I'm so happy the Dear Authors series was created. It allows for so many differing opinions and thoughts to be shared

Saying that Isekai (the Japanese version of this) is saturated is an understatement. It's so absurdly common that most newer Isekai stories go really out of their way to do something different enough to distinguish them, and the tropes of the genre are so well-known that almost everyone tries to lampshade them or subvert them somehow. That's how we get stuff like "Isekai fantasy but the main characters are all incompetent and can't make it out of the starting town" (KonoSuba) or "Isekai fantasy but from the perspective of a relative of the guy who got Isekai'd meeting him for the first time after he comes back to the real world" (Isekai Ojisan) and so on.

@Awsomeness103

2 жыл бұрын

It has been so saturated and lampshaded, that the original isekai story that most are derived from, Jobless reincarnation, recent adaptation feels fresh and original to new viewers and readers. We have literally gone full circle in terms of telling isekai stories.

@Zanador

2 жыл бұрын

@@Awsomeness103 I agree with you main point and I'm a fan of Mushoku Tensei, but calling it "the original Isekai story that most are derived from" is not very accurate. It's certainly popular and influential to some degree, but many popular and well-known isekai like Tanya, KonoSuba, Shield Hero, SAO, Log Horizon, GATE, NGNL, and Re:Zero started publication before MT or at almost the exact same time. It might be fair to say that it's been a big influence on male-protagonist reincarnation isekai specifically, but the history of "isekai" generally and even "video game-esque isekai" goes way farther back than MT. I recommend this video for more detail: kzread.info/dash/bejne/eIWVy5ONfdi-aLw.html as well as the follow-up comment response video: kzread.info/dash/bejne/dXV8lteahpzKcbw.html

@shadowlightning6590

2 жыл бұрын

@@Zanador Well MT did basically popularize the main tropes in Isekai we see today so it's fair to say that it's one of the og ones kind of like Evangelion where there were a lot Gundam series before it but Eva revolutionized the mecha genre as a whole.

@carlosdanielcalderonmontoy3723

2 жыл бұрын

@@Zanador And Juuni Kokuki

@Charistoph

2 жыл бұрын

@@Zanador, even worse, there were ones like Escaflowne that came out over 15 years before Mushoku Tensei. It probably gets missed because it's seen as a Fantasy-Mecha series, but there is an isekai element to it. And let's not forget the old classic Mario Brothers who get isekai'd to the Mushroom Kingdom for their hit video game series. That's not even considering old literature like Urahima Taro, Alice in Wonderland, Doroty and the land of Oz, Peter Pan, and so forth.

As a wannabe author and avid reader, I adore this series. And I love the community aspect of it too, yall are great :))

"Ascendency of a Bookworm" feels like a Merphy self insert isekai

The concept you described as "humans are still humans" is one of the main reasons why I love Sci Fi and Fantasy. Every one of these stories has to take some position on how much our world has shaped human "nature", how much we would change if we lived in a different world and, by keeping certain things the same, what can be seen as an inherent human quality. Doorway fantasy enables the author to deal with these questions more overtly, because they can contrast the earth-humans with the otherworld-humans.

In the past few years many of the tropes of the "Isekai" genre have been adopted by the increasingly popular "Regression" or "Second Chance" genre, where instead of the character being transported to a new world they are sent back in time to inhabit their younger selves with a new understanding of the world and the resolve to take vengence or prevent undesirable events.

@theheirslair9581

2 жыл бұрын

Am I showing my age my name-dropping Quantum Leap here?

@Naurik

2 жыл бұрын

Regression is pretty much every other Manwha ever created

@LightningRaven42

2 жыл бұрын

They're also complete garbage in their vast majority with very, very, very, very few being exceptions (Ascension of a Bookwork, Jobless Reincarnation despite its major flaws and Grimgar of Fantasy And Ash being notable exceptions).

@victoriamasters

2 жыл бұрын

@@LightningRaven42 I really enjoyed erased as well

@LightningRaven42

2 жыл бұрын

@@victoriamasters I couldn't forgive its terrible ending. It was decent enough, but bad ends pretty much retroactively ruin good stories for me. I, sadly, can't get past them.

I remember loving Digimon as a kid. I liked Pokemon too, but there's something special about being transferred into a new world and the fact that there are no adults there sounds especially appealing to kids

@hotplotsandsynonyms

2 жыл бұрын

The reason I preferred Digimon is because it felt more like genuine friendship. The digimon hunted the kids down and said "Hey, we're friends now!" and the plotlines were all about the kids learning to work together and trust each other in order to protect things they love. Pokemon (for all that it can be genuinely fun) is about forcibly catching creatures and training them so you can prove you're better than everyone else.

@Mr.-Roybot

2 жыл бұрын

Yeah Digimon was the perfect portal world for me as a kid. Not only because there were no adults but there were no humans at all. And the humans that were there didn't gain new powers (for the most part) but helped their Digimon partners gain new powers

@dragon297

2 жыл бұрын

@@hotplotsandsynonyms Yeah it really is a shame that Pokemon caught on while Digimon didn't. Because for a children's show, Digimon honestly had a substanial amount more depth to it's story and character relationships. Compared to Ash who is still 10. It's genuinely worth a watch/rewatch as an adult because many parts of it still hold up.

@dorianzane2548

2 жыл бұрын

I’ve always loved both but Digimon Adventure definitely had me more engaged with it’s story and characters. The whole concept was crazy too. It was like if Chronicles of Narnia and Tron had a baby.

@svm9269

Жыл бұрын

I cried every time the Digimon ended as a kid, despite watching it numerous times. It is the dearest series I think of when I remember my childhood. You all made me want to rewatch it - playing the first episode now.

Truck-kun certainly is the most magical of portals 😂

@thewingedserpent5823

2 жыл бұрын

I don't even know how that started considering that trucks are relatively rare as "causes for isekai". Being summoned is by far the most common

@marocat4749

2 жыл бұрын

@@thewingedserpent5823 i think jobless reincarnation one of the relative early works that was copied merciless later. Pretty sure thats why.

@swolechihuahua4905

2 жыл бұрын

@@thewingedserpent5823 I know, did it for the memes 🙃

@thewingedserpent5823

2 жыл бұрын

@@marocat4749 the truck-kun meme is mostly a western meme and mushoku Tensei wasn't that well known until the anime came out recently.

@danielgwynne7266

Жыл бұрын

@@thewingedserpent5823 was it not? I read it about a year before the anime

If you like doorway fantasy you should totally watch Infinity Train!! Every car it's a different world and it is amazing how they use them to explore and grow the characters!

I know you aren't a tv fan but The Owl House is an amazing example of this trope while also being a sort of subversion of common tropes associated with those types of stories.

As an author that has been working for years on a “portal world” this video gave me hope and I’m so glad this is still loved by so many people ❤ Shall keep working to get it out there for you all 😊

Murphy: whole new world. Me : reflexively singing a new fantastic point of view 😂

@sailinglin584

2 жыл бұрын

Same 😂

A new dear authors always drops when I am walking away from my writing for a few too many days and it never fails to get me back in the saddle. I use these as motivation even if I'm not writing about the subject of the video.

His dark materials is a super interest format of this. The first book you are entirely in a low fantasy world and you don’t think it’s a portal world but you get hints of other worlds. And then the second book snaps you the normal earth world without warning and stays there for a bunch of chapters

@Yohannai

2 жыл бұрын

What's fascinating to me in His Dark Materials is really the portals themselves too! Visually, they're those random holes between worlds you'd encounter in most portal fantasies, but they have a dark origin and there is weight to their creation.

I will always love Dear Aunthors...I'm so glad Merphy decided to resume it. It's such a refreshing take to hear from other readers.

Do we consider Harry Potter and Percy Jackson to be portal worlds? I definitely do not.

@jaginaiaelectrizs6341

2 жыл бұрын

I mean, I can see why some people might; since the fantasy elements often enough do kinda of exist off in their own areas not totally integrated with our world. But, to me, they're more "secret world"/"hidden world"/"world-within-a-world" type stories at most. 🤔 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️ Sometimes it's difficult to say what exactly constitutes a whole separate genre versus what is really just a subgenre and/or a variant of some other genre.😅🙃😁

God I love dear authors ahaha I NEED to hear your thoughts on Witch Hat Atelier, I love the magic system and the way the rules are flawed and nuanced, and how the main girl "stumbles into" magic... I think you'll like it too

Happy to see this, I also love reading/watching/writing about the other worlds/magical world trope!

This is my up there as on favourite video types on this channel, keep being awesome merphy

I love this series- thank you so much

YES! Dear authors is back! I love this series! Keep up the great work Merphy

Hell yeah!! 😄 Haven't seen a Dear authors segment in ages!! Another favourite thing about this trope that I love is when there's a central portal world as a connecting medium, where theyre like a transportation service for adventures or a dangerous black market tavern

What I’m learning is avid readers are WAY more tolerant to stories than normal readers are. They can handle a little world building, a little slower of act 1 pacing for set up and fantastical elements. It’s really nice to hear. I was about to cut 3 crucial scenes in act 1 to improve pacing, but after seeing this video I’m keeping them

I really enjoyed this as I am trying to implement this trope into a short story. Perfect timing.

This was great, Merphy! So glad to see another episode of dear authors. And I completely agree with One Piece feeling like an 'other worlds' story, even if it's not, because of the crazy variety between the islands.

I have been waiting for a video like this ever since I found you. Now seeing this makes me so happy! Thank you so much ^-^

It’s not a book (it’s a cartoon on Disney+) but I feel like you’d like the portal fantasy series “The Owl House”. It does stuff with its themes, humour, world building and magic that you’d probably enjoy based off of what you were saying in this video. It occasionally pokes fun at common fantasy tropes too. Like, one of the first things the series does is deconstruct the Chosen One trope.

This is an important video--as always, thanks for your contribution to the literary world on KZread!

As an aspiring author, I love popping into this channel and check-marking aspects of my WIP whenever Merphy mentions them in the Dear Author series. I checked a lot of boxes during this video. That made me happy.

I love this series and this is soo helpful for my own writing 💜

you're killing it with these vid topics lately

I’m so glad you did this one. Currently half through writing a novel where this happens

I absolutely love portal fantasy, though as an author I find it very hard to write. The only one I have in development is one where the main character start in a world that’s already not the real world and go to another bigger more colorful fantasy world. Regardless, this video is very interesting and I enjoyed it. As a note, when you’re getting into the isekai genre, Watch yourself. Some of them are very fun, but the genre is well known for being oversaturated and very morally questionable. Make sure you get good recommendations and don’t just pick up one randomly

I love this series of videos

I love this series!

I love the enthousiasm in this video

Please never stop this series. Keep it going in some way shape or form. This is probably mymost favorite series of videos in whole of KZread. Please please please with a cherry on top.

I soooo needed this video right now. I'm fleshing a portal fantasy story right now.

YES YES YES A THOUSAND TIMES YES!! BEEN WAITING THE LONGEST TIME FOR THIS SHHSHAKSFSOAKES8A As someone who loves this series and has also been putting together a multiverse story of my own, I've been on the EDGE OF MY SEAT since the community post was made and have been binging the LIFE out of it. OOO I WANNA GO WRITE! AND WATCH THIS VIDEO!

About parallel worlds : One of the reason the Pixar movie "Onward" was quite disappointed to me was because it was initially sold on the idea that fantastical and magical creatures had discovered modern technologies. I was like "YES!!! Show me a version of the modem world completely adapted for this creatures !!! This look interesting! " But instead we got a cute but a bit boring story about two brothers. And the modern setting was only used for jokes (ex: the centaur step-dad riding a little car not adapted for him) Aah... It was such a let down...

waking up to see a new Dear Authors video is like waking up to Christmas Day

My favourite series returns!

Isekai is a big trope in manga the best known isekai story is probably "That Time I Got reincarnated as a slime" and "Overlord" The light novel is better since its more advance in the story than the manga

I love this series and I love your reading voice. Have you done any audiobook narration? I believe you would do great at that

Not enough people talk about The Owl House for how well the parallel world, The Boiling Isles is set up, especially for a project aimed at younger audiences.

If you're interested in isekai manga and light novels I'd recommend Konosuba for an overall lighthearted and fun story; Re: Zero for a seemingly lighthearted world filled with many dangers, mysteries and psychological trauma; and Youjo Senki for more cruel world where war is just the everyday life of the protagonist (this one looks the most similar to the real world though, specifically to WW1 and WW2 era but with magic and slight changes to places and names). There's also Dr. Stone, which is technically the same world but feels like a different one. I'll just say that there's a hell lot of science done in creative ways, so if you're interested in that it's definitely worth checking.

My favorite portal fantasy is absolutely His Dark Materials, and I love the subversion of the trope by starting off in the fantastical/sci fi before getting into the mundane.

Every time I open a book I step into a new world. It's why I love reading so much.

About the price to pay - I think Infinity Train does it really well in the ways its world is not different from our own. Time passes the same way, so you'll be away from your home exactly as long as your journey needed to be. If you are harmed, injured or even dead it's the real you who takes this damage, no magical healing.

I really love the Dear Authors Series as someone who is writing his first story i find this really helpful

I love when it's like "our world has suffered a catastrofe and now it's DIFFERENT". And like characters can find remnants of our world and then think what the hell is this thing for. Kinda like Horizon series (okay, not a book but still). 😍😍😍

My favorite series!

I really liked your point about with parallel theming! The idea that sometimes no matter how you structure a society, and how different it is from ours, some things remain. I think usually it's something like authoritarianism in some degree, poking at the idea that no matter how the society is structured someone will always find a way to take advantage of people they consider "less than." On isekai manga/anime, I do like them but I will say sometimes they can feel like a power fantasy for the author haha! A big trope with them is usually something like "nerd dies and reincarnates into a fantasy world and then they're super overpowered now and ALL the ladies like him." Isekai manga/anime are the most fun to me when they break that mold [rarer than you think]. I think "Ascendance of a Bookworm" is a very good one tho, where a librarian dies and when she's reincarnated into a fantasy world all she wants to do is make a library/bookstore so she can read. But she's born into a poor family, and books are reserved for royalty becuase this was Pre-Printing press times. So she goes about trying to invent a book industry. Love it

This was so much fun to watch! I have published one book, a middle grade portalfantasy. So this was truly amuzing. In my book, the main character loses her best friend and have to handle grief for the first time. The friend comes back in a little boat and take her to the afterrealm. The whole adventure is a symbolism of her grief and the prosess of moving forward. I am really proud of it, and kids really love it. I like the fact that my consept seem to be a bit uniqe as well 😄 unfortunatly its in norwegian, or else I would gift you one since your channel was a huge inspiration and motivation when I wrote it.

@jaginaiaelectrizs6341

2 жыл бұрын

That is so cool! Congratulations ^-^

@Hildervinge

2 жыл бұрын

@@jaginaiaelectrizs6341 thank you 😍

If you do end up reading some Isekai light novels I would highly recommend 1) Overlord (darker series) 2) The Saga of Tanya the Evil (mostly darker) 3) Restaurant to Another World (super chill) 4) That time I got reincarnated as a slime (Comedy) 5) Konosuba (one of the highest rated comedy Isekai)

@kamarassakka9922

2 жыл бұрын

How come you didnt even mention the best at all. Mushoku Tensei and Re. Zero

@carlosdanielcalderonmontoy3723

2 жыл бұрын

@@kamarassakka9922 yeah xD

@valentinomunoz9687

2 жыл бұрын

@@kamarassakka9922 I'm still early on in those series so I didn't feel confident enough to recommend them.

@Junosensei

2 жыл бұрын

@@valentinomunoz9687 I'd put Re:Zero on top and Mushoku Tensei next, though Mushoku Tensei has too many divisive sexual themes to be a comfortable recommendation. You will grow into Re:Zero much like most people grow into One Piece. It has the same deliberate planning and long-term payoff that comes with the author having planned out the overall mystery and the plot of each arc before starting. He has such a deep understanding of his world and characters that he can write a bunch of side novels and short stories that both explore the history of the world and each character's motivations in depth, and sometimes even present "What if" scenarios that reveal nonexistence futures that could have resulted from Subaru's choices--the latter of which sometimes reveal more about the world, introduce new characters that will eventually appear in the main story, or hint at the future plot, despite being false narratives that never happened.

I love this series, and this topic was very interesting too. I mentioned it a while back, but there is a dark portal fantasy light novel called Re:Zero that I think you would really enjoy. Thanks for the video! See you next time.

Missed these

One of favorite stories with doorway fantasy are by Brandon Mull. i.e. Five Kingdoms & Fablehaven/Dragonwatch He does an amazing job of tying the worlds into ours and showing the main character (especially in Five Kingdoms) being shocked and affected by this drastically new world that they’re in. I LOVE it SO much!!!! He’s one of my favorite authors. 🥰

@blakewise5588

Жыл бұрын

100% agree. I didn't love The Beyonders as much. That "portal" was quite unique. lol But 5 kingdoms and Fablehaven were great!

Golden compass! It has other worlds and parallels and doing it great!

Portal fantasy is one of my FAVORITE genres!! I even wrote a Peter Pan retelling because I love it so much hah

I’m glad you’re enjoying He Who Fights with Monsters! I hope it becomes one of your favorite series as it has become one of mine!

This is by far my favorite form of Fantasy

A portal fantasy I would absolutely recommend is "The Wandering Inn". The other world the main character lands in is dense with history, politics, magic systems and more. It is enough to justify an entire series on its own. Then the conflicts the main character gets into as she learns to survive in that world while bringing the best of our modern world make for such a fun and gripping story. I would almost call her Luffy-esque in the way she tackles problems. Every question I have about what would really happen if someone from present day Earth was sent to a fantasy world is explored and answered. It is everything I would ask for from portal fantasy and it's free to read online.

I feel like time travel stories where the main character is transported in time can also count as an "other world" trope. Technically they are still on Earth, something familiar, yet it's hard for them to adjust to the way people lived in the past or live in the future. Someone from the future can have a knowledge which helps them while exploring the past world but their way of thinking can put them in trouble (like Claire in Outlander was accused multiple times of being a witch lol). Meanwhile putting someone from the past into the future can completely shake their world with new innovation/discovered information. In a scenario like that I actually like when the main protagonist isn't as shaken with everything new they see. What I mean by that is, I've read/watched a lot of stories where the characters finds themselves in a new world (be it actually new or they were thrown into the future) and they just don't want to come to therms with the fact that things in this place are done different because of how shocked they are. They try to do everything THEIR way without listening to people/beings around them which puts them into unnesessary trouble. Instead what I like more is when the charcter is definitely shocked but ACCEPTS that everything they see is new and different and they are actually CURIOUS to explore the world and they seek a guidance of someone familiar with the know-hows.

@jaginaiaelectrizs6341

2 жыл бұрын

Plus, time-travel stories often utilize literal "portals" of some kind or another! Only tangentially related here, but I kinda like stories where someone(or someones) from another world is transported into our world, too-like, reverse otherworld fantasy; or stories where characters swap places, or take turns traveling to each other's worlds at different times. ^--^

I'm surprised you never mentioned The Ocean at the End of the Lane. Coraline is also a big one for me, the book and the movie. But another big one for me that is in this area is Over the Garden Wall. It is a children's miniseries, that is honestly basically a movie, that follows these two brothers who get lost in this dark and strange wood that features talking animals, walking pumpkins, and a beast that everyone is frightened of. It is very autumnal, halloween-eque, and folkloric in some ways too. I always say it is somewhat wayward children esque because it has a similar feeling with how the woods is done. You should look into it.

I’m writing a portal fantasy book right now, so this is perfect timing!

I just read The Legend of Black Jack, and not only is it my favorite portal fantasy... it's my favorite book of the 60 I've read so far this year.

One of the series I really love is Myth Adventures by Robert Lynn Asprin. I guess it is written mainly for teens, but it is just so chill read with amazing world building. The most enjoyable magician's apprentice trope, travelling to different worlds and having fun adventures. I only wish there were more books in the series.

Merphy, it's been awhile. Thanks for this, you gave me an idea for another book. Now, let me show you a magic trick while I make said idea disappear!

This is a really interesting take, because I am not a big fan of portal fantasy or Isekai, whereas my wife loves these stories. I love fantasy that is just totally separate from our world; it usually takes me out of the story when I see our world and another is explored. She got me more into Urban Fantasy because I love noir stories mixed with other genres (fantasy, horror, and/or sci-fi) and I do admit one of my favorite series is the Dark Tower series, which is partial portal fantasy and I felt like it worked in that story. It is great that we live in a time when there are so many choices in speculative fiction.

Portal fantasy is so much fun ❤ it can be so magical

Tanith Lee's The Secret Book of Paradys is a great example of this trope and the themes you spoke about.

I have faced this dilemma of late world building. I have written my story for 9 full chapters so far and several finished side stories when I realized I should have build the world first 🤣 it is not too late but still 😅

I love that you have The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy on the shelf behind you. Have you read all 4?

I'm also a huge fan of portal fantasy/Isekai. Here are a couple of sub-genres that are fun for discussion on themes, etc. 1) Second chancers. These are generally the ones who choose to not look back to the old world because they feel rejected by it. In manga/anime these tend to be your otakus who happen to fulfill the "everyman" role. 2) Coming-of-Age. These tend to be like Narnia, with their protagonists gaining the strength and showing themselves that they are ready to venture into adulthood and the real world. I haven't seen many that show the before/after very well, but it is still an intriguing one for themes. 3. Specialists. A power fantasy where the backstory of the protagonist basically allows them to be overpowered (op) in the new world. Think "world's best x sent to a world with magic." 4) Civilization builder. This one uses the protagonists' typically common knowledge from our world, and brings it to better their lives and the lives of those around them in another world. This one tends to focus on how they are able to have a large impact on a community and build a place where they belong.

There are these 2x2 trap doors to these crawl spaces in my house, and i think they would be great for being a portal to another world

I love this topic so much. Recently, I finished an anime series called 'The Twelve Kingdoms', and essentially the main character gets chosen to be the queen of one of the kingdoms and she and two other characters get get sucked in this storm and end up stranded in this world. What's fun is watching these characters learn, adapt, and grow in this world. It's beautiful and painful, and the worldbuilding is fantastic.

@Junosensei

2 жыл бұрын

The two side characters from the anime exist in the novels at the beginning as classmates, but they don't actually travel with the MC. In the novels, MC is usually silent and we get her thoughts more than her speech, so the anime director decided to add her two "friends" in to give her inner voice more screentime and conflict. The novels are good. I hope we get an English re-release some day.

The Talisman by Stephen King & Peter Straub is a really interesting portal fantasy novel. I know you’re not the biggest SK fan but it’s a bit different from his other works (likely due to the Peter Straub collaboration). Netflix is also adapting the novel into a series with the Duffer Brothers (who created Stranger Things).

I love seeing new places and meeting new people. If I could go to another world, I'd love to see a partly submerged town with tall buildings. I'd see locals trying to salvage from underwater. It'd be a great location for treasure hunting.

you're my favourite KZread book person. I started Malazan because you recommended it. Would love your thoughts on Tad Williams as just on the second book of his big trilogy.

One of my favorite story beats in fiction

One portal world series I enjoyed as a kid was the Secrets of Droon. While it's for kids it goes between the two worlds throughout the series which I find really unique as while you learn more about the portal world, you also begin to question and wonder about the normal world as well

I loveeee other worlds😍😍😍 hard agree to the general consensuses here!!

A great example of this trope is the inkheart series by cornelia funke, I won't get into spoilers but the way people move through the different worlds is amazing and really well realised

There was a book series I read as a child (so I can't vouch for how well it's held up over time) called The Apprentice Adept series by Pier Anthony. The series was about two parallel worlds where one was Technological while the other was Magical. The protagonist was a member of the lowest cast in the Tech world, but one day he could suddenly see a mysterious curtain of energy that, when he passed through it, he found himself in the magic world and he would gain all these magical powers while there. It turned out that everyone who lives here has a version of themselves in each world. Normally when you die in one, the version of you in the other world dies at the same time. But somehow, when someone murdered the version of him in the magical world, he survived. So the rules of the worlds demanded that he be both versions of himself, which is why he could travel and had powers while in the magic realm.

What bathers me a bit with these stories, is how easily the mc adapts to the new world. I don't expect every story to be like that, but it would be nice to see more that tackles problems someone may face after being sent to another dimension. Like, how convenient it is these creatures from the other end of the galaxy speak perfect english. It would be fun if they even still used an earthly language, but a different one from the ones the mc knows. But you also can make an easy explanation for that. But please, don't just resolve it with a quick magical translator. One thing I really liked in the Owl House, is that it was mentioned Luz can't eat most of the things in the Demon Realm, or that one ep in Amphibian where two characters from different worlds drunk each other's energy drinks, and it worked on them like drugs. Here on Earth, you can't go to another country without a proper vaccine, because there are new viruses you have never encountered. The would be a gloomy story, but imagine one where the whole plot is: You just started a pandemic in magical universe.

@jaginaiaelectrizs6341

2 жыл бұрын

That's something people fail to consider in time travel stories too! Different diseases &/or natural-immunities depending on what was common exposure in which time period versus what would be new exposure with no natural immunities built up against it or whatever! Like, the most they usual consider is "well, my character is from the future so they've been vaccinated against x-things" or whatever; they rarely consider new things someone from the future could be carrying back to the past before anyone's ever had exposure to it yet. 👀 😅🙃🙃😁

Some of my Favourite Portal world stories are: Mordant's Need by Stephen Donaldson. The Gwen Farris series by P S Power. A Medieval Tale by Lina J Potter. Schooled in Magic by Christopher Nuttall. And since some how Harry Potter can be a Portal world story😕. I will add the Keeley Thompson, Other Places & Alternate Places series by P S Power.

I highly recommend the full murderhobo series be dakota krout, especially if you're a D&D fan. Is that book you mentioned with the guy who meets the goddess he who fights with monsters?

Merphy, if you like one piece and hitchhikers guide you would love discworld from Terry pratchett.

@marocat4749

2 жыл бұрын

If she doesnt, shame on daniel to not yet convert her.

other worlds are one of my favorite things, but also one that I've found I am very picky about because a lot of them are underwhelming but then I suppose that can be said of most fiction, there's a lot of underwhelming stories for all the good ones

So, I'm mainly into this in the TV genre... Star Gate (SG1, Atlantis) - I love the egyptian and sci-fi settings, so perfect mix for me. Sliders was a favorite show for a while, before it went off the rails in later seasons. Dr Who (before the retcon) People will likely (or have enmass) suggest Inuyasha, manga-wise. I watched the anime on Cartoon Network when it aired.

I know it’s not strictly the same thing because it’s sci-fi set on Earth but the ‘Bioshock’ video games still make me feel that specific portal fantasy excitement and intrigue. ‘The Dark Tower’ and ‘His Dark Materials’ are my favorite book series examples of portal fantasy.

lord of Mysteries gotta be my Favorit "other world" story because of the way that Element is used in later volumes. there is also owari no chronicle where the survivors of 12 worlds flee to earth after theirs got destroyed in a war

Nice one! I am a big anime guy and had heard the term isekai a lot. Now, thanks to you, I know what it means. Where do you have all these discussions and where do the people get to comment and voice their opinions BEFORE you make youtube videos on the topic?

From what little I understand of it, the "Isekai" genre's one defining characteristic from typical portal world fantasy is that the character can never go back, like they died back on Earth or something and they're all set to live out a new life in this fantasy realm. I suppose the very first in that genre goes to Three Hearts and Three Lions, which predates "manga" and is a french book about this soldier in the great war who dies in battle only to end up in a fantasy realm with elves and wizards and such. Also, there's a love triangle situation and predestined love and all that stuff. Anyway, if you like portal worlds and not necessarily isekai, may I recommend Yu Yu Hakusho? Main character dies from the very start and finds himself in the spirit world, and goes on various adventures, the first of which is a rarely rewarded chance to come back to life and from there act as a detective protecting the mortal world from various spiritual threats. Mainly demons. There is a twist on this though, revealed a few missions in. A metaphorical "portal world" is also brought into play, the underground crime groups of the mortal world, and THEY are all fully aware of the spiritual realm and make deals with demons for profit.

@TheScaleoh

2 жыл бұрын

A good selling point for Merphy for this one might be that it was made by Togashi who also made Hunter x Hunter. I personally don't really care about YuYu but if she finds it interesting then whatever

Keeper of the lost cities is a lesser known decent example of portal fantasy. As well as faerie wars.

Talking about portal world books, have you ever checked out the divide trilogy? I only ever read the first, just found out there's a trilogy, will have to check it out. But! This kid from our world gets pulled into a world where our animals and even humans are mythical and griffins and unicorns and whatnot are real.

Once you do get into isekai please check out "Overlord". It's a bit dark I'll admit but they take the idea of going to another world very seriously where that other world has its own deeply fleshed out plotics, religion races, and centuries of lore and all of those are essential plot points for the main character to learn about and try to navigate. It also separates itself from other isekai by having the main character play as a demilich (basically a skeleton mage) and although he maintains his human brain the other world is slowly stripping his humanity away to make him think more and more like the monster he presents as. This leads to a constant battle of our MC trying to show humanity while the world around him (friend and foe) deem him a monster.

I love this concept, although I do agree with the community it is oversaturated in the webcomic and manga/anime space with isekai. Although this discussion is re-inspiring me to write a character based off this trope, maybe spice it up with a bit of warlock from D&D? Thinking Cap On. 😊

My favourite portal fantasy is the Dragonwall series by Melissa Mitchell. A 20-something woman from modern US goes to a magical world, to a country ruled by dragon shifters, and gradually discovers her place in that world

@jaginaiaelectrizs6341

2 жыл бұрын

Sounds interesting-I'll have to look into it; Thanks!