• the_river_cass [she/her]
    ·
    4 years ago

    yes, but further that isekai is at it's strongest when it's examining the nature of wish-fulfillment and desire, or when it abandons that easy path to tell its own story (something done most straightforwardly by using the genre to serve as a basis for introducing the setting and characters, then heading off in its own direction). it's at its weakest when it plays itself straight or when it merely critiques the protagonist and their society. isekai has the relatively unique opportunity to critique two societies at once and to play them off each other. it's not really in the genre, except in an abstract way, but the Dispossessed by LeGuin takes this latter approach to amazing effect, comparing a poor, anarcho-communist society of people living on the moon with the rich, capitalist society living on the planet surface.