an Original isekai manga that avoiding all overused tropes

[RizkyArrydesta]

I am writing an Isekai Story which avoiding all OVERUSED tropes, No harem, no gaming system, no highschooler MC, no Cheat skill, no DEMON LORD, no glorified japanese Culinary, No Idiotic MC, No easy language barrier translator...
Instead I focused in magic system, world building, MC that actually summoned BECAUSE hes a hero, no DEMON KING but an invasive super power country, conflict internally and externally, and hard earned language understanding.

what do you think? would you read it?
anything you want to add?

 

[schlo]

what do you mean by this, "hard earned language understanding"? Are you going to spend time on him learning the language? If so how much?

Can you define "super power" more? Are you meaning having better technology then other countries or just simply that they are larger and more pervasive so there advantage is do to size?

Can't speak for others, while I'm not thrilled with tropes in general, in and out of isekai, the bigger problem to me is the quality of writing when using a trope. Actually that's the bigger problem for me in general.

Either way, good luck with your writing.

 

[BzzBzz]

> avoiding all OVERUSED tropes

Aren't those tropes overused for a reason? 😎

 

[Oysterwhite]

The reason is called lazy writting.
Suuure you could be original, but what is that? And easy and effortless way of stablishing the world and characters withouth all that boring character development and world building? I mean, everyone else is doing it, and it goes well for them! Why not?
Sarcasm aside, there's more than enough isekai filled with tropes all over the place, if someone tries to do something *actually* original with the formula, you're not really losing anything.
Then again, an isekai without isekai tropes isn't unheard of, so rather than erasing all the tropes, replacing them with new ideas and dinamics could be cool.

 

[DANDAN_THE_DANDAN]

@RizkyArrydesta OP, I feel like you're misunderstanding the wonders of tropes. They're there to provide the authors an easy way to progress the story meanwhile providing the readers with a familiar basis to get intro the story more easily.

Think of tropes like fire: if you handle them properly they will provide light to move the story forward but mishandle them and they will burn down your story mercilessly. Tropes are not inherently bad, they are just often misused which gave them bad reputations.

Btw avoiding ALL tropes would just be a creative hindrance imo. How I do it is that I forget about all tropes in the world and focus on how the story can progress organically. If it happens to be trope-y then so be it.

Also I do have an isekai plot on paper. I solve my language barrier problem using lore-heavy memory-combination thingamajig a thing that the side characters are born with, but not the main, as a plot device. That way I can focus on the story, rather than force the readers to watch MC study the language for months. This is more believable than the MC himself getting that language ex machina. This way I can also introduce necessary lore and side characters. It also sets up for a future conflict in which the MC can't directly speak with the indigenous people without his allies. The allies are also able to speak English, a language none of the locals can understand so they don't have to worry about privacy if they ever want to conspire against the locals. See? I made use of an overused trope to progress multiple aspects of the story. I didn't even realize that this is a language trope until a day after I thought of it. It's all a matter of "how" rather than "why not". Never put tropes for the sake of putting a trope into the story.

 

[MbahGreget]

sadly no isekai manga that will satisfy of your likes. MC as a summoned hero is overused too btw.

but i will try giving a recommendation manga that as close as your like that not have overused tropes.

1. Alice in Borderland
https://mangadex.org/title/2890/alice-in-borderland
+ No Harem, No DEMON LORD, no glorified japanese Culinary, No Idiotic MC, no Cheat skill
- highschooler MC, NO HEROES, no MAGIC.
about gaming system, if you mean this is like stats or power skill, forget that, it's not exist in the manga, about languange barrier, there are no orc or goblin or something so it doesn't even talk about languange.

2. Knights & Magic
https://mangadex.org/title/19716/knights-magic
+ No Harem, No DEMON LORD, no glorified japanese Culinary, No Idiotic MC, no Cheat skill, no highschooler MC, no Gaming System
- NO HEROES
about languange barrier, MC is reincarnated, so he is like learning it naturally from baby.

give it a try to both, especially Alice in Borderland, its very different for your usual isekai.

 

[daywithoutgames]

I recommend some good isekai / fantasy manga-s , like :

- https://mangadex.org/title/41665/after-reincarnation-my-party-was-full-of-boys-but-i-m-not-a-shotacon .

- https://mangadex.org/title/13871/dungeon-meshi .

- https://mangadex.org/title/23004/dungeon-nursery .

- https://mangadex.org/title/5353/gate-jieitai-kanochi-nite-kaku-tatakaeri , aka isekai japanese modern army .

- https://mangadex.org/title/21177/goblin-is-very-strong , aka level 999 goblin girl .

- https://mangadex.org/title/18935/goblin-slayer .

- https://mangadex.org/title/31488/isekai-ojisan .

- https://mangadex.org/title/17709/kumo-desu-ga-nani-ka .

- https://mangadex.org/title/19104/murenase-shiiton-gakuen .

- https://mangadex.org/title/30956/ponkotsu-ga-tensei-shitara-zongai-saikyou .

- https://mangadex.org/title/27202/the-ride-on-king , aka isekai putin who wants to ride monsters .

- https://mangadex.org/title/36767/the-villainess-will-crush-her-destruction-end-through-modern-firepower .

- https://mangadex.org/title/20978/the-world-of-moral-reversal .

- https://mangadex.org/title/20796/ishuzoku-reviewers .

- https://mangadex.org/title/23490/yowai-5000-nen-no-soushoku-dragon-iware-naki-jaryuu-nintei , aka l0li and vegan dragon .

- Dragon's Crown manga .

- Odin Sphere manga .

- How I stalked some dude with an exposed nipple and stumbled upon the Zenithian Sword .

- Monster X Monster , aka a NEET is playing Monster Hunter .

- Arasa Quest , aka over 30-years-old , virgin girls in the dungeon .

- Berserk , with Guts .

- Yuusha ga Shinda .


the following are bad , crappy , rubbish manga-s , waste your time to read them at your own risk . to write a good story , just write the opposite of these manga-s and you will be fine , lol :

- re : monster aka retar* : monster , aka isekai goblin : because im not a human anyomre , im a monster goblin now so i can rap* all the b!tches in this isekai .

- sword art online .

- isekai smartphone .

- shield hero isekai .

- Game obu Familia – Family Senki , aka isekai with my step-mother and 2 step-aunts .

- Nidome no Yuusha , aka i was stabbed only once , so i will torture and massacre everyone in this isekai .

- Yakushoku Distopiary - Gesellschaft Blume , aka to kill the monsters , i will sacrifice my own body , er i mean sacrifice my friends and steal their levels , because im an edgy , level 0 loser .

- Parallel Paradise , aka isekai into an all-girls world , the MC gets to fukk all the girls , but he is still b!tching all the time because he is an a$$-hole who hates girls .

- World's End Harem : in the future , all men in the world are dead , the women are begging a male brat to have $ex with them to repopulate the world , but he refuses because he only love men .

- dungeon seeker , aka isekai with my class-mates : i love my cute childhood friend , but she loves another boy who is more handsome than me , so she doesnt accept my love , this is the ultimate betrayal so i will train my level and kill them all to revenge .

- Isekai Onsen ni Tensei shita Ore no Kounou ga Tondemosugiru , aka reborn as a hot spring , n@ked women are "inside" me all the time .

 

[BzzBzz]

> The reason is called lazy writting.

Too bad, it's not. The reason is… dramatic 10 second pause… sales.

You offer what your readers demand (buy). If readers demand "harem/isekai" why would you try writing/selling "stone age history"?

 

[MoonlightFairy]

Isekai is actually a unique set, unfortunately it also becoming a tools to skip all of the information of the world setting in the story, which can be very interesting or very boring instead, and maybe because of it's risky a lot of people are skipping it, but of course the main reason is it's currently popular.

There's a lot of "Isekai" novels created by a lot of people, as in Japan of course it's about using their culture and advantages.

I also in the middle of making a novel that are similar to an isekai, however the Earth itself is a sci-fi alternative and the world where the protagonist get "isekai-ed" is still in the same universe, it's just another one of the planet who has a life form, but I also mix a lot of magic fantasy
(Something like Legolas using a sniper rifle or a classic 70's car but with an electric engine fueled by magic) so they transport to another planet not by space ship but magic.

Anyway, I'm still in the second book right now. I finished my first book and it's very difficult since I need to describe the world, the settings, and any other necessary things first while making it at least very interesting, which is why I'm not confident to publish my book (another reason is I'm poor, and English is not my first language. Yes, I write my book in English in my gift away phone. Actually, that's the main reason). So good luck with your story.

 

[Tamerlane]

I will say that tropes in and of themselves aren't bad. I am currently writing an Isekai with @DANDAN_THE_DANDAN, who is working as an editor. Yes MC died in a car accident and yes there is a demon king that he's going after, but I'm planning to make it a more of a genre deconstruction and those tropes will be subverted, inverted and used to make comments on larger philosophical and thematic elements in the text.

Essentially, tropes in and of themselves do not indicate quality because if your work is filled with tropes, but in such a unique or bizarre combination, or if you use those tropes to create meaningful and more substantive ideas and qualities, then it's not too bad.

Though what I will say is that what I'm writing and what DANDAN is helping me with will contain a lot of the positive elements you've described as well, with little to no game mechanics aside from checking someone's class/skills (no leveling, for instance) and the MC isn't specifically Japanese, though he is a teenager. DANDAN can probably give an overall review, as if I do it for the first part, I feel it would be too biased.

@RizkyArrydesta

 

[RizkyArrydesta]

@Tamerlane
whoa awesome, yes looks like many misinterpret what i mean by avoiding the tropes...
since tropes itself is inavoidable in making stories.
But it is possible to do an entirely subversion or inversion of those tropes, resulting something completely new.
So far, the concept and the base of this ISEKAI project Im working on is receiving a positive feedback.. and it might be started as
a Kickstarter project due to the funding..

 

[DANDAN_THE_DANDAN]

@daywithoutgames

- Parallel Paradise , aka isekai into an all-female world , the MC gets to fukk all the girls , but still b!tching all the time because he is a women-hater .

Now this may shock you but there is character development - MC don't hate women anymore! Shocking!

Jokes aside, 80 or something chapters in and the worldbuilding is unironically fully fleshed out now. Yeah this takes way too long and the only hook is the hentai so I doubt plenty of fans who are here for the story survived this long. But aside from the criticisms, the characters are actually fun to follow and have more dimensions than the worst isekais out there so it's actually a fun read.

Spoiler

Why am I defending what is essentially hentai with plot

 

[Tkipani]

Seeing lots of male MC isekai or manga written for a mostly male audience, but I'd like to recommend some isekai with female MCs as well! A lot of shoujo isekai can be pretty predictable, but some really subvert or have an interesting take on "overused" tropes. It's pretty important to see a wide variety of tropes and uses of tropes to really feel out what works and what doesn't. Knowing what you DON'T want to read is essential to writing.

1. Ascendance of a Bookworm ~I'll do anything to become a librarian~ Part 1
https://mangadex.org/title/18488/ho...remasen-dai-1-bu-hon-ga-nai-nara-tsukureba-ii
VERY interesting take on isekai!
A young woman is killed during an earthquake and wakes up in another world in the body of a very sickly girl from a poor family. She finds that the world has low literacy rates and books are almost nonexistent, so she sets about the process of making her own books.
I really recommend reading this to see how the author builds the world (there's a magic system and it's wonderfully built into the world), describes language, and goes really in-depth into the mercantile system (since the girl essentially trains to become a merchant). Also, there's isn't really any romance since she's a little girl.

2. Middle-Aged Man's Noble Daughter Reincarnation
https://mangadex.org/title/43291/middle-aged-man-s-noble-daughter-reincarnation
Exactly what the title says.
Hilarious use of the "villainous" lady character. No real world/story building, but super funny characters and jokes. Even if you're not writing comedy, I still recommend checking this one out for some laughs.

3. Emperor And The Female Knight
https://mangadex.org/title/42278/emperor-and-the-female-knight
Not an isekai, but has pretty good world/story building and depictions of war/soldier life. The story is that a noble girl is essentially given away to war (and to preferably die) so her younger sister can inherit the family's estate. She, instead, becomes a great soldier even though she isn't respected because she's a woman. Not very flowery since the MC isn't classically pretty. Some romance.

4. May I Please Ask You Just One Last Thing?
https://mangadex.org/title/38088/may-i-please-ask-you-just-one-last-thing
Also not an isekai. You ever think: "Man these guys are jerks, she should just punch them and be done with it". Well, here's the story for you. MC literally beats the shit out of everyone who wrongs her. Kinda violent, but pretty great subversion of typical the "villainess" trope. Some romance.

5. Kanata Kara
https://mangadex.org/title/1858/kanata-kara
My personal favorite isekai. One of my top overall mangas. This manga is SO GOOD. I wish it got more love because it's amazing and has a little bit of everything: romance, politics, action, suspense. The world building and character development is so amazing. Language acquisition is touched on in the beginning. Someone can definitely describe this manga as "trope-y", but I'd say that this manga does tropes correctly. Unfortunately you can't read it on this site, but I highly recommend finding it and checking it out.

Tropes are literary devices. There are no "good" or "bad" ones, just different uses and personal preferences. Even "overused" tropes work out really well if the author uses them correctly. Play around and experiment with them. All I can say is don't throw away perfectly good devices for the sake of "being different" or "original".

There are no original stories. Everything has been done/written/talked about before. Just have fun. Read what you want to read and write what makes you satisfied/happy.

Good luck!

 

[John_Doe_Jersey]

How about the protag/antag is "a" henchman for "the" superior hero or boss (while they were summoned they are a part of a group)? In most Isekai the MC seems to always be some OP trope in some way, make it where they are never more powerful, magical, intelligent, lucky, wise, or as much of a workaholic as the hero or boss but has to either motivate or survive the antics of their hero or boss.

Real tough one, you said a world with magic but how about no combat, no competition (like being the best or highest ranking of something), nor violence? What kind of story can be told with these limits.

How about the MC's ability when used has a proportional penalty feedback (more power used greater the penalty feedback), the penalty feedback comes in the form that the people who are around them that normally trusts and loves them...distrusts and hates them more for either the amount used or the level of buff used. If the power is used either too much or too strong, then the people he/she loves now become their most bitter enemy with a harsh to kill mentality and no mercy. The MC is put in a situation where they are stressed to use their power but tries to creatively work around it. Also if there are magical devices, they have the severe limitations of being rare, limited in power, and consumable (a sword only able to be used in two fights, shield that will only protect you when using it both hands but can only protect the user one time, etc)

How about the MC is summoned as a villain by the evil side to fight for them and destroy the heroes antagonizing them? There is some form of catch where if the MC doesn't comply then there is a severe penalty to be paid (whether he pays it him/herself or people he/she cares about from the original world).

How about the summoned MC has to weigh the scale of balance, only one world can be saved and both worlds and their people/history/culture are great, the original or the one they were transplanted to, and no easy/cop out where they can save both or majority of the people safely by trans/tele ports, because when it goes to full completion where one world's people is all chosen to live because of some better reason/logic by splitting hair, while other world and all of it's people will die, and if no decision is made both worlds and all of it's people die.

 

[thedestroyership]

I recommend the Wolf Won’t Sleep https://mangadex.org/title/37088/the-wolf-won-t-sleep

Pros:
No harem, no highschool MC, no Cheats (in fact the MC fails at times), no Demon Lord, MC isn’t even Jap. MC gets isekaied in his own free will “to search for a challenge”

Cons:
Pseudo gaming magic system, language barrier is easily overcome in the first few chapters.

Art is also very unique, but you may not like it.

 

[AngleBoi7]

"MC being summoned" is pretty cliché.

for "MC is a hero", unless you mean "MC is an already established Hero", which is uncommon in Eastern series, would still be cliché.

and John_Doe_Jersey has a point, MC being THE Hero is the most overused tropes, along with "save the world" plot.