The term “Isekai” ended up in the Oxford English Dictionary and this is causing confusion in the anime community as animes like Dungeon Meshi and Sousou no Frieren are being called “Isekai” now.
Isekai anime have always been a story about a character who is in their world and ends up in a different world, either reincarnating or being transported.
The Oxford Dictionary defines Isekai as: “a Japanese science fiction or fantasy genre featuring a protagonist who is transported or reincarnated into a different, strange, or unfamiliar world,” Nothing different from what we already know, right?
But why is there this confusion?
An IGN post is calling anime like Dungeon Meshi, Sword Art Online and Frieren Isekai! That’s because IGN is basing its entire opinion on a streamer called Celina who lives in Tokyo.
According to Celina, “Isekai means stories that take place in worlds different from our real world”that is, if you take, for example, an anime like SPY x FAMILY, which takes place in its own world with its countries, you can consider it simply an isekai.
According to Celina “If it’s a story about a guy in the modern world being reincarnated in another world, that’s called Isekai Tensei.”. And then IGN writes the following: “Celina continued on the topic, saying that the original definition of isekai is also not just restricted to a fantasy setting, meaning that science fiction stories can also technically be an isekai.
By that logic, Square Enix’s 2017 action RPG Nier: Automata was an isekai before Sword Art Online studio A-1 Pictures turned it into an anime last year.”
In its article, to justify it, IGN says that Mushoku Tensei uses the word “Tensei” in its title and not “Isekai”, while the anime “Suicide Squad Isekai puts Isekai in its title to avoid confusion. However, Konosuba is an anime where its protagonist Kazuma dies and is reincarnated in another world and the word Tensei is not in the title. So this is an argument that doesn’t hold up.
Obviously the reaction on the internet about Celina’s statement and IGN using her as a source is giving the internet something to talk about, just look at some comments:
“Why are you quoting a random Twitch streamer that no one has ever heard of and taking her word for it as fact?”
“Ah yes, that fine example of isekai, NieR: Automata. The game takes place in the mystical fantasy setting of… Tokyo. Did anyone read this article before it was published?”
““According to some random guy on Twitter, you are all using it wrong.” Okay, I summarized the matter for you.”
“It’s best to add Berserk, Jojo Bizzare Adventure, Dragon Balls, Danmachi, Inuyasha, Angel Beats, etc. to your definition of what an Isekai is.”
“You actually wrote an entire article based on one streamer’s bad tweets.”
“Matrix is my favorite isekai!”
“Frieren is not… an isekai..”
“No, it’s just isekai. Words evolve and change.”
“By this idiotic logic Dragon Ball is an isekai”
“No, in context Isekai is an anime character being taken from World A to World B”
“A story that takes place in another world does not automatically mean that it is an isekai. Yes, it’s another world FOR US, but for the characters in that world it’s THEIR world, making it a fantasy. If there is a character that is foreign to this world, it is an isekai.”
“IGN said Frieren is an Isekai in their recent article and I can’t help but laugh”
You can check out IGN’s crazy article here. Celina later learned that her tweet was used by IGN and she commented the following on the matter:
“The term isekai is so broad now because you also see Japanese people associating isekai with “reincarnation in a fantasy world” and that’s only against people who also consider an isekai fantasy setting story. But if it is now officially a term in a dictionary, then that will be the absolute meaning now, I think.”
