian War, the War of 1812, mostly because no one really researches them often and I don't get why, and in Japan, I LOVE to read about the Boshin War. Old World versus New World in that one. The Russo-Japanese War is interesting to. In China, I've read a lot on the Boxer Rebellion, but after that I'm just blah.

Problem is, even the modernish conflicts I mentioned, don't really capture what I'm kind of sorta looking for, and so, since I have far less knowledge on the "Early Modern" European period, or when Asia started coming into its own globally, I stick with Medieval-related Fantasy since I know it.
 

Sii

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I think it's worth noting that because Fantasy, both Old and Modern, has always been set in the Medieval times and has done all the legwork for the Isekai trope. Like stated before, this means less time trying to explain why these people are still using swords and kicking the shit out of each other in hand to hand combat. The less time an author needs to exposition dump the easier of a time the reader will have.

I also think it's because it lets our imaginations run wild. The use of martial weapons for waging war has been out of date for a couple hundred years now. We, as a species, have a pretty short memory. It's a lot less interesting to talk about guns and guerilla warfare for the average reader because that's some modern day shit. We get enough of that stuff in contemporary media. The medieval setting is far enough back in our human history that it's always gonna be interesting, no matter how overdone it gets, because none of us will ever or have ever lived in or near that specific time period.

So unless we destroy the worlds knowledge of how to build projectile weapons we're never gonna get to make makeshift swords and hammers to beat each other with.
 
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i think it'd be interesting if isekai is written with salvador dali's paintings in mind.

not that i have a problem with the medieval setting. how the story usually goes bored me even more.
 

Zoey

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You do injustice to ancient warfare. Whacking undersells a bit, but I would be more interested what you consider under complex. You might not know, but I know one or two things about warfare. I never considered it particularly complex. It is different and it has its own challenges.
Can you, whether intentional or not, not start an argument here. You have a bad tendency of provoking people and this feels like its going to start something.

Nothing against you I just don't want this thread to become uninviting to others.
 

Assurbanipal_II

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Can you, whether intentional or not, not start an argument here. You have a bad tendency of provoking people and this feels like its going to start something.

Nothing against you I just don't want this thread to become uninviting to others.

You call it provoking, I call it digging deeper. ^^
 
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