isekai

Isekai is a genre of anime, manga and light novels in which the main character is transported to, or reborn in, another world. The word is Japanese for “different world” or “another world.”

What isekai means

In a typical isekai story, an ordinary person from modern Japan dies or is somehow pulled into a fantasy world, often one that works like a video game, with levels, skills and magic. Some are reborn as unexpected things, from a slime to a vending machine. Dictionary.com defines it simply as a genre in which the main character is transported to another world.

Truck-kun

So many isekai heroes begin their journey by being hit by a truck that fans nicknamed the truck “Truck-kun.” It’s a running joke about how predictable the genre’s openings can be.

Examples

• “It’s another isekai where the guy is secretly overpowered.”
• “My first isekai was Sword Art Online.”
• “If I get hit by a truck, I’m expecting an isekai.” (joke)
• “The isekai boom has gotten out of hand.”

Where isekai comes from

Stories about being transported to other worlds are ancient, but Wikipedia says the first modern Japanese isekai is considered to be Warrior from Another World (1979), and the first isekai anime Aura Battler Dunbine (1983). Sword Art Online, which aired in 2012, is sometimes credited with starting the modern boom. The genre got so crowded that publisher Kadokawa banned isekai entries from one of its novel contests in 2017.

Related terms

• Otaku: an intense fan.
• Side quest: a detour from your main plans.
• NPC: a background character.
• Canon event: a moment every version of a story must include.

Explore more in our anime slang dictionary.