Stuck in a fantasy world

[Calthropstu]

It seems anime companies have put forth a number of "I'm stuck in a fantasy world" shows recently. Overlord, How not to summon a demon lord, no game no life, master of ragnarok, Stuck in a fantasy world with my smart phone etc etc.

And I can't help but notice that it coincides with questions posted on these boards and others. In fact, the questions started appearing quite some time ago.

It also reflects what I noticed back when I was in college. In my freshman english class, we were asked to write an essay on "what superpowers we would want, how we would use them and what the weaknesses would be." 16 months later, Heroes and a bunch of other "people gaining superpowers" tv shows were released.

Are we fueling these animes with our discussions? Or are the animes fueling our discussions?

[Mechalich]

It seems anime companies have put forth a number of "I'm stuck in a fantasy world" shows recently. Overlord, How not to summon a demon lord, no game no life, master of ragnarok, Stuck in a fantasy world with my smart phone etc etc.

And I can't help but notice that it coincides with questions posted on these boards and others. In fact, the questions started appearing quite some time ago.

It also reflects what I noticed back when I was in college. In my freshman english class, we were asked to write an essay on "what superpowers we would want, how we would use them and what the weaknesses would be." 16 months later, Heroes and a bunch of other "people gaining superpowers" tv shows were released.

Are we fueling these animes with our discussions? Or are the animes fueling our discussions?

Anime production has a massive copy-cat streak. A single successful show will fuel a million imitators - structural forces in the light novel and manga markets make it trend happy. So a single massive hit can spawn a period where the market is saturated by it's knock-offs. In this specific case, the hit in question is Sword Art Online.

The trend will fade over time. The previous streak in anime was magical academy shows. Before that it was giant shounen epics in the vein of Naruto. Even earlier Evangelion spawned a profusion of giant robot saturated with mysticism shows.

So the cycle is this: one innovative and highly popular success spawns lots of discussion, success (which includes discussion, a measure of cultural relevance) spawns imitators, market is saturated until a new success starts the next trend.

[Kitten Champion]

"If I were stuck in a fictional world"-kinds of nerd discussions have been around for as long as I can remember and it's been an recurring element in fan-fiction for longer still, and Otherworld stories in general have been in genre fiction for who knows how long.

The recent - last decade-ish - trend in anime towards the Isekai-genera is in large part due to web-novels garnering a lot more popularity over time. It demonstrated a high market demand for itself, and the more notable ones got reprinted into Light Novels, drawn into manga, and eventually made into anime. The medium of internet self-publishing is in part why Mary Sues tend to show up a lot, readers often aren't there for an extensive character arc and you get a lot more instant gratification. It also leads to a degree of choppiness and confusion in their story structure, as they aren't written with things like editors or publishers in mind, and can... indulge themselves as writers.

Though even in Western manga sites, it's not strange to see Isekai fantasy in the top viewed, near or above the Jump staples. The Shield Hero one has been really popular for some time for instance, that I'm surprised it's not an anime.

[Prime32]

The Shield Hero one has been really popular for some time for instance, that I'm surprised it's not an anime.It's getting one. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjezREyZI2U) I'm more surprised Mushoku Tensei doesn't have one yet.

[Reddish Mage]

It’s nothing new. Trapped in another world (https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TrappedInAnotherWorld) has been around forever. The Odessey, Gulliver’s Travels, several Jules Verne novels, all approach this super-trope.

In the last few years there’s a big “trapped in a RPG-video-game setting” genre, but you can find anime with that theme going back decades. Kids from Japan wind up in all sorts of fantasy settings and have forever.

[Kitten Champion]

It's getting one. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjezREyZI2U)

Okay. I mean, I'm still not going to watch it because I really don't like the whole cynical jerk anti-hero character concept. Still, that's exactly what I'd imagine from its anime adaptation. I was just expecting it two years ago.



I'm more surprised Mushoku Tensei doesn't have one yet.

Yeah, I see Western fans with Mushoku Tensei avatars and discussion threads on other forums.

The Kumo Desu ga, Nani ka?, Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear, Tsuki ga Michibiku Isekai Douchuu, and Tensei ****ara Slime Datta Ken are the others that have general popularity and I assume will get an anime at some point.

Personally, the only Isekai WN I read which I bookmarked and kept up with was Konosuba back in the day. It was such a delightful parody of the whole wish fulfillment fantasy angles of many of these.

[Cespenar]

The thing about anime/manga is that their production values are lower than western TV, so they will be a lot more reactive to trend changes. Also, there are a lot of competing products in a given period, so they always sound more... numerous than, again, western TV.

Those are both positive qualities, I think, even if I don't prefer maybe 99% of the stuff being produced. It's as far as you can get from a monopoly.

[Prime32]

The Kumo Desu ga, Nani ka?, Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear, Tsuki ga Michibiku Isekai Douchuu, and Tensei ****ara Slime Datta Ken are the others that have general popularity and I assume will get an anime at some point.
The first (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNhf50Hfn3k) and last (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EELeRqYbRQ)? Also getting anime. #3 doesn't sound familiar.

[Calthropstu]

The thing about anime/manga is that their production values are lower than western TV, so they will be a lot more reactive to trend changes. Also, there are a lot of competing products in a given period, so they always sound more... numerous than, again, western TV.

Those are both positive qualities, I think, even if I don't prefer maybe 99% of the stuff being produced. It's as far as you can get from a monopoly.

I agree, the lack of a monopoly is definitely a good thing. It's unfortunate that does not extend to here. We have so few choices in media and it's almost all the same.

It just seems every time a series of discussions take place on multiple forums, something in tandem is either developed or being developed. Wouldn't be the first time I caught production companies and authors slipping advertisements and data quests into forums under the guise of innocent internet conversations.

[Kitten Champion]

The first (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNhf50Hfn3k) and last (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EELeRqYbRQ)? Also getting anime. #3 doesn't sound familiar.

Heh.

Tsuki ga Michibiku Isekai Douchuu is fairly standard Isekai stuff albeit it's not as fanservice-heavy as these often get which made it an easier read for as much as I did, though the pacing's pretty tedious.

The twist the writer adds is the protagonist is cursed by the goddess who summons him because he's beneath her standards of physical attractiveness and this affronts her, the curse renders him incapable of speaking the human common tongue and seeing his face immediately strikes humans with fear and loathing. He's thus somewhat forced into interacting with monsters who become most of his supporting cast, and typical overpowered protagonist shenanigans happen from there on.

[Calthropstu]

Heh.

Tsuki ga Michibiku Isekai Douchuu is fairly standard Isekai stuff albeit it's not as fanservice-heavy as these often get which made it an easier read for as much as I did, though the pacing's pretty tedious.

The twist the writer adds is the protagonist is cursed by the goddess who summons him because he's beneath her standards of physical attractiveness and this affronts her, the curse renders him incapable of speaking the human common tongue and seeing his face immediately strikes humans with fear and loathing. He's thus somewhat forced into interacting with monsters who become most of his supporting cast, and typical overpowered protagonist shenanigans happen from there on.

I actually prefer the underpowered shenanigans in no game no life. Using keen wits to outsmart opponents so much stronger than you is a lot more enjoyable to watch than "I cast kaboom, you die."

I am, however, quite enjoying Overlord. The minion control theme and watching him figure out the logistics of actually running the tomb has been thoroughly hilarious.

[Callos_DeTerran]

I actually prefer the underpowered shenanigans in no game no life. Using keen wits to outsmart opponents so much stronger than you is a lot more enjoyable to watch than "I cast kaboom, you die."

I am, however, quite enjoying Overlord. The minion control theme and watching him figure out the logistics of actually running the tomb has been thoroughly hilarious.

Stick around in Overlord, Ainz is not over-powered in the way a lot of people think he is and the character himself knows that. Its why he's so worried about the Floor Guardians (and other's in the tombs loyalties, each of them is a serious threat to his life if not capable of outright murdering him. That's not going into the entities in the New World he just doesn't know about yet or the possibilities of other players from Yggdrasil having arrived with him in the New World since, by Momonga's own admission, he didn't not have a character suited for player-vs.-player combat.

But the parts you mention are very good as well.

...I have nothing good to say about No Game No Life aside from the fact its very pretty.

[Pippa the Pixie]

Yea, stuck in a fantasy world is an old troope and it's not going anywhere.

And it has been very popular in books, even more so teen books, for YEARS. Like I'd say half of the teen books are something like ''Susie is a geek no one likes, until one day she falls through a portal to the land of magic".

[Ibrinar]

Calthropstu , are you sure you are getting the timeline right because such works can cause such discussions you are naming some series that are 3-4 years old (in their anime form older otherwise) and the forum discussions would have to be older than that, most of the time people wouldn't remember all that well when discussions in a forum were popular so did you actually check?

Also "what super powers do you want" being a question as old as the idea of super powers.


Stick around in Overlord, Ainz is not over-powered in the way a lot of people think he is and the character himself knows that. Its why he's so worried about the Floor Guardians (and other's in the tombs loyalties, each of them is a serious threat to his life if not capable of outright murdering him. That's not going into the entities in the New World he just doesn't know about yet or the possibilities of other players from Yggdrasil having arrived with him in the New World since, by Momonga's own admission, he didn't not have a character suited for player-vs.-player combat.

But the parts you mention are very good as well.

...I have nothing good to say about No Game No Life aside from the fact its very pretty.

So does he actually run in someone not allied with him who is a threat to him?

[Fable Wright]

So does he actually run in someone not allied with him who is a threat to him?

Will he, though Season 3?
Nope. However, the Platinum Dragon Lord is foreshadowed at the start of either season 2 or 3, and is absolutely a direct threat to Ainz, being the main driving force that has led to the deaths of at least 14 such Isekai players. The first death is the hardest, but after that, it's a slippery slope, as they can't regain the five levels they lose. Additionally, the end of season 3 gets the direct attention of the strongest forces in the kingdom of Slane, which were alluded to be PvP-focused NPCs left over from the 8 Greed Kings, the last Isekai'd players to enter the new world.

The series of heavily focused on the daily lives of the floor guardians, and the hilarious NANI?! overreactions that don't get old solely because we see the cockiness behind those NPCs developed and justified for a good while beforehand.

[Calthropstu]

Calthropstu , are you sure you are getting the timeline right because such works can cause such discussions you are naming some series that are 3-4 years old (in their anime form older otherwise) and the forum discussions would have to be older than that, most of the time people wouldn't remember all that well when discussions in a forum were popular so did you actually check?

Also "what super powers do you want" being a question as old as the idea of super powers.



So does he actually run in someone not allied with him who is a threat to him?

Quite certain. I remember having that conversation on a couple forums after work in 2013. I know it was 2013 because I had just started working there.
I have a very powerful memory.

As for the super power thing, sure. But that's the kind of essay you write in middle school. Not in college.

[Psyren]

The trope/genre is informally called "isekai" (which I believe translates to "another world.") It's very often an RPG setting, either an actual videogame or just a fantasy world that adopts many of the tropes of one.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LF2DzAQYw68

While it's technically been around much longer, I believe there is definitely a particular brand of the trope that is particularly prevalent today, approaching cliché if not there already, and definitely ripe for parody (see above.)

[The Fury]

Are we fueling these animes with our discussions? Or are the animes fueling our discussions?

In truth, I'd say neither. I think the popularity of the discussion around the subject and the popularity of the trope in fiction exist independently of one another.

As mentioned earlier, it's an old enough plot point that it predates the Isekai genre and anime in general. It could also be said the be older than the "nerd arguments" that come with it, at least in how they relate to modern fan culture.

Also, like was mentioned by others, the current glut of Isekai anime are adaptations of popular light novels. I might be showing my hand as to my own lack of knowledge here, but they come off as more escapist empowerment fantasy, (Go to an awesome world with magic and dragons! Be an adventurer! Have multiple hotties pine fore you!)

There are some exceptions of course, but I'm not sure if they're a response to nerd arguments or audience expectation. A case could be made for both I guess.

Now and Then, Here and Now-- Back home, you're a meek, powerless little kid! Here though? Well, you're still a meek, powerless little kid. Only now you're up against a terrifying warlord. Try not to get too emotionally scarred, kiddo.

Konosuba-- As it turns out, a lazy shut-in makes a terrible hero that only highly dysfunctional adventurers will work with. Have fun!

Not anime, but arguably Futurama-- If a lazy, poorly educated slacker goes to the future... Then he'll be a lazy, poorly educated slacker in the future.