Sections
現実Genjitsu: what it means in anime
げんじつ · genjitsu
reality; actuality; hard fact
Genjitsu means "reality" or "the real world". In game and isekai anime it is the opposite of the virtual or other world, as in 現実世界 (genjitsu sekai).
Updated November 2, 2026
Where you hear it
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“架空”は“現実”にand dreams became reality.
My Hero AcademiaEpisode 1 · 13 lines in episodes 1–3 -
いつかきっと 現実世界に帰れるSomeday, you'll go back to reality.
Sword Art OnlineEpisode 3 · 8 lines in episodes 1–3
From the Japanese subtitles · how we count
Usage and nuance
Sword Art Online is built on the line between the game and 現実: いつかきっと現実世界に帰れる, "someday you'll get back to the real world". My Hero Academia's opening narration says that "fiction" became "reality", "架空"は"現実"に.
現実逃避 (genjitsu touhi) is "escapism", and 現実的 (genjitsuteki) is "realistic". Characters who bring others down to earth tell them 現実を見ろ, "face reality".
Its opposites in stories are 夢 (yume, dream), 理想 (risou, ideal) and 異世界 (isekai, another world).
Hear 現実 in My Hero Academia13 lines in episodes 1–3 · tappable subtitles · free, no account