Something being a cheap trick doesn't have to imply it actually being effective though, just that it tries to solve something without effort. And there is a potential problem with simply not mentioning family and friends of the mc, as the reader might start to question why the mc doesn't care or why else they don't get mentioned. Simply making the character an orphan of course isn't a good fix for that, but it is nonetheless a (misguided) attempt at an easy fix, so I would still regard it as a cheap trick.
The problem is that a trick still has to actually solve something. Making the protagonist an orphan doesn't do that so it's not any sort of trick at all. And the thing is we're talking about isekai stories here and this genre is replete with manipulative writing and unearned powers. These are some of the most blatant writing cheap tricks out there and they vastly overwhelm weak examples like this. And I don't buy the thing with readers questioning protagonists not talking about their families. Their families aren't in the story, they're not involved in the story, and no other characters know that they exist. There's nothing wrong with leaving them out of the story, and I doubt that anyone would even notice unless the author brought attention to it.
It just makes transitioning to a new world a lot easier without any attachments to their last life so imo it is
Having a character completely ignore the existence of their family and friends when they were summoned to another world is honestly pretty weird... Like, I usually don't bat an eye at it when I'm reading reincarnation because... Well, the person died, it's fine to move on. But it's strange when they were transported to another world as themselves. Just wondering who is this person, what were they doing before being summoned, who were the people they cared about isn't suuuuuuper abnormal IMO. ... That said, the lack of explanation regarding those things wouldn't be the thing that would make me drop the novel as a reader, I'd just be weirded out by it a bit and wonder if it was going to be brought up later. As an author OTOH, this would just kinda ring a red alarm in my head, like... My characters can't exist in a vacuum, they need to have a past, experiences that shaped them and made them who they are. I can't make a complete blank slate that was summoned out of nowhere, I'd need to create some circumstances for the character. If I didn't want to bother with exploring their relationships in the previous world, I'd probably just go with amnesia after summoning, as that could remove the need of explaining things... Though I'd probably still think of the MC's backstory because they'd have an indirect influence in the MC's habits, personality and whatnot. Or well, the orphan with no big connections card could also be used I guess (though I don't personally like this one and wouldn't use it myself), which could be a way of saying the MC was fine with letting go of everything and starting out a new life... Could also go with the card of someone that fought and/or was shunned by their family so they wanted to leave the previous world, and was lucky to actually have the summoning happen to them. ... Or I could also come up with someone else if I tried thinking about it I'm sure. The point is, as an author, I would definitely think of what brought my character to their current point in life where they were isekai'd... And I'd feel troubled if I didn't bring up at least a bit of it to the readers. Even if it was just a single paragraph, there should be some mention of the MC's past IMO, otherwise it would be strange, as if the character came out of nowhere. So... While I don't personally like the orphan card, it definitely has a purpose, because the backstory of the MC is a relevant detail that is worth mentioning, even if only for a line or two. So as to put your character in a position that is more than a complete blank slate after getting isekai'd. I'm aware that I don't need to bring up every small bit of irrelevant world-building to the readers if it's not relevant to the story, but I'd say the backstory of the MC is a pretty relevant point in any given story and that it deserves at least a small bit of screentime~
To me it is a bad trick. A orphan isn't a clean slate or without connections. In most of the western world they would be called foster children. They still grow up with parent like figure, if foster parents or orphan staff. They still have friends, they still have lovers or crushes, they still lived a life and created connections to other people everywhere they went. Ignoring all that is plainly bad writing. If you believe a orphan never wonders what there parent is like, why they left or died, or what happened to them, or had other traumas because of it, then you never met a orphan. That said, most humans in this world will at some point and time go through life with their parents dying. It is hard to have a parent dead if you are 5, 15, or 65.
It's not necessarily unusual to wonder what the protagonist was before the isekai experience, but it's something that's super easy to satisfy. Here's an example of one of the ur-example isekai novels: "To begin with, in my old life I was a complete commoner. From my primary to high school, all of them were public schools, and in my high school days I worked a part time job to save up for a mobile. I was born to an incredibly average salaryman family, and with a medium build and a common face, I was honestly a girl you could find just about anywhere. I remember as far as graduating from vocational school and looking for a job. I can’t remember anything from after that. I have absolutely no memory of getting married, or having children, or approaching old age. Could it be that I died around 20? That’s what it means to have no memories past there, right? Or could it be that for some reason or other I’ve become a vegetable, and right now I’m continuing to dream of a manga that I liked from back when I was healthy?" It's unnecessary to go into any more detail because the point is that it's all irrelevant now. Sure this kind of stuff can come up later on, but that's only if it's what the writer wants to explore.
nope~ it just device, tool, instruments all back to how to use it~ is it relevant to story? the plot? the conflict? cheap trick hmm harem=pokemon
I’d say, i mostly dislike it, and consider it a « cheap trick » too There are (or were) a lot of isekai where the transmigrated person comes from a healthy family As previously mentioned, it will add narrative tension : the character might want to go back, it might be possible or not, and that choice might change when growing new relationships - then she/he might want to communicate with his world or know what happened, or reassure his/her family In any case, it will bring choices and a personal sense of purpose. The character is not only there to serve the novel or summoner’s purpose. Death in the initial world or whatever way to close the way back to return, may be enough to avoid some « return home » questions if needed It’s a novel too, if you wanted the person to feel nothing about it, it would be easy to make up a blur Lastly it’s ridiculous to think you would not miss your world because you don’t have family ties . To grow up as a balanced person, there necessarily would be affection. Without it, personality growth would be seriously damaged. So a character could also miss caregivers, friends, loved ones, neighborhood, way of life. We grow habits about everything, it would be impossible to have zero attachment to your world : We not realize whennwe’re part of it, but we do too when we travel for some times, or we get awareness when something happens that shakes our country : we feel longing or belonging ! On the other hand: being an orphan would obviously mean being emotionally scared I also think it’s more easy to write about something you know about, and i dare to hope writers haven’t been through as much as their characters - but that also means, these authors bring a lot fantasy in what they tell about grief - losing a parent or a siblings is really hard - when you’re aren’t done growing and making your life, when your personality is immature, how can we measure the impact? Sure, life goes on, but what kind of trauma is left behind ? BTw, it’s not just isekai, it’s also a trope of children stories - for exemple Disney has an horrific record of killing family member, (i can’t even think of watching big hero : the MC was not hurt enough loosing both his parents, he also had to see his brother being murderer - putting himin a coma would already have been bad enough, but at least there was hope) - It’s every where, Harry Potter lost both parents, in dragons, the boy was missing a mother, he finds her to lose his dad, the next moment - and so on… In he same manner, there an abuse of « big traumatic events » Normal people can be already so screwed up by small things of life , there no need for extreme to add volume or purpose to a character Pain leaves damages, I’ve read a bunch of seriously abused and depressive MC these day - i have a hard time not finding these depressing and/or boring - but at least it’s more realistic than singing and dancing « what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger « when the odds that it might break you, or make you loose a few screws (ptsd ?) i’m a bit weary of the purpose of this choices I think it’s more easy to relate to a character with a normal life