I feel like most isekai fall into three categories of wish fulfillment:
reLIVE
Where a protagonist wants to live a more fulfilling life and dedicates themselves to living this new life and new experiences.
reLAX
Where a protagonist wore themselves out so much that they decide to dedicate their lives to chilling tf out (often forgetting their new raison d’etre).
reVENGE
Where a protagonist is out for blood for all the wrongs done to them, often in the extreme.
Examples:
Ascendence of a Bookworm is a reLAX because the protagonist only wants to read books and… that’s it. Everything is in service of her relaxing dream life.
The Death Mage is a reVENGE with a modicum of reLIVE. The kid had a fucked up and terrible two lives, and he desires revenge for those who made out better than him in the reincarnation cycle. It figures a bit of reLIVE in it because he’s experiencing a much better life this time around.
Apocalypse Bringer Mynoghra is, surprisingly, a reLIVE isekai that focuses on the protagonist’s second life and his enjoyment of new life and power. He was deathly ill and on his death got the opportunity for a second life. There are elements of reVENGE at times but it isn’t the initial focus.
why these three categories?
as an avid reader of isekai it feels like most focus on these three fantasies. i once planned on writing an essay on it but i don’t want to anymore.
the purpose is to meet the reader’s desire for catharsis or entertainment while fitting into a long serial-style story for the most part.
