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Your opinion on the Isekai genre?


Dreamysyu

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Sorry about that, Dreamysyu, please ignore that last post I have you quoted in. I forgot spoilers are still broken.

10 minutes ago, Dreamysyu said:

And now I'm again intrigued about what makes people to have different opinions about SAO. :yumiko: Though, speaking realistically, I'm probably going to hate it if I watch/read it, so, I guess, it's better to further stay away from it.

Eh, I think it's worth giving a shot. Whether you like it, love it, or hate it, it's hard to get bored watching SAO. In fact, some critics say they even enjoy picking the show apart and finding out everything that's wrong with it. But if critical analysis isn't your thing, then your experience can either go north or south depending on how it clicks with ya. Just go in with low expectations.

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15 minutes ago, Thyndd said:

Although you would be certainly a little bit late to the party, you can consider the experience of watching/reading it as another piece of weeb cultural baggage, why with it being so popular and all... So even if you end up hating it (which I doubt, if you go into it with 0 expectations, you will most likely be left indifferent), at least you would have that under your beltĀ :sachi:

9 minutes ago, Kenshin_sama said:

Eh, I think it's worth giving a shot. Whether you like it, love it, or hate it, it's hard to get bored watching SAO. In fact, some critics say they even enjoy picking the show apart and finding out everything that's wrong with it. But if critical analysis isn't your thing, then your experience can either go north or south depending on how it clicks with ya. Just go in with low expectations.

Well, there are reasons in what people say about it that make me think that I'm probably going to hate it. It mostly because of the protagonist, I rarely enjoy watching typical LN protags. But, well, now I'm intrigued, so, I guess, I'll try watching it when I have time. :)

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The problem I have with Isekai or even most fantasy anime is how everything is 'gamified' shall I say? You have lvls, drop items, dungeons, dragons, stats, slimes, healing potions, demon kings, these things are omnipresent even in anime/mangaĀ where the protag isn't trapped in a game. It's like they have a notion of what a fantasy world would be like(by playing rpg) but they never evolve their idea past that point and that just looks lazyĀ toĀ a spoiled consumer like me.

Ā 

Also why does everything have to be with a european setting? I want to see the Japanese take on the fantasy world with Japanese culture just as we saw the Polish take on fantasy with Witcher 3. Instead we get the Japanese take on fantasy with their interpretation of european culture.

These things are aren't exactly bad per se they just feel stagnant and saturated at this point.

Ā 

For that matter why does almost every fantasy story involves saving the world or saving humanity? Don't they have anything more interesting to tell other than 'The world is at peril' or 'Demon king at our gates'. Even games and movies are guilty of this. I have been on epic journeys countless times with countless set of companions that the formula doesn't feel epic anymore. Why not tell more personal stories in a fantasy setting? Why not about racism or political corruption or something as the main theme that feels original in a fantasy setting? Elfs and drawves in every fantasy setting. That's the pinnacle of our creativtiy?Ā 

Take influence from outside world as TolkienĀ did instead of just takingĀ influence from other fantasy story in an already saturated genre...

Ā 

Wow, I went on for quite a bit their and it mostly became about fantasy than Isekai at the end.. sorry about that.Ā 

I just want more writers to take a genuine 'Japanese' approach on Isekai/fantasy.

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10 minutes ago, Roulette said:

I just want more writers to take a genuine 'Japanese' approach on Isekai/fantasy.

Ooh, that reminds me... Inuyasha!! I totally forgot about that one, but it's most definitely an isekai, a classic and a favorite of mine from my childhoodĀ :nico:

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7 hours ago, Roulette said:

The problem I have with Isekai or even most fantasy anime is how everything is 'gamified' shall I say? You have lvls, drop items, dungeons, dragons, stats, slimes, healing potions, demon kings, these things are omnipresent even in anime/mangaĀ where the protag isn't trapped in a game. It's like they have a notion of what a fantasy world would be like(by playing rpg) but they never evolve their idea past that point and that just looks lazyĀ toĀ a spoiled consumer like me.

The thing about gaming elements is that it's really just a very lazy way to do worldbuilding. You don't really have to think about the world yourself, you just take a structure everyone knows, add a few lazy additions to it, and you're done. I mean, I don't really see any problemĀ with them if the story also has a lot of new and original stuff. I mean, it's quite common for any type of story to use an extremely familiar trope, and then build the world around this trope using it as a cornerstone. But it actually needs to expand after this trope, not just consist of it and nothing else.

Edited by Dreamysyu
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6 hours ago, Dreamysyu said:

The thing about gaming elements is that it's really just a very lazy way to do worldbuilding. You don't really have to think about the world yourself, you just take a structure everyone knows, add a few lazy additions to it, and you're done. I mean, I don't really see any problemĀ with them if the story also has a lot of new and original stuff. I mean, it's quite common for any type of story to use an extremely familiar trope, and then build the world around this trope using it as a cornerstone. But it actually needs to expand after this trope, not just consist of it and nothing else.

Well, I would agree and disagree, actually translating game machanics into a fully interactable world is a challenge - making a "gamey" setting that works requires a lot of imagination and careful development, SAO is quite a good example of getting it mostly right, with creating a vision of full-immersion VR game that feels more or less credible. It is used lazily, but most storytelling techniques can be shitty in the hands of a shitty/lazy writer. :P

Edited by Plk_Lesiak
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If Narou was in English too you guys would drown in Isekai WNs. :wahaha:

Anyway, my stance is simple: It's like everything, if written badly it's bad, if it's well written it's good. Add a little spice called "taste", and voilĆ !

The problem is that the genre is so popular that many wannabe write bad "novels" and because of that there are more bad isekai novels than good ones.

Ā 

Also, the best VRMMO ever is Infinite Dendrogram. :wafuu:

Edited by Riku
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4 hours ago, Riku said:

If Narou was in English too you guys would drown in Isekai WNs. :wahaha:

Anyway, my stance is simple: It's like everything, if writted badly it's bad, if it's well written it's good. Add a little spice called "taste", and voilĆ !

The problem is that the genre is so popular that many wannabe write bad "novels" and because of that there are more bad isekai novels than good ones.

Ā 

Also, the best VRMMO ever is Infinite Dendrogram. :wafuu:

.hack//* you mean.Ā 

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9 hours ago, Plk_Lesiak said:

Well, I would agree and disagree, actually translating game machanics into a fully interactable world is a challenge - making a "gamey" setting that works requires a lot of imagination and careful development, SAO is quite a good example of getting it mostly right, with creating a vision of full-immersion VR game that feels more or less credible. It is used lazily, but most storytelling techniques can be shitty in the hands of a shitty/lazy writer. :P

Well, yeah, I guess you are right. Thinking about it for a bit, a world with good and interesting gaming mechanics would work pretty well. But, on the other hand, it isn't that different from what I said. Basically, you need to put some work to your world to make it interesting and not fully rely on something that somebody else did.

As for the word "lazy", well, to be honest, most of them aren't even writers to begin with, so it's understandable. Most web-novel writers are simply amateurs who write for their own enjoyment, and people read their works do not expect literary masterpieces, they simply want something light and entertaining to spend a few hours on. It's mostly the industry's fault that sometimes even the most forgettable titles often get published and later adapted into manga/anime. But well, it's how human society works, in a few years isekai will stop being popular, and all these publishers will switch to some other way to get quick money.

And, well, if you don't expect writing to actually be good, sometimes it's possible to find some titles that might turn out to be pretty enjoyable to read, depending on your tastes. If you don't enjoy that... well, you're better off reading actual books.

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