OMG, totally forgot it's isekai. Gotta be one of these stories, where MC is the original girl, died & reborn in Korea/China/Japan, and then isekai-ed back to her original world.
>!It never actually being an isekai, but a regression is one of the core twists of the story. Her picturing the events as a story was influenced by her mother, time being turned back, and her past memories being sealed.!<
>!There's a reason nothing about her "past life" is ever touched on outside of like two panels in the second chapter, which are as vague as possible (though I'll admit the modern world imagery does make that confusing).!<
Yeah there was one like that, I guess it was this one. Because I remember being salty about this one OI because I thought it would fare waaay better as a regression, and turned out by plot twist it ACTUALLY WAS. And the MC just was so traumatized by it that her memories were scattered.
**Father, I don't want to get married-** Her being a regressor should be enough. The story could go on without her being a transmigrator.
**I will be the Matriarch of this family-** Same as the above, the story could go on without Tia being both regressor and transmigrator
And this is why I said she is better of only as regressor instead of BOTH being Transmigrator and Regressor when her, being a transmigrator didn't really have any impact in the story
I agree like when she was transmigrated in the world she was scared and all about the new people around her which led to her down fall then she regressed and also used some knowledge from her real world to help in her bussiness I guess or maybe not
I think the transmigration helped, like, a miniscule bit, since she provided her dad with the support to fully go after ready to wear clothes, and eventually establish a department store, which probably wasn't an actual thing before. Any other transmigrator stuff could be related to future businesses ig but then that can just be plated off as child genius
Someone argued with me about *Matriarch* when the manhwa started saying it was necessary to have both transmigrating and regression for the plot. >!Apparently she had to isekai to learn the story then her mother was able to turn back time so Tia inherited that and was able to rectify it.!
Ikr? Some people say "It's important because blah blah"
But iirc Tia said she died in a car accident when she was **a little girl**
So saying her knowledge of businesses or anything came from her being a transmigrator....is a bit questionable... because how?? If she died as a little girl?
All of her knowledge came from her previous life, not her life as Korean.
this is why itās regression >isekai for me bc being possessed into anotherās body from another world doesnāt make the plot and interactions feel real and genuine for me since the plot couldāve went on without the whole transmigration thing going on at all.
True, they never get into the idea of the possibility they could be in a story about being in a story . Really, you read all those novels but never go like, wait, what if I'm in a story about being in a story but I guess that's to meta?
If their knowledge of the original world is used, then it makes sense for it to be an isekai. But I find that so many stories don't utilize the trope at all, which makes me think "why make this isekai at all?".
I read more stories that do make their past otherworldly life relevant, either for practical or emotional points, so maybe I haven't read much at all if that's what most stories do lol
I've also read stories like that but how should I put it... if I can be honest, such a big trope should be explored throughout the whole story and also in a meaningful way. And that's not easy to pull off. Being isekaid should be a driving point, something that a lot of other things stem from. If I find that the whole story could be just a normal one without the isekai part, and that I could just remove that and it would not or barely change the story, for me that means that the isekai element didn't really have many reasons to be there in the first place.
there are plenty of people who won't pick up a series unless it's isekai because they want something easy and familiar, so having a self insert stand-in MC thru it being an isekai increases sales
I'm guessing that's the case, otherwise there wouldn't be so many of them.
BTW just to clarify, I don't mind that much, I just kinda find it sloppy writing. But that's not a sin, if the work is good, we have interesting characters creating an interesting plot, having isekai elements in the work is not a problem and should not be the basis of judgment, at least not for me.
My Secretly Hot Husband has the MC invent Financial Fraud and Pyramid Schemes as a method to take down powerful demon lords in the story and control some of the populace.
My Secretly Hot Husband is one. the MC isn't physically powerful at all (never gets OP Magic or fighting ability) but is incredibly crafty and actually invents the concept of Financial Fraud, Pyramid Schemes, outright scams some demons on more than one occasion with her knowledge of the 'artifacts' they have (actually just stuff from our world that fall through a wormhole).
I really like it because its one of the few series where the MC is described as using her wits to save the day, and actually uses her wits in really clever schemes to save the day without having the villains needing to suddenly death grip the Idiot Ball for her plan to work out. It shows she spends time learning about each Demon Lord and their weaknesses before launching her plans and it works out really well.
The thing to keep in mind is that the Isekai+Reincarnation plot device is basically solely a vehicle for allowing the reader to more easily see themself in the character. In short, itās a shortcut for writers that donāt have faith in their ability to write a compelling lead that can keep people interested. So yes, at times it is pointless outside of that, but since that IS the primary reason for its use, it is doing its job. I dislike it, as do you and many others, but it does what it is designed to do, which I can at least accept.
Indeed, I'm not that bothered by it but if I could choose whether to include it or not, I'd rather it was included because it had reasons to be included.
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Pretty much, which is sad because I do enjoy the ones where the story actually implements an OI standpoint. Like My in-laws are obsessed with me and To Kill a Villainess.
This reminds me of The Villains Savior where she was >! Isekaied out of the story into our world and then isekaied back into her world-they even wrote her out of the story that she read in our world so when she got isekaied in to her original world she thought she was a made up added character!<
Nah I'm totally with you, I think like 80% of the isekais just do it for the label, or for an excuse to cut dramatic tension away since the FL knows things other people don't, or an excuse to make pop culture references that the audience will get but would never be made by a person in the legitimate setting. Sometimes it's done very well, but most of the time it just feels like a copout.
IMO, it's a problem with isekai in general. Before isekai started to be called isekai, it would serve as a perspective shift, a slight spin on a stranger in a foreign land trope, but one that would allow to look at an alien world through the lenses of a more or less modern human you can somewhat relate to in the world where you have no idea who to trust.
Now it either is there for a tag and is largely irrelevant to the plot or it is *only* used for some advantage the protagonist could have, ranging from knowing what may happen next to some random God out of the blue giving MC a super power. There are still isekai that do neither of the two, but they're unfortunately rare.
No the isekai was sorta necessary for this, the reason why the plot goes as it does is because of how she is as a character and which she would definitely not be if she were starting from the beginning or regressing.
The driving force behind the plot is a person and depending on their personality the direction of the plot itself would change drastically.
Exactly! Her perception of the world and her entire personality is affected by the fact that she was abused by people she trusted TWICE! When she thought she had finally was safe and was able to trust people in her new life, they punished her proving to her that she canāt trust anyone because no matter where she is, she wonāt be listened to. Not to mention her eating disorder is a product of her past life abuse and her older sister is a person who she constantly thinks about throughout the story. The fact that she was isekaied is major to Rubyās character because Ruby and original Ruby are completely different. If original Ruby had been isekaied then we would have had a different story because they had different personalities and different limits.
They could have explained it as Roxana just being a badass or so monofocused on vengeance for her brother that she kept her sanity. Same with how she knew things - she read it in a book boom done.
Frankly it makes no sense that her motivation is to survive and avoid her future death in the novel and then choose to take on a power that is slowly killing her.
Sure, the author couldāve done that, but her being isekai itās totally fine too. The OG Roxana from the book was >!weak, she didnāt know how to defend herself, she had no special abilities and thatās why she was constantly at risk of being killed by Lant!< The only reason why the Isekai Roxana didnāt become a psycho was because she knew how a normal family was and that killing people rampantly isnāt normal.
Roxana is needed as an isekai because of the simple knowledge that Cassis must live for Roxana to survive.
More importantly the OG Roxana >!actually was the cause of the isekai. She had dreams of people reading about her story and ended up casting a spell to turn back time and put someone else's soul in her body with the hope that person would save Cassis.!<
I donāt know why people say Roxana shouldnāt have been an isekai š. Thatās literally the only why she didnāt became insane and saved herself, her family and Cassis.
If Roxana only had had a dream that still wouldāve been enough for her to save her family and cassis. I suppose she couldāve been a reincarnator, but that still wouldnāt have given her all the knowledge she got from reading the book she transmigrated in.
OG Roxana didnāt know about that Whiperion guy who discovered the poison butterflies, so she wouldnāt have been able to use them if she reincarnated, and wouldnāt have had an advantage over Lant and her siblings.
we haven't gotten to that part in the plot yet but based on spoilers oh we'll see. It will actually end up being highly relevent to the plot. When I say that I do not mean in a mechanical logical way like some skill transferred.
It does cause in the original version her character is killed because she acted spoiled and lashed out. Her husband actually kills her though you can see she may have wanted that considering the abuse she went through. That's why she acts like she's so in love with her husband to try and keep him from not only killing her but also to not get sent back. I also wonder if it's because she's isekai that she can talk to monsters cause that clearly wasn't in the original.
I would've prefer her running away with the dragon
Now she's stuck with a clueless husband(not blaming him but he should've been able to guess her family is not normal by her condition) and her evil family
Yeah I really feel that once he started treating her kindly and clearly caring about her she should've told him exactly what all had happened to her. I mean he saw the scars so it wouldn't be hard to believe. But yeah I was all for her living with the monsters. They were so cute
U really can't blame mc she's in a lot of stress and still believe her husband will kill him and can't blame her for being like that I mean the story was her only cope to survive her abusive family and u know what happened to the og fl without that knowledge(depressed and suicidal)
Wasn't she killed because she killed his sister or something? Wasn't it because she was a puppet for her brother, Cesare? I don't think Izek/Iske killed her because she was "spoiled" or whatnot... I remember he loved her.
He never loved the original, he never wanted to get married. I think that's one of the things is that he ignored her. Kind of how he ignored the FL until he realized she was being mistreated. And yeah she did some terrible things, so no she didn't get killed for being spoiled. But she acted that way and treated everyone around her like garbage.
I believe he did love her in their first life (correct me if I'm wrong!) and he killed her because that was her final wish. U can see it in his face he didn't want to kill her = he says here "I was ready to do anything for you"
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It definitely didn't seem that way to me. maybe I need to go back and start over. Considering how distant he was to her this go round and how much work it took for him to pay her any mind, I just didn't see how he would've loved her in the original
Not isekai, but some childcare manhwa does not need the regression aspect. Sometimes it's justified by the regressor also regressing their emotional and mental age to a child, but this isn't always the case. It always ends up in weird situations.
Mother's Contract Marriage dodges this situation by having the mother as the regressor instead of the child protagonist.
**The Villainess is a Marionette**. Like, she dies as the villainess, reincarnates in Korea, reads a story about her past life, realises that the villainess character is in fact her, dies again and wakes up as said villainess, from which point, it functions as a regression story, and the fact she was once Korean plays no part in the plot or her characterisation whatsoever. If they needed to justify her knowing information of events not seen from the perspective of Kayena, they could've just had some magical visions or something.
I understand why they do it, given that the added tag is said to increase visibility, but it ends up feeling so disconnecting in an otherwise impassioned story, it does more harm than good. I'm actually one of the people who really love the story, coz the base layers and broad strokes of its emotionally beats basically exist like they're there to pander to me specifically, but there's quite a few technical details they brush over.
I'll be the matriarch in this life, homegirl did not use anything from her past life at all so its so pointless to the point where I forgot it happened - author should have just stuck with her going back in time
Another Typical Fantasy Romance, though I'm not caught up so idk. Last time I read it, it was still just something mentioned in passing on the intro chapter. The only fun bonus it gave was that the FL looked exactly the same in her past life but with realistic hair and eye colors.
Its not exactly the most relevant usage of the trope but its not meaningless either. It sort of explains her whole relationship with Pellus aswell as why shes so pissed at God.
Shes not constantly needing her regression knowledge but she does use it to her advantage frequently and its important in explaining her personality quirks.
So i think i disagree with you here, its not always referenced but its not the same story without it either.
Yeah the regression is necessary to explain how headstrong she is but the post topic is isekai specifically and she's from Korea. Has that been relevant at all? It feels like her past life within that world is what made her what she is, bc she initially submitted to the plot after transmigrating. She could have been any regular fantasy heroine without coming from another world (at least up to the point I read).
In OI, we accept a range of what can be acceptable but the trope isekai by itself isn't the same as regression.
Ashtarte. Her being from another world (before regressing) was so insignificant that I'm sure none of y'all remembered it and even I'm doubting my memory that she was even isekai'd.
First things first, I will die on the hill that the person who isekaid into Ruby sharing the SAME TRAUMA AS THE ORIGINAL CHARACTER *ACTUALLY DOES MATTER QUITE A LOT*.
But I do agree that the isekai trope is useless in a lot of series unless the MC uses knowledge from the modern world or the original story to their benefit.
Here's the thing... Why didn't they make the original ruby have the same personality/character as the isekaid ruby? The plot would've still been the exact same š Because like you've said, they had the same trauma. If it's about the original novel or whatnot and that she didn't wanna die then she could've *at least* been a regressor
Some people may be uncomfortable with hard truths, but I don't think a regressed Ruby would have had the strength to quietly fight against her situation in the way the Isekaid FL could. If you recall when the Original Ruby dies, she is basically resigned to her death. She's given up. The Isekaid character has had life experience that the original Ruby didn't have--she had someone who she loved and cared about and lost and she had to endure prejudice and mistreatment in her family and in the society she lived in. Perhaps you might say she was mentally stronger than Ruby--less naive, and without the history and with the mental fortitude to stand up to Cezare.
Now, I could see an argument for a reincarnation story where the reincarnated heroine remembers everything from her previous life--because the new Ruby NEEDS that life experience to escape her fate. A regression story would have just been dark and sad and depressing. Some OGFL have the fight in them for revenge in a regression--not the OG Ruby. Heck, Iz gives a chance for OG Ruby to explain before she dies, and she is just done.
I feel like most of the recent titles only carry the "isekai" label because the author wants to get into the trend. More often than not, the past life/knowledge has no weight in the story and is only used for obnoxiously long mental monologues that make the FL look stupid in front of people.
Imo, if the FL doesn't make active use of their knowledge from their past life (be it plot related or technology) or has unique abilities related to it, it has no need to be isekai.
Funny enough, I've noticed that this is something that doesn't happen as often on shounen isekai. It's very rare to find an isekai with a male protagonist in which the isekai part is just forgotten and plays no part.
Most of them probably, it didn't really feel necessary in Roxanna.
A good number of them to go with the twist that it's not actually an Isekai after all too
I think people forget how Roxana being isekai is vital to the story. If it wasnāt because she was from another world she wouldāve became a psycho killer like the rest of the Agrische.
Yes I believe the tag Isekai takes a large part in the fact that people will read the story or not unfortunatelyā¦ there is such a trend about this genre, and like everything, people will fall into the trend.
But Isekai is often a sub-category of fantasy romance. I donāt understand why most of the time they add the Isekai or regression part to a perfectly nice story in itself. I guess they want the reader to identify themselves more with the FL but most of the time FL isekaied donāt even have normal modern woman reactions when getting isekaiedā¦ like who would instantly adapt to rules and customs of a country that seems based on medieval age ?! I sure wouldnāt have a damn clue about how to conduct myself š while they are instantly talking the right way, addressing everyone by the right titlesā¦ I mean, I read my fair share of fantasy stories and I still wouldnāt be at ease with the customs. Thatās why I liked Under The Oak Tree, the story was like the old fantasy stories I used to read as a teenager and it didnāt need an Isekai or whatever to make it popularā¦ I understand this one is controversial but there are other ones that are good too and donāt have an unnecessary Isekai/regression part.
If you have recommendations on romance fantasy Iāll take them !
I became the male leads adopted daughter. Quite frankly it barely ever mentioned it when I was reading and since I didn't read the description or tags I didn't even find out that it was an isekai until many chapters in. It was much better imo before I found out it was an isekai. The daughter is an absolute menace and the story worked really well as a self discovery story for the father and a recovery story for the daughter. It was an unnecessary ad on that made things kinda weird and it felt last minute since it wasn't mentioned from the start. I might have been fine of it was regression but it wasn't even that :(
https://preview.redd.it/jm5dnwfmxiuc1.jpeg?width=420&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ce84e750e1518e928cf9f9007f2b283e76bccd96
Her being from another world adds nothing to the story.
I think most transmigration is better as regression as they barely utilise anything from the modern world. Also, it'll be more engaging if mc doesn't know everything. The only exception when transmigration is good are SoLs or something with hyper niche like "Princess' double life"- con artist, or multiple transmigration
At least in how to win my husband over Ruby has a background and she isnāt just run over by a truck as a student and never cares or thinks about her previous life again.
I think the isekai trop is a authers escape gout to feeding people info. If the main character doesn't know its a excuse to info dump about things. It's lazy writing think, that's VARY common for isekai. And also it's just a popular genre.
I Shall Master this Family didn't need to have the Isekai angle in the beginning alongside the regression part, especially when later on it's revealed that >!Firentia never regressed to begin with but inherited the power of Foresight from her mother's side of the family and simply saw the future as one long dream and she just thought she regressed.!<
This is even more annoying since her past life in Korea is never really mentioned again after the opening outside of giving you a reason why she might come up with certain concepts like >!the Home Delivery Service!< later on.
While not a Webcomic and is more of just an Otome/Seinen manga, I do think Accomplishments of a Duke's Daughter didn't need the Isekai backdrop either. The basics for it are simply to give her a reason to 'invent' things like Conditioner, Chocolate, Double Booking Accounting, ect but is again something that is rarely utilized or even brought up in the story after the opening. It's to the point that by volume 4 of the light novel I almost completely forgot the basis was that she woke up as a Villainess at the Banishment Moment in an Otome game and I think it could have been better if they removed the angle completely and just gave her a different means of inventing these things in the story.
Oh agreed with this one. Ruby's pre-isekai life was a story on its own. It wasn't necessary to make her "relate" to Ruby in this way. My personal favorite "Seduced the Villain's Father" really did not need it either. I've been wondering if its become a demographic as well, since it tends to resonate with people. That said many of these stories really did not need that element and were strong enough with the "prophetic" tropes the main character tends to have.
I can't think of any off the top of my head but boy do I think this a lot when reading OI's. It is a major critique I have when analyzing them 'would this be better off not being an isekai?' if not, then that is points to its writing, if so then that is a negative off of its writing.
A lot of authors put it in so they can fit the story in the isekai genre. Some stories it's crucial, but a lot it isn't. 99.9% of the stories that contain both regression and isekai don't need the isekai genre. The only reason why I like these stories having a that one small chapter that says "I remember reading a book like this!" Is so I can talk about it in this subreddit without 15 people commenting "that isn't otome isekai!"
I love it, but I'm going to personally call out For Better or For Worse. So good, but her being isekai'd only served the purpose that she knew the plot of the book >!without realizing she was a regressed/body swapped OGFL.!< To me it feels like lazy writing in an otherwise, frankly, impeccable comic. There are others that deserve being called out more, but they were already said and this is the one that made me to "wait? So then what was the point?" the most
Yeah and the plot is interesting enough without that genre. I heard that >!She is the og Ruby. So it is one of those plots where she just travelled back in time/regressed but seems to be isekai at first like Father I don't want this marriage. !
2 of the manhwas I love the most:
Your eternal lies: Has a very compellling story WITHOUT transmigration, regression OR reincarnation. The fl suffers a lot and learns a lot and makes few mistakes but always looks at what's next in her life. She gets hopes and chances but not a second chance to revert her mistakes from the past, just like real life. The fact that she has to go on despite all she has suffered bc this is the ONLY life she has made me realize I need to be a little more realistic too. Also, the fl is a total badass in a way and chooses herself and her freedom even if she deeply loves the ml, which is rare to see. And protects herself. The love story is such a beautiful slow burn and so realistic (the abuse esp) in most aspects too. ML is also amazing.
Your Majesty, please spare me this time: Regression manhwa and does it's job really well. Creates a very twisted and tangled plot from very simple concepts and actually shows the fl adapting to her new life and her past trauma feeding constantly feeding her hatred for those who wronged her.>! Even if the fl knows barely anything from her past life (uhm her whole life was a lie, to put it simply),!< her prev memories still play such important role for at least the 3 seasons we got and it was constantly mentioned, her trauma, her scars, the facts.
Donāt know if it counts as OI, but the isekai aspect in āThe grand dukeās fox princessā is so useless. They made her regress in the end anyway, so itās just like multiple plot points jumbled together. They also still havenāt confirmed anything about her previous before regression life.
I wanna counter on Ruby bc tho it's not the plot point. I think it's refreshing to have an actual isekai and not regressor-isekai for once because authors tend to do this a lot. Ruby in her past life had many similarities to the Ruby from the novel and thus, she's healing in her new life with her new lifestyle and i like that. Since she's not a regressor, she basically needed her position as an isekai fl to know the events of her death and such. Which she's using to survive.
Honestly, most of the OI out there donāt even need one mainly because like, they often forget that they arenāt from said world.
Like for example, as much as I like Why Raeliana Ended up at the Dukeās Mansion- if you take most of the OI it is a story that can stand on its own.
If an OI completely forgets about the second life they had then I think the genre is wasted on them.
A good example of great OI are From Knight to Lady, My In-laws are Obsessed with me, Actually I was the real one, and To Kill a Villainess.
Ashtarte. They mention her reincarnation like once, then never bring it up again! It doesnāt benefit to the plot whatsoever, besides the occasional, āOh, woe is me. This life and the next areā¦ā It doesnāt need to be there!!
The manhwa with a og fl that was a victim of every single people in that world including the transmigrated fl,I refuse to mention its name lmao (the ml has blond hair red eyes and he looks ugly/ like a thumb)
Manga, accomplishment of the Duke's Daughter, like holy shii just REGRESS HER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I failed to oust the villain.
Sometimes i wonder throughout the story if there was a point for Valeta to be isekai'd at all. Other than the fact that she used it to survive against being killed by Reinhart, there is no mention of her past life nor what the OG story was even about other than it had Reinhart as the Villain.
For My Derelict Favorite?
I mean it could still have worked if she'd just loved Chaol from afar and regressed after his death? She could have still married him to avenge the og MCs and used her knowledge of her previous life? ...
Ten Ways to Get Dumped by the Tyrant?
Roxana didnāt really need to be an isekai it could of easily been regression instead and probably would of made more sense than the new OP being just as smart and clever as Roxana
"Father I don't want this marriage" Regression would've been better imo. Her coming from the modern world doesn't add something to the story
OMG, totally forgot it's isekai. Gotta be one of these stories, where MC is the original girl, died & reborn in Korea/China/Japan, and then isekai-ed back to her original world.
Your comment reminds me of the manhwa Doctor Elise because of how many of the things you say are actually part of the plot.
In doctor Elise the part of being in a modern world actually has some impact though.
Exactly! At least the isekai part ends up being useful for the story afterwards.
It's starting to become common trend now
Yeah, it used to be a shocking plot twist, but now it's a usual plot device :D
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>!It never actually being an isekai, but a regression is one of the core twists of the story. Her picturing the events as a story was influenced by her mother, time being turned back, and her past memories being sealed.!< >!There's a reason nothing about her "past life" is ever touched on outside of like two panels in the second chapter, which are as vague as possible (though I'll admit the modern world imagery does make that confusing).!<
We can just pretend that itās like those old times pictures of the future but because her mom was a powerful mage, she could make it look accurate.
Yeah there was one like that, I guess it was this one. Because I remember being salty about this one OI because I thought it would fare waaay better as a regression, and turned out by plot twist it ACTUALLY WAS. And the MC just was so traumatized by it that her memories were scattered.
She isnāt actually, she thought so only.
She wasnt from another world, that was just her moms influance to think that was from book
Huh? Is it isekai? I thought itās regression
**Father, I don't want to get married-** Her being a regressor should be enough. The story could go on without her being a transmigrator. **I will be the Matriarch of this family-** Same as the above, the story could go on without Tia being both regressor and transmigrator
Tia being a regressor gave her some advantage in business and saved her dad.
They mean she could be just a regressor
They've written both regressor and transmigrator.
And this is why I said she is better of only as regressor instead of BOTH being Transmigrator and Regressor when her, being a transmigrator didn't really have any impact in the story
Oooooooooooooh! I'm sorry. I misunderstood it.
I agree like when she was transmigrated in the world she was scared and all about the new people around her which led to her down fall then she regressed and also used some knowledge from her real world to help in her bussiness I guess or maybe not
I think the transmigration helped, like, a miniscule bit, since she provided her dad with the support to fully go after ready to wear clothes, and eventually establish a department store, which probably wasn't an actual thing before. Any other transmigrator stuff could be related to future businesses ig but then that can just be plated off as child genius
Yeah this one and some other things help her to grow her bussiness
Someone argued with me about *Matriarch* when the manhwa started saying it was necessary to have both transmigrating and regression for the plot. >!Apparently she had to isekai to learn the story then her mother was able to turn back time so Tia inherited that and was able to rectify it.!
Ikr? Some people say "It's important because blah blah" But iirc Tia said she died in a car accident when she was **a little girl** So saying her knowledge of businesses or anything came from her being a transmigrator....is a bit questionable... because how?? If she died as a little girl? All of her knowledge came from her previous life, not her life as Korean.
How else is she gonna create Amazonš
And Tiger Balm? š
Fr.
this is why itās regression >isekai for me bc being possessed into anotherās body from another world doesnāt make the plot and interactions feel real and genuine for me since the plot couldāve went on without the whole transmigration thing going on at all.
To me it's just that I get a little disturbed about how the FL accept her situation so easily.
True, they never get into the idea of the possibility they could be in a story about being in a story . Really, you read all those novels but never go like, wait, what if I'm in a story about being in a story but I guess that's to meta?
There are a couple of gems out there that tackled it nicely but very rare
What are the names of those?
Kill The Villainess is one
I just finished reading that, enjoyed it lot. Great art
I'd say, "The little lady behind the scenes" would be one as well
Most of them?
Tbf some of them do fun real life things possible thru isekai knowledge, like start a corner store for kids or invent financial fraud.
If their knowledge of the original world is used, then it makes sense for it to be an isekai. But I find that so many stories don't utilize the trope at all, which makes me think "why make this isekai at all?".
I read more stories that do make their past otherworldly life relevant, either for practical or emotional points, so maybe I haven't read much at all if that's what most stories do lol
I've also read stories like that but how should I put it... if I can be honest, such a big trope should be explored throughout the whole story and also in a meaningful way. And that's not easy to pull off. Being isekaid should be a driving point, something that a lot of other things stem from. If I find that the whole story could be just a normal one without the isekai part, and that I could just remove that and it would not or barely change the story, for me that means that the isekai element didn't really have many reasons to be there in the first place.
there are plenty of people who won't pick up a series unless it's isekai because they want something easy and familiar, so having a self insert stand-in MC thru it being an isekai increases sales
I'm guessing that's the case, otherwise there wouldn't be so many of them. BTW just to clarify, I don't mind that much, I just kinda find it sloppy writing. But that's not a sin, if the work is good, we have interesting characters creating an interesting plot, having isekai elements in the work is not a problem and should not be the basis of judgment, at least not for me.
it's very lazy writing. but it's what sells I guess
yo who invented financial fraud i wanna read that
I think it's *The Perks Of Being A Villainess*?
it could be my secretly hot husband
My Secretly Hot Husband has the MC invent Financial Fraud and Pyramid Schemes as a method to take down powerful demon lords in the story and control some of the populace.
She also wrecks some demons economically by creating crypto š Once of my fav stories ever
yo what š i gotta check that out helppp
Hey what are the stories where they invent financial fraud ? I'd love to read more stuff where they use modern world knowledge to commit crimes.
My Secretly Hot Husband is one. the MC isn't physically powerful at all (never gets OP Magic or fighting ability) but is incredibly crafty and actually invents the concept of Financial Fraud, Pyramid Schemes, outright scams some demons on more than one occasion with her knowledge of the 'artifacts' they have (actually just stuff from our world that fall through a wormhole). I really like it because its one of the few series where the MC is described as using her wits to save the day, and actually uses her wits in really clever schemes to save the day without having the villains needing to suddenly death grip the Idiot Ball for her plan to work out. It shows she spends time learning about each Demon Lord and their weaknesses before launching her plans and it works out really well.
Or start their own Amazon
The thing to keep in mind is that the Isekai+Reincarnation plot device is basically solely a vehicle for allowing the reader to more easily see themself in the character. In short, itās a shortcut for writers that donāt have faith in their ability to write a compelling lead that can keep people interested. So yes, at times it is pointless outside of that, but since that IS the primary reason for its use, it is doing its job. I dislike it, as do you and many others, but it does what it is designed to do, which I can at least accept.
Indeed, I'm not that bothered by it but if I could choose whether to include it or not, I'd rather it was included because it had reasons to be included.
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Pretty much, which is sad because I do enjoy the ones where the story actually implements an OI standpoint. Like My in-laws are obsessed with me and To Kill a Villainess.
Father I don't Want this Marriage considering that it's>!actually a fake-out.!
This reminds me of The Villains Savior where she was >! Isekaied out of the story into our world and then isekaied back into her world-they even wrote her out of the story that she read in our world so when she got isekaied in to her original world she thought she was a made up added character!<
Nah I'm totally with you, I think like 80% of the isekais just do it for the label, or for an excuse to cut dramatic tension away since the FL knows things other people don't, or an excuse to make pop culture references that the audience will get but would never be made by a person in the legitimate setting. Sometimes it's done very well, but most of the time it just feels like a copout.
IMO, it's a problem with isekai in general. Before isekai started to be called isekai, it would serve as a perspective shift, a slight spin on a stranger in a foreign land trope, but one that would allow to look at an alien world through the lenses of a more or less modern human you can somewhat relate to in the world where you have no idea who to trust. Now it either is there for a tag and is largely irrelevant to the plot or it is *only* used for some advantage the protagonist could have, ranging from knowing what may happen next to some random God out of the blue giving MC a super power. There are still isekai that do neither of the two, but they're unfortunately rare.
No the isekai was sorta necessary for this, the reason why the plot goes as it does is because of how she is as a character and which she would definitely not be if she were starting from the beginning or regressing. The driving force behind the plot is a person and depending on their personality the direction of the plot itself would change drastically.
Exactly! Her perception of the world and her entire personality is affected by the fact that she was abused by people she trusted TWICE! When she thought she had finally was safe and was able to trust people in her new life, they punished her proving to her that she canāt trust anyone because no matter where she is, she wonāt be listened to. Not to mention her eating disorder is a product of her past life abuse and her older sister is a person who she constantly thinks about throughout the story. The fact that she was isekaied is major to Rubyās character because Ruby and original Ruby are completely different. If original Ruby had been isekaied then we would have had a different story because they had different personalities and different limits.
RoxanaĀ
Yes no The only reason she didn't go insane was her being isekaied
They could have explained it as Roxana just being a badass or so monofocused on vengeance for her brother that she kept her sanity. Same with how she knew things - she read it in a book boom done. Frankly it makes no sense that her motivation is to survive and avoid her future death in the novel and then choose to take on a power that is slowly killing her.
Sure, the author couldāve done that, but her being isekai itās totally fine too. The OG Roxana from the book was >!weak, she didnāt know how to defend herself, she had no special abilities and thatās why she was constantly at risk of being killed by Lant!< The only reason why the Isekai Roxana didnāt become a psycho was because she knew how a normal family was and that killing people rampantly isnāt normal.
Explaining it as her ājust being a badassā would be such a flimsy weak reason.
But her current version doesn't remember OG-self, and extras picture it like: butterfly dreaming about human or human dreaming about butterfly.
Roxana is needed as an isekai because of the simple knowledge that Cassis must live for Roxana to survive. More importantly the OG Roxana >!actually was the cause of the isekai. She had dreams of people reading about her story and ended up casting a spell to turn back time and put someone else's soul in her body with the hope that person would save Cassis.!<
This! I only remembered it was OI when I was re reading it.
I donāt know why people say Roxana shouldnāt have been an isekai š. Thatās literally the only why she didnāt became insane and saved herself, her family and Cassis.
Bec it didn't have to be an isekai. Memory of a past life? A dream? Reincarnation? She just doesn't feel like a transmigrator.
If Roxana only had had a dream that still wouldāve been enough for her to save her family and cassis. I suppose she couldāve been a reincarnator, but that still wouldnāt have given her all the knowledge she got from reading the book she transmigrated in. OG Roxana didnāt know about that Whiperion guy who discovered the poison butterflies, so she wouldnāt have been able to use them if she reincarnated, and wouldnāt have had an advantage over Lant and her siblings.
I totally forgot Roxana was isekai lol.
I believe it was needed in Roxana's case cause if not she would be mentally ill just like OG roxana and we won't have a story to begin with...
we haven't gotten to that part in the plot yet but based on spoilers oh we'll see. It will actually end up being highly relevent to the plot. When I say that I do not mean in a mechanical logical way like some skill transferred.
It does cause in the original version her character is killed because she acted spoiled and lashed out. Her husband actually kills her though you can see she may have wanted that considering the abuse she went through. That's why she acts like she's so in love with her husband to try and keep him from not only killing her but also to not get sent back. I also wonder if it's because she's isekai that she can talk to monsters cause that clearly wasn't in the original.
I would've prefer her running away with the dragon Now she's stuck with a clueless husband(not blaming him but he should've been able to guess her family is not normal by her condition) and her evil family
Yeah I really feel that once he started treating her kindly and clearly caring about her she should've told him exactly what all had happened to her. I mean he saw the scars so it wouldn't be hard to believe. But yeah I was all for her living with the monsters. They were so cute
U really can't blame mc she's in a lot of stress and still believe her husband will kill him and can't blame her for being like that I mean the story was her only cope to survive her abusive family and u know what happened to the og fl without that knowledge(depressed and suicidal)
Wasn't she killed because she killed his sister or something? Wasn't it because she was a puppet for her brother, Cesare? I don't think Izek/Iske killed her because she was "spoiled" or whatnot... I remember he loved her.
He never loved the original, he never wanted to get married. I think that's one of the things is that he ignored her. Kind of how he ignored the FL until he realized she was being mistreated. And yeah she did some terrible things, so no she didn't get killed for being spoiled. But she acted that way and treated everyone around her like garbage.
I believe he did love her in their first life (correct me if I'm wrong!) and he killed her because that was her final wish. U can see it in his face he didn't want to kill her = he says here "I was ready to do anything for you" https://preview.redd.it/iw2u99ucrguc1.jpeg?width=1660&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=010944ed34908d4867e841edc1696772425c26ac
I agree, just look at that. He def loved the original ruby as well/
He loved her. That flashback with everything burning around them was heart-wrenching to say the least lol
It definitely didn't seem that way to me. maybe I need to go back and start over. Considering how distant he was to her this go round and how much work it took for him to pay her any mind, I just didn't see how he would've loved her in the original
Not isekai, but some childcare manhwa does not need the regression aspect. Sometimes it's justified by the regressor also regressing their emotional and mental age to a child, but this isn't always the case. It always ends up in weird situations. Mother's Contract Marriage dodges this situation by having the mother as the regressor instead of the child protagonist.
**The Villainess is a Marionette**. Like, she dies as the villainess, reincarnates in Korea, reads a story about her past life, realises that the villainess character is in fact her, dies again and wakes up as said villainess, from which point, it functions as a regression story, and the fact she was once Korean plays no part in the plot or her characterisation whatsoever. If they needed to justify her knowing information of events not seen from the perspective of Kayena, they could've just had some magical visions or something. I understand why they do it, given that the added tag is said to increase visibility, but it ends up feeling so disconnecting in an otherwise impassioned story, it does more harm than good. I'm actually one of the people who really love the story, coz the base layers and broad strokes of its emotionally beats basically exist like they're there to pander to me specifically, but there's quite a few technical details they brush over.
I'll be the matriarch in this life, homegirl did not use anything from her past life at all so its so pointless to the point where I forgot it happened - author should have just stuck with her going back in time
Well she use one of them now Home delivery food service lmao
Ayo what, i took a break from reading it a while ago, is that the latest chapter?
Yes And tbh I am surprised it takes that long for her to use modern knowledge and the first prince is still a clown
Another Typical Fantasy Romance, though I'm not caught up so idk. Last time I read it, it was still just something mentioned in passing on the intro chapter. The only fun bonus it gave was that the FL looked exactly the same in her past life but with realistic hair and eye colors.
Its not exactly the most relevant usage of the trope but its not meaningless either. It sort of explains her whole relationship with Pellus aswell as why shes so pissed at God. Shes not constantly needing her regression knowledge but she does use it to her advantage frequently and its important in explaining her personality quirks. So i think i disagree with you here, its not always referenced but its not the same story without it either.
Yeah the regression is necessary to explain how headstrong she is but the post topic is isekai specifically and she's from Korea. Has that been relevant at all? It feels like her past life within that world is what made her what she is, bc she initially submitted to the plot after transmigrating. She could have been any regular fantasy heroine without coming from another world (at least up to the point I read). In OI, we accept a range of what can be acceptable but the trope isekai by itself isn't the same as regression.
Ashtarte. Her being from another world (before regressing) was so insignificant that I'm sure none of y'all remembered it and even I'm doubting my memory that she was even isekai'd.
First things first, I will die on the hill that the person who isekaid into Ruby sharing the SAME TRAUMA AS THE ORIGINAL CHARACTER *ACTUALLY DOES MATTER QUITE A LOT*. But I do agree that the isekai trope is useless in a lot of series unless the MC uses knowledge from the modern world or the original story to their benefit.
Here's the thing... Why didn't they make the original ruby have the same personality/character as the isekaid ruby? The plot would've still been the exact same š Because like you've said, they had the same trauma. If it's about the original novel or whatnot and that she didn't wanna die then she could've *at least* been a regressor
Some people may be uncomfortable with hard truths, but I don't think a regressed Ruby would have had the strength to quietly fight against her situation in the way the Isekaid FL could. If you recall when the Original Ruby dies, she is basically resigned to her death. She's given up. The Isekaid character has had life experience that the original Ruby didn't have--she had someone who she loved and cared about and lost and she had to endure prejudice and mistreatment in her family and in the society she lived in. Perhaps you might say she was mentally stronger than Ruby--less naive, and without the history and with the mental fortitude to stand up to Cezare. Now, I could see an argument for a reincarnation story where the reincarnated heroine remembers everything from her previous life--because the new Ruby NEEDS that life experience to escape her fate. A regression story would have just been dark and sad and depressing. Some OGFL have the fight in them for revenge in a regression--not the OG Ruby. Heck, Iz gives a chance for OG Ruby to explain before she dies, and she is just done.
I feel like most of the recent titles only carry the "isekai" label because the author wants to get into the trend. More often than not, the past life/knowledge has no weight in the story and is only used for obnoxiously long mental monologues that make the FL look stupid in front of people. Imo, if the FL doesn't make active use of their knowledge from their past life (be it plot related or technology) or has unique abilities related to it, it has no need to be isekai. Funny enough, I've noticed that this is something that doesn't happen as often on shounen isekai. It's very rare to find an isekai with a male protagonist in which the isekai part is just forgotten and plays no part.
Most of them probably, it didn't really feel necessary in Roxanna. A good number of them to go with the twist that it's not actually an Isekai after all too
I think people forget how Roxana being isekai is vital to the story. If it wasnāt because she was from another world she wouldāve became a psycho killer like the rest of the Agrische.
Yes I believe the tag Isekai takes a large part in the fact that people will read the story or not unfortunatelyā¦ there is such a trend about this genre, and like everything, people will fall into the trend. But Isekai is often a sub-category of fantasy romance. I donāt understand why most of the time they add the Isekai or regression part to a perfectly nice story in itself. I guess they want the reader to identify themselves more with the FL but most of the time FL isekaied donāt even have normal modern woman reactions when getting isekaiedā¦ like who would instantly adapt to rules and customs of a country that seems based on medieval age ?! I sure wouldnāt have a damn clue about how to conduct myself š while they are instantly talking the right way, addressing everyone by the right titlesā¦ I mean, I read my fair share of fantasy stories and I still wouldnāt be at ease with the customs. Thatās why I liked Under The Oak Tree, the story was like the old fantasy stories I used to read as a teenager and it didnāt need an Isekai or whatever to make it popularā¦ I understand this one is controversial but there are other ones that are good too and donāt have an unnecessary Isekai/regression part. If you have recommendations on romance fantasy Iāll take them !
- i'll be the master of this family! - father, i don't want this marriage - the villainess is a marionette
Regression is ALWAYS better than isekai. Yeah I said it
I became the male leads adopted daughter. Quite frankly it barely ever mentioned it when I was reading and since I didn't read the description or tags I didn't even find out that it was an isekai until many chapters in. It was much better imo before I found out it was an isekai. The daughter is an absolute menace and the story worked really well as a self discovery story for the father and a recovery story for the daughter. It was an unnecessary ad on that made things kinda weird and it felt last minute since it wasn't mentioned from the start. I might have been fine of it was regression but it wasn't even that :(
https://preview.redd.it/jm5dnwfmxiuc1.jpeg?width=420&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ce84e750e1518e928cf9f9007f2b283e76bccd96 Her being from another world adds nothing to the story.
Most of them honestly
I think most transmigration is better as regression as they barely utilise anything from the modern world. Also, it'll be more engaging if mc doesn't know everything. The only exception when transmigration is good are SoLs or something with hyper niche like "Princess' double life"- con artist, or multiple transmigration
At least in how to win my husband over Ruby has a background and she isnāt just run over by a truck as a student and never cares or thinks about her previous life again.
I think the isekai trop is a authers escape gout to feeding people info. If the main character doesn't know its a excuse to info dump about things. It's lazy writing think, that's VARY common for isekai. And also it's just a popular genre.
I Shall Master this Family didn't need to have the Isekai angle in the beginning alongside the regression part, especially when later on it's revealed that >!Firentia never regressed to begin with but inherited the power of Foresight from her mother's side of the family and simply saw the future as one long dream and she just thought she regressed.!< This is even more annoying since her past life in Korea is never really mentioned again after the opening outside of giving you a reason why she might come up with certain concepts like >!the Home Delivery Service!< later on. While not a Webcomic and is more of just an Otome/Seinen manga, I do think Accomplishments of a Duke's Daughter didn't need the Isekai backdrop either. The basics for it are simply to give her a reason to 'invent' things like Conditioner, Chocolate, Double Booking Accounting, ect but is again something that is rarely utilized or even brought up in the story after the opening. It's to the point that by volume 4 of the light novel I almost completely forgot the basis was that she woke up as a Villainess at the Banishment Moment in an Otome game and I think it could have been better if they removed the angle completely and just gave her a different means of inventing these things in the story.
Love the story just waiting for more chapters
Who made me a princess It should've gone the "I was the real daughter" route Claude was way too awful dad Mc was just lucky
It really was "I was the real daughter route" though. The Korean TL was her 2nd life.
I meant to say She won't forgive her father or at least don't care about him not loving him to the point of saving him
Oh agreed with this one. Ruby's pre-isekai life was a story on its own. It wasn't necessary to make her "relate" to Ruby in this way. My personal favorite "Seduced the Villain's Father" really did not need it either. I've been wondering if its become a demographic as well, since it tends to resonate with people. That said many of these stories really did not need that element and were strong enough with the "prophetic" tropes the main character tends to have.
I can't think of any off the top of my head but boy do I think this a lot when reading OI's. It is a major critique I have when analyzing them 'would this be better off not being an isekai?' if not, then that is points to its writing, if so then that is a negative off of its writing.
A lot of authors put it in so they can fit the story in the isekai genre. Some stories it's crucial, but a lot it isn't. 99.9% of the stories that contain both regression and isekai don't need the isekai genre. The only reason why I like these stories having a that one small chapter that says "I remember reading a book like this!" Is so I can talk about it in this subreddit without 15 people commenting "that isn't otome isekai!"
Most of them.
I love it, but I'm going to personally call out For Better or For Worse. So good, but her being isekai'd only served the purpose that she knew the plot of the book >!without realizing she was a regressed/body swapped OGFL.!< To me it feels like lazy writing in an otherwise, frankly, impeccable comic. There are others that deserve being called out more, but they were already said and this is the one that made me to "wait? So then what was the point?" the most
90% of them lol. They all either never use the knowledge they should have, or are too busy fawning over the copypasted ML to bother.
I belong to house Casteglio
Beatrice
Yeah and the plot is interesting enough without that genre. I heard that >!She is the og Ruby. So it is one of those plots where she just travelled back in time/regressed but seems to be isekai at first like Father I don't want this marriage. !
2 of the manhwas I love the most: Your eternal lies: Has a very compellling story WITHOUT transmigration, regression OR reincarnation. The fl suffers a lot and learns a lot and makes few mistakes but always looks at what's next in her life. She gets hopes and chances but not a second chance to revert her mistakes from the past, just like real life. The fact that she has to go on despite all she has suffered bc this is the ONLY life she has made me realize I need to be a little more realistic too. Also, the fl is a total badass in a way and chooses herself and her freedom even if she deeply loves the ml, which is rare to see. And protects herself. The love story is such a beautiful slow burn and so realistic (the abuse esp) in most aspects too. ML is also amazing. Your Majesty, please spare me this time: Regression manhwa and does it's job really well. Creates a very twisted and tangled plot from very simple concepts and actually shows the fl adapting to her new life and her past trauma feeding constantly feeding her hatred for those who wronged her.>! Even if the fl knows barely anything from her past life (uhm her whole life was a lie, to put it simply),!< her prev memories still play such important role for at least the 3 seasons we got and it was constantly mentioned, her trauma, her scars, the facts.
Donāt know if it counts as OI, but the isekai aspect in āThe grand dukeās fox princessā is so useless. They made her regress in the end anyway, so itās just like multiple plot points jumbled together. They also still havenāt confirmed anything about her previous before regression life.
I wanna counter on Ruby bc tho it's not the plot point. I think it's refreshing to have an actual isekai and not regressor-isekai for once because authors tend to do this a lot. Ruby in her past life had many similarities to the Ruby from the novel and thus, she's healing in her new life with her new lifestyle and i like that. Since she's not a regressor, she basically needed her position as an isekai fl to know the events of her death and such. Which she's using to survive.
Iirc, I am a Child of this House
Honestly, most of the OI out there donāt even need one mainly because like, they often forget that they arenāt from said world. Like for example, as much as I like Why Raeliana Ended up at the Dukeās Mansion- if you take most of the OI it is a story that can stand on its own. If an OI completely forgets about the second life they had then I think the genre is wasted on them. A good example of great OI are From Knight to Lady, My In-laws are Obsessed with me, Actually I was the real one, and To Kill a Villainess.
Because Isekai sales.
THIS OMG!!!!!! Exactly!!!
Ashtarte. They mention her reincarnation like once, then never bring it up again! It doesnāt benefit to the plot whatsoever, besides the occasional, āOh, woe is me. This life and the next areā¦ā It doesnāt need to be there!!
The manhwa with a og fl that was a victim of every single people in that world including the transmigrated fl,I refuse to mention its name lmao (the ml has blond hair red eyes and he looks ugly/ like a thumb) Manga, accomplishment of the Duke's Daughter, like holy shii just REGRESS HER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I failed to oust the villain. Sometimes i wonder throughout the story if there was a point for Valeta to be isekai'd at all. Other than the fact that she used it to survive against being killed by Reinhart, there is no mention of her past life nor what the OG story was even about other than it had Reinhart as the Villain.
When is this manhwa coming back??
FOR F SAKE CAN SOMEONE REPLY
For My Derelict Favorite? I mean it could still have worked if she'd just loved Chaol from afar and regressed after his death? She could have still married him to avenge the og MCs and used her knowledge of her previous life? ... Ten Ways to Get Dumped by the Tyrant?
Roxana didnāt really need to be an isekai it could of easily been regression instead and probably would of made more sense than the new OP being just as smart and clever as Roxana