Some anime fans on the Internet noticed a curious fact that seems to be more and more common lately. It is about the increasing appearance of these popular mythical beings called elves that have been part of many of the most recognized stories in recent times, either as protagonists or as an important part of the story. This caused curiosity and started a conversation among users about this event where they shared different points of view, do you want to know the opinion of the Japanese on this topic, we invite you to continue reading this article.
The popularity of elves in anime has grown significantly.
Sousou no Frieren, Dungeon Meshi, Otaku Elf, Isekai Ojisan, are some popular titles that feature an elf as part of their story. These characters are fundamental for the development of the plot, besides contributing important elements and even giving it a touch with their unique personality that characterizes them. And although the integration of these mythical beings is not something new, in recent times it is something that has become more and more frequent, so nowadays it is quite easy to come across anime that has at least one elf in its cast.
Upon noticing this fact, some anime fans shared quite interesting points of view, such as that rather what happens is that elves, are present in other worlds, so really the “boom” are the “isekai”, also that if a fantasy story was going to be developed, it is quite logical that elves are present in the stories due to the nature of these stories. Other people shared that this could be an influence of the acclaimed “Lord of the Rings” saga, which seeks to portray these beings as superior and greedy versions of humans.
Another interesting point of view is that only characters such as Frieren from Sousou no Frieren and Marcille from Dungeon Meshi have succeeded in becoming endearing characters, while the rest have gone largely unnoticed. And precisely, Sousou no Frieren was taken a lot as an example of this topic, since it was also commented that elves, despite having great abilities and a long life, it is very rare that they do not have great rivals, implying that they are not usually very powerful characters; however, in Sousou no Frieren, all the characters are fanatical about battles, that is why they are very strong.
There is someone who even remarked that fantasy in anime had already gone out of fashion in the 90’s and nowadays, its popularity had resurfaced. And definitely, it is something that we cannot deny, since it is enough to pay attention to the most popular anime of recent times and surely we will find a lot of them where elves are present. But it may be that their popularity is not exclusively due to the existence of these beings in the plot, but to the good development of both the story and the characters in general, which is why this formula works and is so well accepted by the public.
And by linking elves with “isekai” stories, the question also arises as to whether this model will wear out as it is used so often nowadays. Precisely, we share this note with you with a debate that arose on Twitter/X about whether anime fans were already tired of this pattern of stories developed in another world, since they began to find them repetitive and thought that originality was being lost. So it is interesting to analyze if the increase of elves in anime is really linked to these fantastic stories or even without being set in them, they would be an element that works in anime. What do you think about this issue?