you can't just call any fiction you don't like Isekai. It's not even a bad setup for a genre it's just used as a basis for power fantasy by men with weird ideas about relationships and women a lot.
for an example of why it's not a genre issue Narnia is technically an Isekai by the proper rules of the genre.
Narnia is an isekai. Star Wars is isekai. Iron Man is isekai. Mass delusion under treat-hypnosis is inherently isekai-istic. Sorry to spoil your 'fun.'
Isn't an isekai a story where the protagonist goes from our world to a new magical one. An example would include Celtic stories of the fairy realm.
also you seem to be condeming storytelling in general as a symptom of capitalism when all evidence points to storytelling being an older aspect of society than agriculture. People have been telling each other stories since the invention of fire
i guess i differentiate between isekai and real-world-but-magical since the former usually involves going elsewhere and the latter involves an unveiling of something that has always existed but in "the real world"
but i agree that strict genre definitions are silly and i don't really think it's worth putting much thought into
I don't hate isekai itself. In fact some of my favorite old stories are technically isekai in the broader sense (The Neverending Story comes to mind).
I hate the creative/metagame rut it's in, where it's so cynical and pandering that modern isekai often acknowledges how copy of a copy it is becoming in its own premise. "Oh wow I died and am in fantasy world just like in my isekais, time to have fanservice moments with obedient fawning dubiously aged waifus that are obsessed over my mediocrity to the point of fighting over it!" :so-true:
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She moved from Arizona to Portland. Close enough
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Same place
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As a hipster who hates this place how fucking dare you
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It's like reverse-isekai where the supernatural world/characters/powers are brought to the character.
That's just the genre of urban fantasy
you can't just call any fiction you don't like Isekai. It's not even a bad setup for a genre it's just used as a basis for power fantasy by men with weird ideas about relationships and women a lot.
for an example of why it's not a genre issue Narnia is technically an Isekai by the proper rules of the genre.
Narnia is an isekai. Star Wars is isekai. Iron Man is isekai. Mass delusion under treat-hypnosis is inherently isekai-istic. Sorry to spoil your 'fun.'
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Isn't an isekai a story where the protagonist goes from our world to a new magical one. An example would include Celtic stories of the fairy realm.
also you seem to be condeming storytelling in general as a symptom of capitalism when all evidence points to storytelling being an older aspect of society than agriculture. People have been telling each other stories since the invention of fire
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yeah 100%
but all that happens in twilight is that the masquerade slips, which places it much more comfortably in urban fantasy
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i guess i differentiate between isekai and real-world-but-magical since the former usually involves going elsewhere and the latter involves an unveiling of something that has always existed but in "the real world"
but i agree that strict genre definitions are silly and i don't really think it's worth putting much thought into
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I don't hate isekai itself. In fact some of my favorite old stories are technically isekai in the broader sense (The Neverending Story comes to mind).
I hate the creative/metagame rut it's in, where it's so cynical and pandering that modern isekai often acknowledges how copy of a copy it is becoming in its own premise. "Oh wow I died and am in fantasy world just like in my isekais, time to have fanservice moments with obedient fawning dubiously aged waifus that are obsessed over my mediocrity to the point of fighting over it!" :so-true:
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It has all the hallmarks of it, including the supernatural, but in a way it's lazier because it's brought to the bland ego-insert's doorstep.