It might be a cliche, a character archetype, a trope, a setting, a theme, anything. Which are the ones that make you enjoy the work more? Which are the ones that you hate to see? And which are the ones who you’d be fine with, if not so overused?
It might be a cliche, a character archetype, a trope, a setting, a theme, anything. Which are the ones that make you enjoy the work more? Which are the ones that you hate to see? And which are the ones who you’d be fine with, if not so overused?
I love Uncle from Another World (Isekai Ojisan) because it does isekai satire so well. I’m seriously laughing out loud every episode. Watching it slow so I can savor it
It’s basically what I thought Eminence in Shadow would be. EiS is self aware and pokes fun at isekai, but taking a step back… it’s still a standard isekai. To be fair I haven’t finished S1 of EiS yet so I may be too quick to judge. But to me it feels like they stuck in as many isekai tropes as they could, and an edgy sarcastic MC, and called it satire… I mean it kind of is, but idk
So to answer the question: basically the overpowered MC, the slave harem, the weak attempt at blending in so nobody can guess MC’s real identity as a god-tier warrior. How MC outsmarts all the natural denizens of the isekai and instantly understands how their world works and how to game it.
I also dislike when MCs basically completely forget their old world, they never stop to reminisce. I get that that’s kind of the point of isekai, escapism and not thinking about real life… but it’s unnatural to me. They bring their memories with them but throw them away.
Of course some of the better isekai do talk about both worlds. Like Re:Zero comes to mind, and ofc the ones where the isekai is a literal video game, and they travel back and forth.
This is my pet peeve in a lot of isekai. What is the point of making it an isekai if you completely ignore the previous world/person before the isekai-ening? It is just a fantasy with extra steps. Will I stop reading and/or watching them…maybe someday.
Edit: Just wanted to comment on TEIS. I think the satirical elements come through much clearer in the manga and LN versions of the story. The anime does get better about getting a feel for the humor as it goes, especially season 2, but a lot of the humor comes from Cid’s internal monologue, which is heavily reduced in the anime adaptation.
Isekai Ojisan is so good. Have you got to the part that explains his special power yet?
I don’t think I’ve gotten that far but I have seen him use his powers, and I know it’ll be a delight to find out!