The Isekai genre is becoming big business in the anime industry and for good reason. Typically focusing on mundane protagonists finding themselves transported to magical and/or unbelievable locales, series such as Sword Art Online, Overlord, Inuyasha, Mushoku Tensei, and many more have helped to populate the genre. So popular has Isekai become that it even became a part of the English dictionary earlier this year. Unfortunately, all that glitters isn’t gold as it appears that Isekai has rubbed a truck manufacturer the wrong way. In a new interview, said manufacturer details how anime has an unexpected negative side effect on their industry.
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In a recent interview, a Japanese transportation manager expressed their issue with anime characters being struck and killed by trucks. The method has become a common one when it comes to Isekai anime and the manager explains how this has impacted their industry, “There is a well-known brainwashing technique called subliminal messages, and if this works by imprinting on a person’s subconscious, then the aforementioned scenes that are thrust upon people through the television and manga they have been watching since childhood are enough to create fear and aversion towards things like trucks. Moreover, when you take into account that since it is just a story, the person empathizes with the content, the effect can be said to be enormous.”
The Dangers of Isekai
The manager then took the opportunity to mention how the tides could potentially turn when it came to trucks’ current reputation, “I think it can’t be helped as long as there is freedom of expression, but if that’s the case, I’d like them to strike a balance by sending out messages that improve the image of the trucks.”
One of the biggest Isekai running right this moment luckily didn’t have its stars lampooned by trucks. The Suicide Squad Isekai is halfway through its first season and has brought DC Comics’ biggest supervillain team to the anime industry. Whether the Suicide Squad is renewed for a second season, the Isekai genre will continue to be a major part of the anime industry for quite some time.
Want to see what the future holds for the Isekai genre? Follow along with Team Anime on ComicBook for all the latest updates on the Isekai world and the ever-expanding anime market, and hit me up directly @EVComedy to talk all things comics and anime.
