@criver I still think it's unfair to give isekai manga a free ride just because "it's an isekai." Being an isekai story is not a disability. There's so much mileage in the concept that authors are simply not tapping into. Recently, I found a light novel called "The Magnificent Battle Records of A Former Noble Lady" and I loved reading it.
Is it revolutionary? No. It's still pretty generic especially in the otome game clichés that it falls back on for its initial premise. The thing is that cliché is fine as long as it's the frame for a more interesting story beneath. The way that it incorporated the isekai concept into its story so seamlessly was an actual stroke of genius, and the protagonist is rational, compelling, and sympathetic. One thing that caught my eye was that the side characters all felt like real people rather than NPCs.
That's all I need. I'm not asking for every story to be a cultural touchstone. Just stop wasting this great premise on wish-fulfillment jack off material, and spend more than 10 minutes on the flow of your story.
