<p>The trend was started in 2006 by <strong>Zero no Tsukaima</strong>.</p>
<p>The unexpected success of this franchise not only led to three more seasons, which as far as anime goes is very rare (even more so back then), but it also led to more isekai shows being produced.</p>
<p>Of course, it took about a year for the DVDs to come out and then another year for people to realize that this really was gold and not just a quick lived trend. So slowly we started to see more of this.</p>
<p>Isekai no Seikishi Monogatari (2009)<br />
Dog Days (2011)<br />
Sword Art Online (2012)<br />
Oda Nobuna no Yabou (2012)<br />
Ixion Saga DT (2012)</p>
<p>To call out a few that rode the wave Zero no Tsukaima started. By the time SAO was understood to be a very big success too, the thing was a made deal. This stuff sells, so more should be made. And the rest is history.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-10-10T17:28:07.257Z
[citation needed] - I *seriously* doubt that this was something that only started in 2006 given how prevalent both of these were in modern media.
Makoto
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-10-11T11:37:40.097Z
@Makoto You can try to find a harem isekai anime from before 2006, but you won't, since it doesn't exist. Zero no Tsukaima was a turning point for isekai shows. Before they were more pessimistic/sobering and didn't feature harems. They also weren't framed "isekai". If you go all the way back you get Alice in Wonderland (1865). Or if you limit it to anime there were shows like Orguss (1983), but those were Sci-Fi in nature. They weren't isekai anime in the modern sense and they have nothing to do with the current trend.
Ocean
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-10-11T15:42:51.953Z
You might be right, but if you had some kind of citation or proof to go alongside of this, then that'd be a bit more convincing.  I just need a crumb of more evidence is all.
Makoto
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-10-15T15:44:10.223Z
ocean is it that harem has always been a trend and isekai has always been a trend but now Michael is saying harem isekai has recently become a trend?
BCLC
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-10-15T17:05:32.870Z
@Makoto This is one of those "I am the source" moments, but really I just took it upon myself to look at every single anime in one of them anime databases once upon a time and thus have a general understanding of every anime in existence (inside said database) up to 2015 or so. I also am a fan of isekai anime, so I put in extra work to find all the isekai anime ever™ more recently. Not only that, but I also have a general interest in anime history and the industry, so I am well-read on that, too. Organizing all my information on the topic is the source of my answer.
Ocean
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-10-15T17:14:07.100Z
@BCLC I can't speak for other people, but Harem started to become a trend due to Tenchi Muyo (1992) and really established itself during the early 2000s, while Isekai became a trend due to Zero no Tsukaima (2006) and really established itself during the 2010s. You'll have a difficult time finding anything resembling Harem before Tenchi Muyo, but Isekai has always kinda been around. It just wasn't really a trend. To the point that when the protagonist in the anime Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuutsu (2006) made a reference to "isekai-jins" no one made the connection to a genre.
Ocean
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-10-15T17:20:24.100Z
Also, back when Zero no Tsukaima released, it wasn't considered "isekai" in the same way as we would do so now. There was no such genre. It was seen as a normal fantasy anime. I watched Zero no Tsukaima back when it still aired in 2006 and even by the second season no one called it an isekai anime. It was a fantasy anime. I also watched Haruhi and didn't even make the connection to Zero no Tsukaima when Haruhi talked about isekai-jins. The translation called it "sliders" back then (just looked it up) and I still don't know what sliders are supposed to be. But I know what isekai-jins are.
Ocean
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-10-23T14:16:01.803Z
@Ocean right so indeed harem and isekai individually have always been around but harem and isekai together is just about mid 2000?
BCLC
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-10-23T21:10:21.690Z
@BCLC If you are comfortable calling Alice in Wonderland and Digimon Adventure Isekai it has always been around. Zero no Tsukaima was the first to combine Isekai with Harem elements.
Ocean
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-10-10T10:27:05.117Z
2022-10-10T10:27:05.117Z
Ocean
<p>There have been tons of popular isekai with harem, for example, <em>Sword Art online</em>, <em>the Rising of the Shield Hero</em>, <em>Parallel World Pharmacy</em>, etc. Needless to say, harem isekai is now a trend.</p>
<p>What's the first harem isekai and its method of reincarnation in anime and manga separately? How does harem isekai gradually develop into a trend?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-07-30T04:49:37.063Z
Related: [Why is harem a common theme in manga/anime?](https://anime.stackexchange.com/q/18797/2516) and [How did "other world" or "isekai" stories gain so much popularity and where do they have their roots?](https://anime.stackexchange.com/q/47849/2516). Basically, trending + trending = more trending.
Aki Tanaka
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-07-30T05:03:20.020Z
@AkiTanaka The question is not about the reason or the psychology behind the trend. It's more about commercial stuff like the growth of investment and size and activity of its fandom.
Michael
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-07-30T06:39:53.250Z
SAO is not really new though?
BCLC
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-07-30T11:42:51.693Z
There is no doubt that isekai is a trend, but I guess you need to explain why you think *harem* isekai is a trend. It can't be a proof that there a couple (or even dozen) of them, considering the number of isekai titles.
sundowner
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-07-30T12:18:54.663Z
@sundowner How large is the portion of isekai that are not harem nowadays?
Michael
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-07-30T12:28:53.950Z
@Michael That's what you need to address... I assume ikeseaki titles are well over 100.
sundowner
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-08-01T18:15:46.480Z
I feel like you're asking two things here.  Harem anime have always been popular or have manifest in one form or another over the years.  Isekai anime have always been popular or have manifest in one form or another over the years.  Someone with marketing sense probably saw that combining the two could improve on the medium.  Can you be a bit clearer about what it is you're looking for, specifically?  I can't think of an era in which this *wasn't* some kind of trend.
Makoto
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-08-13T13:01:27.543Z
if you were to take into account how much influence Zero no Tsukaima (a harem isekai) had in the isekai boom, it makes sense. Narou was full of ZnT fanfiction way back then, and some of these fanfiction writers went on to write their own isekai stories, i.e. Tappei Nagatsuki, the writer of Re:Zero. Over time, most of the Narou isekai web novels ended up having the harem trope, because their origin just happened to be a harem isekai. It helped that the most popular isekai in Narou also happened to be harems: Mushoku Tensei, Arifureta, Hachinantte, etc.
paulnamida
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-09-03T04:29:10.697Z
not the list I would have provided, but hey. My impression (and far from a cannonical response), is that the modern isekai phenomenon in anime specifically stems from Tenchi: War on Geminar (2005), and the .hack series, who have been stranding folks in video games since the ninties. Most of the modern isekais come from light novels rather than original mangas, and in the novels using an "another world" premise allows the author to double the depth of the world they have built with almost no effort, because any detail is just contrast to the known world of the characters origin.
Frank Thomas
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-10-15T15:43:41.723Z
@Makoto ah so harem has always been a trend and isekai has always been a trend but now Michael is saying harem isekai has recently become a trend?
BCLC
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-10-15T15:43:45.437Z
@sundowner ah so harem has always been a trend and isekai has always been a trend but now Michael is saying harem isekai has recently become a trend?
BCLC
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-01-22T18:01:06.613Z
@AkiTanaka ah so harem has always been a trend and isekai has always been a trend but now Michael is saying harem isekai has recently become a trend?
BCLC
<tropes>
How does harem isekai become a trend?
# How does harem isekai become a trend?
Posted by: username_0 on 2022-07-30
There have been tons of popular isekai with harem, for example, *Sword Art online*, *the Rising of the Shield Hero*, *Parallel World Pharmacy*, etc. Needless to say, harem isekai is now a trend.

What's the first harem isekai and its method of reincarnation in anime and manga separately? How does harem isekai gradually develop into a trend?
**Tags:** tropes
> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Related: [Why is harem a common theme in manga/anime?](https://anime.stackexchange.com/q/18797/2516) and [How did "other world" or "isekai" stories gain so much popularity and where do they have their roots?](https://anime.stackexchange.com/q/47849/2516). Basically, trending + trending = more trending.  
> **username_0**: @AkiTanaka The question is not about the reason or the psychology behind the trend. It's more about commercial stuff like the growth of investment and size and activity of its fandom.  
> **username_2**: SAO is not really new though?  
> **username_3**: There is no doubt that isekai is a trend, but I guess you need to explain why you think *harem* isekai is a trend. It can't be a proof that there a couple (or even dozen) of them, considering the number of isekai titles.  
> **username_0**: @sundowner How large is the portion of isekai that are not harem nowadays?  
> **username_3**: @Michael That's what you need to address... I assume ikeseaki titles are well over 100.  
> **username_4**: I feel like you're asking two things here.  Harem anime have always been popular or have manifest in one form or another over the years.  Isekai anime have always been popular or have manifest in one form or another over the years.  Someone with marketing sense probably saw that combining the two could improve on the medium.  Can you be a bit clearer about what it is you're looking for, specifically?  I can't think of an era in which this *wasn't* some kind of trend.  
> **username_5**: if you were to take into account how much influence Zero no Tsukaima (a harem isekai) had in the isekai boom, it makes sense. Narou was full of ZnT fanfiction way back then, and some of these fanfiction writers went on to write their own isekai stories, i.e. Tappei Nagatsuki, the writer of Re:Zero. Over time, most of the Narou isekai web novels ended up having the harem trope, because their origin just happened to be a harem isekai. It helped that the most popular isekai in Narou also happened to be harems: Mushoku Tensei, Arifureta, Hachinantte, etc.  
> **username_6**: not the list I would have provided, but hey. My impression (and far from a cannonical response), is that the modern isekai phenomenon in anime specifically stems from Tenchi: War on Geminar (2005), and the .hack series, who have been stranding folks in video games since the ninties. Most of the modern isekais come from light novels rather than original mangas, and in the novels using an "another world" premise allows the author to double the depth of the world they have built with almost no effort, because any detail is just contrast to the known world of the characters origin.  
> **username_2**: @Makoto ah so harem has always been a trend and isekai has always been a trend but now Michael is saying harem isekai has recently become a trend?  
> **username_2**: @sundowner ah so harem has always been a trend and isekai has always been a trend but now Michael is saying harem isekai has recently become a trend?  
> **username_2**: @AkiTanaka ah so harem has always been a trend and isekai has always been a trend but now Michael is saying harem isekai has recently become a trend?  
---
## 1 answers
### Answer by username_7 on 2022-10-10. Score: 2 | Accepted answer
The trend was started in 2006 by **Zero no Tsukaima**.

The unexpected success of this franchise not only led to three more seasons, which as far as anime goes is very rare (even more so back then), but it also led to more isekai shows being produced.

Of course, it took about a year for the DVDs to come out and then another year for people to realize that this really was gold and not just a quick lived trend. So slowly we started to see more of this.

Isekai no Seikishi Monogatari (2009)  
Dog Days (2011)  
Sword Art Online (2012)  
Oda Nobuna no Yabou (2012)  
Ixion Saga DT (2012)

To call out a few that rode the wave Zero no Tsukaima started. By the time SAO was understood to be a very big success too, the thing was a made deal. This stuff sells, so more should be made. And the rest is history.
> **Comments:**
> **username_4** (2022-10-10): [citation needed] - I *seriously* doubt that this was something that only started in 2006 given how prevalent both of these were in modern media.  
> **username_7** (2022-10-11): @Makoto You can try to find a harem isekai anime from before 2006, but you won't, since it doesn't exist. Zero no Tsukaima was a turning point for isekai shows. Before they were more pessimistic/sobering and didn't feature harems. They also weren't framed "isekai". If you go all the way back you get Alice in Wonderland (1865). Or if you limit it to anime there were shows like Orguss (1983), but those were Sci-Fi in nature. They weren't isekai anime in the modern sense and they have nothing to do with the current trend.  
> **username_4** (2022-10-11): You might be right, but if you had some kind of citation or proof to go alongside of this, then that'd be a bit more convincing.  I just need a crumb of more evidence is all.  
> **username_2** (2022-10-15): ocean is it that harem has always been a trend and isekai has always been a trend but now Michael is saying harem isekai has recently become a trend?  
> **username_7** (2022-10-15): @Makoto This is one of those "I am the source" moments, but really I just took it upon myself to look at every single anime in one of them anime databases once upon a time and thus have a general understanding of every anime in existence (inside said database) up to 2015 or so. I also am a fan of isekai anime, so I put in extra work to find all the isekai anime ever™ more recently. Not only that, but I also have a general interest in anime history and the industry, so I am well-read on that, too. Organizing all my information on the topic is the source of my answer.  
> **username_7** (2022-10-15): @BCLC I can't speak for other people, but Harem started to become a trend due to Tenchi Muyo (1992) and really established itself during the early 2000s, while Isekai became a trend due to Zero no Tsukaima (2006) and really established itself during the 2010s. You'll have a difficult time finding anything resembling Harem before Tenchi Muyo, but Isekai has always kinda been around. It just wasn't really a trend. To the point that when the protagonist in the anime Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuutsu (2006) made a reference to "isekai-jins" no one made the connection to a genre.  
> **username_7** (2022-10-15): Also, back when Zero no Tsukaima released, it wasn't considered "isekai" in the same way as we would do so now. There was no such genre. It was seen as a normal fantasy anime. I watched Zero no Tsukaima back when it still aired in 2006 and even by the second season no one called it an isekai anime. It was a fantasy anime. I also watched Haruhi and didn't even make the connection to Zero no Tsukaima when Haruhi talked about isekai-jins. The translation called it "sliders" back then (just looked it up) and I still don't know what sliders are supposed to be. But I know what isekai-jins are.  
> **username_2** (2022-10-23): @Ocean right so indeed harem and isekai individually have always been around but harem and isekai together is just about mid 2000?  
> **username_7** (2022-10-23): @BCLC If you are comfortable calling Alice in Wonderland and Digimon Adventure Isekai it has always been around. Zero no Tsukaima was the first to combine Isekai with Harem elements.  
---
