Exploring Isekai
Mapping Worlds through Anime, Manga, and Light Novels
William B Ashbaugh editor Shintaro Mizushima editor
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Publishing:5th Mar '26
£85.00
This title is due to be published on 5th March, and will be despatched as soon as possible.
An in-depth exploration of the isekai genre within the world of anime and manga, tracing its growing popularity since 2013 and examining its formal intricacies.
Exploring Isekai offers the first comprehensive study of isekai in anime, manga and light novels in which characters from the “real world” are transported, summoned, reincarnated or trapped in fantastical realms.
Challenging the misconception that isekai is mere escapism, the volume brings together an international group of contributors to consider how the genre reflects contemporary anxieties, desires and social structures through game-like world-building, moral frameworks and recurring underdog heroes. Examining classics like Spirited Away (2001) alongside globally popular series such as That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime (2013–25) and Overlord (2015–), the volume traces the thematic and aesthetic evolution of isekai, revealing how these narratives reimagine identity, labour and belonging in an increasingly digital and transnational world.
With isekai booming in popularity all around the world, this book is essential. Packed with experts and enthusiasts like Zoe Crombie, Barbara Greene, Yaochong Yang, and Michael Cserkits, this exciting text is perfect for the bookshelves and coffee tables of fans and scholars alike. Whether you research isekai, or simply love it, this piece is worth your time. * Billy Tringali, Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Anime and Manga Studies (JAMS), USA *
Exploring Isekai is a compelling investigation of a much known narrative type to young people, gamers, anime, and manga fandoms; yet it also reflects the fairy tales and narratives of many older fictional narratives we have all grown up reading and fantasizing of since childhood. Each chapter investigates the many unique facets and peculiarities of the genre, and how many pertain to key issues within current cultures, and especially to Japanese culture. * Frenchy Lunning, Professor of Liberal Arts, Minneapolis College of Art and Design, USA *
ISBN: 9781350465565
Dimensions: 236mm x 162mm x 28mm
Weight: 880g
328 pages