My Isekai Essay, By: Bucket - Oneshot
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So meta, I mean, anecdotal. 🤐
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Wow, nice manga. i think the dream was like the "dream of butterfly" in philosophy. Was "current" you actually real you or "butterfly" you that dreaming of "current" you? You couldn't really know and the important things actually to live your life as you want it. Nice tho he get a lovely wife.
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I have seen quite a few Isekai and a part of me would love to be in a world like that...but knowing my luck[if Isekai was actually a thing] my life would turn out like this or worse lol
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Most of us would die before we reach middle school age unless the Isekai Gods decided to grant us the luck of being born with magic powers and a near-photographic memory of every little thing we ever looked up on Wikipedia that just so happens to be perfectly applicable to fairly specific problems.
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I honestly can’t think of much anime or fantasy worlds I’d like to go to. Sure, most are interesting, but there’s usually an element of high peril behind the scenes. Even with advanced knowledge or an ability, I still would decline.
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Bretty nice for a one shot. Also that new series tease mang.
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I dig it. The fantastical part of me really wants to see it as a real story.
However, I feel like it's pretty unrealistic to have someone live a normal life after getting trucked. If I got trucked the first thing I would do is pursue magic, since I now have hard personal evidence of the existence of magical forces and spiritualism(on top of the magical elements of this particular world). I earnestly can't imagine anyone would just live a regular muggle life after experiencing that. I mean, tons of people have drug trips or other experiences that are convincing enough to send them down the occult path. How could anyone ignore the call of magic after realizing that they live in an isekai story?
Like, why not travel abroad to other countries that do practice magic, and see if you can learn multiverse travel magic? That charm he got proves that it's more or less possible to travel between worlds.
However, I feel like it's pretty unrealistic to have someone live a normal life after getting trucked. If I got trucked the first thing I would do is pursue magic, since I now have hard personal evidence of the existence of magical forces and spiritualism(on top of the magical elements of this particular world). I earnestly can't imagine anyone would just live a regular muggle life after experiencing that. I mean, tons of people have drug trips or other experiences that are convincing enough to send them down the occult path. How could anyone ignore the call of magic after realizing that they live in an isekai story?
Like, why not travel abroad to other countries that do practice magic, and see if you can learn multiverse travel magic? That charm he got proves that it's more or less possible to travel between worlds.
Really nice.
There are a few details that I loved in this short story, for example the fact that, contrary to what most isekai wants us to believe, our knowledge in the modern society can't be used in more medieval-like times. I believe no one in this comment section actually knows and experimented how to actually create paper, invent a electrical-based system out of rustic materials, melt iron and craft a proper sword/other kinds of ustensils etc... This was really well-described in this oneshot.
I could even go further and say the protagonist was lucky to be able to draw, as drawing has always existed. A standard programmer would have in a much more horrible situation, for example.
Also @infiniteinterface not possible. Grimoires are expensive, you're a farmer. You'd need to grow up and start earning money by yourself before being able to afford that. The only thing you have is prior (useless) life experience, you're no genius to invent something at 3yo and get baron or whatever title at 8 years old. Even if the protagonist really wanted to know more about magic, he wouldn't have been able to study this domain before starting to earn lots of money, which is, in the oneshot, around the time he started making the enrollment rate skyrocket in the art academy, so around 25-30 years old. Magic is something mages/rich people start really young (before being 10), so starting at 30yo would have been completely meaningless for him.
There are a few details that I loved in this short story, for example the fact that, contrary to what most isekai wants us to believe, our knowledge in the modern society can't be used in more medieval-like times. I believe no one in this comment section actually knows and experimented how to actually create paper, invent a electrical-based system out of rustic materials, melt iron and craft a proper sword/other kinds of ustensils etc... This was really well-described in this oneshot.
I could even go further and say the protagonist was lucky to be able to draw, as drawing has always existed. A standard programmer would have in a much more horrible situation, for example.
Also @infiniteinterface not possible. Grimoires are expensive, you're a farmer. You'd need to grow up and start earning money by yourself before being able to afford that. The only thing you have is prior (useless) life experience, you're no genius to invent something at 3yo and get baron or whatever title at 8 years old. Even if the protagonist really wanted to know more about magic, he wouldn't have been able to study this domain before starting to earn lots of money, which is, in the oneshot, around the time he started making the enrollment rate skyrocket in the art academy, so around 25-30 years old. Magic is something mages/rich people start really young (before being 10), so starting at 30yo would have been completely meaningless for him.
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This was really cool, I hope you guys pick up her new project when it gets published
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@liu
TL;DR My essay about "My Isekai Essay, By: Bucket" in which I argue that Bucket could have easily learned magic.
You make some interesting points; but I still feel like there would be multiple routes to pursue the occult for our protag.
Ultimately, a lot of the discussion comes down to whether we are talking about a hard magical or soft magical system.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hard_and_soft_magic_systems
If it's a system like FMA or Harry Potter; there might be grimoires or formula that are used to practice magic; but certain users would have the knowledge or experience to subvert those requirements. I think this is more akin to what many magical schools teach in our world. Flying Witch is another example of this; where we see magic that is the result of careful reproduced formula; as well as magic that is done on the fly using nothing but willpower. In other words; mediation and knowledge might prove more valuable to our protagonist than materials. Additionally, our protag has read isekai stories himself; which frequently have somewhat researched magical systems worked into their stories. I'm willing to bet he has more magical knowledge than the average person in his world; perhaps enough to cast a spell or two.
Regarding pricing and availability of teachings, I think that too wouldn't be an issue. It's only in his home country that things are ridiculously expensive due to magic being banned. In other countries, it's highly likely that the use of magic would make certain manufacturing processes much cheaper; thus making books more common. Even if the materials were expensive, surely there would be monasteries similar to our world where the teachings would be free through scripture and/or oral tradition. What better time to become a monk than right after being reincarnated? Many of the religions in our world are essentially magical traditions; especially if you look into their roots. I'm sure such religious organizations would exist in his new world given that there is an even stronger basis for religious belief. No entry fee required.
Barring monastics, certainly some wizard of esteem would be interested in a convincing tale of a silicon future. Not only can our protagonist describe in detail the life he lived; he can draw it. I've no doubt that someone would believe him if they themselves practiced magic. It would be nothing like telling the same story to someone in our world, because they already have a basis for magical belief, and thus you would remove a thick layer of skepticism. Wouldn't you be interested in teaching someone who has many years to advance their art, yet a more developed maturity than a child? I think his circumstances are easily worth a scholarship; if not for his story than for the innovative ideas his story represents.
(unless of course reincarnations are ultra common)
This is a good point to segway into the bit about his age. Starting magical training at 30 might be late for someone expecting to live until 60 or even 100. You'd be far behind other wizards at that point, and perhaps hard-pressed to start a standard magical career. But in this instance, I think we can safely assume that extremely long lives can be achieved through either reincarnation or direct life extension. Why not invest in magic if your life is perhaps going to last hundreds of years, if not longer? Even if he didn't catch all the earlier starting opportunities, he finds out he has enough magical ability to use the charm; which would have been a good time to start.
Lastly; even if our protag doesn't pursue magic or know how to do many practical things like creating paper, metal, electricity, etc.; I still think the idea of such technologies would be massively useful if they don't already exist in that world. Their toilets for example will probably run the risk of polluting water systems. If Bucket can explain the basic premise of how that occurs, and how boiling water makes it safer, he can save many lives. Perhaps he doesn't know how to create a safe septic system, but he can get the ball rolling. (Assuming these elements apply to that world)
TL;DR My essay about "My Isekai Essay, By: Bucket" in which I argue that Bucket could have easily learned magic.
You make some interesting points; but I still feel like there would be multiple routes to pursue the occult for our protag.
Ultimately, a lot of the discussion comes down to whether we are talking about a hard magical or soft magical system.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hard_and_soft_magic_systems
If it's a system like FMA or Harry Potter; there might be grimoires or formula that are used to practice magic; but certain users would have the knowledge or experience to subvert those requirements. I think this is more akin to what many magical schools teach in our world. Flying Witch is another example of this; where we see magic that is the result of careful reproduced formula; as well as magic that is done on the fly using nothing but willpower. In other words; mediation and knowledge might prove more valuable to our protagonist than materials. Additionally, our protag has read isekai stories himself; which frequently have somewhat researched magical systems worked into their stories. I'm willing to bet he has more magical knowledge than the average person in his world; perhaps enough to cast a spell or two.
Regarding pricing and availability of teachings, I think that too wouldn't be an issue. It's only in his home country that things are ridiculously expensive due to magic being banned. In other countries, it's highly likely that the use of magic would make certain manufacturing processes much cheaper; thus making books more common. Even if the materials were expensive, surely there would be monasteries similar to our world where the teachings would be free through scripture and/or oral tradition. What better time to become a monk than right after being reincarnated? Many of the religions in our world are essentially magical traditions; especially if you look into their roots. I'm sure such religious organizations would exist in his new world given that there is an even stronger basis for religious belief. No entry fee required.
Barring monastics, certainly some wizard of esteem would be interested in a convincing tale of a silicon future. Not only can our protagonist describe in detail the life he lived; he can draw it. I've no doubt that someone would believe him if they themselves practiced magic. It would be nothing like telling the same story to someone in our world, because they already have a basis for magical belief, and thus you would remove a thick layer of skepticism. Wouldn't you be interested in teaching someone who has many years to advance their art, yet a more developed maturity than a child? I think his circumstances are easily worth a scholarship; if not for his story than for the innovative ideas his story represents.
(unless of course reincarnations are ultra common)
This is a good point to segway into the bit about his age. Starting magical training at 30 might be late for someone expecting to live until 60 or even 100. You'd be far behind other wizards at that point, and perhaps hard-pressed to start a standard magical career. But in this instance, I think we can safely assume that extremely long lives can be achieved through either reincarnation or direct life extension. Why not invest in magic if your life is perhaps going to last hundreds of years, if not longer? Even if he didn't catch all the earlier starting opportunities, he finds out he has enough magical ability to use the charm; which would have been a good time to start.
Lastly; even if our protag doesn't pursue magic or know how to do many practical things like creating paper, metal, electricity, etc.; I still think the idea of such technologies would be massively useful if they don't already exist in that world. Their toilets for example will probably run the risk of polluting water systems. If Bucket can explain the basic premise of how that occurs, and how boiling water makes it safer, he can save many lives. Perhaps he doesn't know how to create a safe septic system, but he can get the ball rolling. (Assuming these elements apply to that world)
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Man, that was a cool take on the isekai genre. It´s a shame that 95% of all isekais are just ridiculous harem-revenge-wishfullfillment-fantasys with more plotholes than a piece of cheese. This genre has so much unused potential.
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@Liu I mean I know how to make soap.
1) Get ashes.
2) Wash ashes with piss. I'm not kidding.
3) Wash ashses with water to get rid of piss.
4) Mix with animal fat and flowers.
Congratulations you've got the world's shittest soap.
There are a lot of things I probably could make if I was given years to iterate upon ideas I have. I think a big part of what you miss is that even if we don't know the technical details of something, the simple knowledge of that "It can be done" and a rough knowledge of how to do it is actually enough to solve an issue when given enough time.
That said, since this one-shot is a realistic take on isekai manga, it means that he wouldn't have had the time or money to do any experimenting.
1) Get ashes.
2) Wash ashes with piss. I'm not kidding.
3) Wash ashses with water to get rid of piss.
4) Mix with animal fat and flowers.
Congratulations you've got the world's shittest soap.
There are a lot of things I probably could make if I was given years to iterate upon ideas I have. I think a big part of what you miss is that even if we don't know the technical details of something, the simple knowledge of that "It can be done" and a rough knowledge of how to do it is actually enough to solve an issue when given enough time.
That said, since this one-shot is a realistic take on isekai manga, it means that he wouldn't have had the time or money to do any experimenting.
