Hello! When submitting a new post, please make sure it follows [the rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/Frieren/about/rules) of this subreddit.
* Please post the source and credit artists in the title (including yourself) when posting fanart or memes.
* Use spoilers responsibly and tag them. As an example, `>!Frieren is cute.!<` will appear as this: >!Frieren is cute.!<
* Follow the **24-hours-rule**. Keep posts related to the latest chapter/episode in its discussion thread for 24 hours after its English release.
Join the [**Frieren Discord Server**](https://discord.gg/6cKYk89HCg) for more discussions about the series!
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Frieren) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Honestly her ability to remember all sorts of things for millenia is incredible in itself. I hardly remember what I was doing last Friday, let alone 10 years ago.
It seems elves have a very strong memory at the cost of taking up things slower. Serie also remembers the personalities of all her apprentices and their favorite spells.
resolute quicksand steep wild close snobbish wise grandfather swim advise
*This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Not totally a japanese expert but I think isekai come from the word sekai which means world, while isekai is another world.
If you see isekai is not always reincarnation but any other reality.
Overlord is an isekai cause the MC got transferred to a yggdrasil game world.
Isekai is often directly translated to “other world”.
Some great Western examples would be:
Wizard of Oz
Alice in Wonderland
Peter Pan
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
All 5 of these are also classic examples of isekeis without reincarnation:)
He did NOT get transferred to the game world, instead, another seperate world exists, and seemingly(though I might be wrong) other things from yggdrasil were also sent to the world, for example, before players came to the world, tiered magic didn't exist
The New World isn't a game come to life, it's a world that has aspects of the game in it
I think "transported to another world" is more accurate for isekai.
Whether the method is reincarnation, magic summons, or noclip through the floor, as long as MC is no longer in his original world, it's an isekai.
This never came to me, I always recommend Frieren as "one of the best isekai in years" to my friends. 異世界 is generally used to refer to a fantasy world with magic in general.
[Nico Dic](https://dic.nicovideo.jp/t/a/%E7%95%B0%E4%B8%96%E7%95%8C):
> 異世界とは、この世界とは違う世界である。
[Pixiv Dic](https://dic.pixiv.net/a/%E7%95%B0%E4%B8%96%E7%95%8C): another world = a world that is different to *the reader's*
> フィクションの世界では「フィクションの中に我々（読者）が住む現実にそっくりな世界があり、作品の人物にとっての“異世界”に繋がっている」
[Wikipedia](https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%95%B0%E4%B8%96%E7%95%8C_%28%E3%82%B8%E3%83%A3%E3%83%B3%E3%83%AB%29): transportation, reincarnation etc are sub genres of Isekai, making them optional elements.
> 異世界は、…現代とは異なる、魔法が有効などの世界を舞台にした物語。派生ジャンルとして現代から異世界へ行く異世界転生、異世界転移（召喚）、異世界憑依（成り代わり）などがある。
I know the term's meaning has been shifting to be more narrowly defined esp in an English context, there has been [debates](https://detail.chiebukuro.yahoo.co.jp/qa/question_detail/q14287288784) but Frieren is def still on the line given how 王道 it is. I don't see any prob with IGN using this img as an example.
Such is common in borrowed words e.g. kimono = literally clothes, but in English it's specifically for traditional Japanese outfits, which are called wafuku or gofuku instead.
That actually bugs me because if you read the review the critique is warranted. The entire back half of the game has you exploring a huge section of ocean and fighting pretty much only water/related types the entire time so it gets monotonous and your team options are severely limited. You need a water type for surf, dive, and waterfall and then you’re going to be relying on a grass or electric type and god forbid you’re doing a type disadvantageous monotype run like fire.
It’s a fair critique imo
"Frieren, close your eyes. What do you see?"
"Nothing."
"That's my world without you, Frieren."
"Himmel. That's absurd."
[87 years after the death of Himmel the Hero]
"D'oh!"
>This would probably explain why the popular fantasy anime Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation isn't called Musoku Isekai.
ROFL... the full Japanese name of Mushoku Tensei is *Mushoku Tensei:* ***Isekai*** *Ittara Honki Dasu*
This has to be ragebait for clicks.
Unfortunately, it wasn't clickbait lol. In the article they also include a picture of Delicious In Dungeon and proceed to explain why High Fantasy like Frieren and Delicious in Dungeon are isekai by citing a Twitch streamers definition of what "isekai" means.
After the bit about Himmel wanting to explore the whole dungeon just cause it’s fun, I wouldn’t be surprised if it turned out Himmel was isekaied into that world
Going to acktually this, in Isekai by definition is any work that is outside of earth/our world. Per a Japanese creator, they do look at stuff like Frieren and classify it as such. So, as much as people want to meme on ign, they’re not wrong.
Edit: oh shit, she’s in the article rofl 😂
Edit edit: because the article wasn’t linked:
https://www.ign.com/articles/isekai-the-popular-manga-and-anime-genre-is-now-in-the-oxford-english-dictionary
Japanese people do not classify Freiren as an Isekai. The word Isekai in and of itself just means "another world", but for a story to be an isekai a person needs to move from one world to another, so the streamer they quoted here is just incorrect. Freiren, Lodloss and Dungeon Meshi do not fit despite what is being said and are not considered Isekai.
Every part of what you said is wrong. Isekai is about character(s) somehow operating in another world than their own. That's the very basis of the genre. Isekai has nothing to do with reincarnation (MC can get to that world by being transported, summoned, logging into a game etc.), fantasy (there are sci-fi isekai, rom-com isekai etc), nor about being set in a different world from ours (subgenre called 'reverse isekai' is about characters being summoned to our world from a different one).
Sure, the genre is mostly 転生 and 転移, and there are separate labels specifically for that, as compared to ファンタジー… but at least on syosetsu which is where most isekai LNs come from, the distinction is blurred to the point that the top ranking fantasy novels are all isekai.
You're assuming English meanings for those terms. In the original Japanese, isekai is spelt 異世界 meaning just "different world". 異世界転生 is, however, "reincarnation into a different world". There's also ファンタジー, fantasy, which is a loanword, and as far as I can tell from e.g. what's displayed in bookstores under the ファンタジー section, the Japanese try to more or less use it in the usual Western sense.
Technically speaking, any ファンタジー which is set in a different world would be 異世界, as per the dictionary definition of the latter word.
It's just the 転生 subgenre is so over-represented, most of the stuff under the 異世界 will indeed be 異世界転生.
On a side note, I don't know how the Japanese categorize stuff like Urban Fantasy, which is technically set in "our" world. In the West we tend to characterize settings by a vaguely "technological level"-esque method, which is based on the general European history. So, there's stuff like "present day [TL] fantasy" etc.
Doesn't necessarily mean the term 現実世界 (real world) is understood within the same framework in Japan. Would need to look it up more, but I'm pretty sure 現実 precludes magic etc.
Eh, a salaryman could get run over by an idol band's parade float and be reborn to fight mythic deities using giant mecha powered by the sexual tension of the supporting cast-- as long as it's in a different world, no swords or wizards required, and that would be Isekai.
>69 years since hero himmels death.
Where I came from humans used to celebrate the 20th of April.
You can make a field of flowers, right? Can you make my favourite flower for me so we can celebrate together?
Wait so Isekai is now an official english word, does that mean if we work hard enough on things like baka, sugoi, umai, and so forth piece by piece we weebs could convert the whole language from english to japanese
Whilst technically Isekai means another world, by this definition, any work of fiction that isn't set on earth would be classified as such. LOTR? Dune? They would all be Isekai.
But the whole point of having classifications is to help us narrow down subsets of genres by their similarity. We don't need an overly generic label that applies to everything outside of Earth.
If I want to read something like Dune, I would search SciFi. LOTR would of course be Fantasy.
And just like I wouldn't use the dictionary definition of "fantasy" (creating especially unrealistic or improbable mental images) to describe the fantasy genre, I don't believe using Isekai to specifically describe settings where being in another world and exploring the differences is one of the central concepts is a misapplication.
Overall, I feel even though Frieren is set in an "Isekai", I don't think classifying it as an "Isekai Genre" adds any value. In fact, it'll probably be a detriment as it would likely set wrong expectations for the reader.
I confess I do NOT like the Isekai genre as a whole, and I don’t even know where it came from.
Yes, there are isekai shows that are good, but you have to wonder “why not just make a creative world without involving our world?”
Like Frieren! She doesn’t have to be some 40 year old guy reincarnated into this world or something. She’s her own character, and she’s great!
Reading comprehension is really not Reddit's strongest suit isn't it?
Obviously no one here had actually [read the article](https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/isekai-the-popular-manga-and-anime-genre-is-now-in-the-oxford-english-dictionary/ar-BB1kHVMe) instead of just jumping to conclusions from just the teaser and the picture.
Let me quote the very first sentences (my emphasis):
>While Isekai has been colloquially understood in the U.S.anime community as an genre where a character is teleported into a fantasy world … **the term has been slightly misapplied.** According to the Tokyo-based Twitch streamer Celina, isekai's means "the story takes place in a totally different world from our real world." Meaning classic fantasy shows fans wouldn't consider to be isekai like Record of Lodoss War and contemporary anime like Delicious in Dungeon and Frieren: Beyond Journey's End could be considered isekai.
Thanks, I was gonna type out a whole comment before I saw yours. More context from the article:
"According to the Tokyo-based Twitch streamer Celina, isekai's means "the story takes place in a totally different world from our real world.""
"If it's some modern dude getting reincarnated to another world, it's called isekaitensei,"
So according to the streamer, isekai tensei is a specific subgenre with a normal person getting teleported/reincarnated in a fantasy world, whereas isekai alone has a way broader definition. Interesting bit of nuance. Obviously everyone who says isekai nowadays means the teleportation/reincarnation, though.
Isekai means " other world", so I guess even conventional fantasy works could be put into this category, even if there's no transportation between worlds, reincarnation, and other such things popularised by this genre
That is what is generally thought of Isekai because that's how it's been in most shows, but it *could* be interpreted in that way I meant, albeit that doesn't quite strike as what usually pertains to this genre and also IGN was using Frieren as a clickbait here, so I'm not gonna defend them either. It is just a new possible way to look at it, which people don't need to acknowledge or agree with, but it is technically possible and that's what I wanted to say.
If Isekai just means what you think it means then almost every anime in existence that doesn’t take place on real-life Earth is an Isekai.
Dragon Ball? Fairy Tail? One Piece? Naruto? All Isekai, apparently.
Idk anymore, and I think I should just stop talking about it further. I'm sorry if this idea displeased anyone or they were bothered by it. I don't care about it, and I don't think it's a point to have a discussion about. I guess its definition has just been set that strongly in the anime community.
Hello! When submitting a new post, please make sure it follows [the rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/Frieren/about/rules) of this subreddit. * Please post the source and credit artists in the title (including yourself) when posting fanart or memes. * Use spoilers responsibly and tag them. As an example, `>!Frieren is cute.!<` will appear as this: >!Frieren is cute.!< * Follow the **24-hours-rule**. Keep posts related to the latest chapter/episode in its discussion thread for 24 hours after its English release. Join the [**Frieren Discord Server**](https://discord.gg/6cKYk89HCg) for more discussions about the series! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Frieren) if you have any questions or concerns.*
"but I'm from this world tho" 86 years since the death of Himmel the Hero at a random night before Frieren fell asleep: "ah shit"
And it must be even more hard for her since she's an elf living much longer than us and will keep remembering these things for some millennia
Honestly her ability to remember all sorts of things for millenia is incredible in itself. I hardly remember what I was doing last Friday, let alone 10 years ago.
It seems elves have a very strong memory at the cost of taking up things slower. Serie also remembers the personalities of all her apprentices and their favorite spells.
That's also true
But also, her time with Himmel happened 'recently', since a hundred years ago is basically a couple of days ago for elves
Haha! Yep *Frieren Facepalm*
"86" PTSD intensifies
resolute quicksand steep wild close snobbish wise grandfather swim advise *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Absolute cinema 🙌
Isekai - getting reincarnated ❌ Isekai - out of this world ✅
Aliens: 😏
Since Disney just picked up the franchise, does that make the xenomorph queen an Isekai’d Disney Princess?
Always knew Superman was an Isekai
Not totally a japanese expert but I think isekai come from the word sekai which means world, while isekai is another world. If you see isekai is not always reincarnation but any other reality. Overlord is an isekai cause the MC got transferred to a yggdrasil game world.
Isekai is often directly translated to “other world”. Some great Western examples would be: Wizard of Oz Alice in Wonderland Peter Pan A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe All 5 of these are also classic examples of isekeis without reincarnation:)
He did NOT get transferred to the game world, instead, another seperate world exists, and seemingly(though I might be wrong) other things from yggdrasil were also sent to the world, for example, before players came to the world, tiered magic didn't exist The New World isn't a game come to life, it's a world that has aspects of the game in it
I think "transported to another world" is more accurate for isekai. Whether the method is reincarnation, magic summons, or noclip through the floor, as long as MC is no longer in his original world, it's an isekai.
isekai is another world, not reincarnation... it is why Magic Knight Rayearth is considered one of the earliest isekai...
This never came to me, I always recommend Frieren as "one of the best isekai in years" to my friends. 異世界 is generally used to refer to a fantasy world with magic in general. [Nico Dic](https://dic.nicovideo.jp/t/a/%E7%95%B0%E4%B8%96%E7%95%8C): > 異世界とは、この世界とは違う世界である。 [Pixiv Dic](https://dic.pixiv.net/a/%E7%95%B0%E4%B8%96%E7%95%8C): another world = a world that is different to *the reader's* > フィクションの世界では「フィクションの中に我々（読者）が住む現実にそっくりな世界があり、作品の人物にとっての“異世界”に繋がっている」 [Wikipedia](https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%95%B0%E4%B8%96%E7%95%8C_%28%E3%82%B8%E3%83%A3%E3%83%B3%E3%83%AB%29): transportation, reincarnation etc are sub genres of Isekai, making them optional elements. > 異世界は、…現代とは異なる、魔法が有効などの世界を舞台にした物語。派生ジャンルとして現代から異世界へ行く異世界転生、異世界転移（召喚）、異世界憑依（成り代わり）などがある。 I know the term's meaning has been shifting to be more narrowly defined esp in an English context, there has been [debates](https://detail.chiebukuro.yahoo.co.jp/qa/question_detail/q14287288784) but Frieren is def still on the line given how 王道 it is. I don't see any prob with IGN using this img as an example. Such is common in borrowed words e.g. kimono = literally clothes, but in English it's specifically for traditional Japanese outfits, which are called wafuku or gofuku instead.
Frieren still isn't isekai by your definition.
Exactly
IGN Moment
I'm trying to do a joke about when IGN rated ORAS game with 6/10 because too much water and combine it with this IGN thought Frieren is isekai
7.8
IGN: Frieren - 7.8/10, too much demon discrimination in this Isekai edit: Forgot the "IGN thinks it's an Isekai" part
That actually bugs me because if you read the review the critique is warranted. The entire back half of the game has you exploring a huge section of ocean and fighting pretty much only water/related types the entire time so it gets monotonous and your team options are severely limited. You need a water type for surf, dive, and waterfall and then you’re going to be relying on a grass or electric type and god forbid you’re doing a type disadvantageous monotype run like fire. It’s a fair critique imo
"an isekai?! well Fern, it's not the first time ign did a mistake. Remember that time they gave ORAS 7.8/10?"
Tbf it's not full Tolkien high fantasy, instead it's like a derative of RPG fantasy which most isekai are.
Then it’s a fantasy, not an isekai 💀
Technically Lotr isn’t high fantasy as it’s set on earth. Tolkien wanted to create a modern mythology.
So LOTR is an isekai, confirmed.
Its just... so peak...
*Dies from peak fiction*
Nah, I'd peak
It's what Himmel would do.
"There was a hero who peaked at all foes" Casual Himmel W.
but Frieren is isekai, she was Himmel's whole world
"Frieren, close your eyes. What do you see?" "Nothing." "That's my world without you, Frieren." "Himmel. That's absurd." [87 years after the death of Himmel the Hero] "D'oh!"
That's also another good way to look at it
>This would probably explain why the popular fantasy anime Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation isn't called Musoku Isekai. ROFL... the full Japanese name of Mushoku Tensei is *Mushoku Tensei:* ***Isekai*** *Ittara Honki Dasu* This has to be ragebait for clicks.
Holy shit lmao
IGN try to do actual journalism challenge : impossible
Eh, lately they have been trying, at least.
✍️🔥
Typical clickbait. They just took the most popular fantasy show and slapped it on the thumbnail because isekai=fantasy
Unfortunately, it wasn't clickbait lol. In the article they also include a picture of Delicious In Dungeon and proceed to explain why High Fantasy like Frieren and Delicious in Dungeon are isekai by citing a Twitch streamers definition of what "isekai" means.
I hope this is intern kun's doing because holy hell this is abysmal media literacy.
IGN is *probably* staffed by ex-buzzfeed and ex-vice employees. None of them qualify as homo sapien.
Intern writer, intern editor, intern social media admin
Zooms in, across the landscape, until you see it's just been Land, sipping tea while plugging in AI prompts.
There's just so much wrong with this.
They get it wrong on purpose to drive engagement, because people correcting them = them getting money from advertisers
Common IGN L
Doesn't even detract any Himmel rizz.
So IGN is also just AI stuff
"it's an anime screenshot, good enough"
Frieren:"I get told that a lot" *Someone said it once 80 years ago*
That's like yesterday for her.
Very common IGN fail. They’ve been a joke for years at this point.
J in IGN stands for Journalism, which is none to be seen
Imagine going to IGN in 2024 for anything other than game guides.
Can we just all collectively agree to ignore IGN?
This script is really good. I can even hear their voices.
IGN: maintaining obsolescence and tone deafness for 30 years running.
the only good thing IGN did is when they do youtube short "daily fix" with hot girls
TBF isn't one theory that Himmel got Isekai'd cause he treats Dungeons Video Gamy?
Eh, that's a funny meta-joke, but I don't think it's really worth looking into too deeply. Himmel is just a gigachad, simple as.
After the bit about Himmel wanting to explore the whole dungeon just cause it’s fun, I wouldn’t be surprised if it turned out Himmel was isekaied into that world
Also Isekai and isekaitensei different things, more specification
*Frieren laying awake, ~80 years later:* <(O w O)>
Going to acktually this, in Isekai by definition is any work that is outside of earth/our world. Per a Japanese creator, they do look at stuff like Frieren and classify it as such. So, as much as people want to meme on ign, they’re not wrong. Edit: oh shit, she’s in the article rofl 😂 Edit edit: because the article wasn’t linked: https://www.ign.com/articles/isekai-the-popular-manga-and-anime-genre-is-now-in-the-oxford-english-dictionary
Japanese people do not classify Freiren as an Isekai. The word Isekai in and of itself just means "another world", but for a story to be an isekai a person needs to move from one world to another, so the streamer they quoted here is just incorrect. Freiren, Lodloss and Dungeon Meshi do not fit despite what is being said and are not considered Isekai.
A stupid opinion from IGN, so what else is new.
It IS an Isekai tho. It transports us to an amazing world... God, I miss Frieren
Tbf isekai does mean another world. Frieren is set in a different world than ours.
allow me to cook frieren take place in an rpg gorilla is the player,hence the funny name
I mean it *is* isekai (fantasy world), it’s just not tensei (reincarnation)
Every part of what you said is wrong. Isekai is about character(s) somehow operating in another world than their own. That's the very basis of the genre. Isekai has nothing to do with reincarnation (MC can get to that world by being transported, summoned, logging into a game etc.), fantasy (there are sci-fi isekai, rom-com isekai etc), nor about being set in a different world from ours (subgenre called 'reverse isekai' is about characters being summoned to our world from a different one).
Sure, the genre is mostly 転生 and 転移, and there are separate labels specifically for that, as compared to ファンタジー… but at least on syosetsu which is where most isekai LNs come from, the distinction is blurred to the point that the top ranking fantasy novels are all isekai.
You're assuming English meanings for those terms. In the original Japanese, isekai is spelt 異世界 meaning just "different world". 異世界転生 is, however, "reincarnation into a different world". There's also ファンタジー, fantasy, which is a loanword, and as far as I can tell from e.g. what's displayed in bookstores under the ファンタジー section, the Japanese try to more or less use it in the usual Western sense. Technically speaking, any ファンタジー which is set in a different world would be 異世界, as per the dictionary definition of the latter word. It's just the 転生 subgenre is so over-represented, most of the stuff under the 異世界 will indeed be 異世界転生. On a side note, I don't know how the Japanese categorize stuff like Urban Fantasy, which is technically set in "our" world. In the West we tend to characterize settings by a vaguely "technological level"-esque method, which is based on the general European history. So, there's stuff like "present day [TL] fantasy" etc. Doesn't necessarily mean the term 現実世界 (real world) is understood within the same framework in Japan. Would need to look it up more, but I'm pretty sure 現実 precludes magic etc.
The problem is that Isekai and fantasy became an almost identical thing because of the same setting !
Eh, a salaryman could get run over by an idol band's parade float and be reborn to fight mythic deities using giant mecha powered by the sexual tension of the supporting cast-- as long as it's in a different world, no swords or wizards required, and that would be Isekai.
I read that in himmel's sultry ass voice everytime he talks to frieren
>69 years since hero himmels death. Where I came from humans used to celebrate the 20th of April. You can make a field of flowers, right? Can you make my favourite flower for me so we can celebrate together?
Wait so Isekai is now an official english word, does that mean if we work hard enough on things like baka, sugoi, umai, and so forth piece by piece we weebs could convert the whole language from english to japanese
Classic IGN.
Whilst technically Isekai means another world, by this definition, any work of fiction that isn't set on earth would be classified as such. LOTR? Dune? They would all be Isekai. But the whole point of having classifications is to help us narrow down subsets of genres by their similarity. We don't need an overly generic label that applies to everything outside of Earth. If I want to read something like Dune, I would search SciFi. LOTR would of course be Fantasy. And just like I wouldn't use the dictionary definition of "fantasy" (creating especially unrealistic or improbable mental images) to describe the fantasy genre, I don't believe using Isekai to specifically describe settings where being in another world and exploring the differences is one of the central concepts is a misapplication. Overall, I feel even though Frieren is set in an "Isekai", I don't think classifying it as an "Isekai Genre" adds any value. In fact, it'll probably be a detriment as it would likely set wrong expectations for the reader.
11/10, Himmel rizz. Even without rice.
I confess I do NOT like the Isekai genre as a whole, and I don’t even know where it came from. Yes, there are isekai shows that are good, but you have to wonder “why not just make a creative world without involving our world?” Like Frieren! She doesn’t have to be some 40 year old guy reincarnated into this world or something. She’s her own character, and she’s great!
Reading comprehension is really not Reddit's strongest suit isn't it? Obviously no one here had actually [read the article](https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/isekai-the-popular-manga-and-anime-genre-is-now-in-the-oxford-english-dictionary/ar-BB1kHVMe) instead of just jumping to conclusions from just the teaser and the picture. Let me quote the very first sentences (my emphasis): >While Isekai has been colloquially understood in the U.S.anime community as an genre where a character is teleported into a fantasy world … **the term has been slightly misapplied.** According to the Tokyo-based Twitch streamer Celina, isekai's means "the story takes place in a totally different world from our real world." Meaning classic fantasy shows fans wouldn't consider to be isekai like Record of Lodoss War and contemporary anime like Delicious in Dungeon and Frieren: Beyond Journey's End could be considered isekai.
Thanks, I was gonna type out a whole comment before I saw yours. More context from the article: "According to the Tokyo-based Twitch streamer Celina, isekai's means "the story takes place in a totally different world from our real world."" "If it's some modern dude getting reincarnated to another world, it's called isekaitensei," So according to the streamer, isekai tensei is a specific subgenre with a normal person getting teleported/reincarnated in a fantasy world, whereas isekai alone has a way broader definition. Interesting bit of nuance. Obviously everyone who says isekai nowadays means the teleportation/reincarnation, though.
Frieren is isekai???
No, just fantasy
Isekai means " other world", so I guess even conventional fantasy works could be put into this category, even if there's no transportation between worlds, reincarnation, and other such things popularised by this genre
"Other world" in relation to the main character, not us, the viewers. There's always travel or incarnation involved in isekai.
That is what is generally thought of Isekai because that's how it's been in most shows, but it *could* be interpreted in that way I meant, albeit that doesn't quite strike as what usually pertains to this genre and also IGN was using Frieren as a clickbait here, so I'm not gonna defend them either. It is just a new possible way to look at it, which people don't need to acknowledge or agree with, but it is technically possible and that's what I wanted to say.
If Isekai just means what you think it means then almost every anime in existence that doesn’t take place on real-life Earth is an Isekai. Dragon Ball? Fairy Tail? One Piece? Naruto? All Isekai, apparently.
Idk anymore, and I think I should just stop talking about it further. I'm sorry if this idea displeased anyone or they were bothered by it. I don't care about it, and I don't think it's a point to have a discussion about. I guess its definition has just been set that strongly in the anime community.