• Fast Anime
    979 replies, posted
Not sure if you are being satire or not. Vermillion is yet another stuck in VRMMORPG with a overpowered MC type of deal that we've seen a million times. Same goes for Release the Witch that is just a generic reincarnation story. Both of them are "power fantasy one-dimensional character harem". Meanwhile Paladin of the End is literally dead. While the book have decent good writing with a lot of good ideas lifted from other fantasy books and Chinese wuxia stuff, the author doesn't realize LN readers don't want these type of "hardcore" fantasy. So it ended up selling very poorly and the author pretty much dropped it. Still, if you compare it to other proper fantasy, it's really lacking as it was written with the LN framework which is more for the lighthearted stuffs. Not saying these books are bad as I have a pretty low standard for LNs, but they aren't anything special even for LN standard. Konosuba at least tried to do something new within the same premise, and managed to create a decent comedy with all these common tropes. It also predates all the stuffs you have mentioned.It The character being incompetent at their job despite having very high level is the joke, and Kazuma solving all the problems while having the the lowest ranked job further reinforce it. The character aren't even always one-dimensional if you would bother read the character development in the latter books.
Konosuba is the opposite of a power fantasy lol, Kazuma is the weakest character in the show, one of the earliest gags in that his only good stat is luck. The only reason they ever succeed is because, like a lot of other comedies, they manage to fall upwards every so often.
In his first fight, MC gets fucked up and almost dies. There's lasting effects to him getting fucked up. He's good, but not at all OP. RTW doesn't have a harem, it's about industrializing and modernizing a backwards culture and development level with modern engineering knowledge. Main character almost dies several times, and each time there's always a sense of "Shit, will he even make it" Dude got his arm ripped off and only survived because there was a much, much earlier setup of Nana, a witch that can repair damaged tissue. It's literally a Game of Thrones style political drama before it's anything to do with a harem... Still good. Vermillion is a dark fantasy, with no OP powers (Or really "powers" as such) at all. The entire concept of the VRMMORPG is that it's not skill/ability based. Everything is done through a player's knowledge and mechanical skill. The only things the character has when they are transported into the "real" game world is what they had on their person. A dagger in the dark can kill the MC just fine. RTW has no harem. The witches under Roland's command respect him, but they don't go all "~kyun~" when he looks at them. It's an understanding that he's different from other nobles, and that he gets results. There's main witches that openly scorn him because he's not letting them work. Like I said, it's a city and empire building story, a genre which has like, that Realist Hero LN and almost nothing else. Paladin of the End is the story of someone seeking a path after what they consider their family is brutally and sadistically murdered in front of them by an overwhelming foe. The only thing the MC gets from his life in Japan are vague feelings and unclear memories. The setup to him gaining his powers, as well as the limits of those powers, are very well written. He's still pushed to the limit in every major fight he's in and can't luck his way out of it. Power fantasy doesn't mean "I'm so strong I can always kill anyone ever with no trouble". The fact that there's almost nothing that truly challenges the MC because his luck gets him out of everything with a ha-ha comedy option is the power fantasy. It's a removal of stakes and drama from the story completely.
A power fantasy is a story in which the reader/viewer is supposed to self-insert into and i've yet to hear of anyone self-inserting as kazuma stakes and drama are low because it's a light-hearted slapstick comedy, not because you're supposed to live vicariously through kazuma unless, of course, you're calling mr magoo a power fantasy
Shit fine, sorry. Konosuba is not the kind of story I'm interested in is what I should have said. TBH I didn't know how long ago it was written either, so after checking that up I feel like a bit of a retard. Seems like the mountain of samey trash did come after. sorry for derailing and being bitchy
How do you read so much isekai and not know what power fantasy means
I always defined it as writing a story where you should have opposition, conflict and tribulations, but where the MC's nature of just being the MC makes him just breeze past all of that without a care in the world.
Kazuma literally dies in the story, multiple times, by your standard either Konosuba is no way near a power fantasy. I don't know how Vermillion isn't a power fantasy when it is just another strong MC transported into isekai type of deal. The only thing it did differently was that there aren't any menus or stats for a VRMMO story, but then it just makes it no difference from other non-VRMMO, isekai story. "Industralizing a medieval world" is already one of the biggest power fantasy trope to exist. In this case the only different is that it's the witch whos doing all the work with the MC giving ideas, which again isn't anything new in this genre. The same can be applied to every book you have mentioned as all of them have no true challenges to the MC. All of them manage to get out of trouble (Vermillion: super instinct and archery skill; RTW: super witch; Paladin: all of his abiliies and his mentors) by having outside help. Literally all of them get out of trouble just because they are the MC, especially so in Vermillion. Again, every book you said haven't done anything new aside from chaning the premise a little, while the overall structure stay the same. The thing that separate these books from the others is the good writing, not the creativity. In the end they're still generic power fantasy isekai but with better storytelling.
Dying multiple times for comedy effect does not drama or compelling storytelling make though. Because he's not that strong. Again, his first fight is where he gets the drop on a few bandit types. They almost kill him (as in the, you die you die properly forever kill) and exits the situation with several very serious wounds that takes him a while to recover from. No, it isn't. "Being given powers by a god or goddess" is the biggest power fantasy trope to exist. In RTW, technology isn't all-powerful. He's still often put to the test by plots from foreign countries, and barely survives several assassination attempts. In the "You die then it's over" kind, again. Witches have their limitations. If they'd written Mystery Moon to just immediately make a perfect alternating current engine with infinite power then there'd be no stakes. It's a matter of realistic underestimation and lack of knowledge on the opposition's part. When Longsong Stronghold got attacked by a guy who'd made crude flintlock rifles after researching into Roland's designs, it got fucked up HARD because they hadn't planned for that. Despite having magical elements, it's still grounded well within your suspension of disbelief. So I guess we can toss out the entire concept of the character arc as a whole because we almost always know the good guy wins in the end anyway. Heck, when Star Wars Luke gets his arm cut off and drops down a massive shaft, it's not a challenge or a tribulation for him cause meh he'll just make it eventually anyway. He totes got mentored by Yoda man The road itself matters as much as the destination, is the point.
The fuck? Our protagonists literally spend a good chunk of S1 poor and living in a fuckin barn. They also suck at adventuring. They aren't even than powerful, with the exception of maybe Megumin but she can only do her attacks once a day a best.
I don't know how you could watch Konosuba and not realise it's a parody of power fantasy isekais. I can understand not liking it if the comedy isn't to your tastes but to say that it's bad because it's generic is missing the point.
Neither is Kazuma. He didn't say it was the biggest, he said "one of the biggest". Ok well first, it was just hand, not his whole arm. Second it didn't really actually matter that much in terms of the story since it gets immediately replaced with a lifelike robotic hand. Also, he got rescued by Han iirc and at that point in the story his training with Yoda was incomplete and it was made clear that him going to Cloud City before he was ready was a bad idea. I don't think this specific example was a very good choice. Well, it's IS a comedy first and foremost though so his deaths are played for laughs. I mean, they're a pretty clear parody of shows where the MC dies and then "the gods" or whoever the fuck bring MC-kun back to life. They aren't meant to cause drama or "compelling storytelling".
Because it is supposed to be a comedy, and it still does not make Kazuma any where near OP when he can die from falling down a tree. The MC is still a nobody that receives all the abilites he learnt in game after getting transported to isekai. His idiotic decision nearly got him killed does not mean he is not strong. He is still miles away from being as weak as someone like Kazuma. I don't see any difference between "being given powers by god" and "being given magical witches who does everything you need". Being reincarnated into the exact moment he can save the witch is already "being given power". How is accelerating technology for 500+ years not a power fantasy again? How is this any different from my point? How does this: not apply to the books you have mentioned?
It's not even one of the biggest considering how few kingdom building entries there are in general in literature of this sort But anyway whatever, I entered into Konosuba completely misunderstanding the point of it. Fair enough, talked to some other people as well and seems I was completely wrong. Because there are legitimate dangers to them dying or being outplayed, and the story just full on ending for them, completely. Because there's still considerable and real and almost ever-present fear and possibility of them dying for realzies. The power fantasy variant of that would be like, "I've been reincarnated to an early medieval fantasy world, but I can spawn in a 5 meter tall mech suit! with unlimited everything!" In RTW's example, he's still constrained by the resources available to him. he still has to trade and negotiate with others in the world. It's a clear qualitative difference.
...Advancing technology to that level without the multitudal effort that is apparent for a people to actually do that is already a power fantasy, you don't need to snap your fingers and magic up a nuclear power plant to be operating on power fantasy bullshit. Also, advancing technology and kingdom building are mutually exclusive - both can occur at the same time, but the latter does not have to include the former and the former is more often used without any implication of the latter.
The story isn't going to end that suddenly because you are reading a web novel, and the author have already written 1000+ chapter of this. Even it it ends that suddenly, it doesn't give it tension because it already ended. Stakes and tensions doesn't have to be life threatening, and the outcome being played out for comedy doesn't mean the MC aren't at risk in the first place.
you guys made me curious about konosuba and holy heck, it's actually pretty nice
https://youtu.be/YPSg5az635I Underrated joke
Made me laugh every time they made that joke.
Have you even seen fan content that's so amazing in technical execution, but so completely confusing on why exactly they felt it needed to be made? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDHLwwYXCxg
a perfect example of "so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should"
Can I just say that this is the best thing that has been said in this entire discussion?
That anime about a cat and her owner was very comfy, too sad it ended today
https://twitter.com/pkjd818/status/1111172497624358912
which one was that?
Doukyonin wa Hiza, Tokidoki, Atama no Ue 
Looks like Moetron's tweet has been deleted. But it's confirmed. S2 is coming. https://twitter.com/yakuneba_staff/status/1111310766622171136 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wf6FP_SmUvs
Nice. Also, I loved what they did with Isabella in the S1 finale
I finished Boogiepop wa Warawanai. This show is a resounding failure at everything it wants to be. It has zero atmosphere. Its characters are uninteresting and have little depth. Its mysteries aren't particularly mysterious. It thinks it's incredibly stylish but has little to no style, and cuts away from any potentially interesting characters or scenes because it thinks it'll be more mysterious that way, and instead focuses on incredibly dull characters for enormous stretches of time, consistently rushing through anything that might be of actual interest, giving you an incredibly shallow view at most of the events and many central characters with none of the directorial talent to make up for it. Its art and character designs range from mostly unmemorable to totally bizarre and ugly and not in a good way. It is total consistent mediocrity and apparently doesn't capture what's supposedly good about the novels in the first place, and is just completely boring from start to finish. it can't even summon up the effort to be insufferable, it's just dull from start to finish.Normally an Ushio Kensuke OST would be a saving grace, but it uses it incredibly poorly which is just a crime. If you have any interest in Boogiepop either go read the novels or go watch Boogiepop Phantom. It might not be for everybody with its grimy style and direction, but it's certainly a hell of a lot more engaging than the real Boogiepop ever is.
I only liked Boogiepop's (the character) voice acting. Everything else was so bland.
Sorry, you need to Log In to post a reply to this thread.