this post was submitted on 29 Sep 2023
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The first isekai a lot of people were exposed to was Sword Art Online which, initially, had closer ties to the real world with a scenario that could (in theory) actually happen. Most recently, though, most isekai have abandoned the "it could happen in real life" angle, leading to crazy farfetched stories.
I hate to say it but one of the most recent ones, about the MC coming back as a vending machine, is really good.
Also Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain 1889 and John Carter of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs 1911.
...what? Is this a real thing???
Yep, it's basically a meme considering how absurd but it's pretty good, nothing ground breaking though
https://myanimelist.net/anime/52619/Jidou_Hanbaiki_ni_Umarekawatta_Ore_wa_Meikyuu_wo_Samayou
I'd say the first things I've seen with the concept were probably stuff like Neverending Story, Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland, and possibly random cartoons long before that.
For Anime, Fushigi Yugi and Escaflowne I both saw before SAO. Maybe Dual! Parallel Trouble too.
I tend to count stuff like .Hack and SAO as VR not isekai myself, as your body doesn't really get stronger in the real world, and usually your life in the real world isn't as affected either. For the ones who have that pining for a real adventure, I prefer permanent changes to "it was all a dream or might as well have been because their are no material changes."
Some people forget isekai is pretty old. For late 80s and 90s kids, Digimon and Inuyasha are isekai (well Inuyasha is closer to portal fantasy but isekai on its own is a sub branch of that).
Hell, Spirited away is isekai, and i can bet most people watched that before SAO. SAO just happened to be the most popular isekai at the time that isekai became mainstream and abundant.