Why Isekai is Both Loved and Hated
45sOpens with a controversial take on the most popular anime genre, hooking viewers who love or hate isekai.
▶ Play ClipThe isekai genre is both loved and hated for its repetitive power-fantasy plots, but it remains popular due to its relatable premise of escaping to a new world. While 95% of isekai are low-quality cookie-cutter stories, the genre occasionally produces gems like Re:Zero and Mushoku Tensei that innovate and deliver compelling narratives.
The isekai genre is infamous for spawning hundreds of low-quality, cookie-cutter stories each year, yet it remains popular because of occasional gems.
Sword Art Online (2012) boosted isekai's popularity by teleporting the protagonist into a virtual MMO world, setting a template for the genre.
Isekai's core appeal is its relatable premise: an average person gets a second chance in a new world, often becoming overpowered and living out fantasies.
The genre's biggest flaw is its overused, predictable plot: a normal person transported to a fantasy world with overpowered powers and a vague threat.
To make a generic isekai: take an average person, give them overpowered powers, a harem, main character syndrome, and a demon lord to defeat.
Despite flaws, isekai can tell good stories when it innovates, as seen in Re:Zero, Rising of the Shield Hero, and Mushoku Tensei.
Re:Zero's protagonist Subaru is weak and must use his 'Return by Death' ability strategically, dying repeatedly to save others, subverting typical power fantasies.
Shield Hero's Naofumi is falsely accused and banished, forcing him to rebuild his reputation from scratch, offering a fresh take on the genre.
Isekai shines when it creates interesting, innovative worlds rather than generic fantasy settings, leveraging the premise's potential for unique environments.
Isekai is here to stay because it's easy to produce, but when creators put in effort, the genre can produce genuine gems.
Isekai has immense potential for unique stories, but it is often wasted on generic plots. The genre can produce masterpieces when creators innovate, but 95% of isekai fail to bring anything new to the table.
"The title accurately reflects the content, which explores both the popularity and criticisms of isekai."
What anime is credited with boosting isekai's popularity in 2012?
Sword Art Online
0:35
What is the main reason isekai is relatable?
It features an average person getting a second chance in a new world, often becoming overpowered.
1:18
What is the biggest flaw of the isekai genre according to the video?
Its predictable and overused plot: a normal person transported to a fantasy world with overpowered powers and a vague threat.
2:48
What is the unique power of Subaru in Re:Zero?
Return by Death, which allows him to reset time after dying.
5:10
How does Rising of the Shield Hero subvert typical isekai tropes?
The protagonist is falsely accused and banished, forcing him to rebuild his reputation from scratch.
5:45
What percentage of isekai anime does the video claim are low-quality?
95%
9:21
Name three isekai anime mentioned as exceptions to the generic formula.
Re:Zero, Rising of the Shield Hero, and Mushoku Tensei (Jobless Reincarnation).
4:44
Isekai's Polarized Reputation
Sets up the central conflict of the genre: hated for its low quality but loved for its potential.
Relatability as Core Appeal
Explains the psychological draw of isekai: the fantasy of a second chance and power.
1:18Predictability as a Flaw
Identifies the main criticism of isekai: repetitive plotlines.
2:48Re:Zero's Subversion
Highlights how a unique twist (Return by Death) can elevate the genre.
5:10World-Building Potential
Emphasizes that isekai's strength lies in creating innovative worlds.
6:49[00:00] ah yes the isekai genre one of the most
[00:02] infamous and well-known anime genres
[00:04] there is that is both hated and loved by
[00:07] the entire anime community at the same
[00:09] time we're spawning hundreds upon
[00:11] hundreds of new yeashikai every year
[00:13] where 95 of them are low quality cookie
[00:15] cutter stories which have given these
[00:17] sky shanger a bad rap but every once in
[00:19] a while the stars align and the izukai
[00:21] genre creates a new gem of the series
[00:23] that's unbelievably good which is why so
[00:26] many people still come back to the sky
[00:27] genre again and again izukai shangri has
[00:30] been around anime for a long long time
[00:33] but in the last few years there's been a
[00:35] boom in the izakaya genre with anime
[00:37] such as 2012's hit sword art online
[00:40] where our main character kirito gets
[00:42] teleported into a new video game virtual
[00:44] mmo world where he has to fend for
[00:46] himself in order to survive that really
[00:48] boosted the sky shangri to new heights
[00:50] as a top contender and anime with its
[00:52] gigantic success with millions upon
[00:53] millions of people watching its many
[00:55] seasons and sequels sword art online is
[00:58] by far not the only anime that
[01:00] popularized the genre though sword art
[01:02] online lit the embers of the izkai's
[01:04] shanghai's hype and was later held along
[01:06] by other well-made izukai with
[01:07] interesting plots and wills in the
[01:09] following years such as no game no life
[01:12] re zero konosuba block horizon list goes
[01:16] on and on so what is the hype behind the
[01:18] sky shangri about and why is it so
[01:20] popular and well known in anime anime
[01:23] like seo might have put a spotlight on
[01:24] the sky shangri and given it a lot of
[01:26] attention but the reason why the
[01:27] shanghai got a lot of traction to begin
[01:29] with is because of how relatable it is
[01:31] and how easy it is to see yourself in
[01:33] the genre the izukai shanghai's general
[01:35] mainstream plot line normally takes an
[01:37] average joe person in the real world
[01:39] with no exceptional qualities look at
[01:41] kirito nafumi subaru
[01:45] or even to some extent failures in our
[01:47] world for example the main character
[01:49] from jobless reincarnation or chasma
[01:51] from
[01:53] what the [ __ ] is that called again
[01:55] conozuba
[01:57] and transports them into another world
[01:59] giving them a second chance in life
[02:01] where they usually are overpowered as
[02:02] hell and live out their power hungry
[02:04] fantasies usually with a team or a harem
[02:07] by their side
[02:09] one of the easy guys shanghai's biggest
[02:10] strengths and selling points is how
[02:12] relatable it is we all want to be an
[02:14] overpowered hero of the story type of
[02:16] person we all want to be the protagonist
[02:18] figure with a harem by our side who
[02:20] everyone looks up to and idealizes to no
[02:22] end who saves the world from evil we all
[02:25] wish we could be that one million hero
[02:27] figure and that is exactly why that is
[02:29] one of the easyguys jungler's biggest
[02:30] selling points and strengths imagine
[02:32] this you could transport it to a whole
[02:35] new undiscovered world where you get a
[02:37] new chance in life now that we've talked
[02:40] about isakai shangri's biggest selling
[02:41] points and its biggest strengths we also
[02:44] have to talk about the shanghai's reagan
[02:45] sides and shortcomings the biggest flaw
[02:48] of the e-sky genre in my opinion is how
[02:50] polarized
[02:52] and predictable and overused its general
[02:54] plot line has gotten over the years
[02:56] because of hundreds upon hundreds of
[02:58] cookie-cutter izukai power fantasy story
[03:00] adaptations that can release every
[03:03] single goddamn year where the same thing
[03:06] happens a normal guy or girl gets
[03:08] transported into a new world with a new
[03:10] set of powers way beyond anyone else in
[03:12] the world and it's up to them to save
[03:14] everyone from some vague threat it has
[03:17] gotten boring because almost every
[03:19] single easy sky anime is the exact same
[03:21] concept and story just with a new coat
[03:24] of paint and a new pair of rifles of
[03:26] course there are exceptions to this and
[03:28] we'll get into that later on but like i
[03:30] mean for god's sake there is a god damn
[03:33] izuka anime about isakai anime
[03:36] isakai quartets
[03:39] really
[03:41] you
[03:42] that
[03:43] they made
[03:44] you know what i'm getting ahead of
[03:45] myself let's move on the izkai's genre
[03:48] has gotten so many trash anime because
[03:50] it takes next to no effort or creativity
[03:53] to make an ordinary isekai series here
[03:55] let me teach you how to make an ordinary
[03:57] and normal isekai series just take an
[03:59] average generic person or an average joe
[04:01] from the real world and put them in a
[04:03] new undiscovered world give them the
[04:05] most overpowered power ever seen in that
[04:07] world give them a harem of cute anime
[04:10] girls and give them main character
[04:11] syndrome and at last add some vague
[04:14] threat like a demon lord or something
[04:15] like that they have to save the world
[04:17] from and boom you're done you've made a
[04:19] new cookie cutter izukai anime with a
[04:21] standard easykip plotline that has no
[04:23] sense of uniqueness and individuality at
[04:26] all congratulations
[04:30] but even with all these jarring
[04:32] shortcomings and flaws the izakaya
[04:34] shangri still has a lot of potential to
[04:36] tell good and entertaining stories and
[04:38] the shinra in general is far from dead
[04:40] just look at all the good products that
[04:41] the isekai shangra has produced over the
[04:43] years
[04:44] such as the rising of the shield hero
[04:47] re-zero that time i got reincarnated as
[04:49] a slime konosuba overlord soma spider so
[04:53] what and my personal favorite isakai of
[04:55] all time jobless reincarnation also
[04:58] known as mushuku tennessee and many more
[05:01] as you can see this guy shangra does
[05:03] have a fair few respectable anime under
[05:05] its belt izukai shangri can still create
[05:07] and tell good stories with interesting
[05:09] premises for example in re zero the main
[05:11] character called natsuki subaru has to
[05:13] save everyone with his power to reset
[05:15] time back to his previous save point
[05:17] called return by death where subaru has
[05:20] to die multiple painful agonizing deaths
[05:22] to save everyone he loves and cares
[05:24] about whereas subaru himself is
[05:26] extremely weak he has to change small
[05:27] fractures to manipulate the timeline
[05:30] over time to get his desired outcome
[05:32] subaru himself isn't particularly strong
[05:35] he can't just run at his problems head
[05:36] first with no plan and expect to win
[05:38] like most other isekai protagonists he
[05:41] actually has to use his head in order to
[05:42] get the results he desires or look at
[05:45] the rising of the shields hero instead
[05:46] which is a story where our main
[05:48] character naofumi iwatani the new shield
[05:50] hero gets portrayed by the people he
[05:52] trusted and gets falsely accused of
[05:54] sexual assault in the very first episode
[05:57] and therefore he gets banished with
[05:58] nothing to his name and has to rebuild
[06:00] his good name and reputation from
[06:02] scratch all on his own meanwhile nearly
[06:04] everyone still sees him and his new
[06:06] companions and friends as nothing more
[06:08] than criminal scum were no better than
[06:10] common thieves
[06:12] as you can see the east coast genre is
[06:14] able to tell some interesting stories
[06:15] and tales that don't have to be plagued
[06:17] by the normal shortcomings that come
[06:18] with an easy guide product if it wants
[06:20] to and tries to stray away from a normal
[06:22] isekai mold the izukai shiner in general
[06:25] is extremely good and entertaining when
[06:27] the main character gets teleported or
[06:29] brought to a new and interesting world
[06:31] or place where they try to stay away
[06:32] from the traditional boring izakaya
[06:35] world norms and actually try to be
[06:36] different from the other isekai isekai
[06:39] that have interesting worlds with good
[06:40] world building and good and innovative
[06:42] concepts and have stories to tell and
[06:44] messages to deliver to the viewer are
[06:46] extremely interesting because they're
[06:47] like i said
[06:49] innovative they're different
[06:51] dc kai zhang's main plot point is being
[06:53] brought to a new and interesting world
[06:56] and so many sky just centers around the
[06:57] same uninteresting most of the time
[07:00] variety like worlds who have seen in the
[07:02] media one million times before which is
[07:05] such a shame and such a waste if you ask
[07:07] me you have the ability to make any
[07:09] universe or world you want and bring
[07:10] modern day normal people to it and for
[07:12] some reason many isakai just don't want
[07:15] to utilize that potential and just
[07:17] create ordinary cookie cutter fantasy
[07:19] worlds which is where the isekai shangri
[07:21] is at its very worst the shangri gets
[07:23] boring and predictable when you use the
[07:25] same cookie cutter plotline every other
[07:27] isakai anime ever has used for multiple
[07:30] years at this point you have the ability
[07:32] to create any world you want and for
[07:33] some reason they all decide to do the
[07:35] same thing over and over again which is
[07:37] the most important part of isekai you
[07:39] can make any world you want and you
[07:41] still stick to the same old norms anyway
[07:44] i just don't get it this is the most
[07:45] obnoxious thing i've ever experienced in
[07:47] my life
[07:49] whether you like it or not the izakaya
[07:50] shangri isn't going anywhere soon and it
[07:52] is here to stay isekai is in my opinion
[07:55] the easiest animation to make it takes
[07:57] next to no effort or creativity to make
[08:00] an ordinary unexceptional trashy cookie
[08:02] cutter izukai and that is exactly why
[08:04] they come out in droves every year
[08:07] they are so easy to make it is crazy
[08:09] but
[08:10] when you actually try to be original
[08:12] while making an isakai that is when the
[08:14] genre can shine you have the power to
[08:16] take a person from our modern society
[08:18] and put them into any environment you
[08:20] want where the only boundary and limit
[08:22] is your own imagination isekai has
[08:25] gotten a bad rap because it is so easy
[08:26] to make them that they have been pumped
[08:28] out like crazy over the last few years
[08:31] but when you really create a good isekai
[08:33] my god you've got a real gem on your
[08:35] hands alright let's wrap this up in my
[08:38] opinion the izuka shanghai can be a good
[08:40] and entertaining genre that can be and
[08:42] do virtually anything with its core
[08:44] premises but the easikai shanghai has so
[08:46] many pitfalls that can turn into some of
[08:48] the most generic media you can find
[08:50] anywhere isekai anime are so easy to
[08:52] produce that many discover the same core
[08:54] ailments and don't try to stand out from
[08:56] the crowd or the competitors which is a
[08:58] shame because like i have said many
[09:00] times by now izukai's core premises
[09:03] leave so much room for interesting
[09:05] worlds and stories that most other
[09:07] genres can't tell in the same way
[09:09] and yet all we keep getting is the same
[09:11] old story over and over again with a new
[09:13] coat of paint because it takes no effort
[09:16] there's a reason why the izuka's genre
[09:17] has become a derogatory symbol over the
[09:19] years and it's because ninety-five
[09:21] percent of all the sky don't even try to
[09:23] bring anything new to the table it's a
[09:25] shame it really is that a shiner of so
[09:28] much potential is plagued with so much
[09:30] bad stigma but at the very least we know
[09:32] that the genre can produce gems if the
[09:34] effort required is put into doing so
[09:37] [Music]
[09:40] well folks that is all i had to talk
[09:41] about today and if you think there are
[09:43] some things i can improve on please
[09:45] write it down in the comments i would
[09:46] love to hear constructive criticism and
[09:48] until next time thank you so much for
[09:50] watching i really appreciate it you look
[09:52] amazing and see you next time
[10:01] [Music]
[10:07] [Music]
[10:13] [Music]
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