Iyashikei (癒し系) is Japanese for "healing", a term used for
anime and
manga created with the specific purpose of having a healing or soothing effect on the audience. Works of this kind often involve alternative realities with little to no conflict, emphasizing nature, the mundane and the little delights in life. If anybody talks about a "
Moe" genre about cute girls doing cute things, it may very likely be in this genre.
Even though many iyashikei creations seem to have a strong escapist basis, the goal is not only to offer a means of getting away from daily worries, but to let the audience embrace a calming state of mind by using familiarity and simplicity, and appealing to fundamentally positive emotions. As these works tend to involve normal people in normal situations, this trope often overlaps with
Slice of Life. Other tropes often associated with iyashikei are
Arcadia,
Ghibli Hills and
Scenery Porn.
Iyashikei often involves the subtler kind of
Heartwarming Moment and sometimes has
Romance overtones. Compare and contrast
Warm and Fuzzy Feeling,
Tastes Like Diabetes,
Sweet Dreams Fuel, and
Happiness Tropes. Contrast
Utsuge (the closest genre to its diametric opposite in Japanese media),
Glurge,
Nightmare Fuel and
Paranoia Fuel. Works adhering to this trope might function as
Real Life Brain Bleach. See also
Escapism for a very similar concept.
