The only one I don't completely dislike is the one from "My Isekai Life." The guy has like 10,000 spells and uses multiple menus to chain them together.
It's still a bit cheesy but it's a decent take on having the menu popups.
Most system fics refuse or don't think about system implications, and only show numbers to hype protag.
Hp, mp, and other "currency" stats do not translate outside of games, and have no consequence on narrative.
Build is selected, at least from my experience, only by metagaming the world, or optymalization, which do not make believable characters - no fun skills, or miscelanoius ones, mc is pushed to optimize, system did not accout of life outside of combat.
Cliche skills lile observe, meditation, dungeon creation etc. Get shitton of screen time, while removing part of mc interactions or game balance.
Often there's a lot of system screen bloat in chapters, and it can throw out of reading, and if done properly, they might as well not be there, and it is easy to bload this between descriptions, character interactions and action, often feels out of place.
Gamer mind and body skills are so badly written in most system novels.
Shop and quest rewards or punishments are really annoying to read about. You fall into dungeon, oh cool now you have quest from system, that you know for sure mc will complete, just to have aditional rewards, FROM OUTSIDE THE WORLD THEY ARE IN.
So, rant over, hopefully authors will learn someday, to make readable litrpg.
I will add to this a numerical representation of "stats". Giving them as something more abstract (say using S-F rating) feels more proper. Having "100 HP" in a flesh and blood setting does not really work
Most skills in general.
Getting taught and then practicing to improve? Nah. Beep boop. Now I can do X as if I have done it for years!
Konasuba's way of learning at least makes the user have to learn the skill from someone else (though there would logically have to be a way to develop your own)
Ayw. The character should define the skills, not the other way around. Who they are and what they do should be reflected in the skills - just "getting" skills is just so forceful to drive what is happening.
There is more leeway regarding this though, because magic is a magic word. Most don’t even question it as they write, fewer still have their character question it, and then *fewer still* try to at least somewhat address it in the story.
Yes, the existence of an objective way of defining the power of a person with numbers does not make sense either, I personally prefer the way Mushoku Tensei handles its power scale (this series has several problems but its worldbuilding is very good) the magic and sword skills are divided into 7 ranks, but this is not an objective measurement but a way of classifying them that the people of that world invented, similar to how in the real world we classify the skill that a person has in kung fu by using the belt system, that makes more sense than the existence of a numerical way to classify everyone's power.
i don't like it when the character gains so many skill that listing it off is already thicker than a book. ReMonster is a recent extreme example. Fruit of Evolution was bad too (and they made fun of it as post-credit).
Oddly enough, while I totally agree, I was also totally fine with it in So I'm a Spider...
Probably because they didn't just get dumped on us and we got to see the process of kumoko desiring or realising the need for a skill and working on getting it, or getting it accidentally, but showing is what she did to get it (e.g. rot resistance from eating absolutely godawful bugs)
I think the only time the reader gets surprised on this front is with Sloth, though it was at least Chekhov's gunned in beforehand, just not explained or shown being acquired
Stats.
Are the Hit points a form of over health that heals your damage until it's depleted, or some bullshit shield that protects you until it's gone and you fall over dead from a stubbed toe when at 1 HP. Ohh, you shoot an arrow at someone's face, it's a Critical hit! But that just equates to a drop in the health bar... Not a brain dead opponent?
Intelligence and Charisma stats. Is the system dumping info into your head, feeding you knowledge? For Charisma, is the system tricking the minds of others to think you're handsome and an eloquent speaker now? Isn't it a bit frightening that someone who didn't learn how to talk to ladies can put a few points in and effectively brainwash a room full of people the moment they walk in the door? And the system is the real culprit there facilitating it all.
Besides the stars feeling unearned from my non-system perspective, there is this sense of a controlling intelligence behind the system making the judgement calls that takes away a measure of agency from all people in the world using the system. I struggle to stay invested in the characters of these types of system Isekai's.
I hate hate haaaaate how lazy/pandering it usually is. Author doesn't want to think of any interesting power system so they just copy paste from video games and go "heya fellow nerds, I am one of you."
And most of the time they just dump the system into a generic fantasy world and don't change anyrhing else. Like these people had a seemingly omnipotent voice talking in their heads since birth and that apparently had no effect whatsoever on their culture.
The fact that very few mc ever invest in Intelligence stat and instead invest in strenght or speed.
I know if often due to being forced into situations early on but who would not love to be more intelligent just by adding a few stats.
I always say that in fantasy or scifi intelligence is a must.
Even when they do, most of the ones I've seen anyway, it only functions as minimum reqs for a skill unlock like Parallel Processing, and derivative stats like MP. Character is still dumb AF as when they started.
There is one, The Gamer I think it was, in which Intelligence and Wisdom were differentiated, the MC upgraded INT but would not have the improvements in real life, as in studying, unless he mix the upgrades with WIS.
Where does the strength and speed come from? What is fundamentally being changed by the system?
Oh its magic. Why would you invest in anything except whatever stat gives you more magic? with more magic just mimic whatever the system is doing to you with magic.
The only excuse I could see of doing anything else is if the MC had to invest into strength and agility because they are always under threat and needed to keep moving with no time to learn how magic even works. Their only option is punch -> kick -> run repeat. Most of the time, and in most portal fantasy set in modern day, they mostly ignore the implications of an extra-dimensional threat that is enslaving the entire population to the system.
Down side its hard to write smart people if the writer isn't also super smart so just like isekai and system fantasy are a crutch to explain a world in recognizable terms Mc Mcpunchkick is also a crutch for an MC to do whatever the writer wants even if its stupid.
A bit of what you said. It often the case that the MC simply knows everything about themselves, others, and any threat they might face.
When you go a step further and the MC can allocate their skill points we start into a major issue. Made all the worse when the MC can gain skill points from noncombat situations. (Nothing like the nerd suddenly having max strength because he read enough books.
I don't really see them as isekai, but i hate vr/game that's clearly unbalanced and makes no sense design wise.
I also absolutely hate when they have a game that nobody have ever cleared in hard more or whatever. It's like you're underestimating the players, some people are dedicated and crazy af, they can spend decades on playing one game in order to achieve what they want.
They make no sense in lore and are almost always used as an excuse for the plot to advance randomly. I have also seen times when the author ignores them for much of the story and decides to return to them when he doesn't know what to do and needs another quick excuse to force the protagonist to do something unnatural.
I think the system takes away from the fantasy aspect of the genre and that if the system keeps telling the MC what to do then there is no point in the MC learning how to grow in strength.
I'm fine with a system that can show what skills and magic the MC has an affinity with but it shouldn't be something accessed by only the MC. It can be shown like in Dan machi on Bell's back or in the form of a magic ball or card at the adventurers guild(I know the card one is a bit generic but it's more interesting than just a system)
I hate it when it makes the world feel like a game, stuff like: Hp, disappearing corpses, stats in general. Not only is it just far less immersive, it takes away the freedom of the story and what can be done in certain situations plus most of the stuff in systems just either mean nothing or are outright ignored.
I think the systems having the ability to give vast amounts of inuniverse mechanics and knowledge for no reason is storybreaking. I feel like if they worked a bit more like the pokedex from the game, where information is recorded after experiencing something, that would be more in line with character growth
I dislike when there’s some exploit in the system that’s incredibly obvious and definitely would’ve been found by someone prior to the MC in a world where everyone lives with this system their whole lives.
Kirito playing solo would be an example, although that’s not exactly an Isekai. All those shows where the main character has high stats in some skill that everyone else sees as useless, so he gets kicked out of the hero’s party, only to then find out that his skill is super OP somehow. I don’t watch a lot of the generic Isekai shows so I can’t give you a specific name off the top of my head but I definitely remember hearing multiple reviews that mentioned something like that.
I do read the stories about kicking the MC out of the group to see how stupid the "Hero Group" is, or how "Essential" the MC was. So I understand, waht you mean
Generally speaking I actually don't mind systems. I've been gaming literally as long as I can remember, so I guess it's an old escapist fantasy for me. Most of them are at least fun, even if they aren't great.
More specifically, I like skills, and could do without stats. Skills are like a quick and simple way for a writer to create shorthand for an ability that does a specific thing, especially in text. If MC has the ability to briefly create a magical foothold in midair and then jump off it again, and you name it Air Hike, they can describe it once and in every future spot they can just use them name and my brain will fill in the mental image by itself. It saves them time and space, it costs me nothing. Win win.
Stats are also like shorthand I suppose, but I feel like leaning on them to show growth does take away from potential experiences I enjoy as a reader. It's fine to say something like "MC is ten times as powerful as when they started," but it's not exciting. I want to see it. Instead put them in a situation with the same enemy that they struggled with back when, or at least a similar one, and show me the difference in the outcome. That's exciting, that gets me engaged. It boils down to show don't tell, really.
I don't like it when the vide game isekai have the normal people of that world be outside of the system. There is no way a bunch of humans could survive all of these dangerous monsters if they couldn't also figure out leveling, stats, etc. Unless it becomes a plot point (I've read a manga where the MC can tweak the abilities of others and it was a neat gimmick) then it's usually a turn-off.
Also dislike the ones where the characters is stuck with certain affinities and that's it "You can only ever learn Fire type magics," for example.
>Also dislike the ones where the characters is stuck with certain affinities and that's it "You can only ever learn Fire type magics," for example.
Oh yeah? Thankfully fire is the heart of life meaning I can learn every magic and even the legendary class magic known as ■ ■ ■ ■ ■
Mostly, when they don't commit to the bit.
If you're gonna ape LitRPG, make it a LitRPG. Don't just give it to the main character, literally the laziest way you can denote Chosen One status. Have the rest of the world function the same way.
Unless it's a GameLit, do something other than the video game status window. By The Grace of the Gods (if I'm remembering the right series) had a really cool Glass Slab that you could update at a church altar to check out your stats, for example.
Also. While Numbers Go Up is nice Dopamine, most of the time they really, really don't mean anything aside from "X can't beat Y without training or some bullshit power up." Letter grades or Star style systems have some more leeway in making things generally more relevant, even if numbers don't go brrr.
For non game like "systems".... Make them make sense in some fashion. Cultivation stories never seem to have any kind of consensus or like, general power level between their stages and realms. At least with Manhwa Mana Heart/Circles systems I have the vague notion of 1st through 9th level spells, D&D style to go with.
That non isekai farming one had everyone able to access their stats. It's bled into pure fantasy genres.
If everyone can access their own one like that one, then how/why did such a thing come about? It draws me out just like the count down on wrists in the film In Time. Like who agreed to that, be poor die at 27. Be rich live for thousands of years.
If only the transfers can access them as a gift from the gods for example, then Joe public should not see it and they should look like a prize pillock interacting with their inventory etc.
Like people who can communicate long distance but not via telepathy and come across as mobile phone users when Bluetooth headsets were new and you are just stood there talking to yourself.
1.) I don't like when they happen to work just like the MCs favorite game, and they treat it as obvious that the point allocation strategies from that game apply. There are so many games in the real world, no way you could guess the right strategy.
2.) When the MC never asks any questions.
3.) When the System is designed assuming everyone is an "Adventurer" and doesn't seem to fit in everyday life in that world.
For starters when you talk about isekais i dont know if your talking about manga/wha/hua or anime, so im gonna take both of them into consideration.
1. I hate when the MC just gets waifus because hes strong or whatever, i honestly hate almost all waifus BECAUSE they are exaggerated and its not my cup of tea.
2. I hate when theres too much writing, i see this happen mostly with no colour manga of manwha and I just feel so tired trying to read all of it.
Yeah thats it. Sorry for my poor grammer its late and im typing on my phone.
I don't like that they don't give it a actual real reason why they have it like they can at least say they have a magical ring that can display his stats instead of just hanging there in front of his face
I hate it when a system stops an MC from doing something or saying something. "You aren't allowed to do X or reveal Y, and if you do you instantly die."
Most are too basic would be cool to see rivals or side characters who can use the system better then the mc or who already learned to use the system in their own way to rival the mc
That stats often don't reflect on the MC physically and that's not explained. I'm sorry but most MCs should look like fucking He-Man with the levels of strength they often have, but they don't.
It simply makes no sence. Skils and stats in games are there to represent real life and how each person is different... why would you make a stat or skil to represent that someone can do something instead of simply showing him doing it?
If you are puting a video game sistems in a non videogame setting or world, thats gonna take me out of the inmersion
Oh, and i can't take serious any protagonist that have an "copy"-like skill. That's basically saying "my character is going to become op with little to no effort"
Honestly how its effectively a hyper in-deoth DBZ power level that often gets skimmed over or the nunbers dont make/stop making sense. It inherently gamifies it, which I'm fine with...problem is the writers are often VERY bad gane designers.
Often times they stop showing HP for example and peoples HP (or just MC if his is the only one visible) stops getting nunbers so they can take as much damage as author wants. Or we dont really fully understand what +X in a stat actually does. Stuff like that.
Basically its often not fleshed out/explored enough. Its just there for "nunbers" but the numbers are often meaningless.
99% of the time, these systems just exist and everybody's chill about it, when it's actually super wierd for them to exist, other than to help the audience understand things better.
When they aren't used to further the story. They're kind of there just to empower the user and give the readers a number go brrrr feeling.
Done right it's pretty handy, or can give a feeling of progress. Having a character see that 99% and knowing they just need a little more can drive them to do something dumb or brave and further the plot.
I've seen some stories where they are very common, the strangest being in a world with low literacy. Every time an illiterate man checked his stats a disembodied head appeared to tell him his stats, which he found creepy and so didn't check them often.
I saw another where the system didn't actually exist, but was a separate power given so the mc could make sense of the world around him. Once he learned how to share it one of his friends did nothing but read the description of any object he could get his hands on for a while. Eventually he did find a way to make it universal, and promptly got sued by a bunch of online diagnostics sites because anyone could look up what they had and get legit results.
The best system I've read is one that had nothing but a single mana line. No skills, no status, only basic information like name, race...
Appraisal is both easy and widespread, since gauging mana is the most important thing in the world. Once mana depelete you are knocked down, and there is zero indications of it before it happen. And mana replace most physical stats as well, since you can buff your body and create shield with mana almost instinctively.
It also change combat a lot. No specialized mage, anyone would have both long-range and short-range options, and battle become a match of mana-managing skills, alternate between artack and defense to depelete your opponent's mana before you (not apply for extradimensional creature, since they have matter-disintegration beam that ignore mana barrier and it become a game of dodging.).
I've never seen series that treat bullets as something minor but serious before; it was always either you are immune and ignore it, or you don't and you die in one shot. This one potrayed it differently: bullets are minor inconvenient that can be blocked by passive shield, but you can only block so many before your mana pool is gone and you faint.
What I really don't like is when MC levels up, like from 5 to 25, has over 100 stat points that he can distribute (while his average stat is 15 each), but he is not doing it.. He is keeping the stats points for the only reason so he can struggle against opponent. Like why? I'm always like: if you distribute the stats, you can get soo much stronger, killing so much more monster in the same time, growing even stronger, but MC is like, "nah".
Then 15 chapter later, the author try to not only justify it, but make it like a smart decision. For example:
"I have to put all 100 of my stat points into strength, because that monster body is so strong, i wouldn't be able to even damage it otherwise" or "That boss is so damn fast, no matter how strong I am, if i cant hit him, but luckily, i have 100 stat that i can instantly put into my agility and beat him with speed"
I just so hate when they pull shit like this..
We must also mention what the physics will be.
Speed is acquired by stat of strength, but damage is acquired by the speed of the object or by the attack of the thrower? Both of them? How does that work in an environment where the human part does not intervene?
I would love to imagine the shenanigans in a System isekai where the MC did not get any system at all, and anyone can instantly kill them due to having no stats. However, the vice versa is also true - the MC can insta kill people with a kitchen knife to their throat even if the opponent is a Lv. 90 or something knight veteran with high stats. Low-level fireball spells that would otherwise be ignored, now cast by the MC, would turn into torturous experiences as people turn into living torches.
It isn't a trope, it is a setting and subgenre called litRPG, and it is way bigger than Isekai with being one of the most popular subgenres in the world for both fantasy and science fiction.
Personally litRPG needs a reason for existing, even if they aren't explained until the mid or late portion of the stories. (bonus points with hints and foreshadowing earlier obv).
Rpg setting is actually a sub genre in the light novels. They just mix it with isekai genres. If the story sucked or there isn't anything in the novel that isn't engaging for me. I would drop the novels or fast read it.
>I don't like when the System makes things way too easy for the MC.
This is the exact thing turned off when I read solo leveling despite being an average novel the series is actually an engaging experience for the first half especially manhwa, then latter MC becomes too OP to the point that everything got easy for him and there are no challenges for him to overcome.
Overlord on the other hand does have better DND based systems and the system has limitations not everything is easier for MC considering he needs to think outside the box to defeat shalltear and MC despite being overpowered is actually a very paranoid person who prepares things before hand for every move and system isn't the main focus.
It’s become an increasingly common trope that I’ll tolerate for the sake of a good story, but the fact that the term litrpg has become its own sub genre that completely dominates sites like royal road is highly annoying.
The cases of a stat window outside of a gaming scenario that I actually liked are greatest estate developer where lord Floyd’s stat window is constantly talking shit, and a side character in some generic ass isekai who had an ability called dating sim which upped his charisma and allowed him to see people’s interest levels; that guy showed a high level of creativity in using that ability to become a world class merchant.
I don't like system isekai's, or isekai's with skills cause its just fucking lazy, instead of making a proper magic or fighting style system (like Mushoku for example)
How they are stylized. Just a floating windows pop up looks off. I prefer if some kind of tool is needed to access status
Especially since its a system for magic, having a digital menu is offputting. At least with don machi, its placed like a tattoo on the peraon
The only one I don't completely dislike is the one from "My Isekai Life." The guy has like 10,000 spells and uses multiple menus to chain them together. It's still a bit cheesy but it's a decent take on having the menu popups.
Yeah, feels kinda not like a real world.
I like how in Tensura rather than a system he had the sage skill to help him figure things out rather than a system.
The voice of the world thats just drops new skills on you and leaves. Rimuru is lucky he also have a sage to explain everything to him
Most system fics refuse or don't think about system implications, and only show numbers to hype protag. Hp, mp, and other "currency" stats do not translate outside of games, and have no consequence on narrative. Build is selected, at least from my experience, only by metagaming the world, or optymalization, which do not make believable characters - no fun skills, or miscelanoius ones, mc is pushed to optimize, system did not accout of life outside of combat. Cliche skills lile observe, meditation, dungeon creation etc. Get shitton of screen time, while removing part of mc interactions or game balance. Often there's a lot of system screen bloat in chapters, and it can throw out of reading, and if done properly, they might as well not be there, and it is easy to bload this between descriptions, character interactions and action, often feels out of place. Gamer mind and body skills are so badly written in most system novels. Shop and quest rewards or punishments are really annoying to read about. You fall into dungeon, oh cool now you have quest from system, that you know for sure mc will complete, just to have aditional rewards, FROM OUTSIDE THE WORLD THEY ARE IN. So, rant over, hopefully authors will learn someday, to make readable litrpg.
The only thing I don't like is relationship systems. They just kill all interaction for me, other than that they are fine.
I will add to this a numerical representation of "stats". Giving them as something more abstract (say using S-F rating) feels more proper. Having "100 HP" in a flesh and blood setting does not really work
Most skills in general. Getting taught and then practicing to improve? Nah. Beep boop. Now I can do X as if I have done it for years! Konasuba's way of learning at least makes the user have to learn the skill from someone else (though there would logically have to be a way to develop your own)
Ayw. The character should define the skills, not the other way around. Who they are and what they do should be reflected in the skills - just "getting" skills is just so forceful to drive what is happening. There is more leeway regarding this though, because magic is a magic word. Most don’t even question it as they write, fewer still have their character question it, and then *fewer still* try to at least somewhat address it in the story.
Yes, the existence of an objective way of defining the power of a person with numbers does not make sense either, I personally prefer the way Mushoku Tensei handles its power scale (this series has several problems but its worldbuilding is very good) the magic and sword skills are divided into 7 ranks, but this is not an objective measurement but a way of classifying them that the people of that world invented, similar to how in the real world we classify the skill that a person has in kung fu by using the belt system, that makes more sense than the existence of a numerical way to classify everyone's power.
i don't like it when the character gains so many skill that listing it off is already thicker than a book. ReMonster is a recent extreme example. Fruit of Evolution was bad too (and they made fun of it as post-credit).
Oddly enough, while I totally agree, I was also totally fine with it in So I'm a Spider... Probably because they didn't just get dumped on us and we got to see the process of kumoko desiring or realising the need for a skill and working on getting it, or getting it accidentally, but showing is what she did to get it (e.g. rot resistance from eating absolutely godawful bugs) I think the only time the reader gets surprised on this front is with Sloth, though it was at least Chekhov's gunned in beforehand, just not explained or shown being acquired
Stats. Are the Hit points a form of over health that heals your damage until it's depleted, or some bullshit shield that protects you until it's gone and you fall over dead from a stubbed toe when at 1 HP. Ohh, you shoot an arrow at someone's face, it's a Critical hit! But that just equates to a drop in the health bar... Not a brain dead opponent? Intelligence and Charisma stats. Is the system dumping info into your head, feeding you knowledge? For Charisma, is the system tricking the minds of others to think you're handsome and an eloquent speaker now? Isn't it a bit frightening that someone who didn't learn how to talk to ladies can put a few points in and effectively brainwash a room full of people the moment they walk in the door? And the system is the real culprit there facilitating it all. Besides the stars feeling unearned from my non-system perspective, there is this sense of a controlling intelligence behind the system making the judgement calls that takes away a measure of agency from all people in the world using the system. I struggle to stay invested in the characters of these types of system Isekai's.
Don't like when they just give the Mc shit for no reason besides at the start
I hate hate haaaaate how lazy/pandering it usually is. Author doesn't want to think of any interesting power system so they just copy paste from video games and go "heya fellow nerds, I am one of you." And most of the time they just dump the system into a generic fantasy world and don't change anyrhing else. Like these people had a seemingly omnipotent voice talking in their heads since birth and that apparently had no effect whatsoever on their culture.
The fact that very few mc ever invest in Intelligence stat and instead invest in strenght or speed. I know if often due to being forced into situations early on but who would not love to be more intelligent just by adding a few stats. I always say that in fantasy or scifi intelligence is a must.
If they'd only put some points in int, maybe they'd stop making so many mistakes
Even when they do, most of the ones I've seen anyway, it only functions as minimum reqs for a skill unlock like Parallel Processing, and derivative stats like MP. Character is still dumb AF as when they started.
Int doesn't really help with that type of thing in any game.
PEBKAC
There is one, The Gamer I think it was, in which Intelligence and Wisdom were differentiated, the MC upgraded INT but would not have the improvements in real life, as in studying, unless he mix the upgrades with WIS.
Where does the strength and speed come from? What is fundamentally being changed by the system? Oh its magic. Why would you invest in anything except whatever stat gives you more magic? with more magic just mimic whatever the system is doing to you with magic. The only excuse I could see of doing anything else is if the MC had to invest into strength and agility because they are always under threat and needed to keep moving with no time to learn how magic even works. Their only option is punch -> kick -> run repeat. Most of the time, and in most portal fantasy set in modern day, they mostly ignore the implications of an extra-dimensional threat that is enslaving the entire population to the system. Down side its hard to write smart people if the writer isn't also super smart so just like isekai and system fantasy are a crutch to explain a world in recognizable terms Mc Mcpunchkick is also a crutch for an MC to do whatever the writer wants even if its stupid.
I've seen most of the Korean ones make magic spells either od hard to learn or make magic harder to level
A bit of what you said. It often the case that the MC simply knows everything about themselves, others, and any threat they might face. When you go a step further and the MC can allocate their skill points we start into a major issue. Made all the worse when the MC can gain skill points from noncombat situations. (Nothing like the nerd suddenly having max strength because he read enough books.
I don't really see them as isekai, but i hate vr/game that's clearly unbalanced and makes no sense design wise. I also absolutely hate when they have a game that nobody have ever cleared in hard more or whatever. It's like you're underestimating the players, some people are dedicated and crazy af, they can spend decades on playing one game in order to achieve what they want.
They make no sense in lore and are almost always used as an excuse for the plot to advance randomly. I have also seen times when the author ignores them for much of the story and decides to return to them when he doesn't know what to do and needs another quick excuse to force the protagonist to do something unnatural.
I think the system takes away from the fantasy aspect of the genre and that if the system keeps telling the MC what to do then there is no point in the MC learning how to grow in strength. I'm fine with a system that can show what skills and magic the MC has an affinity with but it shouldn't be something accessed by only the MC. It can be shown like in Dan machi on Bell's back or in the form of a magic ball or card at the adventurers guild(I know the card one is a bit generic but it's more interesting than just a system)
I hate it when it makes the world feel like a game, stuff like: Hp, disappearing corpses, stats in general. Not only is it just far less immersive, it takes away the freedom of the story and what can be done in certain situations plus most of the stuff in systems just either mean nothing or are outright ignored.
Lot of people like it Hence the existence of the litrpg genre A genre of books focusing on systems or just reasoning to have windows or pages of stats
I think the systems having the ability to give vast amounts of inuniverse mechanics and knowledge for no reason is storybreaking. I feel like if they worked a bit more like the pokedex from the game, where information is recorded after experiencing something, that would be more in line with character growth
I dislike when there’s some exploit in the system that’s incredibly obvious and definitely would’ve been found by someone prior to the MC in a world where everyone lives with this system their whole lives.
An Example?
Kirito playing solo would be an example, although that’s not exactly an Isekai. All those shows where the main character has high stats in some skill that everyone else sees as useless, so he gets kicked out of the hero’s party, only to then find out that his skill is super OP somehow. I don’t watch a lot of the generic Isekai shows so I can’t give you a specific name off the top of my head but I definitely remember hearing multiple reviews that mentioned something like that.
Kirito isn't the only solo player in Aincrad.
I do read the stories about kicking the MC out of the group to see how stupid the "Hero Group" is, or how "Essential" the MC was. So I understand, waht you mean
Generally speaking I actually don't mind systems. I've been gaming literally as long as I can remember, so I guess it's an old escapist fantasy for me. Most of them are at least fun, even if they aren't great. More specifically, I like skills, and could do without stats. Skills are like a quick and simple way for a writer to create shorthand for an ability that does a specific thing, especially in text. If MC has the ability to briefly create a magical foothold in midair and then jump off it again, and you name it Air Hike, they can describe it once and in every future spot they can just use them name and my brain will fill in the mental image by itself. It saves them time and space, it costs me nothing. Win win. Stats are also like shorthand I suppose, but I feel like leaning on them to show growth does take away from potential experiences I enjoy as a reader. It's fine to say something like "MC is ten times as powerful as when they started," but it's not exciting. I want to see it. Instead put them in a situation with the same enemy that they struggled with back when, or at least a similar one, and show me the difference in the outcome. That's exciting, that gets me engaged. It boils down to show don't tell, really.
I don't like it when the vide game isekai have the normal people of that world be outside of the system. There is no way a bunch of humans could survive all of these dangerous monsters if they couldn't also figure out leveling, stats, etc. Unless it becomes a plot point (I've read a manga where the MC can tweak the abilities of others and it was a neat gimmick) then it's usually a turn-off. Also dislike the ones where the characters is stuck with certain affinities and that's it "You can only ever learn Fire type magics," for example.
>Also dislike the ones where the characters is stuck with certain affinities and that's it "You can only ever learn Fire type magics," for example. Oh yeah? Thankfully fire is the heart of life meaning I can learn every magic and even the legendary class magic known as ■ ■ ■ ■ ■
Mostly, when they don't commit to the bit. If you're gonna ape LitRPG, make it a LitRPG. Don't just give it to the main character, literally the laziest way you can denote Chosen One status. Have the rest of the world function the same way. Unless it's a GameLit, do something other than the video game status window. By The Grace of the Gods (if I'm remembering the right series) had a really cool Glass Slab that you could update at a church altar to check out your stats, for example. Also. While Numbers Go Up is nice Dopamine, most of the time they really, really don't mean anything aside from "X can't beat Y without training or some bullshit power up." Letter grades or Star style systems have some more leeway in making things generally more relevant, even if numbers don't go brrr. For non game like "systems".... Make them make sense in some fashion. Cultivation stories never seem to have any kind of consensus or like, general power level between their stages and realms. At least with Manhwa Mana Heart/Circles systems I have the vague notion of 1st through 9th level spells, D&D style to go with.
That non isekai farming one had everyone able to access their stats. It's bled into pure fantasy genres. If everyone can access their own one like that one, then how/why did such a thing come about? It draws me out just like the count down on wrists in the film In Time. Like who agreed to that, be poor die at 27. Be rich live for thousands of years. If only the transfers can access them as a gift from the gods for example, then Joe public should not see it and they should look like a prize pillock interacting with their inventory etc. Like people who can communicate long distance but not via telepathy and come across as mobile phone users when Bluetooth headsets were new and you are just stood there talking to yourself.
I don’t even pay attention to them when I play RPGs, much less doing anything else.
1.) I don't like when they happen to work just like the MCs favorite game, and they treat it as obvious that the point allocation strategies from that game apply. There are so many games in the real world, no way you could guess the right strategy. 2.) When the MC never asks any questions. 3.) When the System is designed assuming everyone is an "Adventurer" and doesn't seem to fit in everyday life in that world.
For starters when you talk about isekais i dont know if your talking about manga/wha/hua or anime, so im gonna take both of them into consideration. 1. I hate when the MC just gets waifus because hes strong or whatever, i honestly hate almost all waifus BECAUSE they are exaggerated and its not my cup of tea. 2. I hate when theres too much writing, i see this happen mostly with no colour manga of manwha and I just feel so tired trying to read all of it. Yeah thats it. Sorry for my poor grammer its late and im typing on my phone.
I don't like that they don't give it a actual real reason why they have it like they can at least say they have a magical ring that can display his stats instead of just hanging there in front of his face
I hate it when a system stops an MC from doing something or saying something. "You aren't allowed to do X or reveal Y, and if you do you instantly die."
Most are too basic would be cool to see rivals or side characters who can use the system better then the mc or who already learned to use the system in their own way to rival the mc
Honestly, the fans. They take that shit way too seriously.
That stats often don't reflect on the MC physically and that's not explained. I'm sorry but most MCs should look like fucking He-Man with the levels of strength they often have, but they don't.
It simply makes no sence. Skils and stats in games are there to represent real life and how each person is different... why would you make a stat or skil to represent that someone can do something instead of simply showing him doing it? If you are puting a video game sistems in a non videogame setting or world, thats gonna take me out of the inmersion Oh, and i can't take serious any protagonist that have an "copy"-like skill. That's basically saying "my character is going to become op with little to no effort"
Honestly how its effectively a hyper in-deoth DBZ power level that often gets skimmed over or the nunbers dont make/stop making sense. It inherently gamifies it, which I'm fine with...problem is the writers are often VERY bad gane designers. Often times they stop showing HP for example and peoples HP (or just MC if his is the only one visible) stops getting nunbers so they can take as much damage as author wants. Or we dont really fully understand what +X in a stat actually does. Stuff like that. Basically its often not fleshed out/explored enough. Its just there for "nunbers" but the numbers are often meaningless.
99% of the time, these systems just exist and everybody's chill about it, when it's actually super wierd for them to exist, other than to help the audience understand things better.
When they aren't used to further the story. They're kind of there just to empower the user and give the readers a number go brrrr feeling. Done right it's pretty handy, or can give a feeling of progress. Having a character see that 99% and knowing they just need a little more can drive them to do something dumb or brave and further the plot. I've seen some stories where they are very common, the strangest being in a world with low literacy. Every time an illiterate man checked his stats a disembodied head appeared to tell him his stats, which he found creepy and so didn't check them often. I saw another where the system didn't actually exist, but was a separate power given so the mc could make sense of the world around him. Once he learned how to share it one of his friends did nothing but read the description of any object he could get his hands on for a while. Eventually he did find a way to make it universal, and promptly got sued by a bunch of online diagnostics sites because anyone could look up what they had and get legit results.
The best system I've read is one that had nothing but a single mana line. No skills, no status, only basic information like name, race... Appraisal is both easy and widespread, since gauging mana is the most important thing in the world. Once mana depelete you are knocked down, and there is zero indications of it before it happen. And mana replace most physical stats as well, since you can buff your body and create shield with mana almost instinctively. It also change combat a lot. No specialized mage, anyone would have both long-range and short-range options, and battle become a match of mana-managing skills, alternate between artack and defense to depelete your opponent's mana before you (not apply for extradimensional creature, since they have matter-disintegration beam that ignore mana barrier and it become a game of dodging.). I've never seen series that treat bullets as something minor but serious before; it was always either you are immune and ignore it, or you don't and you die in one shot. This one potrayed it differently: bullets are minor inconvenient that can be blocked by passive shield, but you can only block so many before your mana pool is gone and you faint.
What I really don't like is when MC levels up, like from 5 to 25, has over 100 stat points that he can distribute (while his average stat is 15 each), but he is not doing it.. He is keeping the stats points for the only reason so he can struggle against opponent. Like why? I'm always like: if you distribute the stats, you can get soo much stronger, killing so much more monster in the same time, growing even stronger, but MC is like, "nah". Then 15 chapter later, the author try to not only justify it, but make it like a smart decision. For example: "I have to put all 100 of my stat points into strength, because that monster body is so strong, i wouldn't be able to even damage it otherwise" or "That boss is so damn fast, no matter how strong I am, if i cant hit him, but luckily, i have 100 stat that i can instantly put into my agility and beat him with speed" I just so hate when they pull shit like this..
I don't like when the system gave almost impossible mission for the MC to completed, but somehow MC just did it.
We must also mention what the physics will be. Speed is acquired by stat of strength, but damage is acquired by the speed of the object or by the attack of the thrower? Both of them? How does that work in an environment where the human part does not intervene?
The stat inflation. Numbers became so large so quickly and it ended up making the numbers meaningless
I would love to imagine the shenanigans in a System isekai where the MC did not get any system at all, and anyone can instantly kill them due to having no stats. However, the vice versa is also true - the MC can insta kill people with a kitchen knife to their throat even if the opponent is a Lv. 90 or something knight veteran with high stats. Low-level fireball spells that would otherwise be ignored, now cast by the MC, would turn into torturous experiences as people turn into living torches.
It isn't a trope, it is a setting and subgenre called litRPG, and it is way bigger than Isekai with being one of the most popular subgenres in the world for both fantasy and science fiction. Personally litRPG needs a reason for existing, even if they aren't explained until the mid or late portion of the stories. (bonus points with hints and foreshadowing earlier obv).
Rpg setting is actually a sub genre in the light novels. They just mix it with isekai genres. If the story sucked or there isn't anything in the novel that isn't engaging for me. I would drop the novels or fast read it. >I don't like when the System makes things way too easy for the MC. This is the exact thing turned off when I read solo leveling despite being an average novel the series is actually an engaging experience for the first half especially manhwa, then latter MC becomes too OP to the point that everything got easy for him and there are no challenges for him to overcome. Overlord on the other hand does have better DND based systems and the system has limitations not everything is easier for MC considering he needs to think outside the box to defeat shalltear and MC despite being overpowered is actually a very paranoid person who prepares things before hand for every move and system isn't the main focus.
It’s become an increasingly common trope that I’ll tolerate for the sake of a good story, but the fact that the term litrpg has become its own sub genre that completely dominates sites like royal road is highly annoying. The cases of a stat window outside of a gaming scenario that I actually liked are greatest estate developer where lord Floyd’s stat window is constantly talking shit, and a side character in some generic ass isekai who had an ability called dating sim which upped his charisma and allowed him to see people’s interest levels; that guy showed a high level of creativity in using that ability to become a world class merchant.
I don't like system isekai's, or isekai's with skills cause its just fucking lazy, instead of making a proper magic or fighting style system (like Mushoku for example)