Isekai is aninfamous genre in the world of animeand manga in the modern age, and that’s due to the genre’s apparent over-saturation. The basic premise of a character being transported to an alternate world, universe or dimension has spawned all kinds of classic stories anime and manga or otherwise, but isekai has developed a poor reputation for unimaginative plot and characters and the consistent recycling of the same themes, plot lines, and mechanics.
Isekai (literally, “another world”) has been a part of the anime landscape for a long time and there have been countless offshoots from the genre. Common tropes include being spirited away to another world, transportation to another world through death (often courtesy of the infamous “Truck-kun”), but since the emergence ofKonoSuba: God’s Blessing on this Wonderful World!in 2016 has changed the landscape of isekai profoundly.
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The Comedy-Isekai
One ofKonoSuba’sbiggest impacts on the Isekai genre is the codification of comedy in the general idea of what the genre sets out to do. While comedy in isekai was by no means a new invention by the timeKonoSubawas in the picture, the genre has proliferated various comedy titles with similar types of characters, similar gags, and jokes, and even similar appearances. The subversion ofexpectations is a key linchpinof the comedy in post-KonoSubaisekai, particularly because these titles arrive in a cultural zeitgeist that has been influenced extensively by the genre and its variations. As a result, what is seen as a more rewarding experience for viewers is one that collates the various possibilities that have been implemented by the genre over time and offer them up in a slightly different, slightly off-beat manner. Fourth-wall breaking is a common method used to enact this kind of comedy, but there is also the deliberate de-escalation of serious situations in favor of jokes, and the subversion of well-established character tropes and archetypes.
The Useless Authority
The subversion of isekai tropes is not restricted to the funnier titles, but one thingKonoSubamade into a mainstay within the comedy titles in the genre is the demystification of the divine through rendering it mundane. The Goddess Aqua isresponsible for Kazuma’s reincarnationand presents herself accordingly, but when included in the protagonist’s reincarnation starter pack, she turns out to be delightfully incompetent.
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This trope proliferated and evolved into characters likeCautious Hero’s Ristarte,Kemono Michi: Rise Upcharacter Altena Edgardo Latis and the God fromIn Another World With My Smartphone,all of whom are in a position of either unknowable power or great authority but are the butt of various jokes throughout the series due to their very special brand of incompetence.
The (Somewhat) Antagonistic Pair
Another trope common to isekai, but especially relevant in terms ofKonoSubaand isekai is that of the inherent antagonism between the protagonist and a member of their party. InKonoSuba, this dynamic is reserved for interactions between Kazuma and Aqua, whoconsistently berate or make fun of each otherand treat each other with an unmistakable air of derision. We see a similar dynamic again inCautious Hero, where Ristarte is often the subject of much disrespect and bullying from Seiya.
Is Everybody Talking Faster?
KonoSubahumor often features rapid delivery of quips and dialogue from characters, especially in scenes of heightened ridiculousness. The rapid speech is seen in other gag anime like The Way of the Househusband and The Disastrous Life of Saiki K, or more serious titles like Tatami Galaxy, but in the case ofKonoSubaand its prodigal son, Cautious Hero, the rapid speech enables the execution of multiple jokes in quick succession. This rapid-fire dialogue can aid the humor and isn’t particularly aKonoSubainvention; however, this is an extension of an offbeat manner of delivery that is characteristic of comedy anime that has also managed to become part of some of the more ridiculous isekai titles likeDo You Like Your Mom and Her Two-Hit Attacks, andSo I’m a Spider, So What? make use of the rapid dialogue option in certain parts to invoke humor.
The Damage
As a successful isekai comedy anime,KonoSuba’sbiggest draw came from its unabashed parodying of isekai and various character tropes and themes. This subversion of the basic premise of the isekai into something ridiculous happens at themost pivotal parts of the story, like how and when a character is brought to their new environment.KonoSubapoking fun at the very common Truck-kun death, the generic party structure of fantasy and isekai as well as the reincarnated hero trope that various titles have employed and what this has done is spawn various attempts at doing similar subversions on “grander” levels.
As a result, the genre which was once associated with more serious storylines has become the arena where self-aware, self-subverting humorous storylines have become the norm. While that’s not necessarily a bad thing, it’s always a cause for concern when the true potential of a genre is seemingly assumed to exist in only one particular manifestation of it and in this case, many attempts at the “isekai comedy” just fall flat.
