It does make me very sad that the isekai that I like is simply not what gets written. Let's think for a second about what the core elements of isekai stories are. Protagonist dies or gets summoned to another world. That's the foundation that allows you to call something isekai right? Now, what is a core appeal of this base premise? There are a few. It can be interesting to see someone who struggles to live on Earth have a second chance at making something of themselves. It can be fun to watch someone completely out of their element, thrown into circumstances completely out of their control. It can also be interesting to see knowledge from Earth applied to another world.
But every single one of these points becomes moot if you make your protagonist overpowered. Death March could have been the story of how a normal programmer abuses the code of the game he developed (à la Kono Sekai ga Game). Instead, he just got infinite skill points, infinite levels, infinite money, etc so who cares what he does. He can't lose at anything anyways.
Nonbiri Nouka could have been the story of how a normal farmer applies agricultural techniques to live in a fantasy world (à la Isekai Kenkokuki). Instead, he has the omnipotent plot device of the gods so who cares what he does. He doesn't need to struggle to do absolutely anything. The passage of time, determination, failures, these are the things that make characters interesting to watch.
Magi Craft Master could have been the story of an apprentice crafter gradually grow into the role of his predecessor from humble beginnings. Instead, he just knows how to do everything almost instantly. Imagine if there were limits to his power at first. Like, he could barely make a screw without winding himself. Then, when we get to the end of the story, there would be some weight to the fact that he could make colossal death beam robots.
Naruto for instance, is an incredibly flawed franchise on almost every layer. But you know what actually got me? In the Boruto movie, where Naruto channels his chakra into his son and this monster rasengan comes out. Boruto then says something like, "What did he have to go through to get this far?" That line has so much impact because we, the viewer, know how much Naruto goes through on his journey.
All of this power-fantasy wank material lacks any sort of pacing that could result in a journey. There are exceptions of course, or I wouldn't be reading any isekai with hopes and expectations. But the good just get smothered while these juvenile stories are always the ones that get the most attention. And I find that very tragic.
