There are few things less fantastic to me than "what if le hot feeemale but pointed ears and maybe a silly language quirk" pandering cliches. It inspires nothing in me, just... boredom now. World of Warcraft and its consequences or something.
Likewise, a very similar "sex sells, so keep selling sex everywhere at all times" capitalist drive made the concept of "isekai" its own self perpetuating weeb meme: it doesn't have to be about being the bestest bideo bame boy that wins sex trophies and is the nice slave owner, but that's where we are now for the majority of the industry's output in that subgenre. What was once associated with, say, The Neverending Story is now primarily in a very sad pandering place.
There are few things less fantastic to me than "what if le hot feeemale but pointed ears and maybe a silly language quirk" pandering cliches. It inspires nothing in me, just... boredom now. World of Warcraft and its consequences or something.
Likewise, a very similar "sex sells, so keep selling sex everywhere at all times" capitalist drive made the concept of "isekai" its own self perpetuating weeb meme: it doesn't have to be about being the bestest bideo bame boy that wins sex trophies and is the nice slave owner, but that's where we are now for the majority of the industry's output in that subgenre. What was once associated with, say, The Neverending Story is now primarily in a very sad pandering place.
Classic Isekai A Conneticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court.
Do the Odyssey and Gulliver's Travels count as Isekai?
I would even consider The Blazing World as a self-insert isekai. It's from the 1600s
Dante's Inferno? Yes, you guessed it, Isekai
That did have a bit of "do a capitalism in the fantasy setting and take over" evergreen vibe to it, didn't it?