https://youtu.be/G7w2Co2pzU0?si=ZsEqKURaBT442JrW
This was something I found waay back when I first started getting into manga recaps. It is called an isekai, but that’s not actually true unless you consider it a type of meta-isekai that is more immersive for the audience than the MC.
To be blunt, this is a coming of age story for the man-children of contemporary generations. A wholesome, motivational tale that addresses poignant social issues that affect young men (in particular, but the lessons are not exclusive). Therefore, it is a series I would recommend to my wayward youngest brother, as the story is literally about him… but I will focus on the MC himself and not the MC as a stand in for my aforementioned sibling.
- MC is a NEET (Not in Education, Employment, Training) who spends most of his time meandering on the internet and being silently judged by his family. The latter are not exactly thrilled with his lifestyle, but don’t overtly show hostility, and there is an immediately noticeable tension caused by unspoken sentiments. Just like my own family!
- MC is embittered by his own failures. Turns out his life got derailed years ago through a combination of the times we live in eg job market etc, and also when he confronted his sister’s stalker who then stabbed him in the gut. Our MC lived, but the trauma of it is lurking, especially when it joined up with him bailing on a job interview years ago. His life is just idle dopamine searching these days, though he does keep in shape with weights in his room ie dumbbells.
- One day, MC revieves a promo game, and it’s essentially one of those Sim games that depends on your governance ability and RPG decision making. MC is in charge of a small band of escaped refugees who flee from a monster invasion, leaving their previous homes. He interacts as their “god” with a limited communication system via the in game priestess/Oracle. Using system points, MC can influence things and provide varying degrees of protection.
- The Sim story progression, which has _very_ realistic graphics etc, captivate our MC, who does to protect his flock. The purpose he derives help him to sort his own shambles of a life. As time goes by, MC reconnects with his emotionally distant family, and the communication is simply heartfelt. We discover that the father doesn’t disapprove of his son, and feels guilty that the times in society have changed so that finding meaningful work is more difficult than in his day. The sister feels guilty over the stabbing, feeling responsible for her brother becoming a shut in. We see how subtly everyone in the family treats him when he starts staking more autonomy in the beginning, finally culminating in the big open reconciliation.
- Our MC, in a P2W bid of desperation for his Sim followers, gets a cleaning job, and works hard in a demonstration of respectable simply dignity of an honest day’s labour. Very realistic, as a lot of these shows just thrust the MC into a lucrative position, and that doesn’t happen in real life with connections or insane luck. Admittedly, I have had such instances, but I’m the Villain, not the MC!
- One final cool fact: his in game followers start providing offerings to their God via his shrine, and the items are mysteriously mailed to his real life address…
I heard that the manga ended unresolved, while the Light Novel continued, but the main take away I wanted to share is that this story could help so many people who are suffering from a lack of purpose right now. In my own position, I too can candidly say that having people to protect and care for will provide more opportunities to grow than if we only focus on ourselves. Isn’t that quite a paradox, that by helping others we help ourselves the most? There are caveats to that, of course, but I daresay that we are only able to help others according to our strength, and that the stronger we get, the more helpful we also become.
Solosopher & Solosophy 