this post was submitted on 06 Nov 2023
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Isekai rule (lemmy.world)
submitted 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) by voodooattack@lemmy.world to c/196@lemmy.blahaj.zone
 
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[–] IWantToFuckSpez@kbin.social 49 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (4 children)

Yeah Tolkien should’ve made Lord of the Rings an Isekai because I didn’t understand the fantasy and I want everything in the world of Middle Earth hamfistedly explained to me.

Isekais are just lazy writing. Even for manga which are often already relying too much on exposition.

[–] Pipoca@lemmy.world 26 points 2 years ago

Portal fantasies aren't exactly new.

The Chronicles of Narnia, Alice in Wonderland and The Wizard of Oz are classics that aren't generally considered lazy.

Isekai tend towards the lazy, self-insert escapist portion of portal fantasy, sure. Most don't have great writing. But keep Sturgeons law in mind - every genre has a few gems in a sea of turds.

[–] JohnDClay@sh.itjust.works 9 points 2 years ago

Tolkien kinda has something like that in story with the shire being fairly disconnected from the outside world. It still allows for some exposition, but also fits much better into the themes and flow of the story.

[–] Maultasche@lemmy.world 8 points 2 years ago

There was an original framing story about an Anglo Saxon sailor who finds the straight road and ends up in Valinor.

[–] EndlessApollo@lemmy.world 2 points 2 years ago

That's true, other writers use different methods to explain things to the audience, therefore this entire subgenre is just lazy for not doing it the same way