The genres isekai and boys love are currently at the top of the manga and light novel market, with successful franchises such as “Sasaki and Miyano“, “Overlord“, “That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime” and “KonoSuba: God's Blessings on This Wonderful World“amassing millions of devoted followers. According to Akira Kanai, editor of “Vinland Saga“The popularity of these two trends will not wane in the short term.

In manga and anime, the term isekai refers to a fantasy genre in which an unfortunate character is reborn in a new world with a new body, new abilities, or both. On the other hand, boys lovea genre aimed primarily at female audiences, it focuses on romantic relationships between young, handsome men.

In a recent interview with Manga Passiona German news site that focuses primarily on Japanese media, Kanai discussed how these genres will continue to be major trends in the coming years. “In the general context of seinen magazines, I think the trend of isekai stories will continue among male readers for the next five years. For female readers, the trend of boys' love will continue for another five years.“, Kanai said. For him, this is largely due to the public’s desire for escapism, a desire he considers unhealthy if overexploited.

Akira Kanai worked as an editor in the manga department at Kodansha for over 30 years and since 2015 he has been the editor-in-chief of the magazine Monthly afternoona monthly manga magazine that focuses predominantly on the seinen audience, that is, stories aimed primarily at adult men. Over the years, Monthly Afternoon received praise for its mature, adult-oriented stories, such as “Skip & Loafer” and “The Darwin Incident“, as well as “Vinland Saga“.

Kanai points out that many elements differentiate seinen from shojo (manga aimed at girls and young women) and shonen (manga aimed at boys and young men), especially in the way the latter genres address the questions of good and evil. According to Kanai, heroes in the shonen genre are generally idealistic young men who bravely confront evildoers, but often display overly simplistic notions of good and evil.

Isekai stories often follow similar narrative patterns, with main protagonists who have few realistic flaws and face grandiose threats. Likewise, the stories of boys love can portray idyllic romantic situations that do not present many of the practical difficulties of real relationships. Kanai warns that while these types of stories are ideal for escapism, they can be harmful if consumed in excess.It's like drugs or fast food. These books sell well and become big hits because they stimulate the libido of the readers, and that's perfectly fine. But if you consume them all day, every day, you'll probably stop thinking, and that's harmful in the long run.“he said.

So far, Kanai's predictions about the anime and manga industry seem to be accurate, as 2024 has already seen the release of titles boys' love as “Tadaima, Okaeri“, the latest addition to the DEEN Studio for its extensive Boys' Love anime line. Additionally, this year will see the premiere of an anime series isekai new and recurring, including “Arifureta: from common to the strongest in the world“, “Re:Zero: Starting Life in Another World“, “Quality assurance in another world” and “It is no longer allowed in another world"between others.

While Kanai acknowledges the current market situation, he believes that the quality of content on Monthly afternoon benefits from avoiding such tendencies.”If possible, we at Monthly Afternoon would like to cover works that show that we should face reality as much as we would like to avoid it.“, he concluded.

Source: Passion for Manga