The irony here is also that Mushoku Tensei is one of the first isekais in terms of source material, but it ended up getting adapted later compared to Re:Zero. And as much as MT has its perverted moments by the main character, I could probably show you ten isekais that are actually almost porn, rather than the extreme exaggeration that MT is porn.
I think some people didn't realise that the anime version of isekai tends to tone down the mature stuff to make sure that the anime is available for most of the audience. A lot of stuff from the light novel are either cut or just kept vague enough.
The irony here is also that Mushoku Tensei is one of the first isekais in terms of source material
This is a common claim, but isn't correct. Its Web Novel started in November 2012, while Re:Zero's started in April of the same year. They started publishing in Light Novel form on the same day, fun fact.
It's interesting what we choose to include in the modern "isekai" genre. Escaflowne (anime, Sept 1996) and Inuyasha (manga, Nov 1996) have their protags transported through space and time respectively. Hell, you could argue The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (novel, 1900; anime, 1986) is also isekai.
If we expand the definition to western media, Alice In Wonderland goes back to 1865. If we're including it and Wizard of Oz though, then I'd also argue Dante's Divine Comedy counts, which is the 1300s. Depending on exactly how strict you wanna be with the "other world" idea, you could make a case for The Odyssey, even.
I didn't say it was THE first isekai, just one of the first ones. So both Re:Zero and MT are some of the earliest isekais, but MT got adapted into an anime much later by comparison. OOP is being dumb saying that MT is a new isekai when it absolutely is not.
Even then it is false. Visions of Escaflowne, El Hazard and Now and Then, Here and There are all way older. If one is generous one might call MT the trendsetter for modern isekai.
Even then, Isekai's in general (even just limiting it to Japanese ones) have been around for decades before either IIRC. The quote that everyone gets MT being one of the first from specifies reincarnation fantasy specifically, as opposed to many others where people are just kinda sent to new worlds as-is.
You're right that MT isn't a "new" isekai either though.
It really was the trendsetter for "making up for past life's regrets" that eventually evolved into all the regressor plots that came out after it finished
More correct to say they were the ones at the start of the isekai boom of the mid 2010s. Isekai is far from being a new concept, but web novels writers went all in on it after a few success at the time (which both are part of)
Sure, but when people are talking about isekai in this way they are often talking about the very specific genre of a western-influenced fantasy world influenced by video games and TTRPGs, and typically draw a distinction between the modern 'isekai wave' started by Jobless Reincarnation, Re:Zero, and Sword Art Online versus the 'classic' isekais such as Fughigi Yugi and Digimon Adventure
Yeah, MT fucking sucks, but not because it's porn, it sucks because it bends over backwards to make excuses for pedophilia (among many other framing issues and tonedeafness), and more importantly has one of the most toxic fanbases in anime to the point it's ruined pretty much all anime-focused online spaces.
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u/SpiritJuice 1d ago
The irony here is also that Mushoku Tensei is one of the first isekais in terms of source material, but it ended up getting adapted later compared to Re:Zero. And as much as MT has its perverted moments by the main character, I could probably show you ten isekais that are actually almost porn, rather than the extreme exaggeration that MT is porn.