Talking to Hero Tennki
Talking to ヘロー天気
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Context
I had an exchange with Hero Tenki, looking a bit at both his works and the climate of syosetu pre-2012. Though I would argue Sword Art Online is not isekai itself, it’s effect and influence on isekai – at least in terms of its promulgation – seems inescapable. Tenki is an author in a particularly unique position: they were writing isekai before the SAO boom, and even moreso, they were writing isekai as isekai is seen today. Among them are game interfaces, a Japanese protagonist getting involved, and a complete transition to another. As we see in Tenki’s work, these elements have been around for at least a decade.
Tenki’s first well-known work is, arguably, World Customize Creator (ワールド・カスタマイズ・クリエーター) in 2009, followed by Spirit Migration (スピリット・マイグレーション) in 2010. These would hardly be their first; Tenki had already been working on The Otherworld Magician (異界の魔術師). As I’ve mentioned before, we can find the transition from ‘ikai’ (異界, otherworld) to ‘isekai’ (異世界, another world) directly through the way Tenki named their work. Though these differences may be minor to the point of near irrelevance, Tenki’s work is a helpful touchstone for situating us in a time of when isekai weren’t called, or really thought of, as isekai.
Thus, Tenki’s comments in this conversation, while brief, are incredibly important for understanding isekai because of the limitations of memory and record-keeping in subcultures. Though we might fold back and understand isekai through works over the years, what were the words and terms being used before the 2010’s? Their comments help situate us, since not only were they reading these stories, but they were also writing them.
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Do you consider your work to be isekai?
The genre I write in is essentially fantasy. I write science fiction, zombies, and space stories with a fantasy focus.
Both Spirit Migration and World Customize Creator have fantasy settings. Why did you go with that?
The strength of the fantasy setting is that from the onset, you can set everything yourself, there’s a lot of freedom.
How did you get started writing other world stories?[i] Were there stories that influenced your decision?
You’re making this sort of world because it’s the story you personally want to read.
Some of your works predate the Sword Art Online anime. Was isekai very different back then?
Isekai has been around for a while, but it just wasn’t getting much attention.
What do you think is the appeal of the other world setting?
I don’t think isekai stories are that unique. We’ve always had these sorts of stories. Before, people would come to our world from the future, another planet, or another world and try to change ours. Superman comes to mind.
Isekai are just a reversal of that. By making the protagonist someone from our world, readers will have an easier time empathizing and identifying with them.
In “World Customize Creator,” the protagonist has a strong ability. What is the appeal of strong characters? Is it escapism?
Compared to things like a “blood line” or “birthright”, which are outside the purview of normal people, you can substitute it with ‘summoning’ or ‘reincarnation’. It’s a plot device that lets ordinary people be special. Nowadays, the rules of the modern world are restrictive, and fantasy is a story that isn’t restricted by such rules. Isekai are really good at emphasizing that.
Nowadays, there’s a lot of terms for stories with strong protagonists (like narou[ii] and TUE[iii]). Did these terms exist when you started writing?
When Shousetsuka ni Narou[iv] gained traction, ‘narou-kei’ started becoming popular. And there was even a ‘TUEEE’ type a little bit back. It was called ‘musou’.[v]
When you started writing Spirit Migration and World Customize Creator, what was the term used for these kinds of stories? Was it still “isekai”?
Essentially the same, I’d say? By the time I finished The Otherworld Magician, my style was pretty concrete at that point.
It seems in your stories you draw a lot from games. Where there any specific games in particular?
It’s mostly old games, honestly. A lot of them were pretty minor titles but if I had to mention a major one it would be something like “Relics”. I think a lot of retro games improve your imagination since the game screens didn’t give you as much to work with, you had to supplement a lot of it with your own imagination.
In World Customize Creator, the main character can control a lot of things by making and remaking the world. How did you come up with that power? Why did it use a lot of status menus?
It’s sort of flair or feeling, so it’s hard to clearly break down into words. All of it is born as a result of a combination of my personal knowledge, ideas that became second nature to me, my imagination and personal preferences and interests.
That’s just how it is.
As a veteran writer, what is some advice you’d give for newer writers hoping to write isekai stories?
Go with what you want to read first. When starting out, it’s fine to take elements from other works, but those are things you’ll surpass and build on when you start writing. Think about what sort of world you want to write with earnest, making sure to neither overindulge nor come at it with disdain. As long as you write what you personally want to read, I think the outline of the story will come naturally.
Don’t be shy.
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[i] We used ほかの世界 (hoka no sekai) instead of isekai or ikai
[ii] Narou refers to なろう, stories that come from “Let’s Become a Novelist!” (Shousetsuka ni Narou). They usually refer to incredibly strong characters.
[iii] Similar to narou, though TUEEE has no innate bearing to syosetu.
[iv] Shousetsuka ni Narou (syosetu) is an amateur author publishing platform. Most contemporary isekai began as web novels on syosetu.
[v] Musou refers to overpowered characters, oftentimes mowing down a large number of weak enemies. See: Dynasty Warriors.
