Years ago this trope wasn't as prevalent as it is right now, I remember a time when wuxias were not as popular and japanese didn't all come from webnovels, protagonists would just live once and that's it. but now every series protagonist has to transmigrate/reincarnate/possess someone else, and it literally adds NOTHING to the series, in fact it does the exact opposite since you end up with a protagonist who would be more talented because he wouldn't have needed being an adult from the start to gain his strength. And you wouldn't get those awkward and weird interaction with other young characters if there are any. I just want this trope to die, unless the protagonist is literally bringing knowledge from his previous life that will be useful for the ENTIRE series(for example, a protagonist who came from the future and has technological knowledge he can use to get an advantage and revolutionize the world) then please stop writing this trope.
It's not that bad, it's just handled badly, I think. Like, in Reverend Insanity, which I stopped at around ~200 ch. I never understood why he was a transmigrator, he was so unique that it made me cringe a little. However, the returnee/transmigrator/regressor trope is also a quick-fix for character development, so if the story begins from a traumatic event, it'll be easier to swallow a more cold-hearted/strong-willed protagonist. I like it when the protagonist interacts with people from his past, and uses his knowledge on them to maybe convince them of something. I don't like it, however, when it's an excuse to cheat, like: “Oh, I'm weak af, thankfully below this seemingly ordinary rock there is an underground passage to the tomb of the last king of martial arts, with all his thoughts gathered in a tome, which will be discovered 5 years from now.” “Ah, I'm very hurt, thankfully I know where the berry of Deus ex machina is, all my problems are solved.”
I don't think any of those genres will dies any time soon, reason being, they help the authors explain the common sense of the MC and their logic, so they wouldn't have to build the MC character from the zero, it also helps explaining some culture and habits related stuff so in a sense it helps advertising some stuff and make the character to some degree relatable to the target audience, not to mention they serve as some kind of templates so more people can write and tell how they imagine things will happen from their perspective, you know, quantity over quality, kind of like junk food, no real benefits but they are tasty enough and easy to make and consume XD
While I also got sick of the reincarnation trope, it makes a lot of sense to attribute certain behavior onto the main character. If there exists royalty, then having a modern person interact with them normally is easier than say a common peasant who doesn't have the modern education. Even if modern education sucks big balls, it gives different viewpoints and was at least better than no education at all. For example, while I remember hating most parts of the school, we had quite a lot of interesting discussions on what is justice, what is freedom, and much more topics that scratch the surface of philosophy. Besides, reincarnation is always an easy way to build rapport with the reader. Oh, he comes from the same world as me? We have something in common. Although this is a cheap trick, it works. Just the same way on how many people view excessive fanservice in anime, I remember a better time where I enjoyed them. Every Panty slip or boob view I celebrated. Ah, those times...
Yeah it's pretty bad but just think of it has flavor text or a way for the author to put themselves in or a for the authors to have modern thinking a random genre not that it helps though since most of the time the characters would've been more interesting or unique without it or they could've used more sublte and entertaining version to compare modern ma to fantasy boy
To put it in simpler terms, its just a short cut. While I too am somewhat hoping for a new kind of story to come out. I sort of understand why... Its hard hook people in when posting... (say... 1 chapter every few days) and maintain readers interest, unless authors skip most of the boring parts. Small bites of; as a someone said above, fast food. These days, people have shorter attention span. No one is really going to sit through a four course meal a.k.a waiting for the MC to grow up after 50+ chapter, or introducing how 2 kinds of worlds could clash without just instantly making it already happening from the start (isekai), when there no good point in making is so long-winded. Unless their the type to wait for the complete book to come out. Yeah, it wont go away anytime soon. Especialy if the raws came from online writing platforms that need the short cuts to focus more on small bursts of only interesting parts of the plot.
None of these novels really tackles the reincarnation/transmigration/isekai part. It will just be mentioned in the first 2-5 chapters, then what we get is your usual medieaval fantasy setting that revolves around either corrupt Religion or Aristocracy with barely any "fantasy" in it, aside from hot girls with animal/pointy ears. What you really hate is that part, not the reincarnation.
The novels were already out there, just not so prevalent here because of the choices of what to translate by the translators. It's also wish fulfillment and easy to drive plot for the writers and readers. So, you'll see it as a popular option. I do agree that if a plot device is going to be used, then it needs to be fully used. For instance, what about hormones? If someone in their 20's-30's who has largely gone past hormones and had more mature thoughts is sent back to their teens, let alone under 10, their hormones are going to affect their judgements regardless of the more mature outlook on life. Also, maybe I just have a poor memory, but I tend to forget a lot of things that I don't deal with regularly. More stuff just pushes it out of my mind until I run across a trigger that pulls up a snippet of a memory. So, protagonists who can miraculously remember, in detail, large swatches of their past is unrealistic to me. I still will enjoy the stories, but that is something that always stuck out to me that an author could have done more with.
I do like transigation/reincarnation trope when it's connected to the novel and the plot, for example in Lord Of The Mysteries Klein found out the reason to why he got transmigated and at the end of the novel when all the plot holes connected it was mind blowing and it was such a pay off, but when its transmigation just cuz its transmigation then i do agree with you.
Systems, reincarnation, transmigration, regressors, QT, Sign in, etc are basically like brands that come with a small audience. It's like writing fan fiction. You just touch on a few things fans of those kinds of stories like and you get to tell your story to a premade audience. Writers write stories to be read.
As long as there is a market for it then it will continue, I don't mind this trope or any other if it's well written. There's plenty of stories that cater to your niche or pref, if not in Asian novels then there's other countries fiction to try.
Spoiler: Reason Him being a transmigrator is one of the most important plot point that there is, if he was an original from that world he would have never been able to do much of the things that he did. It's also the reason as to why he was chosen by others and by heaven's will, because his soul didn't originate from that world, making him a half otherworldly demon that couldn't be track down by the Heaven's Will. This plot point is one of the most important for 3/4 of the novel. If you don't know this you clearly didn't read the novel or just skimmed through it.
"Clearly", I said I didn't go that far into the novel, and I simply didn't like it that he was so unique in everything. No need to be snarky with me, I won't read a thousand chapters of a novel I don't like to appease the fans of the novel.
I've seen this happen in wuxia fanfiction, but never in a proper wuxia novel. Are you sure you're not getting genres mixed up?
You’ve put to words this nagging doubt I had, but couldn’t figure out. For instance when the MC transmigrated to a Otome game or travel to a medieval world. Why would you become an adventurer or only focus on playing the status que. I understand if you want to play around. That’s fine, but at least remember the convenience in your past world had and bring it over. I mean my first want is a flush toilets. At least toilet paper. But these MC don’t do that. Why even mention they came from another world or have memories of another life. If they don’t use it. The novel would have played out exactly the same. If you didn’t mention the other world. Personally, I think it’s stupid not to bring some of our technology to the new world. It’s just makes sense. So I agree to a certain degree, but there is several novels that do transmigration justice. I’m still a big fan of the genre and probably always will, but there are times. At least that’s what I think
One more thing on RI - MC being a transmigrator isn't unique (he isn't even the only one in the current era). It's just rare and being one is often more bad than good as the stuff the other guy talked about can easily get a target put on someone's back if they get too strong. ------------------------------ In general, though, I agree that there are tons of series that would be better off if they dumped the transmigration stuff. I especially dislike when it's unclear whether a transmigrator is effected by their body or not. For example, some adult->kid transmigrators regress in maturity as well (limited by their new brain, etc) and some do not. I can get on-board either train, but I want the author to firmly pick one and make it clear which it is. If they didn't regress, then they should act their (real) age! I don't mind what I call "fragment-type" transmigrators, who have very limited recall and are more like single-life characters with access to notes left behind by a past self. I think that's a better way to handle "reborn in a novel" type plots that doen't intend to utilize anything aside from novel knowledge and/or a few modern terms (if those are even needed).
at this point it just a plot device imo its not all about tech but should be more about conflict of moral and value or stuff like that~ similar to how gender bender potential~ imagine someone come from future with different value pop up on say medieval era~ while its possible bring some tech the first thing this cat think pop up is how it may confront society value~ there some surface stuff such as against slavery or say no to harem but it just that way~
It's wish fulfilment. The market for this trope are people who enjoy the escape it provides. I understand why you would feel this way though, I feel this way about harem lol.
lmaoooooooooo, i can't imagine it myself if i were to transmigrated to any other world esp the ancient time, like bruhhhh, i literally do nothing beside reading novel, mangas, nuf all day long, so how am i gonna use the nonexisting technological knowledge to renovate those civiliazatoin? I can't even spell civiliazation correctly bruhh!!!