I do love this conversation on the consequences of isekai soul swapping. However, I’d like to point out that while it could be considered lazy, at this point isekai is a trope that the author just sort assumes you understand and ignores, unless they intentionally want to explore that topic.
It’s like an author explaining how a fantasy world came to be, sometimes they snap their fingers, other times it’s a strange future. I prefer stories where the memories merge though, as that seems to be the most interesting scenario.
This author isn’t even that lazy; they plant the seeds for how other people understand the change with “because you never know what might happen in life from a trivial change”. If we think about it, a person rarely is around another constantly and it’s unlikely they’d notice every possible influence on someone else. Parents are around their kids constantly and don’t always recognize how their kids change.
Quick tangent: My Possession Became a Ghost Story is a manhwa that explores the Otome Isekai (novel reincarnation type stuff) side of things. It’s kinda light on commentary though and focuses on the horror and comedic elements. Maybe check it out if you find the idea interesting.
Lastly, I’ll give my two cents on soul philosophy. If they isekai into some sort of media they interacted with on earth, that opens a huge can of worms. Do all authors functionally play god and actually create alternate realities? Was this world frozen in time waiting for external input? Is isekai essentially wresting an entire reality out of the matrix? Was there a soul in there in the first place, or a script?
Focusing on the soul shenanigans, I think authors typically go with soul swapping. The new one takes the place of the old, and the og gets yeeted into the void. I’d call that a new person. Biologically, our memories are hard coded into our brains, so their brain chemistry was sort of rewired overnight. I don’t even know if it makes sense for them to inherit mannerisms or habits because of how drastic the change is.
