World-Building in Different Fictional Genres

World-building refers to the imagination, creation, and execution of the world in a story. It is an interesting aspect, considering many shows managed to become excellent without properly building or broadening their world. However, that doesn’t mean that this trait is useless.

Having a broad world in a story makes it:

• More immersive and detailed
• Removes the shallowness
• Gives the audience extra topics to discuss
• Allows the author to introduce new characters for certain arcs and keep them limited within that arc until the author is ready to bring them out again (I.e., Vivi from One Piece)

When Does World Building Become Mandatory?

Genres like slice-of-life or romcom often don’t require any vast world-building. Meanwhile, there are other shows that call for it. I’ve read somewhere that world-building in literature is to be felt, not necessarily noticed. However, sometimes you can observe the lack of it.

Here are some examples of shows or genres that need a vast world-building:

Adventure Genre

The heart of adventure stories is world-building. This genre should give an aura of freedom, which is almost impossible if the story feels limited or restricted within a small world.

Planet-Level Characters

I think the Dragon Ball series, One Punch Man, and some other anime made the mistake of not having proper world-building. Their characters make planet-shaking attacks, but are usually limited to Japan or within a few cities.

Even the S-class heroes who save the world from calamities that can flatten cities or countries are all from Japan. Meanwhile, Superman focuses too much on the USA.

Ashirem, the celestial, appears in Eternals as a looming giant over Earth, only for no characters to ever bring it up in the later movies of the MCU.

Very Long Series

Super-long shows should introduce and add characters here and there. Running the series with limited characters can feel dull and repetitive at one point.

Take My Hero Academia, for example, which felt amazing in the first few seasons. However, it soon becomes apparent that the series author, Horikoshi, is reluctant to add more characters.

Even if he adds an important character, he unalives them way too soon without letting the audience get to know them well. It would be fine for a short series, but not one like MHA. Long action series are seriously unsuitable for a single villain or evil organization to take the spotlight for the whole show.

Want a good example instead? Bungou Stray Dogs and Hunter x Hunter.

Period Pieces

Being careful about world-building is crucial when your story takes place in the past (especially when the world is a familiar one).

If an author is making a historical piece, accurate or not, it must display the historical vibe everywhere. Imagine watching a historical piece where a car has a modern part, and there are modern alcoholic drinks. Novice audiences may overlook these small bits, but not critics or avid watchers/readers.

Backstories are another example of this. Even if it is a fantasy world, once the audience is familiar with it, the creator must implement slight changes to the world of the past.

Isekai Genre

Have you ever wondered why the Avatar franchise is so successful? Its primary reason to be popular was the immersiveness of Pandora, aside from its 3D visuals and VR-type settings.

You can’t just make an isekai piece and throw random fantasy elements here and there. It will only look like a Smosh video of ‘Every Isekai Series Ever.’

Instead, it must have uniqueness. The elements of the world should connect. The author should also use the protagonist’s original world as an ‘anchor’ to show the differences between their previous and new worlds. One can also use our real world as this ‘anchor.’

Most modern isekai anime lack this trait and end up with just another fantasy or sci-fi anime.

Science Fictions

Science fiction is often similar to a period piece, except it happens in the future instead of the past.

Yes, the story may also happen at the present in a world similar to our own, but slightly more advanced. For example, specific events in the Marvel Cinematic Universe occur in the 2020s, but the world is more advanced than ours. Blade Runner is another fine example.

Because of such dissimilarities between the sci-fi story’s world and ours, the author must add some world-building to give it more depth and realism. The science and technology must make sense (except in some cases, like characters breaking the speed of light), or it will become fantasy instead.

Sci-fi and fantasy elements may exist within the same world (like the MCU), but they must not ruin each other.

World Building in Uncanny Horror

I don’t know if many noticed it, but uncanny horror and world-building go hand in hand. Uncanny refers to when something looks so realistic, yet something is off.

For example, the face of a Gee’s Golden Langur looks surprisingly similar to a human, but there are slight dissimilarities. As a result, their faces seem creepy to some of us. I request that you research the uncanny valley to learn more about this.

Uncanny horror is different from regular scares in the sense that it relies on creepiness over jumpscares, gore, or other scary elements.

In fact, uncanny horror is not even a horror but falls within the ‘terror’ category. Again, do research on the difference between horror and terror. You will love it.

So, how does world-building come into play here? Well, in order for uncanny horror to work, you must explain the world in detail. It can be the details of a room, streets, environment, or even a person. One must put ample world-building in that scene.

Then, the author changes some small details. They are tiny bits and almost unnoticeable. Yet they deliver a sense of ambiguity and creep to the audience.

This type of horror doesn’t involve the protagonist encountering a scary ghost. Instead, it includes the protagonist coming to his empty home only to find that all the furniture and belongings have been replaced by similar copies. But for that, you must provide details about his home by tapping into the world-building aspect.

World Building and Character Development

I’ve previously written another blog on character development and posted it here. If you have time, check it out.

Anyway, proper character development often reveals so much about their world. Some characters’ actions make sense when we learn certain factors about their surroundings. For instance:

• Kuma (One Piece) went to such lengths to turn himself into a cyborg because his world’s medical field was limited, and only Vegapunk knew the cure for his daughter’s illness.
• Arlong (One Piece) and Shuichi Iguchi (MHA) became villains after facing constant racism.
• Jack Conrad (Babylon) committed the unthinkable, representing what happens to a profession when the world finds better alternatives.

World Building in Music

World-building also works in background music other than movies, text, or audio. For example, each Genshin Impact region has unique BGMs that work well together.

Conclusion

World-building is tied to every aspect of a piece of literature. Each little detail about a scene can contribute to its world. A piece of fiction needs sufficient immersion, regardless of its type, to let the readers imagine, theorize, and discuss.