✨️Temasek Poly x GRIP Connect Manga Mental Health Series - Workshop Retrospectives✨️

Isekai'ed But Daijoubu Desu — our Manga Mental Health Workshop Series has come to a close, and we are deeply grateful. Grateful to every participant who showed up with their questions, and trusted us with their reflections: they are far more ready to grow than they are often given credit for. This post is our attempt to honour what happened across those four sessions, what we did and what we're carrying forward.

What Does "Isekai'd But Daijoubu Desu" Even Mean?

For the uninitiated: Isekai is a beloved genre of Japanese manga and anime in which an ordinary person is transported or "isekai'd" into a fantastical new world. Daijoubu Desu means, simply, "It's okay." Put them together and the message becomes something rather beautiful: You've been dropped into an unfamiliar world. And that's okay. You'll find your way.

That is not just a quirky title. It is the philosophy the entire workshop was built upon.

Who was the Manga Mental Health Series for?

The young people who signed up for this workshop weren't in crisis. They were willing to allow arts and interactions, but stuck in a mild discomfort where you know you want something different for your life and how to get there. Some were wrestling with academic direction. Others were figuring out personal goals, or navigating the quieter difficulties that come with relationships and self-image. A few were simply looking for a space with friends and where they felt they belonged.

But one thing remained common amongst all of them. They were searching for a brighter, clearer future of themselves..

And we met them there using the universal language of Anime, Comics, and Games (ACG) as the bridge.

Our Approach: Solution-Focused Coaching Meets ACG Culture

We use solution-focused coaching as our foundation at GRIP Connect. This means we don't come in as experts telling young people what to do. We come in as partners. We ask questions. We challenge thinking. We hold up a mirror and say – is this really what you believe, or is this just the story you've been telling yourself?

The coaching only works when it's mutual. Young people need to feel that the person across from them is genuinely invested in their growth and not simply running through a programme checklist. That's something we hold onto tightly.

What made this series different was the decision to bring ACG fully into the room as a methodology. Not as a gimmick to get young people through the door. But as a genuine lens for self-exploration.

Here's why that matters in our context. For many of the young people we work with; talking about feelings directly can feel uncomfortable, even unsafe. But give someone a character to talk through, a fictional world to project onto, and suddenly the conversation flows. The connection that fiction provides is actually an opening for the young people to start talking and sharing their feelings.

We used the isekai concept, the idea of being transported into a new world as a framework for reflecting on current state versus future state. “Where are you now?” “What world do you want to build for yourself?” “What strengths do you already carry into that world?”

What We Did Across the Four Sessions

Each session was designed with intention. Before any deep reflection could happen, connection had to come first. And what better way to connect a room full of young people than through the characters they already love?

Ice breakers leaned fully into ACG culture. Participants were invited to think of a favourite isekai character; from anime, manga, games, or even Marvel, DC and Chinese or Korean titles. Then came the prompts that sparked real conversation: Teach a modern-day skill this character might need; What would you propose as a new theme song for this show or character? What is one fact you'd want to share with this character? 

As deeply entrenched fans, we also wove in the deep lore and knowledge into the culture about the different sub isekai genres (such as villianess, reverse isekai, etc) and anime voice artists (commonly known as seiyuu) and the many other worlds they'd brought to life. It’s a playful touch that never fails to light up the room.

What followed was more than small talk. These moments of shared enthusiasm quietly dismantled hesitations, built trust, and reminded participants that they were among people who understood their world.

From there, we were able to envision a new world where participants will choose from 3 meaningful categories — Academic & Career Goals, Personal Development Goals, and Relationship Goals — inviting them to focus their reflection on areas that mattered to them the most at that time.

Highlights from the workshops 

What emerged across the sessions wasn't something we planned for. The real insights didn't come from us. They came from the participants, often when we least expected it.

For example; The shonen archetype hit differently in the room. The underdog protagonist, ignored and banished, quietly carrying something no one has clocked yet, stopped being fictional. Several participants saw themselves in it. Not as a metaphor but as their reflection. The strengths they had been sitting on, the ones they hadn't found words for yet, weren't background detail. They were the main storyline. And that realization? You could feel it land with everyone in the room.

We didn't ask what you wanted. We asked what you refuse to feel. Because sometimes you don't know your goal yet but you absolutely know what you're done with. Start there. The want finds its shape from the don't. One of the learnings we shared with the participants was “Sometimes how you best know your goal is knowing what you don't want. That's what triggers you to do the right thing”.

We shared many anecdotes with participants which got them thinking on a deepr level. One anecdote was about a student who had simply been sharing her wins but was read by others as arrogant. It opened a question nobody could fully close. Do you fix how others see you, or do you work on yourself? Which one actually moves you forward? We weren’t looking for a straightforward answer. But the willingness to sit with that honestly? That was the whole point.

Then there was the scale. Not where do you want to be, but what gets you from 3 to 3.5? That small change in the question made quite a difference. Progress isn't dramatic. It's the half step, especially on the days the leap feels like pure fantasy.

And maybe the quietest but most grounding reminder of all: wanting something isn't indulgence. It is direction. "You need to want to breathe first, before you need to breathe. The want has to come before the need." This is an example we shared with the participants.

Some other things said in those sessions that are still sitting with us:

"Don't guilt trip yourself. Even seniors and grandparents are still figuring this out."

"It's not asking you to complete everything. Just one smaller step."

As a Mental Health First Aider at the workshops, Ms Ivy ensured that the sessions remained not only inspiring but safe for every individual.

Outcomes we observed:

Critical thinking increased. Participants became more willing to question their own assumptions, about their goals, about what "success" is supposed to look like, about whether the path they're on is actually the one they chose. Sometimes the goal is just defaulted to simple, basic necessities like having a good meal, sleep or talk. 

Self-awareness deepened. Reflecting on their own artwork, and having peers reflect it back to them, gave participants language for things they hadn't been able to articulate before. A peer's perceived interpretation of their arts can unlock other ways of looking at the situation for them. 

Empathy was practised, not just talked about. The Supporting My Troopers activity made empathy tangible. Looking carefully at someone else's creative work and writing about it thoughtfully — that is empathy in action.

Community formed. This was unplanned but perhaps the most meaningful. Young people bonded with one  another. Conversations that started in ice breakers continued after sessions ended. Some participants, who came in feeling quiet, left with people that they could start chatting with the next time. 

Self-compassion grew. We were intentional about this throughout. Young people can be very hard on themselves when they don't hit a goal. A significant part of our coaching work was holding space for the message: not achieving a goal doesn't make you a failure. You can always find another way forward. That message landed differently for different people but it made the necessary impact.

What's Coming: The July Exhibition

The sessions have concluded, but the work lives on. In July, we will host an exhibition at Temasek Polytechnic featuring the manga artwork and reflections created by participants throughout the series.

It will be a chance for the wider community to see what happened inside these sessions: the worlds these young people imagined for themselves, made visible. We're looking forward to it so please follow our socials to get updated. We will also be reaching out to invite guests from all around and documenting it for those who can't join the physical exhibition.

GRIP Connect is deeply grateful to every participant who showed up, actively engaged, looked at their trooper's artwork with care, and did the brave, quiet work of looking honestly at themselves.

You've been isekai'ed. And you're going to be just fine.