What are your thoughts on the fantasy isekai genre nowadays?

[Syringe]

Like any genre - If the book is good, then it's good. If it's bad, then it's bad. Just like fried chicken. There's a lot of it out there, but not all of them are finger lickin' good (I like KFC chicken, so maybe I do have trash taste after all).

Still though, it's pretty popular and still continues to be popular for better or worse because people like to read it... just like how a lot of people like fried chicken, I guess?

 

[TotallyHuman]

Personally, it's one of my favorite genres (I'm basic, sue me) just behind futuristic fantasy.

C u in cort

I like KFC chicken, so maybe I do have trash taste after all

don't doubt yourself man. Your taste is trash, no need for maybe's

 

[ArcadiaBlade]

Its basically a cow being milked but not properly milk that hurting the cow instead.

I just feel like while Isekai genre might be overused, it doesn't feel like its been properly written or just that innovative idea only narrows down to a single point.

I had an idea where I was planning on working on a novel about a scientist way ahead of his time meeting an isekai person and creating an internet cafe mainly because he was given an idea on how it works. There's also a priest running a broken down church and because of how 'Isekai' protagonist tend to shit on religion and gods, it ended up ruining the lives of priest and nun who only follows their gods and their lives are being hated by people around them and the MC had to try his best to believe that their religion still has hope even when the world was against them and being abandoned by their god.

 

[georgelee5786]

-_-

^_^

 

[Twin]

- Isekai where the MC knows nothing about the world.
- Isekai where the MC had past exposure of the world.

Regardless the first kind determines the starting conditions of the MC. The cheat that the MC gets is responsible for carrying the MC through the entire story, so its important that the 'cheat' itself is an interesting and unique one and doesn't rely on cliches.

The second kind has nothing to do with 'cheat'. So if the story feels cliche and repetitive, it probably is. Period.

In the first place, isekai itself never has anything to do with the plot. It just a starting point, doesn't determine how exciting the road will be.

 

[Rhaps]

Isekai fantasy is like fast food, and I avoids fast food like a plague.

 

[melchi]

Tried to write one that has a proper plot and characterization, but I'm just one of the few. We're still overwhelmed by the mass-produced isekai stuff from syosetu and other copycats.

Still, I'm continuing on it, mainly because for the few who reads it.

One of the feedbacks I had for that work...
View attachment 17203

He is not being fair to realistic hero. There is a good reason the royal family did what they did. It just is not explained until the end of the arc because the queens power is secret.

 

[Deleted member 54065]

He is not being fair to realistic hero. There is a good reason the royal family did what they did. It just is not explained until the end of the arc because the queens power is secret.

Well, frankly, I don't think it's my concern because it's the reader who thought of that in the first place.

I'm just showing that what I wrote works and there are those who liked it, hence the feedback on my story...even if it's an overused genre (isekai).

 

[Kenjona]

I like the Isekai genre, I like Fast Food. I am, old over weight and. Hey! You kids! Get off my lawn! Where was I? Oh and if it is written well I will read it. My biggest issue is not the Plethora of bad Isekai, is that some actually start out good and then just stop being interesting after a bit. Or they make seemingly illogical jumps throwing the immersion into the story.

For example there was a discussion on here about Isekai people using and developing technology. Its possible but not the way it is written by most Authors. Best version of Isekai I have seen written, that had technology usage and improvement is the Ring of Fire series by David Weber. But that series has a HUGE fan base driving many of the ideas of what is and is not possible for that time line to develop. More importantly it is not just one Isekai'd person doing it, but an entire Isekai'd town with access to much of the information in written form from their school and libraries.

 

[Poleg]

It's starting to feel repetitive as I read more and more novels about it

Overused, probably because our lives are incredibly constricting.
If you want to read or write something you should rather write normal Fantasy.

 

[FaustVoncleave]

A lot of them feel like they have no idea why they're an isekai. A lot of them could just be fantasy stories with how little the isekai aspect affect the plot. Also a lot of them really struggle with coming up for a reason for the cheat. It's often not earned and the mc is just hand held the entire time. I tend to like them more when its just a relaxing slice of life thing, or when the mc genuinely was a shitty person in our world and is trying to improve himself in the new one.

 

[TheEldritchGod]

isekai is not dead,
ISEKAI IS LIFE!!!

 

[Anon2024]

Boring main characters.

 

[LordAstrea]

Overused. (continues writing isekai)

 

[Chaos_Sinner777]

I hunger for more.

 

[Alfir]

STill loving it, except when its anime.

 

[K5Rakitan]

Go to your local library and check out some old shit that was written before isekai became popular.

 

[BearlyAlive]

So overused that it even survived the memes about being overused...

 

[Fox-Trot-9]

Go to your local library and check out some old shit that was written before isekai became popular.

The Alice books from Lewis Carroll and the Oz books from L. Frank Baum are two well-known ones.

 

[ElijahRyne]

It's starting to feel repetitive as I read more and more novels about it

There is more to fantasy than D&D and the standard MMO, but the majority of the things, outside of cultivation isekai’s which have their own issues, in that genera can’t imagine a world without it. This leads to the world and power system being boring, and repetitive, so series that focus on things like that without mixing up the formula at least a little bit, will probably be boring. The big upside & downside, is that it is a standard formula is successful. So, authors that wish to focus on things outside of adventure and combat will have a good setting for their characters, but companies will also keep on churning out stuff as long as it is fantasy Isekai leading to an over saturation of the market.