Sections
Sekai (世界): what it means in anime
世界
せかい · sekai · the world; society; the universe JLPT N4
Sekai means "the world". In anime it is the world that must be saved, destroyed or escaped, and in isekai titles it is the other world the hero lands in.
Where you hear it 12 of 42 series
Lines from the Japanese subtitles of episodes 1–3 of each show. A translation is shown only when it clearly matches the line; counts are subtitle lines containing the word.
-
No Game No Life · 28 lines in episodes 1–3 · this one from episode 1
生まれる世界を間違えたわけだ
-
KonoSuba · 25 lines in episodes 1–3 · this one from episode 1
異世界に持っていけるものだろ？
-
Steins;Gate · 20 lines in episodes 1–3 · this one from episode 1
世界の支配構造の変革にある
-
Re:Zero · 20 lines in episodes 1–3 · this one from episode 1
異世界召喚じゃねえのかよ！
-
Sword Art Online · 19 lines in episodes 1–3 · this one from episode 1
もしくは 現実世界の誰かが―
-
Angel Beats! · 19 lines in episodes 1–3 · this one from episode 1
でも“死んだ世界戦線”って
-
Death Note · 15 lines in episodes 1–3 · this one from episode 2
この世界の影のトップ 最後の切り札
-
Code Geass · 15 lines in episodes 1–3 · this one from episode 1
どうせ 世界は変わらない…
Also in: Dr. Stone, Reincarnated as a Slime, Spy x Family, Hunter x Hunter.
Usage and nuance
異世界 (isekai) is 異 (different) plus 世界, and the whole genre is named after it. Konosuba, Re:Zero and Tensura all open with a character arriving in a new 世界.
Beyond fantasy, 世界 appears in dramatic lines about a character's personal world: 私の世界 ("my world"), 世界が変わった ("the world changed"). Light in Death Note wants to become 新世界の神, the god of a new world.
Pronounce it with a short e: se-ka-i. The common mistake is stretching it like the English "say".
Hear 世界 in No Game No Life28 lines in episodes 1–3 · tappable subtitles · free, no account