Buzz
In recent years, isekai has emerged as one of Japan's booming cultural phenomena with global influence. Alongside its positive aspects, there are also many concerns surrounding this genre.
When it comes to globally popular cultural exports from the land of the rising sun, one cannot overlook anime, manga, or light novels. With their accessibility, particularly among the youth, these forms of media are widespread and highly appealing worldwide.
According to fictionhorizon, approximately 90-100 million people worldwide regularly watch anime. In the United States, the average age of the most loyal audience is 24.49. A market study predicts an annual growth rate of the anime market at 9.5% from 2021 to 2028, with an estimated market value of $23.56 billion in 2020.
With such widespread influence, it's understandable that these forms of cultural media have a certain impact on the youth - the most frequent consumers.
What is Isekai and why has this genre become so popular?
Since 2012, a new creative genre has gained popularity in anime, manga, and video games: isekai. Isekai, Japanese for 'another world,' is a subgenre of fantasy or speculative fiction, featuring a character transported to a different world (similar to the concept of transmigration).
The central characters in these works are often common archetypes in modern society, such as high school students, office workers... and are typically whisked away from real-life to a world with fantastical elements like in games, fantasies, fairy tales...
A prominent feature of isekai is that some works focus on exploring the stagnant lives of characters in modern society and their 'reincarnation' into another world, sometimes with a mission or special ability, seen as a 'second chance.
The method of 'reincarnation' is also a notable factor. While some works rely on magic, fantasy, or getting lost to transport characters to a new world, others employ more 'extreme' methods, such as through accidents, suicide...
Why has this genre become popular recently?
Imagine you're walking home after a long day. Besides a day at the office, you had to work overtime. As you walk to the train station, in the chilling cold, hoping to catch the last train of the night.
You glance at the people walking beside you and notice that they have the same empty look in their eyes as you do. They carry bags filled with important documents that they'll review when they get home, along with a plastic bag containing meals from nearby convenience stores or restaurants.
You're in a similar situation: you'll return to your apartment, where no one is waiting for you, quickly eat, shower, sleep, and repeat it all the next day. It's a joyless existence, and you wonder, Will this ever end?
A sudden dizzy spell hits you, causing you to stagger. You cross the street, a truck speeds towards you at full throttle, and you close your eyes. When you open them, you find yourself surrounded by giant trees you've never seen before. A strange creature scurries away from you, causing you to regain your composure.
Somehow, you breathe a sigh of relief. You've finally escaped the concrete jungle that imprisoned you with a mundane life. You're in a new world with new rules, where you can start afresh. This is the epitome of an isekai.
The concept of stories similar to isekai is not new. Studio Ghibli's works from the late 20th and early 21st centuries utilized this idea to transport characters to different spaces, settings to build plotlines and character journeys. Even globally, classics like Alice in Wonderland, The Chronicles of Narnia... have been prominent faces for this concept.
But the explosion of isekai and its characteristics, according to most followers of Japanese culture, must be attributed to the appearance in 2012 of Sword Art Online and gaming culture.
The outstanding characteristics that have made isekai so appealing over the past 10 years include:
- The main character is exceedingly ordinary, relatable to the audience. Sometimes, they are even failures, facing difficulties and stagnation in life.
- Upon arriving in the new world, the character may acquire special abilities that make them stand out from others. In other fantasy genres for teenagers, characters often have to train or struggle hard to achieve this, while in isekai, they do not.
- The influence of gaming culture and the characteristics of electronic games.
- Romantic elements.
- Escapism stemming from the main character's stagnant life. In works that leverage this element, the main character sometimes doesn't need to possess special abilities like in games; they just need something to help build a more comfortable, relaxed life than in the real world. In other cases, the main character's special skills are considered useless in the real world but highly valued in the new world - creating a sense of relaxation, a temporary escape for the audience.
The Audience of Isekai
With its heavy emphasis on fantasy and escapism, isekai becomes appealing to a wide range of readers, from teenagers to adults. The main characters, often portrayed as bland and ordinary in real life, even facing difficulties, can easily resonate with this audience group, especially when pressures from life, work, relationships, etc., make them seek entertainment to detach from everyday stresses.
The strongest consumer group of anime, manga, and electronic games are typically aged between 14-29, which is also understandable as they represent the typical audience for the isekai subgenre.
However, this doesn't mean that the isekai consumer group mostly consists of socially indistinct individuals. Sometimes, there are still outstanding achievers in academics or careers who find this genre appealing because they also have their own pressures, and there will be sympathetic character groups - such as the main character in the light novel Knight & Magic who is a genius programmer in the real world but is 'reincarnated' to fulfill a hidden dream.
Thanks to the flexibility of genres and characteristics in content creation, the audience of isekai will find it easier to relate to the stories and characters conveyed, so it's almost not 'exclusive' to any particular demographic or age group.
Why is isekai controversial?
A Unique Form of Entertainment
The modern cultural forms from Japan themselves have an undeniable appeal and deep cultural, social, philosophical, and artistic implications. The subgenre of isekai should not stray far from those characteristics.
On one hand, its positivity serves as a powerful creative tool for authors, as they are entirely free in the worlds they create without being constrained by reality. Thanks to that flexibility and borderlessness, isekai becomes more readily accepted and consumed by the masses because there will be characters and works they find themselves in.
Some isekai series have relatively wholesome content, where the main character dies from a terminal illness but is brought to a world where they can live out their dreams.
By relying on escapism and fantasy elements, isekai creates an open, creatively rich space, especially without psychological pressure. This differs from some genres heavy in philosophy, horror, or academic elements in anime, manga, etc.
In the book 'Interpreting Anime', author Christopher Bolton argues that anime has the power to manipulate its audience. From Bolton's perspective, popular forms of entertainment have the ability to reveal unconscious desires of the audience (whether it's success, a desire for a leisurely life, or respect...).
Furthermore, characters in isekai often struggle with real-life issues, such as overwork, excessive studying, or unwanted relationships. This makes it easy for a portion of the audience to relate, enhancing their self-awareness and sometimes feeling more optimistic.
On the entertainment side, the positive aspect lies in providing them with a break from everyday life, adding energy to their studies, work, and sparking creativity.
Unavoidable Limitations
Of course, that's if it's directed and used correctly. Due to its inherent association with escapism, if not directed and thought about correctly, particularly among younger audiences, the main characters might seem to find happiness in a new world and somehow exacerbate the desire to escape, sometimes to extreme extents.
The rapid explosion of isekai also leads to a 'gold rush' situation in works, which has often been criticized by the anime/manga community itself. Because of the financial and reputational potential, many authors rush into this genre, resulting inevitably in the flood of low-quality or harmful content.
In fact, the proliferation of isekai became so serious that by 2017, the renowned Japanese publisher Kadokawa had to ban isekai in their light novel writing competition to ensure diversity.
Another inevitable aspect is that with the flexibility in audience and content, isekai will attract existing groups of readers with divergent mindsets or those who have extreme choices, losing faith in life. In Japan, this has already been a alarming issue as phenomena like hikikomori have somewhat become a 'chronic disease' in society. Essentially, isekai appeals to all reader groups, but it seems to have a certain intention from some authors to directly target this group as they are also loyal customers and spenders.
Another discomforting theme in isekai is how some works approach life issues. Instead of encouraging characters to overcome, find an escape, and thereby provide a bright, healthy direction for readers, many works choose to have characters passively live with their circumstances, and escape from it through extreme choices.
In this resolution, characters don't self-improve but are 'rescued' by unrealistic fantasies like a trip to another world, where they are handed another chance with special abilities without any effort.
If equipped with the right mindset and guidance, being closely cared for by peers and society, isekai consumers will merely view these works as pure entertainment. However, for sensitive and neglected reader groups, especially young readers, isekai can become a 'catalyst' for fantasies and resignation in life.
A less worrisome yet noteworthy impact is how isekai, whether unintentionally or intentionally, constructs fantasies about individuals, based on Japan's existing collective culture. Unlike many Western countries, Japanese society particularly values collective factors and expects each individual not to differ or disturb others.
However, individual factors and the desire for self-expression are always an inseparable part of human needs. Inevitably, those who are not satisfied with these needs will turn to isekai as a way to escape, and without proper guidance, easily fall into fantasies or develop unhealthy competitive psychologies.
Not to mention, some works in this genre construct character images unsuitable for young audiences.
In response to concerns about this genre, some countries have taken strict measures. In 2021, Russia issued a ban on a series of isekai works due to concerns about their influence on viewers.
Russian courts ruled to ban several anime series on the grounds that they promote the idea that 'death will lead to a better life.' This ruling is not entirely unfounded when considering some social realities in Russia. Firstly, the issue of parental neglect is increasing, while the suicide rate in the country is also in the top 3 globally. Romanticizing reincarnation could have serious repercussions if permitted in this market.
Nevertheless, the crux of the matter still lies in the mindset and orientation of consumers, as well as society. Entertainment works themselves are not inherently bad if they have quality content, convey meaningful messages, and are received appropriately. Isekai is just one of countless cultural genres originating from the land of the rising sun, and increased popularity naturally implies a greater connection to negative impacts than usual.
Source: Compilation
