[TV] The What Anime Are You Watching Thread!

I liked that one. For being an Overlord/Goblin Slayer "Me Too" series, it managed to stay fresh and interesting through the MC's boundless enthusiasm.
I haven't actually watched much Isekai, so I'm not sick of the premise yet.

Buuuuut...I can see where the "I'm a regular Japanese dude transported somewhere and I'm way OP" getting old real fast. Nothing beats the social commentary of One Punch Man for "OP protagonist".
 

GasBandit

Staff member
I haven't actually watched much Isekai, so I'm not sick of the premise yet.

Buuuuut...I can see where the "I'm a regular Japanese dude transported somewhere and I'm way OP" getting old real fast. Nothing beats the social commentary of One Punch Man for "OP protagonist".
Yeah, most Isekai is a thinly veiled power fantasy wrapped in a harem with a side of escapism. There's just been something about the concept that has really resonated in Japan for the last 15 years or so.

But there are some standouts. Overlord is definitely one, as is Re:Zero and Konosuba.

In the latter 2, the protagonists are VERY much not overpowered. In fact, the premise of Konosuba is basically "What if the isekai protagonist, instead of being OP, was a garbage human being with shit stats, saddled with the worst possible companions?" and played in a humorous light meant to deconstruct the isekai genre.

GATE is also a fun Isekai because it involves a protagonist who is "overpowered" in the other world because he is a soldier in a JDF "special military action" into the other world, so he gets to tool around in a humvee and call in airstrikes on the dragon and stuff.

There's also a genre called "reverse isekai," where a denizen of another world is brought to ours. They often make for humorous "fish out of water" stories, such as in Dead Mount Death Play, Cop Craft, and Ya Boy Kongming.

Other fun Isekai:
Kemono Michi: Rise Up! - A luchador gets isekai'd
Handyman Saito - A repairman gets isekai'd
Log Horizon - Sword Art Online but it doesn't start to suck after the first season
Mushoku Tensei - The title largely responsible for isekai as a genre catching on
 
Saito sounds interesting. It sounds like something I might identify with.
...
You know, I wonder if anyone has expanded the TNG episode "Thine Own Self" into a full-on isekai? Hmm.

--Patrick
 

GasBandit

Staff member
Saito sounds interesting. It sounds like something I might identify with.
...
You know, I wonder if anyone has expanded the TNG episode "Thine Own Self" into a full-on isekai? Hmm.

--Patrick
Well, it's not new or isekai strictly speaking, but there was a Russian sci-fi novel in the 60s called "Hard to be a God" that had a lot of similar themes. It got made into a mediocre movie in 2013 and an even more mediocre RPG in 2007 that I tried to play and couldn't bring myself to continue with.
 
Started "The undead unwanted adventurer", where a guy dies, comes back as the lowest level undead and has to work his way back up. Kind of refreshing over the "I can do anything!" OP of standard isekai. But....i can see it coming. "Even though I was only ever a low level adventurer, I am one of the few that can wield divine magic, spirit magic, and mana."..I see him ramping up to OP very quickly.
 

GasBandit

Staff member
Started "The undead unwanted adventurer", where a guy dies, comes back as the lowest level undead and has to work his way back up. Kind of refreshing over the "I can do anything!" OP of standard isekai. But....i can see it coming. "Even though I was only ever a low level adventurer, I am one of the few that can wield divine magic, spirit magic, and mana."..I see him ramping up to OP very quickly.
Yeah, you're not wrong. It's a decent timewaster, but there's better things to watch if you haven't seen all the good stuff yet. If you're looking for a "not overpowered" dungeons and dragons type (and it's even an isekai) try Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash. A high school class gets isekai'd and told they have to save the world. But they don't get special powers or anything. Some of them die.

Also Dungeon Meshi would be a good D&D "not overpowered protagonists" show that I highly recommend.
 
Top