General Isekai Thread

Alright, found a complete MTL translation of the Chinese WN I brought up a while back, I'm Really Not the Demon God's Lackey. The premise was basically that a university student named Lin Jie from Earth ended up in another world running a bookstore at the behest of some mysterious shadowy entity. The books in the store are perceived by Lin Jie to be books from Earth, but to the natives of that world the books are Tome of Eldritch Lore that contain great power and knowledge. This leads to a Sustained Misunderstanding as everyone who interacts with Lin Jie thinks he's some kind of all powerful and all knowing malevolent entity.

Anyway, the endgame of the series reveals an interesting twist on the isekai formula:

I've seen this twist so many times at this point in shoujo manhwas that it's actually not that impressive to me but I will give props on the reframing of the title.

The endgame also reveals the reason the primary villains of the story are all named after angels.

Turns out it's just because one of them stumbled upon a Bible from Earth and got way too obsessed with the idea of God.

Did you check out I am not the demon lord. That one is pretty interesting too.

Out main character ends up taking over the body of the demon lord because God feels that the demon lord has wasted his powers and prefers someone more intelligent and kind hearts on the role. The demon lord though at the half way point is revealed to have actually swapped bodies with him and is now having go live bis life (make sure the guy has enough money for his sick family, etc). The plot ends up alternating between the two afterwards and how they adjust to their new lives

Here's a rather amusing and actually creative isekai story: A Story about a Cat Reincarnated in a Different World Where There are no Cats.

And yes, it's an actual cat. Not a human being reincarnated into a cat, but an ordinary cat from Earth.

The story begins with a cat getting hit by a car. The Isekai god takes pity on the cat and sends it to another world where there are no cars. Instead, it's reincarnated in a world with swords and sorcery.

The closest thing to a "cheat" power the cat has is that this world, as the title suggests, has no native cat species. So everyone who encounters it experiences Cuteness Proximity.

It's a shame cat and car sound nothing alike in jp cause it sure sounds like the god did a typo

Edited by alekos23 on Mar 15th 2023 at 3:49:54 PM

I read an isekai about a cicada that died somehow (cicadas are extremely good at this) and got isekai'd as like an evil dragon god. He started dating the world tree because he's a cicada, so all he wants to do is drink tree sap and hers is the best. Oh and also be really loud because, again, cicada.

Edited by Arha on Mar 15th 2023 at 6:40:20 AM

Amazing...

Here's another one that isn't quite an isekai but is about something from the "real" world entering a "game" world.

I Picked This World’s Strategy Guide!: The premise here is that a normally unimportant side character in the world of a game somehow ends up with the strategy guide for said game. As a result of her having what is essentially Tomes of Prophecy and Fate, the plot of the game world rapidly goes off the rails.

At first she realizes how dangerous the book is and resolves never to use it to change the future. This lasts only until she finds out that a friend of hers is doomed to become an early game boss character due to a member of the future hero party ruining said friend's life.

Edited by M84 on Mar 16th 2023 at 12:42:29 AM

Yeah started that one a week ago or so. It's pretty good.

There's only a few chapters out for it, but I agree that Strategy Guide has been a neat read. It knows what its core gimmick is and how to utilize it, which is in surprisingly short supply in isekai and adjacent works.

I especially like that the strategy guide is literally only a book. It doesn't magically grant the MC Sana any new powers. And Sana has to understand what's written in the book in order to make use of it. Like in the example stated , Sana only realized that her friend was in danger because she noted that the map provided in the book showed a casino in place of the bar her friend worked in, and she had to work backwards from the character sheet and quest logs to piece together why.

The cat isekai I mentioned earlier has a few more twists.

• While the cat is just an ordinary cat, it still influences the world by becoming the pet of the Heroine. She ends up taking up an adventuring job to pay for the cat's meals since the cat only eats meat and dairy, which are both very expensive foodstuffs in that world.

• Said cat is also only the first cat that ends up sent to this world. The demon king later ends up with a litter of Russian Blue kittens. It's then revealed that cats apparently did exist a long time ago in that world but are now extinct. One of the demon king's subordinates found an old book with some information on how to raise cats. In order to feed the kittens, the demon king resorts to kidnapping Byakko so the kittens can nurse from the tiger deity. In a world where regular cats are extinct, Byakko's apparently the closest thing the demon king could find to a mother cat. Byakko's reluctant at first but is also charmed by the kittens.

Edited by M84 on Mar 16th 2023 at 2:49:56 AM

Hopefully I'm not repeating something that someone already said.

There's a recently translated book called The Invincible Little Lady, about a girl who gets reborn in a fantasy world and finds herself completely invincible and very strong. I read the manga once, but was disappointed that the story didn't properly utilize the premise and just became a typical school-based sitcom.

An update for one I posted:.Yomei Nikagetsu No Isekai Kenkouhou

The isekai'd characters are a dying old man and his hospice nurse. Old man is already a badass, bend a martial artist capable of flipping a monster high into the air despite being wheelchair bound barely able to lift a finger... then he starts leveling up.

As she gets up to speed, the nurse gains healing abilities and proves a bit more isekai-savvy than her patient.

6 chapters in. The world is full of demihumans such that old man is mistaken for a goblin and the nurse a half-elf/half-orc, to her great annoyance. There's some discrimination, as a friendly dragon girl messenger they befriend is mistreated by local dwarves. Old man becomes an adventurer and saves the town, albeit Destructive Savior style.

Amusingly, for all gods badassery, old man can't handle slimes because they aren't very throwable.

RE: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=15415391050A70653600&page=270#comment-6732

Are you sure he didn't get reincarnated on ancient Norse Earth as Nidhogg?

Yes.

Finally got around to the latest slime chapter. I guess they did decide to flesh out the tengu a little and made them less rude. It's a bit unnecessarily complex for characters who I assume probably still don't matter though.

I'm a bit bothered by tengu being drawn with fox ears when they're supposed to be more birdlike than anything, aren't they?

It depends. They're associated with birds, wolves, and angels so this is actually a really accurate depiction(winged wolf people).

Mm I know they often have wings but I don't remember the angel association. And I thought if there was going to be another animal besides bird it was monkey?

I don't think the angel connection is accurate, no. But there are toritengu (crow tengu are specifically common), and tengu can turn into wolves too, apparently. At least, so says Wikipedia.

Hmm. Still feel like they should have used something more birdlike, otherwise they just like kitsune. But it's a mild quibble.

Anyway, I think this Momiji is basically a different character from the WN version. I don't think she had much dialogue but iirc she was kind of arrogant.

Edited by Arha on Apr 8th 2023 at 7:53:43 AM

Well, none of this season's isekai seems to be more than bad to middling. I'm still looking at One Hit Sis, KamiKatsu, and Iselive, but all three are near drops. One Hit Sis feels like its one joke will wear thin. Kami Katsu was weird enough to intrigue me, but the goddess will make or break the show, and I'm curious if Iselive will have any stakes socially (we know there are no stakes physically).

I am following the two Reverse isekai: Otaku Elf and Galaxy Next Door

I'm going to stand by my hot take that the best isekai anime right now is Hirogaru Sky! Pretty Cure.

Edited by ScrewySqrl on Apr 10th 2023 at 9:56:40 AM

Iselive has stakes physically in the other world. Yuuya is only overpowered in the real world. There are things stronger than him (including the little wolf partner he gets) in the Demon's Den that he lives in.

Edited by Silentedge89 on Apr 10th 2023 at 2:27:57 PM

One of the better takes of the "transported into a game or book setting as a villain / extra" plot is one where the protagonist isn't the only transportee. It better justifies why the supposed heroic leads of the setting are such assholes. They've been replaced by the kind of people who use such media as escapist power fantasies.

Edit:

On another note, it seems I Picked This World’s Strategy Guide! has switched to releasing full chapters at a slower rate as opposed to half-chapters.

Edited by M84 on Apr 29th 2023 at 3:05:57 AM

Just for fun, top 10 isekai TV anime:

The Twelve Kingdoms

Log Horizon

The Vision of Escaflowne

Welcome to Demon School

Kiba

Fushigi Yuugi

Tweeny Witches

Tsukimichi

Magic Knight Rayearth

.hack//Sign