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Aug 10, 2017 5:36 AM
#1

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Apr 2017
54
I'm sure SAO is an isekai novel but some people don't agree with my opinion. What do you think about it? I'm sorry if this post is similar to any other posts but I must ask this question.
Aug 10, 2017 5:54 AM
#2
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Apr 2016
164
Nope imo, as they aren't transported to another world per se.
Aug 10, 2017 3:04 PM
#3
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Jul 2018
564055
SAO/Aincrad/Progressive = No;
ALO/Fairy Dance/Mother's Rosario/Caliber = No;
GGO/Phantom Bullet = No;
Underworld/(Project) Alicization = Yes... to a certain extent.
Sep 19, 2017 6:02 AM
#4

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Jul 2015
2641
Honestly, trying to think of SAO as anything but an isekai story is really splitting hairs on what makes something an isekai. On a physical level no they may not technically be in another world, but their entire mental state is to the point where they live full lives. This includes bodily needs such as sleeping and eating.

For all intents and purposes, SAO is an isekai, plain and simple.
Sep 19, 2017 6:05 AM
#5

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Nov 2011
14804
Oct 22, 2018 4:02 AM
#6

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Jun 2017
44
Aincrad and Alicization, yes to a certain extent. The rest no.
Oct 22, 2018 5:50 AM
#7
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Jul 2018
564055
The definition of Isekai is

Isekai (Japanese: 異世界) ( lit. "different world") is a sub-genre of Japanese fantasy light novels, manga, anime, and video games revolving around a normal person being transported to or trapped in a parallel universe.

Source: Wikipedia

"Parallel Universe" can mean a lot of things and is largely open to interpretation. Is it referring to a literal parallel universe such as ones in No Game No Life and Konosuba? Or should it be interpreted 'metaphorically', where setting that are not physically on Earth count as a parallel universe. If it were this, SAO would probably count.
Oct 22, 2018 8:10 AM
#8

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Oct 2014
6938
There is a WN/LN/manga called "New Gate" and it perfectly demonstrates that SAO isn't an isekai and here is why:

"New Gate" starts off with the protagonist being trapped in a Aincrad-like VRMMORPG Death Game with very similar circumstances to SAO, e.g. everything in the game is mostly the same as it was when it was still operating normally except for two things: 1. If you die in the game you'll supposedly also die in reality and 2. The log-out button is gone. Sounds like the same setting as SAO? Because it's pretty much the same. Now the prologue is about the end of that, where the protagonist faces the final boss solo and wins. Suddenly everyone who still remains alive in the Death Game at that point becomes able to log-out again and after waiting until everyone but him logged out, the protagonist is about to log-out too when suddenly... he gets transported to the game world for real, as in the game world becomes reality (though he gets transported 500 years into the future of that world).

So what happened here? He got transported from a SAO-like Death Game into... a REAL isekai. Under the logic of people who think that SAO is an isekai, he would have gone from "one isekai to another" which is completely absurd, because the two cases are so severely different that they can't compare. In the Death Game the NPCs were still NPCs with no conciousness or anything of the like, all controlled by mechanical AI. But in the new world the protagonist gets sent to the former NPCs are REAL PEOPLE. So there you have it.

In other words: SAO is not an isekai. Period.
Oct 22, 2018 8:19 AM
#9

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Nov 2016
1921
Its more like a show that used a lot of Isekai Tropes before Isekai blew up but Isn't really an Isekai.
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Dec 8, 2019 2:12 PM

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Apr 2016
2240
Grey-Zone said:
There is a WN/LN/manga called "New Gate" and it perfectly demonstrates that SAO isn't an isekai and here is why:

"New Gate" starts off with the protagonist being trapped in a Aincrad-like VRMMORPG Death Game with very similar circumstances to SAO, e.g. everything in the game is mostly the same as it was when it was still operating normally except for two things: 1. If you die in the game you'll supposedly also die in reality and 2. The log-out button is gone. Sounds like the same setting as SAO? Because it's pretty much the same. Now the prologue is about the end of that, where the protagonist faces the final boss solo and wins. Suddenly everyone who still remains alive in the Death Game at that point becomes able to log-out again and after waiting until everyone but him logged out, the protagonist is about to log-out too when suddenly... he gets transported to the game world for real, as in the game world becomes reality (though he gets transported 500 years into the future of that world).

So what happened here? He got transported from a SAO-like Death Game into... a REAL isekai. Under the logic of people who think that SAO is an isekai, he would have gone from "one isekai to another" which is completely absurd, because the two cases are so severely different that they can't compare. In the Death Game the NPCs were still NPCs with no conciousness or anything of the like, all controlled by mechanical AI. But in the new world the protagonist gets sent to the former NPCs are REAL PEOPLE. So there you have it.

In other words: SAO is not an isekai. Period.


What you say is very interesting and reasonable. II've never heard of “New Gate” before. Thanks for this information, it’s a good source.

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