An
interview with Kazuchika Kise , chief director and character designer of “Ghost in
the Shell: Arise” and “Ghost in the Shell: The New Movie,” was
published on the official site for the “ Ghost in the Shell ”
franchise. One of the questions posed to Kise , an anime veteran who
has designed characters in series such as “Blue Seed”, “xxxHOLIC”, “Blood-C”,
“Made in Abyss” and the “Fate/Grand Order Camelot” films, It was
whether he was aware of current trends. This led Kise to wonder about the
spread of isekai anime.
« I
think there are already too many stories that ask: “Do we really all hate the
modern world that much?” It seems strange to me that everything that is made
are isekai stories », was Kise's response. « Recently
there was even a series about being reborn as a vending machine. That one
really surprised me. It seems to me that there are fewer well-founded anime
works than before .
Kise also
had a hard time believing in the RPG elements that are common in the modern
isekai genre. « Recent anime works show things like a level meter
that appears when characters touch the air, although there is no reason for
them to have a personal interface like that. I may be getting old, but it really
makes me wonder, “What is going on here?” It just doesn't work for me .
The isekai
topic was only a small part of the long interview, but it was enough to spark a
debate among Internet users on comment forums:
- « Isn't it the same as
escaping into a world where cyborgs and artificial intelligence dominate
the world? ».
- « It seems that the
subject is already too old to adapt to current trends .»
- « Modern anime tend to
be romantic comedies with students as protagonists. This reality hurts me .
- « Is there much
difference between isekai, tensei (reincarnation) and futuristic worlds? ».
- « The world is shit and
I just want to die as soon as possible. The moments when I am happiest are
when I sleep .
- « The most popular
animes such as Kimetsu no Yaiba, Jujutsu Kaisen and Sousou no Frieren are
not isekai. They are just forcing the genre .
- « Ghost in the Shell is,
in itself, a fantasy story with the same details that this director now
criticizes. First of all, you have to accept your own mistakes before
criticizing those of others .
- « Science fiction is
also a way to escape from reality, what do you really want them to do
then? ».
« I'd rather read about someone who gets sent to
another world like a fat bastard and has a hard time surviving, doesn't that
sound tempting? ».
- " It seems like it
took him about five years to realize it ."
Source: Yaraon!
