Klok Blogs: I love Isekais! (Pt 1: Hard Isekais)
Added 2021-03-16 11:52:07 +0000 UTCHey there, bestest readers. It's about that time of the month for a Patreon post, so I'm here to bring you another Klok Blog! This one is all about Isekais/Portal Fantasies and how much I love them. However, I think it's important that I first talk about what Isekais even are.
There are three types of Isekai stories:
Hard Isekai: A character transports to another world, one unfamiliar to them. They often obtain new magical or technological powers, and as such, have to adapt to their surroundings, make new friends, and maybe even defeat a big bad villain. The method of travel to the new world varies. It can involve time travel, dimensional travel, reincarnation after death, a magical spell they cast or someone from the new world casts, a wish from a genie gone wrong, or any other fantastical element that yanks them from a familiar world to an unfamiliar one. Hard Isekais often focus on a single power fantasy character dealing with the unfamiliar new world and trying to return home. Side characters are often not very well-developed, and storylines can meander at random. Goals are, on occasion, nonexistent.
Soft Isekai: These are similar to Hard Isekais, but the rules become more flexible. For example, not just one character, but multiple characters might transport to the new world. In a Hard Isekai, characters are often trapped in the new world, but in a Soft Isekai, returning to their world might be possible, and even very easy to accomplish. Often, Soft Isekais focus on having the main cast of characters subjugate or otherwise take over the new world in some way.
Abstract Isekai: These are stories about people going to strange new lands, often in small or large parties, to do magical, fantasy, or sci-fi related stuff. They don't transport to a new world, but they do 'adventure' to a new world, metaphorically speaking. As an example, Frodo goes on an Abstract Isekai adventure along with Sam, Merry, and Pippin, by leaving their comfortable Shire and traveling across dangerous and unknown lands. They don't magically transport to a new world, but their own existing world is already pretty abstract enough to count as a new world to them (and the reader). These stories often feature characters who are ignorant of the 'bigger picture' surrounding their world.
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Today, I'll be talking ONLY about Hard Isekais. I will discuss Soft and Abstract Isekais in my next two posts.
Hard Isekais are stories most people are familiar with, especially if they watch anime. One of my favorite anime youtubers, Gigguk, often talks about how many obnoxious isekais have come out in the past anime season. Funnily enough, even though he complains, he still watches them because, as it turns out, even a crappy isekai can often be made interesting by virtue of how its story is constructed.
Hard Isekais have several storytelling conveniences that make them interesting.
First off, there's the novelty factor: It's fun seeing a strange new world different from Earth, one that likely has magic, technology, or cultural differences that allow us, the audience, a sense of escapism. It can also be fun for our main character, who often has more to gain in the new world than they did in their old one.
Next, there's the relatable main character: When you're in a fantasy world, it's nice to have the voice of someone like us explaining the more abstract concepts. Since the main character is confused, he often explains or gets explained things a normal world resident might already know, such as how the magic system functions.
Additionally, you have familiar idioms from Earth: Having characters say something like, "The Foldaron doesn't grow long during the Whoodles!" means absolutely nothing to a reader. You could take the time to explain this odd turn of phrase, but that's a bunch of extra wordcount dedicated to what could be accomplished with a phrase the reader already knows. Problem! It's not realistic to have characters in another world use idioms from Earth! Therefore, our main character the world-traveler can use those idioms themselves!
You might also consider the wish fulfillment factor: Honestly, don't underestimate this. It's often really fun seeing a big strong person stomping the everloving shit out of people much weaker than them. A lot of people, having suffered bullying or abuse in their lives, really enjoy seeing a big righteous 'nice guy' finally getting his day of glory.
A personal favorite reason for me to read hard isekais deals with main character growth, specifically in how they gain more power: Oftentimes, the main character will arrive in the new world with some power or special ability that they can use to accrue power more quickly than other characters, allowing for rapid advancement of the plot. Sometimes, this power isn't even a special ability, but a cultural advancement or piece of knowledge they bring along with themselves from the other world.
Finally, many Hard Isekais have extremely good worldbuilding, often to the point of surprising the reader: Since these stories tend to focus on the MC, the author usually writes a really engaging world for the MC to delve into, even if, as we'll soon see, the side characters tend to be somewhat bland and forgettable.
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However. While Hard Isekais are fun to read and probably the most well-known examples of isekai in general, but they also possess significant disadvantages.
Firstly, this is not a requirement but does tend to happen more often than not - Hard Isekais typically have middling to poor side character development: Oftentimes, the protagonist sucks up 90% of the story's focus, resulting in a Gary Stu or Mary Sue syndrome wherein the other characters seemingly only exist to inflate the MC's ego. Oftentimes, if the MC is a male, women will serve only as bed-warmers or eye-candy for him. Other men exist only to serve as foils for just how awesome and epic the MC is.
Additionally, MC's of Hard Isekais also tend to have poor self-improvement abilities: For example, they possess some cheat power that grants them all kinds of incredible advantages over other people in the world, so they never learn to do things the proper way. Often, the MC's will gloat and talk about how awesome they are while ignoring the huge benefits they possess as a result of their world-walking status.
Going along with the previous point, main characters are often boring and bland blank slate characters: These are characters who possess few if any notable personality traits. They typically just go along with the flow and often end up being extremely passive as well, though this can vary depending on the story. A truly passive, boring, and bland main character can utterly ruin a Hard Isekai, especially when all of the previously mentioned flaws exist.
A really egregious aspect of Hard Isekais often relates to a horrible lack of driving narrative forces, or a lack of a concrete goal: Oftentimes, the MC will come to the world and just 'do stuff.' There are plenty of Hard Isekais where this occurs and it doesn't ruin the story because the other story elements are still pretty good, but with this element improved the story would certainly soar to new heights.
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Let's take a look at three good, middling, and bad Hard Isekais for further examples.
Top Tier Hard Isekais:
In this tier, we'll find amazing isekais with incredible stories and well-rounded characters. However, aside from Zero no Tsukaima, I can't really call any isekai perfect or almost-perfect. Even the best isekai still has some flaws, but even so, if you like the genre, these are about the best you'll find!
Honestly, there is no isekai that I have read which was better than The Familiar of Zero. This is about as good as it gets. The story is all about Saito, a young man from Japan, who gets summoned as a familiar to a magical world. There are some parts of the story that are a bit subpar, such as the huge oversexualization of several female characters, and so on, but in terms of the actual story and the main cast of characters, this story really holds up. It has a clear goal for the protagonist from beginning all the way to its incredible climax.
That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime:
This story is, as far as I know, still incomplete. It also suffers from a 'meandering storyline," in that the main character doesn't exactly have an overarching goal he's trying to accomplish. However, where it doesn't quite work on those two fronts, it succeeds on every other with flying colors. The main character is likable, intelligent, and goal-oriented. The entire side cast of characters are also awesome and memorable, to the point I have trouble picking a favorite. The light novel, much further ahead than the manga or the anime, also has a big twist in the middle that drastically changes the tone of the story's first half, in a good way. It recontextualizes everything before it, retroactively improving the story to new heights.
A bit of a Gary Stu story, it is nonetheless a really fun read with lots of likable characters, especially including the main character and a few of his friends. The worldbuilding is fun, and even more incredibly, the art is really fantastic too! I really have no complaints, other than to point out that this story is still incomplete. The only reason I don't move it to the middle-tier is because I genuinely believe that, even without an ending so far, this story will end fantastically.
Man. I love this story. The manga is not complete yet, maybe only 2/5ths complete, but the main story itself is done and the ending is... not too bad! Bit lackluster and rushed (the author had a child and thus wrapped it up faster than I'd like) but still fantastic overall. The main character is definitely a Gary Stu, but he works really hard and earns his accolades. He suffers and nearly dies several times, so he doesn't feel invincible. Plus, the side cast, nearly all women, are AWESOME. Seriously, the female characters in this story are truly incredible.
Don't worry. Release That Witch is NOT a harem. There are tons of women, yes, but that's only due to the magic system employed by the author (only women can use magic). If the ending wasn't so gosh-darn rushed, RTW would be in a tier of its own. Sadly, even a gem this good has a big flaw :(
Gourmet Adventure of Legendary Tamer:
At first glance, this story doesn't seem too incredible. However, what this really amounts to is a specific sub-genre of Hard Isekai I like to call "Person teaches a new world AND the reader about a certain skillset." In this story, a young man and his doggo go on a truly heartwarming and happy journey, doing lighthearted and fun stuff while eating good food! This story is ALL about teaching the reader about food, and man does it make me hungry. You will learn a lot by reading this!
Also in that genre: A story about how cosplay works, a story about empire-building. Check also a story about the ancient world and the rise of civilization. All of these are top-tier and well-worth reading.
Mid-Tier Hard Isekais:
In this tier, we'll find Isekais that are often really good, but have some seriously glaring issues holding them back from the top. If you're into the genre, I recommend reading the top-tiers first, and then moving down to these.
Now here we have a unique story with an extremely memorable, fun, and interesting main character. In terms of MC's, nobody in all the stories I've mentioned tops Fang Yuan. Nobody. Fang Yuan is a monolith. He is a testament to how authors can and should craft engaging main characters. There is no feeling more satisfying than watching Fang Yuan crush elders, villages, and empires.
This story also has an incredibly engaging plot. Watching Fang Yuan pursue his goal of immortality ruthlessly to everyone else's detriment is extremely fun and exhilarating. However, at the same time, because the author pursues this extreme so doggedly, this story has one critical element it fails at.
Side characters. The side characters in this story, until about chapter 1000, are simply -nothing.- I barely remember them. There is only one character who appears in the beginning of the story, aside from Fang Yuan himself, who remains at the end, and that particular character is useless. He doesn't serve much purpose and the author doesn't seem to know what to do with him. The lack of serious villains and threats in the early story, as well as the really repetitive face-slapping, makes it hard to enjoy certain chunks of the story. You often hear fifty names and think to yourself, "Who cares? None of these guys matter. They'll all die anyway," and indeed they do.
At around chapter 1000, that changes. The problem is, you might not even realize it has changed until, say, the 1400's, when characters you expected to die end up still being alive. By then, you might not have realized they were important at all, creating a disconnect between the author's intent and what the reader perceives.
This story is incomplete. The author was actually forced to stop writing it by the Chinese government due to 'concerns' that his story criticized China. Even so, the ban could lift any day, allowing the author to finish it. The translation is almost caught up to the Chinese raws, and so, we must hope the author eventually returns.
An excellent story, pulled down by its somewhat lackluster and repetitive first half. Very much still worth reading, though.
I love this series, but like many of the others in the middle-tier, it suffers from one big core issue, which is "The MC is so ridiculously powerful that it drains tension away from most scenes." While this is a pretty damn big flaw, the art style of this series is godlike, the entire cast of characters is memorable, and the main plot is fairly engaging. It is incomplete, however, so just keep that in mind.
I really enjoy this story. Full stop. It suffers from the glaring issue of not having a main plot or a real end goal in sight, but the main character, while somewhat overpowered, suffers real consequences and setbacks continuously. The side characters are memorable, and the art is quite good, too. The story has yet to complete, but if it were to get a fantastic ending, I'd almost certainly move this into the high tiers. The usage of multiple-other-worlds as plot structure allows it to have a lot of flexibility in the challenges facing the main character, which keeps the novelty factor running.
I have NO issues with this story, other than the fact that it is unfinished. None. This is very much a main character centered story, but the way it develops him specifically is really fun, and there are a few engaging side characters who exist purely to cause him trouble. How he deals with them is 95% of the fun, as well as seeing the truly creative ways he uses his abilities. If it's ever finished, I feel this story will become an instant classic. That being said, the plotline is somewhat thin... so it can't really advance to the high-tier position, in my mind.
I found this story extremely engaging, with fun characters and an interesting world. The main character is also VERY interesting. However, as it is unfinished, I cannot move this story into the high-tier section yet. Give this one a shot, the unique art style alone is worth the read.
Low-Tier Hard Isekais:
In this tier, we will find lower-tier isekais. However, these isekais are not 'garbage,' but instead, 'very flawed.' These are still worth reading, but only for people who have really dug deep into the well of isekais, yet thirst for more. Expect glaring issues that you'll have to force yourself to overlook.
This series is in the low-tier section, that is true. However, this is an amazing story. Truly amazing. I read through this in just two weeks, despite it being over 1700 chapters long. I lost sleep and could not stop reading it. Here we have a story with a main character who is, obviously, way overpowered. Even so, he suffers defeat numerous times. He meets and even marries/beds many gorgeous beauties, yet they do NOT feel like fluff material and eye-candy, as they also kick serious ass before and after meeting the MC.
This story has an amazing storyline. It has some incredibly memorable moments and some seriously heartwrenching ones, too. The MC doesn't just lose at points, but he badly loses. Everything fails him, and it really feels like the story might end right there. Somehow, he pulls himself forward and earns the title of Ultimate Badass.
You might wonder why I put this in the low-tier section. Why? Because this story isn't for everyone. First off, it's long. REALLY long. Its length probably exceeds 2 million words. It's a cultivation novel, so you get a lot of sense of 'infinite growth' from the protagonist, and there are more than a few asspulls and bullshit powerups for the sake of convenience. Finally, the story is often repetitive, with the author explaining the same thing 50 different times to pad the wordcount. It's aggravating! And finally, the story is incomplete! The author still releases new posts every week or so. It feels 9/10ths complete, and I certainly don't regret reading it (might even re-read someday soon!) but it just isn't for everyone.
Ultimately, given a full rewrite, the author could easily turn this story from a low tier "you need to be a certain type of person to enjoy this" type-story into a "holy shit just read this!" type-story. Only time will tell if that happens!
Everything, and I do mean EVERYTHING I just said about the previous novel also applies to this one. This is another incredible cultivation novel, though I put it just a smidge below AtG. This story is a little more repetitive than AtG, but unlike AtG, it's actually finished! It's complete! It even has a WIP sequel (I didn't enjoy it that much) but even so, I really liked the way this novel approached the concept of time, heroism, and what it truly means to take a stand when you have everything to lose.
This might be a low-tier story, but only because of its excessive length and repetitiveness. If trimmed down substantially, it could be a legendary tale sweeping amidst the top-tiers. Read this if you have lots of time on your hands. You won't regret it.
Library of Heaven's Path: Please note that I am currently reading this story for the second time. I first read it in its entirety in mid-2019, when it had about 1700 chapters written. Now, it is complete, at just under 2300 chapters. I have not yet completed those additional 500 chapters.
This story... is not great. It is repetitive. The side cast is mostly BLAND, with 7 notable exceptions (The butler!). The main character is effortlessly overpowered. The story is repetitive.
However... this story is not awful, nor garbage. This story... is HILARIOUS! This story has some of the absolutely funniest moments in a cultivation novel, period. It also has a really unique and interesting power system, one for the MC, and one for all the other characters. I am actually working on adapting the MC's power system to the Cryoverse, in which case, we might see something similar in a future Cryoverse story. Hmm!
This story features some of the seriously funniest moments ever. The first 800 chapters are very repetitive, where you spend most of the time seeing the MC simply face-slap people and walk away haughtily. He doesn't earn his strength and feels overpowered to the point of confusion. Even so, in those early chapters, there are some moments of brilliance and high-level execution mixed in.
Then, everything changes around chapter 700. We start seeing hints of an external threat, something that can actually threaten the MC. And then those threats appear. The story shifts from a wacky comedy to a dark and serious adventure with huge stakes. Having only read 4/5ths of the story previously, I don't yet know how it ends. However, I will say that many (and I do mean MANY) of this story's beats and concepts seem ripped straight from Against the Gods and Martial World, both of which were written before Library of Heaven's Path.
I do not recommend reading this story until you've read AtG and MW first. In the former's case, that's because it contains really high-level execution of cultivation story tropes, making it easier to understand how generic cultivation systems work, and in the latter's case, because the MC's power in LoHP is somewhat similar to MW's protagonist, making it easier for you to see how the story duplicates many story beats.
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Hard Isekais often have overpowered protagonists, a lack of stakes, a lack of risk, boring and generic side characters, a lack of plot, or a lack of goals for the main character. They also tend to be repetitive, with lots of repeated face-slapping sequences where the MC shows just how awesome he is by humiliating arrogant seniors.
Most of the stories listed above dodge these issues. Those that don't only tend to suffer from a few problems, but make up for their shortcomings with exceedingly high marks in the other categories.
A few weeks from now, I'll write my next post focusing on Soft Isekais, as defined in the first opening paragraphs. I hope you'll join me then for a breakdown on those stories, followed by a post where I detail how to fix the flaws seen in most isekais.
Thank you for reading!
