An isekai with actually interesting and thought out mechanics.

[CarburetorThompson]

It’s not a secret that I think isekai is a boring trash genre. I particularly hate the isekai’d into the world of book/video game genre. I’ve still read a ton of it though just because of how numerous it is. Usually skim through the first few chapters and then pretend it’s a normal fantasy story.

I was thinking of a way to actually give the concept an interesting explanation. I’ve drawn some inspiration but haven’t been able to connect everything. So naturally I want to see if I can swindle you forums users into doing all the hard work for me

So my prompt is to look at these sources of inspiration and see if you can come up with an interesting explanation for an isekai story. Not looking a plot for a story, just an explanation of ‘isekai‘ that could be inserted into a story.

 

[Shrimp_eater]

I remember one novel where the author was isekai'd into his own story as god(?)'s punishment for being such a crappy writer.

 

[DemonOppai]

I remember one novel where the author was isekai'd into his own story as god(?)'s punishment for being such a crappy writer.

That’s actually quite funny.. was the novel any good?

 

[Shrimp_eater]

That’s actually quite funny.. was the novel any good?

I do remember liking it, i think it was "The Demon Prince Goes to the Academy". He would keep meetings characters and plot points he never thought of because the world was trying to make up for his shitty world building and plot holes.

 

[DemonOppai]

I do remember liking it, i think it was "The Demon Prince Goes to the Academy". He would keep meetings characters and plot points he never thought of because the world was trying to make up for his shitty world building and plot holes.

I think I’ll check it out.. does it have romance in it?

 

[Shrimp_eater]

I think I’ll check it out.. does it have romance in it?

I do think there was, but it wasn't the main focus of the story. It was also quite slow in that regard.

 

[Redadam04]

The isekai had been started ages ago from an anime trope "The Best" 1975 before the actual novel called Mushoku Tensei had been published in the internet last 2010.

The earliest modern Japanese isekai stories include Haruka Takachiho's novel Warrior from Another World (1976), Tatsunoko Production CBN collaborative Christian anime Superbook (1981), and Yoshiyuki Tomino's anime Aura Battler Dunbine (1983).

The trend had been successfully copied and recycled by other notable writers like Tappei (Rezero) and Mr. Slime in years between 2011-2016. That made the two novels set apart from the other elements of the new Isekai tropes.

But it begun to lost its credibility because the Japanese industry kept producing the 'trash' elements that involved of 'generic' plotlines. Most of which had no literal meaning. No valid reasons to exist. No moral lesson to learn. Everything is going out of control.

But regardless of it, we love the other series because it reminds the readers of their life. They want to redo and correct their failures that they commit from their childhood.

 

[Shrimp_eater]

The isekai had been started ages ago from an anime trope "The Best" 1975 before the actual novel called Mushoku Tensei had been published in the internet last 2010.

Excuse me, the original isekai is 1889 A Yankee in King Arthur's Court where a Yankee engineer from Connecticut named Hank Morgan receives a severe blow to the head and is somehow transported in time and space to England during the reign of King Arthur.

 

[Redadam04]

Excuse me, the original isekai is 1889 A Yankee in King Arthur's Court where a Yankee engineer from Connecticut named Hank Morgan receives a severe blow to the head and is somehow transported in time and space to England during the reign of King Arthur.

Pardon me, I wasn't inform about it. That's my first time to hear that story.

 

[BouncyCactus]

I think that we can divide the Isekai genre into 2 categories, the Modern (Trashy ones) and the Classic. Narnia, Spirited Away, Inuyasha, Wizard of Oz, Peter Pan, and Alice in Wonderland are all examples of Isekai if we go with the definition of Journey into Otherworld. The modern ones just take it a step further and add in the reincarnation aspect of it, and I think that can be an alright, if not a little lazy, way to explain how isekai happens. Honestly tho, at this point, most Isekai are just parodies, at one point or another.

Good Isekai need to have an anchor in both worlds, or else, well as you stated, just become a run-of-the-mill fantasy with a self-insert, which is just lazy writing. Despite all the hate on SAO, it has a pretty good explanation for the Isekai aspect, and more so into that game-worlds subgenre.

 

[Shrimp_eater]

Pardon me, I wasn't inform about it. That's my first time to hear that story.

Forgive me, seems i was mistaken too. The real first isekai was year 200 AD Vera Historia by Lucian where self-insert Lucian and his fellow travellers ship get inside a storm and are isekai'd into a strange island. Then they get caught into a whirlwind and this time are isekai'd into the moon, where there are no women and men get pregnant through their calfs, and they're at war with sun.

 

[TheMonotonePuppet]

It’s not a secret that I think isekai is a boring trash genre. I particularly hate the isekai’d into the world of book/video game genre. I’ve still read a ton of it though just because of how numerous it is. Usually skim through the first few chapters and then pretend it’s a normal fantasy story.

I was thinking of a way to actually give the concept an interesting explanation. I’ve drawn some inspiration but haven’t been able to connect everything. So naturally I want to see if I can swindle you forums users into doing all the hard work for me

So my prompt is to look at these sources of inspiration and see if you can come up with an interesting explanation for an isekai story. Not looking a plot for a story, just an explanation of ‘isekai‘ that could be inserted into a story.

Just off the top of my head?
Step 1: practice flexibility.
Step 2: follow @Agentt and focus on your thighs, really map out that geometry of your body.
Step 3: stitch a portal with bone needle and spider thread on your thighs to ram your head through using your newfound flexibility, which will decapitate you while consuming your flesh to work, and make your head take the place of someone else's head.
Or...
Suffering. Those who die the most excruciating deaths possible get their souls transported to whatever world you feel like those who die the most excruciating deaths possible go to.
Or...
I had one, but then I wanted to save it for myself.
Or...
You are a midget who gets the mother of all swirlies, and go down where the water of toilets really goes.

This was really easy!

 

[Agentt]

It’s not a secret that I think isekai is a boring trash genre. I particularly hate the isekai’d into the world of book/video game genre. I’ve still read a ton of it though just because of how numerous it is. Usually skim through the first few chapters and then pretend it’s a normal fantasy story.

I was thinking of a way to actually give the concept an interesting explanation. I’ve drawn some inspiration but haven’t been able to connect everything. So naturally I want to see if I can swindle you forums users into doing all the hard work for me

So my prompt is to look at these sources of inspiration and see if you can come up with an interesting explanation for an isekai story. Not looking a plot for a story, just an explanation of ‘isekai‘ that could be inserted into a story.

There certainly are ways to do it, many have done it. It's always nice to see an isekai done differently, even if it results in a flop. The recent smug elf one, jobless reincarnation, re zero, the one which taught you about economics, were all pretty great imo.l


I once had an idea of an isekai where the higher leveled you are, the more 3d you are. You start off as just a dot and turn into a stick figure and then a fully fledged model!

 

[Piisfun]

Why would anyone want to isekai mechanics?

• Did the summoning circle break down and need repairs?
• Is there a bunch of broken "ancient equipment" that is somehow miraculously compatible with modern tools?
• Do they get a free all-purpose combat wrench as part of the deal?
• Was truck-kun in the shop for repairs and decided to claim one last life by blowing up it's engine?

 

[BigBadBoi]

I think I’ll check it out.. does it have romance in it?

Yeah It was a comfy slice of life with some serious situations until he reached the point where he got writers block in said story and wrote a sudden monster gate apocalypse plot. Would recommend it but the sudden tone shift filtered a lot of readers.

 

[Deleted member 133647]

It’s not a secret that I think isekai is a boring trash genre. I particularly hate the isekai’d into the world of book/video game genre. I’ve still read a ton of it though just because of how numerous it is. Usually skim through the first few chapters and then pretend it’s a normal fantasy story.

I was thinking of a way to actually give the concept an interesting explanation. I’ve drawn some inspiration but haven’t been able to connect everything. So naturally I want to see if I can swindle you forums users into doing all the hard work for me

So my prompt is to look at these sources of inspiration and see if you can come up with an interesting explanation for an isekai story. Not looking a plot for a story, just an explanation of ‘isekai‘ that could be inserted into a story.

Fated to be loved by villains is my fave isekai story I think ever.

 

[ElijahRyne]

It’s not a secret that I think isekai is a boring trash genre. I particularly hate the isekai’d into the world of book/video game genre. I’ve still read a ton of it though just because of how numerous it is. Usually skim through the first few chapters and then pretend it’s a normal fantasy story.

I was thinking of a way to actually give the concept an interesting explanation. I’ve drawn some inspiration but haven’t been able to connect everything. So naturally I want to see if I can swindle you forums users into doing all the hard work for me

So my prompt is to look at these sources of inspiration and see if you can come up with an interesting explanation for an isekai story. Not looking a plot for a story, just an explanation of ‘isekai‘ that could be inserted into a story.

The highest state and the random nature of the cosmos came together to think of and create the Fuck You Orb. The FYO will search the void sea for the existence of someone who has a punchable face or personality, as according to its creator. Then it will curse the target with an unlucky death, once that is achieved it will trap the targets soul and give the target‘s body a stored soul. The curse on the targets body metamorphose healing the body, giving the new soul the body, and deteriorating into a curse of bad luck. Victims of the FYO typically think of themselves as being chosen ones, probably due to soul hallucinations experienced from the time in the FYO.

 

[Kenjona]

Why would anyone want to isekai mechanics?

• Did the summoning circle break down and need repairs?
• Is there a bunch of broken "ancient equipment" that is somehow miraculously compatible with modern tools?
• Do they get a free all-purpose combat wrench as part of the deal?
• Was truck-kun in the shop for repairs and decided to claim one last life by blowing up it's engine?

Sounds plausible. It is hard actually finding a decent mechanic. Lots of people claim to be mechanics but actual good ones, not so much. But the house call fee for emergency work must be a killer amount.

 

[Comiak]

I think that we can divide the Isekai genre into 2 categories, the Modern (Trashy ones) and the Classic. Narnia, Spirited Away, Inuyasha, Wizard of Oz, Peter Pan, and Alice in Wonderland are all examples of Isekai if we go with the definition of Journey into Otherworld. The modern ones just take it a step further and add in the reincarnation aspect of it, and I think that can be an alright, if not a little lazy, way to explain how isekai happens. Honestly tho, at this point, most Isekai are just parodies, at one point or another.

Good Isekai need to have an anchor in both worlds, or else, well as you stated, just become a run-of-the-mill fantasy with a self-insert, which is just lazy writing. Despite all the hate on SAO, it has a pretty good explanation for the Isekai aspect, and more so into that game-worlds subgenre.

There's no such thing as "trashy" stories. There's more to a story than artistry which most people only judge a story by. Stories also, and more importantly, need to be entertaining, have realism (consistent internal logic that makes the story seem real), plot, and plot consistency.

All of these need to be balanced to make a good story, but most importantly it needs to be entertaining. Most comics, like dc and marvel severely lack in artistry, realism, and plot consistency but are so successful because they are power fantasies. And that's really all that matters, success.

Power fantasies succeed. They usually lack in art and realism, because they are low effort. It's really hard to balance art with everything else, and realism, plot, plot consistency take a lot of thought to do well.

Are they trashy? No. Are they low effort? Yes. And that's okay, sometimes you just want to turn off your brain and enjoy your self.

 

[l8rose]

I kind of like the mechanic that was used in Red River/Anatolia Story. The main character gets pulled through a puddle by the main antagonist who can control water. There was an actual purpose of the MC being summoned for a bloody ritual. Later, the point of arrival was an active part of the plot with several story beats revolving around her going home through the same body of water. It made the transmigration feel a lot more important.

Another one I was fond of was The Villainess's Maker where the character ends up transmigrating into the novel she wrote. We don't find out until the end that in truth she

Spoiler: transmigrated because

she is actually the original god or the world she ended up in. She loved humans so much that she ended up chopped up in pieces but her consciousness went to Earth where she wrote about the world. And then returned because the part of her that was still there called her back because it was super lonely.

It gave a reason that fits with the story and wasn't just a "just cause you were available". Too bad the ending of the novel was pretty terrible.

But as far as writing ideas go, there are plenty of ideas that can work.

• Rip Van Winkled into a world that's undergone an apocalypse or some other massive change (okay, not really a full isekai but it follows the same concept).
• The digital world that the character's mind has entered because well-meaning family members or friends uploaded their brain scans into a machine without their permission.
• Accidentally discovering a working faerie ring that sucks the character into the faerie realm which isn't anything like what the Irish stories of faerie are like.
• The Hadron Collider (or some other particle accelerator) accidentally sucks in the character into a black hole and instead of being reduced to the size of an atom, they end up in another reality.

Huh... now I'm thinking The Matrix is a glorified isekai story.