The isekai genre of anime and manga is bigger and better than before, even if some anime fans are getting burned out on it. The basic formula, popularized by the semi-isekai series Sword Art Online, involves an ordinary person finding themselves in a new world, often because they died in real life. Usually, isekai stories depict this as a change for the better.
Not always, though. Some isekai heroes are actually in a dire situation when they get reincarnated, such as the widely-hated shield hero Iwatani Naofumi or the time-looping Natsuki Subaru, but one illustrator's own isekai manga has them all beat on Twitter. There, @poppoyakiya shows what would really happen if a person found themselves in a fantasy realm with nothing but the clothes on their back.
When Isekai Heroes Face An Anticlimatic Disaster
This short but eye-opening manga series on Twitter depicts a burned-out salaryman who's tired of the daily grind -- until he gets hit by Truck-kun and finds himself in a fairly generic isekai setting of elf girls, taverns and monsters. At first, the male lead is excited and thinks he's about to become a fantasy hero, only for cold, hard reality to hold him back.
To begin with, the hero has nothing but the clothes on his back. Since he can't use his Japanese money here, he's completely penniless in this new world. In addition, he can't speak the natives' language at all, and the language barrier makes everything that much harder. He also lacks the skills, magic and experience to fight monsters and explore the wilds, so he stays in a town and starts work as a dishwasher at the local tavern. It's honest work, but a far cry from fighting the Waves in the Melromarc kingdom or building the Jura Tempest Federation for monsters.
The hero is effectively re-living his previous Japanese life in this new world but without the benefits of modern technology, speaking the language or having friends and family around to support him. It's actually a downgrade, and he can't find a way out. This self-insert hero is a grim example of how unprepared any real-life anime or light novel fan would be for a world of fantasy and monsters where there are no save points or respawns -- and that's not even counting hardships such as disease, lack of sanitation, and crime. Modern humans are born and raised with the real world in mind, and getting transposed into fantasy land would invite certain disaster.
The Hidden Optimism Of This Grim Isekai Manga
At first, this short manga series looks like the grimmest-ever take on the isekai genre, and on one level, it certainly is, with a helpless hero who ends up washing dishes rather than slaying dragons or building a harem of elf girls. On the other hand, this short, meaningful story has a few uplifting messages to share.
For one thing, as SoraNews24 points out, the protagonist notes that a true hero is a hero not because of their equipment or their magical powers but because of their courage and the indomitable will to become an adventurer. Even without magic, a person can be born with such courage and change the world around them, and that can inspire any reader. No one has to wait for the isekai gods to give them a magic shield or Rimuru's Predator skill to make a difference -- it all starts with what's on the inside.
Moreover, this seemingly cynical isekai manga reminds viewers that even if their everyday life is a dull grind or a bitter disappointment, things could still be worse. Readers are likely living in a first-world nation with the comforts of modern medicine, high-speed internet, motor vehicles, air conditioning and more, and not even the most heroic fantasy adventurer can enjoy any of that. This isekai hero lost it all and gained practically nothing in return in his ill-fated isekai trip, so readers are encouraged to appreciate what they have and be thankful that they aren't also washing dishes in a grimy fantasy world where they fear monsters and can't speak the language. There are much worse fates than a nine-to-five shift.
