"Hey, guys, today I wanted to talk about the newest, hottest anime to come out this season. All right, get this: It's about a completely normal shut-in Otaku with a very specific skill set that makes him useless in the real world, who is suddenly transported to a fantasy world kinda similar to any JRPG you've ever seen where he suddenly becomes the hottest shit, and he has two jobs: Messing up any poor soul who looks at him the wrong way and getting some 2D bitches. Wait, doesn't this sound oddly familiar?"
"Saasnil's casting abilities are not the problem," said Aar Inular gravely. "Nor is the primary problem that you have summoned an outworlder without any regard to the protocols on how to do that ethically. The problem is that you can't co-cast a reversal."
"Oh," squeaked Korulen, paling. "Then - then -"
[...]
Aar Inular inhaled deeply, and turned back to Rhysel. "They can't reverse your summoning spell," he said. "The upshot of which is..."
"You can't go home," whispered Korulen, wide-eyed with guilt.
"Oh," squeaked Korulen, paling. "Then - then -"
[...]
Aar Inular inhaled deeply, and turned back to Rhysel. "They can't reverse your summoning spell," he said. "The upshot of which is..."
"You can't go home," whispered Korulen, wide-eyed with guilt.
"Toto, I have a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore."
— Dorothy Gale, The Wizard of Oz
White Chain: Now heed-
Allison: No! You- heed! Last night, my room exploded and my boyfriend was kidnapped by - I have no idea? My head feels like it's got something jammed in it... which it actually does. I'm exhausted, my face is on fire, and I'm pretty sure you've seen me naked- you, a person made of stone who is lecturing me in a different language which somehow I understand. [throws a coffee pot at White Chain] What the fuck is going on?!
[Beat Panel]
Allison: Am I dead?
White Chain: Perhaps we'll just take the coffee.
Allison: No! You- heed! Last night, my room exploded and my boyfriend was kidnapped by - I have no idea? My head feels like it's got something jammed in it... which it actually does. I'm exhausted, my face is on fire, and I'm pretty sure you've seen me naked- you, a person made of stone who is lecturing me in a different language which somehow I understand. [throws a coffee pot at White Chain] What the fuck is going on?!
[Beat Panel]
Allison: Am I dead?
White Chain: Perhaps we'll just take the coffee.
"Master X help me, I've fallen victim to one of the oldest cliches in fiction."
Hello...? Is This Thing On?
Am I all alone?
Is there anyone there...?
I need a bigger gun...
Help if you can...
Please wake me up...
Not to sound cliche...
But this world sucks!
Am I all alone?
Is there anyone there...?
I need a bigger gun...
Help if you can...
Please wake me up...
Not to sound cliche...
But this world sucks!
— "Black Tar", Xenoblade Chronicles X
"Traveling to other worlds is all that anyone seems to be writing about these days. Goodness knows what they find so disappointing about their own world."
— Yae Miko, Genshin Impact
It's a day just like any other: you're out for a walk minding your own business, perhaps headed to your local convenience store, when a truck barrels through a red light and crashes into you. Or maybe you're sitting at a bus stop, playing one of those newfangled electronic games on your smart-telephone, when all of a sudden a truck swerves off the street and into the bench. Or perhaps you've wandered into your bathroom, only to find your local tsundere in there, naked. In a fit of rage, she batters your head, leaving you to drown in the bathtub, and then a truck crashes through the wall and runs over it. Or maybe a portal opens beneath your feet, or you fall into your television set, or you go to sleep and awaken somewhere new, or a storm hits your house, or you blink and all of a sudden... Look, there's a million different ways that it can happen, but they all achieve the same result: you're Not in Kansas Anymore! You've gone Down the Rabbit Hole! You have entered another world!
