Summary
A newisekai mangafrom J-Novel Club calledTo Another World… with Land Mineshas set the stage for what looks like a massive subversion ofthe heroes with broken powerstrope, and although the story could eventually prove otherwise, the chapters that are currently available are trending in the more promising direction. Moreover, later events suggest a possibly even greater twist on the horizon that would further underscore this already unconventional premise.
It would be a foolish endeavor to list all the isekai where the hero either receives an obvious cheat they are immediately aware of or that was initially falsely perceived as useless before becoming one of the greatest powers of all time.
Incredibly,the protagonist Naodoesn’t have any special powers, and the likelihood of this not being the case is slim to none based on the fact that he chose them for that reason. The more powerful skills and abilities actually come with eponymous land mines, which are basically downsides that are ostensibly massive enough for Nao to refer to them as such.
To Another World… with Land Mines Almost Makes Its Heroes Not Overpowered
By writer Mizuho Itsuki and artist Relucy; based on the light novel series by Itsuki Mizuho and artist Nekobyou Neko
This is basically all the information regarding this trope as presented in the first chapter, which isavailable for free on J-Novel Club. Subsequent chapters provide more proof that this is still very much the case. Nao’s two friends who are resurrected alongside him are in the same boat, and there are numerous scenarios underscoring the fact that all their powers are useful but nothing special. Truth be told, all three of them struggle quite a bit just because they aren’t overpowered. Of course, this could still change, but as of chapter 4, there has been nothing to demonstrate otherwise.
This would not only create a fun dynamic rarely seen in isekai, but would basically make their lack of power a form of empowerment.
WhatTo Another World… with Land Minesalsohints at further supports the possibility that the manga has demonstrablytoppled the overpowered hero trope. Essentially, Nao and his friend’s normal abilities will likely position them as naturally powerful in contrast to those who chose abilities that come with these land mines. Readers can expect these other characters to show up, since Nao and his friends unfortunately died alongside their class during a freak accident, and their classmates all chose these land mines.
So, while it is assumed that Nao and his friends will likely come across them at some point, subsequent discussions between the three protagonists have made this even more probable. The manga has actually gone out of its way to have them discuss the possibility of having to protect their foolish classmates should the situation ever arise, essentially serving as potential foreshadowing. This would not only create a fun dynamic rarely seen in isekai, but would basically make their lack of power a form of empowerment, thus removing the need for them to be overly powerful in the traditional sense.
Of course, the provided summary ofTo Another World… with Land Minesfrom J-Novel Club is ambiguous enough that those who choose to read the manga based on that write-up alone could easily assume that Nao and his friends are the ones who receive these land mines themselves. While this would also have been an amusing direction in and of itself, the actual premise ofTo Another World… with Land Minesis much more appropriate just because it’s directly playing off a well-known trope to give readers something fresh, and that’s what isekai is both renowned and infamous for.
