『A Debate About Another World』
Act One
〇 A high school classroom after school. The western sunlight streams through the windows. Masaki, a male high school student, and Aoi, also a male high school student, enter the empty classroom.
Masaki: "There sure have been a lot more isekai stories lately."
Aoi: "Huh? What are you talking about now? That's been a thing for years."
The two sit down by the windows in the empty classroom.
Aoi: "You mean those Narou-kei things? The ones that get turned into anime."
Masaki: "There are a lot of them lately."
Aoi: "It's just a trend, right? Though I don't really watch anime."
Masaki: "What does Narou-kei even stand for? Something about becoming something?"
Aoi: "It's the kind of other-world reincarnation and fantasy stories that are common on the web-novel site Shosetsuka ni Naro, isn't it?"
Masaki rests his chin on his hand and thinks for a moment.
Masaki: "Other worlds are always medieval Europe. They feel like RPG worlds. I'd like to go to one too and get some cheat abilities."
Aoi: "Then you have to die first. The basic template is that the protagonist dies somehow, then gets sent to another world by God or something similar."
Masaki: "What? Dying is a requirement?"
Aoi: "It's the template. So you've gotta die."
Masaki: "But dying hurts."
Aoi: "And there you have it. Isekai reincarnation failed."
The two laugh.
The classroom door opens, and another male high school student enters. He is wearing glasses.
Masaki: "Oh, Riku. What about club activities?"
Riku pulls a chair over from a nearby desk by the window and joins the conversation.
Riku: "The gym is being repaired today, so the volleyball club is off."
Aoi: "Oh yeah, the teacher mentioned that. Lucky you. No club today."
Riku: "I've been pretty tired lately, so I guess it's a nice break."
Riku stretches.
Riku: "So why are you two still here after school?"
Masaki: "We were just talking until it got late. I was thinking about going home soon, but I don't want to die."
Riku: "Huh? What are you guys talking about?"
Aoi: "Narou-kei stuff. We were saying there have been a lot of those anime lately."
Riku: "Oh, yeah. There are a lot of them. The ones that air at night, right? I think I've watched a few."
Masaki: "Really? You watch anime, Riku? I figured you only watched sports."
Riku: "I watch quite a lot of anime."
Aoi: "What kind? Sports anime after all?"
Riku: "I watch sports anime too. There was that volleyball anime that got really popular, remember? I watched that one. I even saw the movie."
Masaki: "That one was really popular. I never watched it, though."
Aoi: "What about Narou-kei, Riku? Do you just casually watch it?"
Riku: "I like it. I record them or watch them on streaming services."
Masaki: "That's surprising. I didn't think you were the type to watch that kind of anime."
Riku: "You can't tell what someone likes just by looking at them."
Aoi: "What kind of Narou-kei stuff do you watch?"
Riku: "Lately? Probably the banishment stories. You know, the plain-looking protagonist gets kicked out of the hero's party, but it turns out he's actually the strongest one. Then the hero's party starts falling apart financially, so the hero comes begging him to come back. But the protagonist is perfectly happy with his new companions and his slow life, so he refuses."
Masaki: "That's one of the big ones lately. It's pretty funny when that obnoxious hero comes begging the protagonist to come back. Like, 'Why the hell would I go back to you?'"
Aoi: "There are tons of those. Every season seems to have at least one."
Riku: "The story doesn't change all that much, but they're entertaining enough, so I watch them."
Suddenly, Masaki grins.
Masaki: "Hey, did you know reincarnation stories are popular overseas too?"
Riku: "Overseas? Even if foreigners get reincarnated, medieval streets and elves wouldn't exactly be anything new to them, would they?"
Masaki: "That's not what I mean. China. China."
Aoi: "I've heard China has dramas on satellite TV, but aren't they mostly romance stories set in royal courts?"
Masaki: "Aoi, your world is still so small. China is a gigantic web-novel powerhouse."
Masaki stands up and proudly puffs out his chest.
Then he immediately sits back down.
Masaki: "Chinese web novels have their own basic formula, just like Narou-kei. You train, start out weak, rise through the ranks, fight a powerful enemy, then train some more and fight again. Sometimes there's romance. And this surprised me too, but apparently isekai reincarnation is hugely popular overseas. Stories where modern people are reincarnated into Chinese fantasy worlds and become unstoppable thanks to cheat abilities and stuff like that."
Riku: "You're pretty knowledgeable. China has its own internet restrictions and is somewhat cut off from the global internet, yet its stories spread around the world."
Aoi: "Masaki, did you actually research all this yourself?"
Aoi glares at Masaki.
Masaki: "I had the great AI-sama do the research for me."
Aoi: "I knew it. There was no way you knew that much on your own."
Riku: "If it's from an AI search, I guess it must be accurate. So is this other-world stuff really popular all over the world?"
Masaki: "Apparently, a drama based on a popular Chinese novel got ten billion views. There are only a handful of videos on YouTube that have numbers like that."
Aoi: "Why are you getting so excited? We can't even watch it here in Japan, can we?"
Masaki: "Oh, but we can, my good sir. It's available worldwide through streaming services. A drama that can captivate that many people? Of course I'm curious."
Riku: "I don't really watch dramas."
Masaki: "Why? Why not? How come?"
Riku: "Serialized dramas are long. And if they're that popular, there are probably tons of seasons, right? I'm not really into things that long."
Aoi: "That's a classic thing with foreign TV dramas. If something is popular, the seasons just keep coming. There are crime dramas in America that have been running for more than twenty years."
Masaki: "Twenty years for a crime drama? What the hell is that?"
Just as Masaki shows interest, the classroom begins to shake.
Masaki: "Whoa! An earthquake!"
The three grab onto their desks.
The blackboard cracks apart.
A hole opens inside it.
Aoi: "Isn't this bad?"
Riku: "What's happening?"
Masaki: "It's a tunnel to another world!"
The hole sucks in the surrounding air.
The three are pulled inside.
Blackout.
Act Two
〇 A Chinese-style city with stone-paved streets stretching in every direction.
Masaki, Aoi, and Riku are lying unconscious in the middle of the street.
Riku: "Hey. You guys okay?"
Masaki: "Maybe not."
Aoi: "I'm fine."
The three stand up and look around.
Masaki: "Hey. Hey. Hey…"
Aoi: "..."
Riku: "This isn't a dream, is it?"
Masaki: "We've been reincarnated!"
People walking through the street look suspiciously at Masaki after his shout.
Aoi: "What kind of isekai template is this supposed to be?"
Riku: "I feel like there was an anime like this a long time ago."
Masaki: "Cheats are cheats."
Several armored men rush toward the three, spears in their hands.
Masaki: "I don't understand Chinese!"
The men rapidly shout at them.
Riku: "Aren't you supposed to be able to understand the language when you're reincarnated into another world?"
Aoi: "The standard rule in isekai stories is that only certain special people can understand the language."
Masaki: "For now, let's put the spears down."
Masaki says this in Japanese to the angry-looking men.
At that moment, the roar of a dragon echoes through the sky above the city.
Aoi: "Seriously? Seriously?"
Riku: "Is that a dragon?"
Masaki: "The fact that it's a Chinese long rather than a Western dragon really makes this feel like a Chinese-style isekai."
Aoi: "Is this really the time to talk about that? Is a Chinese-style world even allowed in an isekai story?"
A dragon coils through the sky.
Light flashes overhead.
The sounds of swordplay can be heard.
Masaki: "Whoa! There are angels too. A mixed-world isekai with multiple different settings. This is fascinating."
Aoi: "That's an absurd setting."
Riku: "So isekai stories really can be anything?"
The three stare in stunned silence as they watch the battle unfolding above them.
『A Debate About Another World』 — To Be Continued… Maybe