Am I the only one who constantly reads isekais but also feel very annoyed with them?

[Pbjmaster]

God I am some sort of isekai addict but they also infuriate me to no end, does anyone else relate

 

[Halo]

Yes, you're the only one.

 

[comeonnow0]

I think the opening line on the We Hate Isekai group page sums up your feelings: Isekai are Trash, but so are we

 

[BzzBzz]

 

[Almirage]

Does it count how I keep reading isekai that I either don't care about being/wish were not isekai?

Knight's & Magic being the worst one out of what I've actually gone for. That show would have been in my favorites if it wasn't for the cute protag actually being a whatever loser in his past life.

 

[Pbjmaster]

I feel the romantic parts in most of these isekai series are never fleshed out properly, and its so generic with the "loser in my past life" reincarnation story

I think i'm partly drawn to them because there arent many series that can do videogame mechanics or even do like a good fantasy exploration series without isekai elements involved, aside from the dragon quest mangas

 

[Saiangeli]

I love the isekai genre. Just.. so often not the actually series produced. There is MASSSIVE potential but alot of mangakas are payed to produce shit that sells.. Not for its quality. And thats why isekai has so much garbage

 

[BlackLeopard]

i love the type of stats and isekai type, but i hate the way they make the mcs, it's even worst the revenge isekai genre, cuz they just lose story telling or just kills everyone without any logic, it's very rare to find great ones but isekai it's a good 6/10 in all manga they have lol, it's like hard to make one that is bad. sure there is some that are just trash but well, guess isekai is love.

 

[JJTheWeeb]

i have so many isekai in my MDList, because i don't drop stuff, and isekai are just easy to digest. But same as you, most i think are garbage, but i read anyways.
Why?
because why not, i want to know many many healer revenge stories i can read becfore i start losing track of which is which (also isekai cover images are more appealing to me than others, s easier to find and add).
Also some groups do just isekai (looking at LH) and that's a thing.

TLR, We Hate Isekai group

 

[Trodsen]

I mean, thats how most manga feel like. Bad MCs arent exclusive to non-isekai, they are honestly just as common. And the isekai trope itself is usually just a lazy excuse used to skip building up backgrounds on why the MC can do all the things he does/ how he gets innovative ideas/knowledge he has. I honestly feel like people seem to hate too much on the genre itself when it isnt really the reason why they are trashy, most manga are trashy isekai or not.

 

[JJTheWeeb]

@Trodsen isekai has a certain appeal to people (like me), so we say isekai is trash because we just consume all of it, and see a higher percentage of trash in that genre than others (i can say most romance are trash since i barely read the "good" ones, or well done ones, but i know there are some good romances).

There's also the issue of uniqueness, isekai are inherently generic, most are fantasy + harem + romance + video game, which are each a genre of their own, and typically, generic = bad (not that i said revenge healers earlier, i should note that probably all but 2 or smt of the healer stories are actually isekai, the rest are just fantasy).

Aside: usually fantasy is lumped into isekai, that's because some fantasy stories jsut started having stats for some reason.

 

[TheLostSheep]

I also read too many isekai but to be honest all of them are always the same. And most of it are just generic boring Isekai that I drop after reading for 2-3 chapters because I feel like you already know the story. Also most Isekai tags are always ecchi ,harem, OP power that should not exist, etc. There is no versatility I feel like the authors are not trying anymore they are just like riding the hype train especially 2 years ago when there is a shit ton of Isekai story popping out of nowhere.

 

[toru_okada]

Isekais are popular the same reason junk food is. They're both easy to digest and taste pretty decent, but at the same time most of them are trash. Unimaginative settings, crappy characters, crappy plot, etc.

Honestly I don't know why I expect something more when I'm trying to read an isekai. Most of the time there isn't that much conflict. Its just the MC gaining more and more power cause he's the MC. The love interests aren't that interesting too; most of the time they're just otaku fantasies, and others who have potential become people who can't seem to function without the main character, and if that isn't the case, they get overshadowed by the MC's bullshit instead. Where's the love interest's agency? Why are they only defined by how they wanna get into the MC's pants?

And the most important question, why the fuck do I bother reading this shit? Fuck this genre's target demographic honestly. And fuck me for being trash enough to tolerate this crap in the first place.

TL;DR - I hate isekai, but I'm just as trash.

Honestly, the only "advice" I can say is, try other genres... the fluffy romance genre's pretty loaded considering its popularity nowadays. Fluff is pretty inoffensive, but I can definitely say its miles better than your average run of the mill isekai. Also, sports and shounen manga are pretty samey, but at least they preach the values of hard work and determination. Hell, i contradict myself that the villainess genre are better, but that's just like saying fried chicken's more nutritious than potato crisps.

Typing this out made me realize something too... most manga are mediocre as hell. Not just manga too, this includes anime, live action movies series, etc.

So don't be afraid to drop series you don't like, and don't be pressured by the community to like something that's not to your taste. And don't expect for a genre to be better in time when its history states otherwise. Just like toxic relationships, cut that fucking shit off. Life's too short for BS, and isekai is grade A Bullshit.

Edit: that was a bit more emotional than I wanted. damn haha

 

[ryiason]

the reason why i like isekai is because it feeds my imagination that there's something out there for me even after i'm dead especially with the fact most mc's in isekai's are just like me, modern, living in capitalism and usually has no life outside books and other media i consumed. i'm very busy these days because of my job, i have no time to read something that will make think and ponder. i want something straight forward so if i have to read a brain cells killing isekai mangas/webtoons, so be it. life is too short for me to care about what's considered "good" and "well written".

 

[practicallyuseful]

I agree. It was so interesting in the beginning, when I started getting into isekai.
But the more I read, the fewer I actually liked.

Most of them just felt like they renovated the whole story and made the bad guys into the good guys.

It's becoming a new trope, and not really a promising one. It's a whole bunch of Mary Sues.

In that regard isekais (a lot of them) have lost their appeal to me.

 

[Nako]

Have you tried The Ride-On King or isekai from back then when "isekai" was not yet a thing, like the Digimon series, InuYasha or Tenkuu no Escaflowne...? They don't necessarily fit into the current isekai tropes.

 

[varrock1]

Ride on king was one of the few Isekai that I actually liked. Usually its just a cookie cutter goody two shoes hypocrite in another world.