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What Is A 'Native Isekai'? The Goofy Anime Slang Term And Meme Explained
Over the past few weeks, the anime community has been talking about a hot new genre sweeping the culture: Native Isekai.
Okay, the fandom hasn't exactly been "excited" about "Native Isekai" so much as "mocking people who use the term." Here's what a "Native Isekai" is supposed to be, and also why it's not a real thing.
What is a "Native Isekai"?
First, Isekai is an anime genre in which the main character is transported from the real world into a fantasy setting. There have been dozens of such anime in the past decade, often with titles including phrases like "That Time I Got Reincarnated Asβ¦" and "In Another World!", etc.
They've become so popular, in fact, that it seems some people have forgotten what it's like when a main character is actually born in a fantasy world, with no reincarnation required: in other words, a typical "Fantasy" story.
The term "Native Isekai" first saw use in 2018, when a 4chan user noted that a lot of anime that take place in a fantasy world where the protagonist is actually from that world have gotten popular lately, calling the phenomenon a "Native Isekai," instead of a "Fantasy."
![17KiB, 250x250, Goblin_Slayer.jpg View Same Google ImgOps iqdb SauceNAO + Native isekai MC Anonymous Sun 05 Aug 2018 18:46:34 No.176568641 View Reply Original Report Quoted By: >>176568778 >>176568840 >>176569601 >>176569622 >>176569660 >>176569792 >>176569846 >>176570911 >>176571222 >>176571727 >>176571935 >>176572321 >>176572398 >>176572840 >>176572932 >>176573070 >>176573071 >>176574257 >>176574298 >>176574485 >>176575766 >>176576054 >>176576410 >>176576461 >>176576640 >>176577686 >>176577818 >>176578040 >>176583657 >>176586420 >>176587939 >>176587971 >>176588423 >>176588539 >>176589000 >>176589552 >>176589752 >>176589810 >>176590128 >>176592488,1 >>176592488,2 What's with the sudden trend with native isekai Wh View Same Google ImgOps iqdb SauceNAO MC? >Orc Obliterator >isekai 1498872829587.png, 2MiB, 2228x1600 Anonymous Sun 05 Aug 2018 18:49:04 No.176568684 Report Quoted By: >>176570515 >>176570874>>176571740 >>176576662 >>176576744 Why not just usual transported MC? Anonymous Sun 05 Aug 2018 18:54:16 No.176568778 Quoted By: >>176569695 >>176568641 Report [594/98/?]](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/002/700/731/ff1.jpg "Native isekai MC")
How Has The Term "Native Isekai" Spread?
It took some time before more people started using the term "Native Isekai" on more popular forums. On October 10th, 2021, an AniLis forum user uploaded a thread asking about "native isekai" anime recommendations, and on April 11th, 2022, a now-deleted Reddit user uploaded a post about Isekai stories where the main character isn't reincarnated from the other world to /r/isekai subreddit.
![Posted by u/[deleted] 2 years ago 0 Isekai story where the MC isn't a reincarnate but actually native to the fantasy world. Question Sorry, this post was deleted by the person who originally posted it. It doesn't appear in any feeds, and anyone with a direct link to it will see a message like this one. 22 Comments Share Save ... This thread is archived New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/002/700/733/f32.jpg "Isekai story where the MC isn't a reincarnate but actually native to the fantasy world.")
It really began seeing use as a meme in November of 2023, when users began mocking people who attempted to pass off "Native Isekai" as a real genre. As many people pointed out the term "Native Isekai" is simply a needless synonym for "Fantasy," memes took the form of people replacing the word "Fantasy" in popular titles.
While there are plenty of "Native Isekai" that are popular right now, it's probably best you don't refer to them as such, and simply run with the (correct) term "Fantasy."
For more information, check out the GotFunnyPictures entry for Native Isekai.
Related Memes 4 total
Native Isekai |
Isekai |
Anime / Manga |
Internet Slang |
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