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Start date: Sept 15th
| Week | Start date | Page numbers | Page count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sept 15 | 1-67 | 67 |
Not much to say at this point; feels like we’re at the very beginning of an RPG where we’re told we need to save the princess XD I wonder if this is one of the earliest isekai series? Or are there any other well known ones that are older?
I was also wondering how early this is in the Isekai timeline. It is funny the characters straight up say “oh, like an RPG game” even though they don’t seem to have been sucked into a literal game. It actually goes in a different direction than a lot of the standard Isekai setup in the sense that it’s a trio rather than a single individual, the characters in the fantasy world are aware that the characters are from a different world (most isekai characters seem to try and hide this), and the fact of their getting sucked into the other world was a deliberate thing rather than randomly getting truck-kun’d. Even though it’s old it feels fresh and new since it takes a different approach.
I don’t know the oldest, but here’s one from 1992:
I think this one may be the earliest “video game world” isekai.
The first book in the 十二国記 series came out a year or so before Rayearth, in 1992. The Wikipedia article on the genre cites the Urashima Tarou folktale as a precursor, and there were one or two pre-90s examples, but it seems like Rayearth was among a group of early 90s stories that used the idea when it was still pretty fresh.
I think there’s one from the 70s called Warrior from Another World or something like that. I think it’s a movie but can’t really remember the specifics since I’ve never seen it.
Dang, I didn’t realize ふしぎ遊戯 was so old. 
Right?! It was one of my first/favorite series as a child and I just assumed it was maybe late 90’s.
Thanks all for the responses! Will definitely check these out, but interesting to know a lot of them were categorized as for female demographics!
I don’t have much else to say about the first 60 pages since it’s mostly just setting things up, but I do like the character designs, especially the flying fish.
Finished week 1! I’m really enjoying the setup so far; I love the art style, and セフィーロ seems like a suitably magical place so far. I really like it when new worlds instill a sense of wonder in me. I like our main trio so far; they’re surprisingly laid-back about it all, haha. (“Why are you introducing yourself with your blood type?” “In case I need a transfusion!”) I like that their names are not only aligned with elements (光、海、風), but with beasts as well (獅、龍、鳳凰) (<- had to look up that last one).
I’m also very happy to see that MKR adheres to the time-honored shoujo tradition of making the villains really hot. :3 Hellooo ザガート様. 
67 pages didn’t take long at all to read; I was wondering if that L22 rating was going to hold up, and it looks like it. Can’t wait to read more with everyone!
Don’t have much to add except that is is PURE nostalgia to me (this was the first manga I ever bought in English) and I always forget how stunning CLAMP’s art style can be. You really get a sense of this other world.
Hard agree 
I also appreciateアルシオーネ. She’s not my type, but she’s living her best waist-cinched life 
Agree with others that this first part feels like the intro to a video game, which is a nostalgic feeling for me.
The thing I am most impressed with so far is all of the character designs. Everyone looks great!
Not much else to say for this section, but I am excited to get to know the characters better and learn more about the situation they are in.
I’m pretty on the fence so far. It’s mildly boring, easy to read, and seems like it has the potential to become interesting. Hikaru is the only character I can say I think I particularly like/find interesting so far. Very different from the CLAMP series I’ve read/watched so far (Tsubasa, xxxHolic, and Sakura). The artwork is certainly beautiful
That went right over my head. Thx for pointing that out!
Anyway, I’m looking forward to week 2, and seeing where the story goes
I’d forgotten that the text actually uses the word 異世界. I think when I first read this I didn’t know about it as a genre name.
I’d definitely say stick with it, I just finished the third volume and that first 60 or so pages of volume 1 is mostly getting the “Whoa look at this alternate world it’s so wacky and fanciful” stuff out of the way. Without spoiling it picks up once they meet the blacksmith lady who’s kind of funny but also gives the girls their first real objective on the broader quest.
I am also trying to figure out what to say without spoilers, but we still are in the setup phase. The series is rather short so it doesn’t take that long to get to the point.
If you had the patience for Sakura, stick it out for Rayearth
Although tbf it’s been a really long time since I’ve actually read CCS and I was watching anime filler, so I really only have myself to blame.
I’m not considering dropping it at this point. If nothing else, it’s a very easy read
I got that. Like I said, I’m looking forward to next week
CCS anime got so painful the longer it went on. When I looked up the difference btwn the anime & the manga, almost all of my problems were literally from the filler and related plot changes. Otoh, I was glad they erased the pedophilia relationship with the teacher… I’m really not looking forward to reading that if/when we get there… Anyway I’ll save that for CCS thread
My hope is we just skip CCS it’s too long and my personal opinion is I can’t handle seeing any of the adult characters, although I do really like Yukito and Touya and Tomoyo, so I suffered through the first series for them.
WK has a Sakura group; we can refer people there
But a little more seriously, I do think it’s a really good beginner series (with, yes, a lot of flaws). With it’s popularity on Natively enough people have probably already read/watched it on their own. I’d personally rather read series that I haven’t read before (or in a very long time), especially if we tackle a series as long as CCS.
To be fair, I think that’s in the absolute beginner book club, so they are reading at a snail’s pace.
