A dataset of over 400 isekai manga/anime with the characteristics of the setting, MC, and the isekai method noted

[The Notorious SLAV]

Dayum. I was looking for isekai databases and studies in hopes of something like this existing, but I didn't expect anything this large, at most I expected to find something noting the general trends and whatnot. From how they describe it, the 427 stories in this dataset seem to be all the isekai stories published on English-language manga sites until 2019.

Well, at least those fitting the basic isekai formula of a story where the protagonist enters a fantastical world from our mundane one (The "portal-quest" stories.)

A Survey of the Story Elements of Isekai Manga | The Journal of Anime and Manga Studies

iopn.library.illinois.edu

Some interesting findings in there.

The survey found that protagonists include women and men from junior high age to the elderly, but the largest group are adult males (41 percent). The ratio of male to female protagonists is 2.4 to 1 and the ratio of adult to teenage protagonists is 1.4 to 1.

The first ratio is smaller than I've expected. The second I haven't thought about before, but honestly, if somebody randomly asked me about it before I found this, I'd guess it would be inverted with more teenage MCs.

Only eight percent are presented as either having a life characterized by positive elements or as being successful in their careers.

Unsurprising.

The methods of entering the isekai differ in frequency and vary with the demographics of the protagonist. The characteristics ranked by frequency of occurrence from most to least common are summoning (28 percent), no explanation (23 percent), reincarnation (21 percent), divine act (20 percent), specific tool (8 percent), and pulled into game (8 percent).

Pulled into a game seems more common than I would've guessed.

Stories with a teenage protagonist favor summoning but stories with adult protagonists do not. Reincarnation or no explanation are favored in stories with an adult female and divine act for stories with an adult male protagonist. Certain mechanisms require the protagonist to die (reincarnation and divine act) while others do not (summoning, pulled into game, and magic item). Adults (college age or older) of both genders have a higher probability of dying as part of entering the isekai than teenagers (high school age or younger).

Interesting patterns.

In certain stories where the protagonist enters a shônen world via a divine act or by being summoned, the process of entering the isekai occurs in two steps. First, the protagonist leaves the real world and enters a liminal space (in the presence of the god or in a space where a summoning takes place). Key events occur in this space such as the awarding or revealing of gifts and the negotiation of the role of the protagonist in the isekai. Following these events, the protagonist truly enters the isekai and begins their journey.

Annoyingly, the prevalence of this seems to be the one thing not included in the dataset.

About one in five stories has the protagonist enter the world as one of a group of individuals. Entering the world as a group is problematic. Unless the group had strong bonds prior to entering the isekai (close friends, a couple, a family, or a respected team) the protagonist almost always separates from the group shortly after entering the isekai.

I would've never guessed that group summonings are so common in this genre.

Summoning is also often a negative event. Of the 117 manga series where summoning occurs, about two thirds are either malicious (the summoner intends a bad outcome for the protagonist) or unintended (the protagonist is unwanted). Even when the summoning is positive, the protagonist typically rejects the purpose that they are summoned to perform. As a result, in only 6 percent of the summoning stories do the protagonists perform the tasks for which they were summoned.

Quite the success rate here.

The nature of the isekai in the vast majority (88 percent) of the surveyed manga series is based on specific roleplaying games or includes many of the game elements listed above. The largest fraction of the stories, 68 percent, are set in the standard shônen isekai, 15 percent in the standard otome isekai, and an additional five percent in isekais that differ from the two standard worlds but still include many of the game elements listed above. The remaining 12 percent of stories are split among isekai based on other types of computer games (e.g., dating sims or battle royals), non-gaming fantasy worlds, other planets, time travel, and entering dreams. As would be expected, 84 percent of protagonists entering the standard otome isekai are female and 83 percent entering the shônen isekai are male.

The splits mentioned in the last sentence are eerily similar for something that arose naturally.

Too bad the survey didn't go deeper in looking at the uncommon types of isekai worlds. Reading about those reminded me that "I'm the Evil Lord of an Intergalactic Empire" actually got praised by multiple reviewers for being sci-fi instead of a fantasy.

I'm the Evil Lord of an Intergalactic Empire!

Once upon a time, a middle-aged Japanese salaryman thought he led a decent life. He had a job, a loving wife, a child, and even a house, but somehow everything went wrong eventually: his wife divorced him and denied him his daughter in the belief …

tvtropes.org

The protagonist receives gifts/cheats upon arrival in the isekai in two thirds of the manga series. In the majority of stories (80 percent) the protagonist’s body is changed. Protagonists take nonhuman forms in 15 percent of the stories. In 65 percent of the stories the protagonist remains human but is changed. These changes may be minimal (granting a magical power or making the individual a bit younger, thinner, or more athletic) or dramatic (changing gender or becoming an infant). Gender change occurs in seven percent of stories. When gender change occurs it is always involuntary, it occurs at similar rates for adults and teenagers, and 80 percent of the changes are from male to female.

I see.

66% receive cheats/gifts but 80% get changed, meaning that a decent number of isekai protags get changed without receiving any cheats.

A small number of stories, seven percent, simply focus on survival; however, in the remainder of the stories the protagonist makes choices on how to live. In the computer games motivations are sometimes defined in terms of a quest, and in 20 percent of the isekai manga the protagonist adopts a quest. The more common motivation, however, is to fulfill personal desires that the protagonists bring with them from their lives in the real world. These include living an easy life (a life without stress, farm life, rural village life, or living in luxury) or achieving a personal goal (becoming the strongest magician, finding personal security, or creating a harem). These occur in 53 percent of the stories, and protagonists who were adults in the real world are motivated by personal desires more often than those who were teenagers. In five percent of the stories, the protagonists choose simply to help people. Three percent follow antisocial motivations such as becoming a sexual predator or enacting violent revenge. A larger fraction of male teenagers falls into this last category than adults or female teenagers.

Marriage is rare and when it occurs it is often polygamous. The protagonists are consistently heterosexual, and their views of the opposite gender are highly objectified. Male protagonists viewed females either as objects to be obtained (valued only in in terms of physical desirability) or as coplayers (valued only for their skills) in 78 percent of the stories. Female protagonists viewed males as objects or coplayers in 56 percent of the stories. The fraction of the stories where the first member of the other gender encountered in the isekai is sexually attractive is 81 percent for male protagonists and 64 percent for female protagonists. The other common views of the opposite gender are as nonromantic relationships (parent and child, leader and follower, friend, or sibling).

"Female gaze doesn't exist!" they said.

Also, the protags being always hetero, along with all gender changes being involuntary as mentioned above, make me wonder whether those aren't among the factors for why a weird amount of leftists seem to dislike anime? Sure, isekai doesn't dominate anime and manga industries per se, but it isn't far from it, and I can imagine that the more rabid members of the alphabet gang would notice those things.

Romantic views of the other gender occurred in one percent of male protagonist stories and ten percent of the female protagonist stories.

Perfect for our increasingly romanceless and sexless world + just further proof that the idea of female gaze not existing or foids always being romantic is bullshit.

 

[The Notorious SLAV]

The survey found that protagonists include women and men from junior high age to the elderly

This makes it sound much more egalitarian than it actually is. Out of the 427 stories, only four have an elderly protagonist, and just two have one who is isekai'd at the end of their life.

Elderly protags are already uncommon in fiction, and here they seem to be even rarer than usual.

Also, college age protagonists seem weirdly underrepresented.

 

[hunter x atomics]

could have guessed some of this but its good to see some of biases confirmed. Though i wonder what they constitute as romantic interest vs just an opposite sex member who acts as a side character.

 

[DriveLikeNigger]

Too many words to describe what is essentially retarded normie goyslop

 

[The Notorious SLAV]

could have guessed some of this but its good to see some of biases confirmed. Though i wonder what they constitute as romantic interest vs just an opposite sex member who acts as a side character.

I guess what they meant there by the romantic stuff was idolizing those people/their gender and wishing to be with them. It doesn't seem they were looking at romantic interests as their own category there.

 

[St3v3Cel]

Very cool data.

 

[ImperialArk]

As I get older I started watching more isekai slop because starting life again is a drug that hits like a truck (pun intended)

 

[_meh]

"Female gaze doesn't exist!" they said.

Also, the protags being always hetero, along with all gender changes being involuntary as mentioned above, make me wonder whether those aren't among the factors for why a weird amount of leftists seem to dislike anime? Sure, isekai doesn't dominate anime and manga industries per se, but it isn't far from it, and I can imagine that the more rabid members of the alphabet gang would notice those things.

Well, there's a reason why transgenders love to watch yuri sorts of animes. Many of them have lesbian fantasies or something. The whole notion goes back to them wanting to selve insert themselves. If the main character is a guy, somewhat masculine, and has a harem of women, it'd be too off-putting and offensive to them. Everything has to be lesbian-centric and no man in there, just for them to enjoy it. They also greatly despise heteronormativity because they view it as something wiping out their whatever sexual gender identities (despite only making up a fraction percent of any given population).

 

[tired as fuck]

Well, there's a reason why transgenders love to watch yuri sorts of animes. Many of them have lesbian fantasies or something. The whole notion goes back to them wanting to selve insert themselves. If the main character is a guy, somewhat masculine, and has a harem of women, it'd be too off-putting and offensive to them. Everything has to be lesbian-centric and no man in there, just for them to enjoy it. They also greatly despise heteronormativity because they view it as something wiping out their whatever sexual gender identities (despite only making up a fraction percent of any given population).

never forget the 4kids dub of Dragon Maid... should've told us everything we needed to know about these "people"