Why are there so many isekai stories today?

 The medium SoraNews24 interviewed a veteran manga editor, with a work experience of more than ten years, and asked about the situation recently observed in both the manga and light novel industry: " Why are there so many new franchises focused on the isekai genre and, specifically, on the isekai otome? ». This refers to the stories where the protagonist is reincarnated within an otome video game (a dating game for women), very recurrently as the villain of the game.

• Is there a specific title that started the current boom in the isekai genre?
• I think the success of "Tensei Shitara Slime Datta Ken" was a major turning point. The series began as a web novel on the Shosetsuka ni Narou (“Let's Become Novelists”) site, and once it became popular there, it was turned into a manga. There are many reincarnation stories on the site, so many that some people also call the tensei stories as “Narou stories”.
• In the industry, we used to have a lot of time travel stories, or teni ("transfer") stories, where someone went to a different time or place while retaining their original appearance and identity. But the teni stories that are in vogue now are different in that the protagonist dies in our world, and then wakes up in another world as a different person, but with their memories of the real world intact.

• In tensei stories, when they arrive in the alternate world they have a different look and a whole new lifestyle, right?
• I think the reason is to attract readers who want to become a different person from the current one and rebuild their lives. It is a frequent feature of isekai stories that the protagonist's real-world origin and the kind of person he was before coming to the alternate world are not treated as very important.
• Yeah, I've noticed that you don't go into much depth on that sort of thing.
• Usually at the beginning of the first chapter there are just a few quick pages about the main character's life in our world, then he dies and we go to the beginning of the story in the alternate world. Not much is given to the kind of person he was or the kind of upbringing and experiences he had in our world. I think they just want to establish, as quickly as possible, "Okay, here's this person... now she's dead... and now she's starting a new life." Sometimes I'm surprised by how little need the story seems to have for readers to sympathize with the main character while he's still in the real world.
• What about villain reincarnation stories? Lately I've seen a lot of manga aimed at women where the main character was a shy person in the real world, and I can understand the desire to be reborn as a more powerful person, but why a villain?
• Well, for a long time, the standard pattern in shojo manga has been that the main character is ultimately rewarded for being pure-hearted and sincere . But with the advancement of social media, I think the messier, more realistic emotions and romances have become more visible , and some people are tired of those pure-hearted main characters.
• I think there aren't many people who can live their life as a pure and sincere shojo heroine.
• But instead, a powerful villain can be forcefully bold and scold people she doesn't like. I think that's something that people find attractive. Stories in which the villainess breaks off an engagement are also popular. It may be the result of empathizing with that desire to break free from a man's control.
• Oh, now I understand! A rich and powerful villain can do whatever she wants, and she doesn't have to mince words when talking to the male characters. It's basically unstoppable.
• By the way, there is also a new genre, often aimed at male readers, with some similarities to isekai which is called zamaa style.
• Zamaa-style? What's that?
• It's from 'zamaa miro' [in Japanese it means “you deserve it”]. The protagonist is not reincarnated, but is instead someone who was kicked out of a band of heroes who didn't consider him good enough. So the protagonist joins another group and finds success, while things fall apart for the group of heroes he was in. It is similar to a revenge story.
• Have you ever worked as an editor for an isekai manga series?
• Not an isekai series specifically, but I've been involved in planning one. But there is something about them that… well, if I say it directly, I wondered if making an isekai series was a good decision for the future of that manga artist. Even if people read the series, it doesn't make sense for the artist if that success can't connect with his next series. The isekai series have many similarities with each other, making it difficult for an individual artist to develop a fan base for themselves through one. Readers don't usually react by saying, "Now I'm going to see his other works too."

• I guess it's true that if you can't tell one series from another in the genre, you probably won't remember the name of the artist either.
• But on the other hand, being a popular genre, it's easier for new artists to get their submissions approved, and there's a huge financial benefit to the artist from increased sales because their series belongs. to a popular genre. The ideal is to get readers to become fans of the series and the artist at the same time.
• Oh, now I understand! A rich and powerful villain can do whatever she wants, and she doesn't have to mince words when talking to the male characters. It's basically unstoppable.
• By the way, there is also a new genre, often aimed at male readers, with some similarities to isekai which is called zamaa style.
• Zamaa-style? What's that?
• It's from 'zamaa miro' [in Japanese it means “you deserve it”]. The protagonist is not reincarnated, but is instead someone who was kicked out of a band of heroes who didn't consider him good enough. So the protagonist joins another group and finds success, while things fall apart for the group of heroes he was in. It is similar to a revenge story.
• Have you ever worked as an editor for an isekai manga series?
• Not an isekai series specifically, but I've been involved in planning one. But there is something about them that… well, if I say it directly, I wondered if making an isekai series was a good decision for the future of that manga artist. Even if people read the series, it doesn't make sense for the artist if that success can't connect with his next series. The isekai series have many similarities with each other, making it difficult for an individual artist to develop a fan base for themselves through one. Readers don't usually react by saying, "Now I'm going to see his other works too."

• I guess it's true that if you can't tell one series from another in the genre, you probably won't remember the name of the artist either.
• But on the other hand, being a popular genre, it's easier for new artists to get their submissions approved, and there's a huge financial benefit to the artist from increased sales because their series belongs. to a popular genre. The ideal is to get readers to become fans of the series and the artist at the same time.