Why do you write Isekai?

[BearlyAlive]

What are your reasons to turn your story into an Isekai story? Why did you drop Mary Sue, Gary Stue and Larry the Cat in front of a truck? Where there no other ways for those characters to exist? Did you really have to rip them out of their universe and create a power fantasy just for them?

Were there no other, most often even more interesting ways for your characters to get their powers and perspectives? What does prevent you from creating the exactly same character but giving them a background and backstory that explains their behaviour outside of "Me. Earthling."?

As an example, let's just take some random isekai and change the main character into a resident of that world (we're ignoring Slime, Spider, Log Horizon and Overlord for that since it's an actual plot point in those) and then think about how it changes the story:

Most isekai start with the MC either droping into existence or taking over the body of some random (almost always dying) kid effectively ending their life. They then get some BS power from some divine being that then ignores them for the rest of their life or sucks their pleasure center for no reason. MC then gets a harem of one-dimensional trohphies, rises to pseudo-nobility and fights eldritch abominations that can end everything but MC for even more human trophies and some food of their old world. At the end they either stay isekaid or take all their 151 trophies home.

And now we change the formula so much people won't even notice the original story anymore:

MC gets some BS power from some divine being that then ignores them for the rest of their life or sucks their pleasure center for no reason. MC then gets a harem of one-dimensional trohphies, rises to pseudo-nobility and fights eldritch abominations that can end everything but MC for even more human trophies and some strange food. At the end they either stay or take all their 151 trophies home.

See how much the story changed? In no way would people recognize the story anymore. It changed way too much. The characters act totally different now, too! We need this story to be isekai so it all makes sense!!!!!!

But there's also no way to give a character a "modern" perspective! Outcasting them, effectively cutting them out of society, so that they can regain their place in it as a blank state doesn't work and makes the character uninteresting!!! Having them finde knowledge that nobody else has would never work if we don't isekai them as there'd never be a chance to stumble upon some divine being or lost knowledge!!!
But food!!! Nobody would create the boring earth food now that we're in a different world, so how can we fit in a "quest for X food" arc that nobody ever likes?!


So yeah, what reason(s) did you have to write your isekai? Mine are the 5th and 6th. I wanna explain my rules ASAP so readers shut up and I can write without explaining shit anymore and I always liked portal fantasies where multiple worlds influenced each other.

 

[Gryphon]

The reason my series starts out as an isekai is for in depth character exploration. Not to mention I really hate modern isekai outside of a few exceptions and I wanted to make my own just to show it ain't that hard. You want to know what mine does that 99% of all isekai's don't do? Actually bringing up the fact the MC is not originally from the world and make it a plot point and character beat within the entirety of the story which helps define his actions and mindset.

 

[LilRora]

Honestly, I've never written an isekai (seriously, I mean, not like I haven't tried), but if I did, it would be to connect it neatly with the plot of another story in the same universe. In my opinion isekai is useful mainly if you want to have a monster protagonist (or at least non-human) that would still have some values of humans, and the uses you have mentioned, except for the 6th one, are mostly excuses (not like they aren't useful and, understandably, used often).

In most cases it's much better to go with something much simpler, even something like memory loss, than being isekai'd. Though there are some stories (The Reincarnation of Alysara, arguably) where being isekai'd is much less straightforward and more like a mystery with another deeper meaning behind it that takes a lot of time to solve.

Though, honestly, just about any reason is good for me as long it's explained properly, and has a real impact on the story (Ryn of Avonside, Alysara, or We’re Not So Different, You And I).

 

[ConansWitchBaby]

Purposefully writing in a genre that I barely know. I tend to stick with fluff, comedy, thrillers, sci-fi, or super-heroes. Isekai comes with some auto-baggage for world building so I won't have to think too much with that. Also, annoyed with how the 'from a different world' part is ignored after the beginning. Then they just become basic fantasy stories.

Same with game/lit rpg. I've seen the blue boxes used as a fresh enough way to info dump compared to previous years in writing where it is still frowned upon. But this method seems to be fine.

 

[Representing_Tromba]

I ignored most of the Isekai tropes with mine. It's from the perspective of the person summoning the hero and said hero is a PTSD ridin genderbent Russian soldier from the Soviet-Afghan war with memory loss. I only wrote it because I had gotten drunk and wrote Russian Isekai on an empty docs file for sober me to find the next morning.

 

[ModernGold7ne]

The isekai in my story is actually a plot point, the characters don't or has no reason to exist in a contemporary realistic world.
With isekai, I'm free to craft the high fantasy within my skull without being bound by the dumb laws and physics of contemporary earth.

Edit: The protagonist didn't get any boons she was virtually told **** *** then dumped in the middle of nowhere to fend for herself.

 

[Deleted member 68927]

I don't write isekais. I just write either urban fantasy or normal fantasy with some character building. Furthermore, I feel like isekai is a wish fulfillment of the author, and want no part in that.

 

[OokamiOkuri]

I don't write.

 

[Deleted member 54065]

I want to tell an isekai story.

Seriously, I want to tell an isekai that somehow has a sliver of 'common sense' on the part of the author. I mean, we all know how the genre got bastardized; stale MC, one-dimensional supporting cast (a.k.a. female leads that only exist as 'rah rah' girls for the mc), the adventurer's guild system, the 'stupid/arrogant/both' medieval citizen/noble/royalty, and the cheat powers.

I'm trying to subvert it all, while attempting to make it as natural as possible (as opposed to forced developments). Then, there's that part of me that wants to mix in my knowledge in history, my cultural background, and personal observations.

Spoiler: Bonus: What I don't like in my isekai

What I don't like in my isekai:

1) Adventurer's Guild System. Feels too 'game-y' and unnatural for me. I believe that 'adventurers' are just glorified 'mercenaries'; they only have a sort of a 'centralized authority' as opposed to the mercenary's 'free-er' nature of work. (Pardon for the word, I just can't put into proper term the idea I have in my mind)

2) In connection to the first, game-like system of levels for MC. Feels like the character isn't human at all.

3) FMC that falls in-love with the MC after just one chapter. Big turn-off. Unless there is a more compelling reason, a lady won't simply fell for her savior at a turn of a page.

4) Useless FMCs/FMCs that exist only to praise the MC. She got the brains but doesn't use it and just waits for the MC's decision all the time is just...idiotic.

5) Cheats. Yeah, I get it. It's awesome. However, if the story goes on for like, 20 volumes or 500+ chapters, it gets awfully stale.

6) Stupid medieval stereotypes. There are some aspects of medieval culture that is better than our modern society, and not everyone is an idiot during those times.

7) Truck-kun. Yeah, there are many other ways of dying. I even attempted 11 different tries. It's not that bad to try a different method at times (in writing, I mean).

8) Forced developments. Like a monster appearing in the middle of a duel for the sake of story progression.

 

[Ymadthepirate]

Simple I like swords, magic, and subverting expectations

 

[Amok]

for they yihahd

 

[BearlyAlive]

What I don't like in my isekai:

1) Adventurer's Guild System. Feels too 'game-y' and unnatural for me. I believe that 'adventurers' are just glorified 'mercenaries'; they only have a sort of a 'centralized authority' as opposed to the mercenary's 'free-er' nature of work. (Pardon for the word, I just can't put into proper term the idea I have in my mind)

2) In connection to the first, game-like system of levels for MC. Feels like the character isn't human at all.

3) FMC that falls in-love with the MC after just one chapter. Big turn-off. Unless there is a more compelling reason, a lady won't simply fell for her savior at a turn of a page.

4) Useless FMCs/FMCs that exist only to praise the MC. She got the brains but doesn't use it and just waits for the MC's decision all the time is just...idiotic.

5) Cheats. Yeah, I get it. It's awesome. However, if the story goes on for like, 20 volumes or 500+ chapters, it gets awfully stale.

6) Stupid medieval stereotypes. There are some aspects of medieval culture that is better than our modern society, and not everyone is an idiot during those times.

7) Truck-kun. Yeah, there are many other ways of dying. I even attempted 11 different tries. It's not that bad to try a different method at times (in writing, I mean).

8) Forced developments. Like a monster appearing in the middle of a duel for the sake of story progression.

I totally get you. Systems and guilds feel too inorganic and characters suffer from a lack of unsystemized growth (mainly in the character department) and due to that anything happening is forced.

I mean I'm also part of the truck problem, but at least my characters get ridiculed for it actually happening to them.

 

[RepresentingWrath]

I mean I'm also part of the truck problem, but at least my characters get ridiculed for it actually happening to them.

It's even worse.

 

[Lloyd]

I like Isekai because it pisses all the right people off.

 

[gaylolis]

i want to make my own kind of world. something immersive and exciting to color my monotonous days.

having someone from Earth to it makes it easier to start.

 

[Deleted member 57675]

I don't write isekais. I just write either urban fantasy or normal fantasy with some character building. Furthermore, I feel like isekai is a wish fulfillment of the author, and want no part in that.

Would do this but then I remember ,

I don't write.

Agreed.

 

[ChaosGodOfJashin]

I write two main Isekais and one that could kinda count? I mean the other one is just a VRMMORPG kind of thing so I didn't count it in.
But the only reason I write isekais are the plot point of them. Like how both of my isekai stories are fanfic. One of an already existing isekai story called 'Isekai Wa Smartphone no Tomo Ni' and the other is an originally made world with the characters of Hololive. So connecting plot is really much easier with Isekai.