5:58 > never write a story in your life > write a draft of a story for some magazine contenst in 2001 > the draft is too damn long > decide to publish it as a web novel instead > write the continuation whatever comes to your mind > write another thing for the contest 7 years later > win the first place, they like your other work so much they ask you to also see his previous work > start publishing the work as a light novel > it blows up like the Hill 60 > people love it, but the story starts basically at the end, a bit of build up, romance, defeating the bad guy and then new plots start "properly" this time > write a sub series where you actually tell the 1/3rd of the main story and retconing half the dynamic between two MAIN characters cause you see after all these years that it's not that all that great > fix some plot holes, create some more plot holes, fix them or leave them too > people love both versions, the old and new one, cause both of them provide a shit ton of cool moments for MCs to interact > also get like, 20-something of your volumes adapted into animes > get multiple attempts to adapt your work into mangas > make shit ton of cash from everything > it was basically your first story > later elaborate that you didn't really know what you were doing, you just wrote what seemed cool > refuse to elaborate Reki Kawahara - Sword Art Online
as someone working on a light novel but is used to writing scripts...this makes me feel so much better. from what I've seen online, people don't even expect them to be good writing wise as long as its fun and entertaining.
@@akileaves2669 I would appreciate that more than you know😭 the first volume is actually written, I just have to make edits and address all the notes I’ve left myself for it.
It’s a meee. Hi, here I am (that’s my personal account) uploading my light novel as sort of an audiobook. I upload it on this channel and on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. I’d appreciate you giving it a listen and leaving any feedback. I want to publish it one day, and I’d love for this way of releasing it to serve as feedback
Wow... I just discovered your channel and I have no idea how this gem can be so hidden. I hope you get a hit video soon and blow out, at least a little :D
Thank you! I really appreciate the kind words! Hit or no hit, knowing that people like the stuff I talk about is enough motivation to keep me going (though I wouldn't mind a hit video along the way lolll)
I think it's more like what is the definition of a great LN, basically a fun LN is a great LN, that is it. the reason is like you said you really can't expect master writing in LN most of the times, and you'll realize that when you look at the source of these LN most of the LN as far as I know comes from a web novel that was written in a japanese site called Let's Become a Novelist which is a site that people can upload their novels on it for free, then people will randomly find the novel, read it, like it, and then it gets popular to the point where it turn into a LN then manga, anime etc... Take for example Bofuri, I started reading the web novel recently and I was surprised when I opened the first chapter to find a warning from the writer literally saying that he'll will be writing the plot as he goes without much planning ahead of time so there will probably be contradictions and the like, and the game world wouldn't be perfect or anything so of you don't like that don't read it, all of this because he'll just be writing it in his free time, but hey look! it got light novel and manga and 2 season of anime! so like I said nothing deep, nothing perfect, people found it fun to read so it was successful and that is that.
They are great, though. I don't care how highly acclaimed a book is. For me, it's just glorifying your own taste in book and pat yourself in the back with the award. A truly great book is one that resonates with you. I don't mean that in a voodoo kinda way, but if you have fun with it, then it resonates with you; if you love it, then it resonates with you. Simple as that. I've been reading light novels for years now and absolutely love them. And I can say proudly how great they are.
My thoughts exactly! Unfortunately lots of people seem to only look at the critical worth of a book and not if they personally enjoy it, which is what matters most
Great vid, more people should try light novels. I personally love Index the most (its so nicely written imo) but theres so many great ones out there that more people should give a try, to bad not many get a decent anime adaptation but when they do they turn out great
Light novels are a gift from the heavens. They thoroughly satisfy my niche interests, though i've been running out these days... Perhaps it's time to write my own -w-
@@herbertwalter8693 I’d imagine they would do another 25 episode season. Unless one of those arcs is unusually long it will probably be the second half of season 3.
As someone who is writing his own novel, I thank you as this video made me change a few aspects of my novel, mostly I do my best to make sure it is entertaining to read, I try not to bore my audience with too much talking and facts.
Not everything needs to be a masterpiece, true. But there is a bare minimum that story needs for it to be interesting for me. For examole, when I think about Misfit of demon whatever it is, I feel revulsion. I watched few episodes and it wasn't fun. You mentioned it's somewhat similar to One Punch, but MC gives off completely different vibes that I find beyond boring and exhausting. Why I'm saying this? I forgot. But apart for some exceptions, reading too much ln with incoherent plot drains my soul. VR you say? My mind is immediately tunning out. Ideas are what make ln special. You said it perfectly my man. And they don't need to be masterpieces to be enjoyable, but when they lack crucial part in making the story rich, I feel kinda dissapointed. Reincarnated as a slime was interesting at first, but it soon become boring. It would be exageration to say that MC has no persinality, but that's the impression I'm left with. Most of the villains are pathetic that I can't take seriously. And worldbuilding is dissapointing. So, beautiful video. Great editing and voice. You're great.
@@akileaves2669 genuinely man, you’re someone who is just getting beat by the algorithm and niche topic cause you’d do amazing if not for the cesspool of competition especially with a niche topic! I get it I do art as well and I don’t do conventional art but hey, doing what you love makes a checklist for you to be proud of when you o Look back one day!
I love light novels, they are so fun to read. Good, bad, idc. I adore the content medium and have actually started working on my own series. It's a lot of fun to brainstorm ideas, get a general plot outline going, and just gave fun with it. However, writing well is actually really hard. There is a lot you must keep track of, and a lot of full grammar rules from school that you gotta forget. (E.G. every paragraph must have at minimum 4 sentences. | They do not, when it comes to creative writing.) I have alao learned a lot of keyboard commands for special characters that i never even knew existed-the Em Dash for example. "The Doll Princess" if anyone is interested.
Yeah, i know why I love reading and while I can enjoy complicated themes and such. But most of the time I read very simple stuff the marvel movies of books if you will.
I also really hate the flux of self help and how to build a business books... because i know most of the time the books just points you to their direct consulting business or their information is actually too vague and useless in the end. Complete cash grabs. Atleast with fiction writers, theyre to trying to tell a good story but there are some writers who write for the wrong reasons like for pretentious reasons or vanity.
yep!! totally agree with your self help point. also for sure sometimes you can feel fiction authors go a little too far one way and come across as kinda vapid
this is so true actually and realized the same thing after reading my first one (three days of happiness) which idea is amazing and i must admit that its not a perfect one but just the feeling of the novel makes it a masterpiece for me. (also i know that its not technically a ln because it doesn't have any illustrations but same thing)
Agreed on your main point that the ideas are often better than in lots of manga and other published media. The good prose is often slaughtered by translation though and from all the structural differences I've seen, there's little chance I'd be able to clearly tell that some Japanese author's prose, or for that matter a tonne of Asian writing, was particularly great or bad in the original before being translated to any European language. Idk if you're actually fluent in Japanese unlike me but how are we talking about "bad prose" in the work of translators in a very profit driven, mass marketing focused top management of most of the light novel industry's publishers. The stuff you point out is probably not the best quality though! Like Harry Potter or Twilight in western sff was.
before reading light novels i haven’t read anything else unless i was forced to for school. I started reading them after I picked up “villainess level 99” & reading it all in one sitting. I remember just how immersed I was reading it & I have read around 15 light novels since in the last 4 months. I love reading light novels
I’ve struggled with getting into light novels even though I desperately want to read and that is in large part due to reading manga first. As a result of that, I had a lot of difficulty enjoying the way light novels flow compared to manga but this video does a good job of highlighting some of the points that I’ve been thinking of as I attempt to get into the medium of light novels.
there is a really great webnovel called lord of the mysteries it is an issekai but trust me it's one of the best web/lightnovels i have ever read (and i'm not biased i read rezero taoru and other great novels) it has good worldbuilding intresting sidecharacters realy good fights and one of the most unique power system ever and did i mention that it has good world building? anyway the word building is so good the whole world has diferent cultures deep history i mean really deep history 5 epochs long each spanning thousands of years it has top tier writing too the first 20 chapters are focused on worldbuilding so dont get discouraged and please dont sleep on this masterpiece becauce its chinees and it wil get a donghua in summer 2025 and the trailers are looking really good
What you said intrigues, but I think One Punch Man was definitely a series built on a pretty much unique concept, an OP yet bored and empty hero in an over the top shonen esque world
Yeah I think I meant more the world he inhabits being generic (which is the point) more so than the premise itself which actually probably started that whole "so OP you smash through all the tropes" premise
Just discovered your channel underrated definitely need more recognition especially since light novels don't get talked about enough at least on youtube, hope the yt algorithm is on ur side, but nontheless you just earned a sub
thanks so much! Yeah I've kept my focus on LNs precisely because of that reason, so i'm glad to see the vids are making their way to people that like em too!!
I've just discovered you, and holy moly - such an underrated video! This is genuinely such a cool video; not just quality-wise, but also content-wise! Like!
i struggled really hard with reading youjo senki. around halfway through the ln i fell off and tried listening to the audiobooks, which were much easier to follow. page upon page with inner monologue from tanya and sudden philisophical babble made it hard to get everything to stick. the LN was very different from the anime and it added a lot more depth to tanya that the anime lacked. her also being called the empire's hunting dog was also kinda funny. i have been interested in litrpgs for a while now and some 2 that i really liked, the wandering inn and morningwood. both are very different and both do their things really well.
I love this video. Pretty much, why stop reading Western books. Everything I want is often made by light novel Japanese autors. The last western book I enjoyed was Desert spear. But it lacks the stuff I often enjoy in light novels. There often these youtuber light novel creators that often are critical of light novels. There not problem with being critical. The problem is that I often find myself avoiding them. Because they use such broad criticism that it feel personal. Like I not 13 years old and therefore I don't enjoy this. This is passive aggressive attack on people who you disagree with.
Is it wrong to try to pick up girls in a dungeon and rising of the shield hero are the first light novel series I read and solidified my love for the format haha
but what if theres an LN Series that achieve both things. being a fun read, and actually being a good story. what people misunderstand about good stories is it doesn’t have to be that deep. it just needs some sort of message or voice. as you can tell from my bad engrish, english isn’t my first language but i’ve been living in japan for long enough to write manuscripts in japanese. i entered a dengeki bunko light novel contest this year actually. whether i’ve passed or not, the result comes in december. my minset when going through this was i wanted to write a story that actually has a meaning. i didnt want people who read my manuscript to feel like they didn’t earned anything out of it. but watching this lifted a lot of pressure off my back so thank you. but as a dude who loves storytelling in general(not just books), the just cram good/sick ideas and pray people would love it meantallity, doesn’t excuse bad writing
for professional writers I agree. but the added factor here is the consumer. if you're writing for an audience then i think the results are similar. if you think you wrote a great book you have to hope people think its great to sell it. If you write a fun book, you have to hope people find it fun to sell it. As a writer and lover of good literature myself I do appreciate authors that aspire to write amazing works, but I also respect authors that want to write something fun and easy.
mentioned in another comment but: good starting points in general would be: No preference in genre: Boogiepop. Romance: Bottom-tier character tomozaki. Fantasy: Reign of the seven spellblades for something dark, secrets of the silent witch for something light. Isekai: The faraway paladin for something more traditional, or torture princess for something more weird. Mystery: The apothecary diaries. Action: Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? (its a hot-blooded action series disguised as a fantasy harem) thats all that comes to mind, tho please note of course that these are all series I like personally, so there's def a possibility that you won't like em as much. Thank you for watching!
Many LN authors seem to be fulfilling a niche that they are interested in. even though i shit on the generic isekais and bland harem protags, its obvious that many people like that kind of niche.
most LN are unredable trash, but there is quite a lot of em that are good, its just that they are only part of the 5%, its quite a lot to ask for someone to read something like 100 chapters to make up his mind, thats quite a investment, knowing full well how undigestible the tropes are
people seem to agree on this in general but idk I find the tropes fun most of the times tbh. I do agree about the time commitment but I think when it comes to reading you'll know if you like it solely based on the writing, not necessarily on how much you read.
@@akileaves2669 its solely due to the commitment, if there is such a low chance that your 2 to 3 days of investment wont be rewarded, barely anyone will give the time a day, because even the high rated light novels are mostly terrible, the gold ones are hard to come-by, it takes a lot of effort to find it, so i end up reading actual books or keep reading lord of the mysteries lol
@astralisk funnily enough, I don't have a video that recommends well written LNs lmao. I can give you some I recommend tho: -The apothecary diaries (Mystery LN based off ancient china. Has very satisfying answers to its mysteries) -is it wrong to pick up girls in a dungeon? (Probs the best written action scenes out of any LN Ever) -sabikui bisco (shonen jump manga in LN form) -bottom-tier tomozaki (powerful story about self-improvement disguised as romantic comedy) -torture princess(beautifully written dark fantasy LN that swings from insane violence to earnest emotional scenes) -the faraway paladin (emotionally intelligent isekai about what it really means to get a clean slate in a new life) -ascendance of a bookworm (isekai. A non-stop train of set ups and pay offs that keeps building for over 30 volumes) -reign of the seven spell blades (power comes at a price, but it seems all the more cruel when its earnest and honest teens paying it) These are all LNs you'll know if you'll like based off the first volume so please do give some of them a chance!!
I like the title of this video but at the same time can't you say that to every single medium out there as long as you like the medium. If you like books there are many books that don't have the most complex story lines but are still enjoyable (something like legends & lattes). If you like Anime there are many different shows to scratch different niches for example JJK on a visual standpoint, K-on or Bocchi the Rock two series that just wouldn't work without the sound. And of course as the video mentioned there are Light Novel which are kinda an intermediate between Mangas and books and you can get some very unique stories out of them as they use more of a Japanese way of writing compare to the western/european style.
The problem with lightnovels is that is a incredible swallow way of making a book, and you have to keep buying the novels to see were it goes. 1 volume of a novel does not cover anithing about the story, and you have to reach at least the novel 10 of one to get a conclusion. I think the good thing about traditional novels, mostly fantasy or fiction is that they are at most 3 volumes, a trilogy, a 5 volume series an thats it. The story is complete. Then you look at something like Its it wrong to pick on a dungeon, it keeps on going. Even more than something that has more of a "novel" title like lord of the rings, or harry potter, they dont keep going and going and going. Its like a subscription, but you only get a book that you read, and have to keep buying and buying to se where its going with the plot.
idk, I get people have issues with them but I think shallow is kinda too extreme a word. It's just a different way of formatting a story. Manga does it, traditional TV did it for a while, and even books in other countries did it too with stuff like westerns and sci-fi paperbacks. perry rhodan, john sinclair, Even discworld, which is a critically acclaimed fantasy series had a whole lotta volumes. If your issue is the stories not having a foreseeable conclusion then I think its a matter of perspective. I mention this on a vid a while ago, but reading long-running LNs is more about them having aspects you really like (good character writing, good worldbuilding, interesting premise, interesting pacing, interesting mechanics, etc.) and less about the story itself. It's not a new concept, there are people that buy every new stephen king or neil gaiman book because they love the quirks in their writing more than the stories. I'm sure there are plenty of fantasy and sci-fi authors with similar fanbases. The only difference between them and LN authors is the readers following them by buying multiple books as opposed to following them by buying multiple volumes of a series. I even mention in that old video that if I wanted a life-changing, fulfilling literary experience I would just read a cormac mccarthy or faulkner book lmao. I read LNs cuz they're fun, that's it. So ye idk, I think it's just a matter of perspective and what you enjoy most about a piece of media.
lets see... good starting points in general would be: No preference in genre: Boogiepop. Romance: Bottom-tier character tomozaki. Fantasy: Reign of the seven spellblades for something dark, secrets of the silent witch for something light. Isekai: The faraway paladin for something more traditional, or torture princess for something more weird. Mystery: The apothecary diaries. Action: Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? (its a hot-blooded action series disguised as a fantasy harem) thats all that comes to mind, tho please note of course that these are all series I like personally, so there's def a possibility that you won't like em as much. Thank you for watching!
@@akileaves2669 Nisio Isin is a weird author in the way that his works are in the border of light novel and "regular books" in Japan, so they are very interesting to analyze in a way, I really recommend reading all of Zaregoto and see the progression in writing style from "regular novels" to "light novels." Reading his other early works like Sekai Series and Mahou Shoujo Risuka (only manga available in English) is also pretty interesting because of that Also Post-Zaregoto like Another Note and Another Holic, or more recent works like Bishounen Tanteidan or Boukyaku Tantei, he's a pretty versatile author that can't be categorized in light novel or regular books or a mystery author whatever Sorry I just ended up babbling about an author I really like 😅, but I really recommend his books as you can see, especially if you liked Monogatari and Zaregoto
yeahhh i def wanna get through zaregoto one of these days for sure! I'll also add the other ones you mentioned to my plan to read. and dw you're not babbling lol
Your argument is that light novels are about ideas; let's take that to it's extreme. If people read textbooks as if they were novels, then you'd get complaints about under developed characters and non-existent plots. Maybe if people approached light novels as a sub-genre of speculative fiction, where characters and plots are just an excuse to explore an unfamiliar world, then people would enjoy it more. Or at the very least, they'd understand what they are signing up for.
yeahhh really good point! its def just a case of people not understanding what they're getting into because out of manga, anime, and LNs, Lns are the least popular and the most different
"Muuuh LNs aren't well written" Honestly, this is a hollow statement. I have researched about this a lot in the past and I found nothing substancial in statements like these.
Welcome to literature dumpster diving family were writing style doesn’t matter and how female anatomy is drawn can make or break the book there are skme genuinely good light novels out there, but even the trash like survival in another world with my misteress is some one of the best things I've read, were like the people who buy a game like Golum and actually plays it to the 100% because we paid the preorder price for it
"Muuu it is fun....but it is not good." If something is fun and engaging, it objectively has quality. Because it is not easy or trivial to hold people's attention in the modern world. Try you writting stories that hold people's attention. Good luck doing it without understanding how to do it. Fun is not opposite of quality.
I personally don't like light novels as I find that I enjoy a simple premise with great execution much more than a book with nothing but ideas. I find it incredibly frustrating when authors have clearly interesting ideas but lack the vision/ability to realise them in a satisfying way.
perfectly valid reason imo. definitely a better reason than just not liking them because the titles are goofy or something lol . I tend to read normal books and light novels simultaneously so I get it both ways. Should mention that there are def LN authors with the vision/ability to realize their premise in a satisfying way tho. the stuff I mention 13:35 onwards falls under that category
That's actually a good point. I just finished an anime where they didn't execute or pay off their main ideas and emotional arcs well enough. Like you said, too many ideas and no real substance when it counted.
Really wish people would actually write in the comments sections with specifics so Uploader and others would have an accurate idea what OP is talking about. I t’s just frustrating when I read something like this and it’s just vague AF. What stories didn’t execute very well? What were the ideas you gleaned from it? What was the section that did it for you? What would have been better? Things like this convey actual substance. The irony of writing that original post and then not having substance yourself 🤡 🤦♂️
@@MerlinTheCommenter The actual irony is that you can apply the same logic and complaint to the video itself. A few examples sprinkled here and there, but mostly vague and subjective statements. Based on the content of the video, if I didn't know what a light novel is, I would just think he's talking about books in general. Every single thing that is good about a LN according to the author is just what is good about a book in my eyes. In order to have the conversation you want you'd have to go to a place where people have the bare minimum of understanding and knowledge when it comes to literature. A baseline where one can use a particular example and expect the other side to actually know what they're talking about (or be willing to inform themselves). So many well constructed and insightful arguments get dismissed by "Nu-uh", "Hard disagree" and "I ain't reading all that" that it's stupid to expect a person to write a dissertation under every opinion online. And that's before we get into the issue of people just "feeling" that something is better made but being unable to understand or convey convincingly why. Like when you can tell one car drives better than another, but you don't actually know why that is.
![Aki [ ] Leaves](http://yt3.ggpht.com/TiBu7CKD5-m3TtTdaN-5-GObhEsWR4Gg7HN1QjrHQcZ8Tnd3-9bCWmd2Mm8_hsX1L0iU42ebNQ=s48-c-k-c0x00ffffff-no-rj)
![[MV] A leap of faith...ความเชื่อใจครั้งสุดท้าย (From "Petrichor the series")](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/U1piZH2CNXA/mqdefault.jpg)
😁👍 It would be cool youtubers that talk about normal books give LN a chance. Light novels are just fun.
5:58
> never write a story in your life
> write a draft of a story for some magazine contenst in 2001
> the draft is too damn long
> decide to publish it as a web novel instead
> write the continuation whatever comes to your mind
> write another thing for the contest 7 years later
> win the first place, they like your other work so much they ask you to also see his previous work
> start publishing the work as a light novel
> it blows up like the Hill 60
> people love it, but the story starts basically at the end, a bit of build up, romance, defeating the bad guy and then new plots start "properly" this time
> write a sub series where you actually tell the 1/3rd of the main story and retconing half the dynamic between two MAIN characters cause you see after all these years that it's not that all that great
> fix some plot holes, create some more plot holes, fix them or leave them too
> people love both versions, the old and new one, cause both of them provide a shit ton of cool moments for MCs to interact
> also get like, 20-something of your volumes adapted into animes
> get multiple attempts to adapt your work into mangas
> make shit ton of cash from everything
> it was basically your first story
> later elaborate that you didn't really know what you were doing, you just wrote what seemed cool
> refuse to elaborate
Reki Kawahara - Sword Art Online
as someone working on a light novel but is used to writing scripts...this makes me feel so much better. from what I've seen online, people don't even expect them to be good writing wise as long as its fun and entertaining.
Yes I'm a ln writer too and I really needed this advice I really appreciate this video
ay i'd love to read it whenever you get around to finishing it!
@@akileaves2669 I would appreciate that more than you know😭 the first volume is actually written, I just have to make edits and address all the notes I’ve left myself for it.
It’s a meee. Hi, here I am (that’s my personal account) uploading my light novel as sort of an audiobook. I upload it on this channel and on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. I’d appreciate you giving it a listen and leaving any feedback. I want to publish it one day, and I’d love for this way of releasing it to serve as feedback
@@anosopus what happened to it? It seems the links are dead?
Wow... I just discovered your channel and I have no idea how this gem can be so hidden. I hope you get a hit video soon and blow out, at least a little :D
Thank you! I really appreciate the kind words! Hit or no hit, knowing that people like the stuff I talk about is enough motivation to keep me going (though I wouldn't mind a hit video along the way lolll)
I think it's more like what is the definition of a great LN, basically a fun LN is a great LN, that is it.
the reason is like you said you really can't expect master writing in LN most of the times, and you'll realize that when you look at the source of these LN
most of the LN as far as I know comes from a web novel that was written in a japanese site called Let's Become a Novelist which is a site that people can upload their novels on it for free, then people will randomly find the novel, read it, like it, and then it gets popular to the point where it turn into a LN then manga, anime etc...
Take for example Bofuri, I started reading the web novel recently and I was surprised when I opened the first chapter to find a warning from the writer literally saying that he'll will be writing the plot as he goes without much planning ahead of time so there will probably be contradictions and the like, and the game world wouldn't be perfect or anything so of you don't like that don't read it, all of this because he'll just be writing it in his free time, but hey look! it got light novel and manga and 2 season of anime! so like I said nothing deep, nothing perfect, people found it fun to read so it was successful and that is that.
They are great, though. I don't care how highly acclaimed a book is. For me, it's just glorifying your own taste in book and pat yourself in the back with the award. A truly great book is one that resonates with you. I don't mean that in a voodoo kinda way, but if you have fun with it, then it resonates with you; if you love it, then it resonates with you. Simple as that. I've been reading light novels for years now and absolutely love them. And I can say proudly how great they are.
My thoughts exactly! Unfortunately lots of people seem to only look at the critical worth of a book and not if they personally enjoy it, which is what matters most
Great vid, more people should try light novels. I personally love Index the most (its so nicely written imo) but theres so many great ones out there that more people should give a try, to bad not many get a decent anime adaptation but when they do they turn out great
Light novels are a gift from the heavens. They thoroughly satisfy my niche interests, though i've been running out these days... Perhaps it's time to write my own -w-
the best light novel that i have read is got to be re zero
still don't think they can do arc 6 justice in anime form
@@herbertwalter8693How far would you say the anime is away from that arc?
@@emannuellgomes1624 depends on the length of season 3. arc 5 is next
@@herbertwalter8693 I’d imagine they would do another 25 episode season. Unless one of those arcs is unusually long it will probably be the second half of season 3.
As someone who is writing his own novel, I thank you as this video made me change a few aspects of my novel, mostly I do my best to make sure it is entertaining to read, I try not to bore my audience with too much talking and facts.
Not everything needs to be a masterpiece, true. But there is a bare minimum that story needs for it to be interesting for me. For examole, when I think about Misfit of demon whatever it is, I feel revulsion. I watched few episodes and it wasn't fun. You mentioned it's somewhat similar to One Punch, but MC gives off completely different vibes that I find beyond boring and exhausting. Why I'm saying this? I forgot. But apart for some exceptions, reading too much ln with incoherent plot drains my soul. VR you say? My mind is immediately tunning out. Ideas are what make ln special. You said it perfectly my man. And they don't need to be masterpieces to be enjoyable, but when they lack crucial part in making the story rich, I feel kinda dissapointed. Reincarnated as a slime was interesting at first, but it soon become boring. It would be exageration to say that MC has no persinality, but that's the impression I'm left with. Most of the villains are pathetic that I can't take seriously. And worldbuilding is dissapointing.
So, beautiful video. Great editing and voice. You're great.
This is one of my favorite videos of all time. Love the style and the perspective you provide about Light Novels
Wow, thank you! means a lot to have someone consider this their fav!
Ima say it, your channel is absolutely underrated and this could be huge purely based solely off of your vernacular execution!
thank you so much! ngl this comment made my day haha
@@akileaves2669 genuinely man, you’re someone who is just getting beat by the algorithm and niche topic cause you’d do amazing if not for the cesspool of competition especially with a niche topic!
I get it I do art as well and I don’t do conventional art but hey, doing what you love makes a checklist for you to be proud of when you o
Look back one day!
I love light novels, they are so fun to read. Good, bad, idc. I adore the content medium and have actually started working on my own series. It's a lot of fun to brainstorm ideas, get a general plot outline going, and just gave fun with it. However, writing well is actually really hard. There is a lot you must keep track of, and a lot of full grammar rules from school that you gotta forget. (E.G. every paragraph must have at minimum 4 sentences. | They do not, when it comes to creative writing.) I have alao learned a lot of keyboard commands for special characters that i never even knew existed-the Em Dash for example. "The Doll Princess" if anyone is interested.
Yeah, i know why I love reading and while I can enjoy complicated themes and such. But most of the time I read very simple stuff the marvel movies of books if you will.
good video. loved it. 10/10. saving this for a rewatch when I forget all about it
lmao thank you I appreciate it a lot
I also really hate the flux of self help and how to build a business books... because i know most of the time the books just points you to their direct consulting business or their information is actually too vague and useless in the end. Complete cash grabs.
Atleast with fiction writers, theyre to trying to tell a good story but there are some writers who write for the wrong reasons like for pretentious reasons or vanity.
yep!! totally agree with your self help point. also for sure sometimes you can feel fiction authors go a little too far one way and come across as kinda vapid
this is so true actually and realized the same thing after reading my first one (three days of happiness) which idea is amazing and i must admit that its not a perfect one but just the feeling of the novel makes it a masterpiece for me. (also i know that its not technically a ln because it doesn't have any illustrations but same thing)
I would love to see more videos! I really enjoyed this video just talking about different series it has added some to my list!
I agree, I like his narration and insight.
Agreed on your main point that the ideas are often better than in lots of manga and other published media.
The good prose is often slaughtered by translation though and from all the structural differences I've seen, there's little chance I'd be able to clearly tell that some Japanese author's prose, or for that matter a tonne of Asian writing, was particularly great or bad in the original before being translated to any European language. Idk if you're actually fluent in Japanese unlike me but how are we talking about "bad prose" in the work of translators in a very profit driven, mass marketing focused top management of most of the light novel industry's publishers.
The stuff you point out is probably not the best quality though! Like Harry Potter or Twilight in western sff was.
before reading light novels i haven’t read anything else unless i was forced to for school. I started reading them after I picked up “villainess level 99” & reading it all in one sitting. I remember just how immersed I was reading it & I have read around 15 light novels since in the last 4 months. I love reading light novels
glad LNs have motivated you to read more!!
I’ve struggled with getting into light novels even though I desperately want to read and that is in large part due to reading manga first. As a result of that, I had a lot of difficulty enjoying the way light novels flow compared to manga but this video does a good job of highlighting some of the points that I’ve been thinking of as I attempt to get into the medium of light novels.
I wish you luck! like with reading anything, its all about finding what you like and building a habit out of reading it and searching for it!
there is a really great webnovel called lord of the mysteries
it is an issekai
but trust me it's one of the best web/lightnovels i have ever read (and i'm not biased
i read rezero taoru and other great novels)
it has good worldbuilding
intresting sidecharacters
realy good fights
and one of the most unique power system ever
and did i mention that it has good world building?
anyway the word building is so good
the whole world has diferent cultures
deep history
i mean really deep history
5 epochs long each spanning thousands of years
it has top tier writing too
the first 20 chapters are focused on worldbuilding
so dont get discouraged
and please dont sleep on this masterpiece becauce its chinees
and it wil get a donghua in summer 2025
and the trailers are looking really good
What you said intrigues, but I think One Punch Man was definitely a series built on a pretty much unique concept, an OP yet bored and empty hero in an over the top shonen esque world
Yeah I think I meant more the world he inhabits being generic (which is the point) more so than the premise itself which actually probably started that whole "so OP you smash through all the tropes" premise
you should upload more, your videos are the only one’s i enjoy from all of the videos about light novels etc
Just discovered your channel underrated definitely need more recognition especially since light novels don't get talked about enough at least on youtube, hope the yt algorithm is on ur side, but nontheless you just earned a sub
thanks so much! Yeah I've kept my focus on LNs precisely because of that reason, so i'm glad to see the vids are making their way to people that like em too!!
7:55 sounds like hybrid x heart
Echi but when you get deeper, there's a lot of plot
I've just discovered you, and holy moly - such an underrated video!
This is genuinely such a cool video; not just quality-wise, but also content-wise! Like!
thank you so much!!
@@akileaves2669 no new videos? surely _/\_
soon and i mean it!!
i struggled really hard with reading youjo senki. around halfway through the ln i fell off and tried listening to the audiobooks, which were much easier to follow. page upon page with inner monologue from tanya and sudden philisophical babble made it hard to get everything to stick. the LN was very different from the anime and it added a lot more depth to tanya that the anime lacked. her also being called the empire's hunting dog was also kinda funny.
i have been interested in litrpgs for a while now and some 2 that i really liked, the wandering inn and morningwood. both are very different and both do their things really well.
Do recommend Revrand insanity I'd recommend it its one of the best
I love this video. Pretty much, why stop reading Western books. Everything I want is often made by light novel Japanese autors. The last western book I enjoyed was Desert spear. But it lacks the stuff I often enjoy in light novels. There often these youtuber light novel creators that often are critical of light novels. There not problem with being critical. The problem is that I often find myself avoiding them. Because they use such broad criticism that it feel personal. Like I not 13 years old and therefore I don't enjoy this. This is passive aggressive attack on people who you disagree with.
Is it wrong to try to pick up girls in a dungeon and rising of the shield hero are the first light novel series I read and solidified my love for the format haha
Very good video, love your energy and your love for ln
thank u! means a lot
I fekt in love with ln art so i started read lns...,
I love light novels
Love your commentary!
Wonder when you will get into webnovels😅 lol
good video, impressive with 80 ln
Great video 😀
but what if theres an LN Series that achieve both things.
being a fun read,
and actually being a good story.
what people misunderstand about good stories is it doesn’t have to be that deep. it just needs some sort of message or voice.
as you can tell from my bad engrish, english isn’t my first language but i’ve been living in japan for long enough to write manuscripts in japanese.
i entered a dengeki bunko light novel contest this year actually. whether i’ve passed or not, the result comes in december.
my minset when going through this was i wanted to write a story that actually has a meaning. i didnt want people who read my manuscript to feel like they didn’t earned anything out of it.
but watching this lifted a lot of pressure off my back so thank you.
but as a dude who loves storytelling in general(not just books), the just cram good/sick ideas and pray people would love it meantallity, doesn’t excuse bad writing
your english is good don't worry. also can you let me see that story you made. I'm trying to read it no joke
for professional writers I agree. but the added factor here is the consumer. if you're writing for an audience then i think the results are similar. if you think you wrote a great book you have to hope people think its great to sell it. If you write a fun book, you have to hope people find it fun to sell it. As a writer and lover of good literature myself I do appreciate authors that aspire to write amazing works, but I also respect authors that want to write something fun and easy.
What are top recommendations
mentioned in another comment but:
good starting points in general would be:
No preference in genre: Boogiepop.
Romance: Bottom-tier character tomozaki.
Fantasy: Reign of the seven spellblades for something dark, secrets of the silent witch for something light.
Isekai: The faraway paladin for something more traditional, or torture princess for something more weird.
Mystery: The apothecary diaries.
Action: Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? (its a hot-blooded action series disguised as a fantasy harem)
thats all that comes to mind, tho please note of course that these are all series I like personally, so there's def a possibility that you won't like em as much. Thank you for watching!
Light novels don't have to be great
*Puts Tanya on the thumbnail*
This feels inconsistent
*Poses*. I've only seen the anime. It's great
458 volumes in 2.5 years is insane. Like that's also super expensive.
keep in mind it was before everything started ballooning in price!
@@akileaves2669 Even at 5 bucks a piece which you'll never get them for that's 2.2k bucks!
ok yeah maybe i went overboard 😶
Many LN authors seem to be fulfilling a niche that they are interested in. even though i shit on the generic isekais and bland harem protags, its obvious that many people like that kind of niche.
most LN are unredable trash, but there is quite a lot of em that are good, its just that they are only part of the 5%, its quite a lot to ask for someone to read something like 100 chapters to make up his mind, thats quite a investment, knowing full well how undigestible the tropes are
people seem to agree on this in general but idk I find the tropes fun most of the times tbh. I do agree about the time commitment but I think when it comes to reading you'll know if you like it solely based on the writing, not necessarily on how much you read.
@@akileaves2669 its solely due to the commitment, if there is such a low chance that your 2 to 3 days of investment wont be rewarded, barely anyone will give the time a day, because even the high rated light novels are mostly terrible, the gold ones are hard to come-by, it takes a lot of effort to find it, so i end up reading actual books or keep reading lord of the mysteries lol
do you have any videos on recommendations for actually well written LNs? just getting into them
@astralisk funnily enough, I don't have a video that recommends well written LNs lmao. I can give you some I recommend tho:
-The apothecary diaries (Mystery LN based off ancient china. Has very satisfying answers to its mysteries)
-is it wrong to pick up girls in a dungeon? (Probs the best written action scenes out of any LN Ever)
-sabikui bisco (shonen jump manga in LN form)
-bottom-tier tomozaki (powerful story about self-improvement disguised as romantic comedy)
-torture princess(beautifully written dark fantasy LN that swings from insane violence to earnest emotional scenes)
-the faraway paladin (emotionally intelligent isekai about what it really means to get a clean slate in a new life)
-ascendance of a bookworm (isekai. A non-stop train of set ups and pay offs that keeps building for over 30 volumes)
-reign of the seven spell blades (power comes at a price, but it seems all the more cruel when its earnest and honest teens paying it)
These are all LNs you'll know if you'll like based off the first volume so please do give some of them a chance!!
Try reading webnovels like Lord of the Mysteries
Gem Channel
I stopped judging by the title with reincarnated as a sword
I like the title of this video but at the same time can't you say that to every single medium out there as long as you like the medium. If you like books there are many books that don't have the most complex story lines but are still enjoyable (something like legends & lattes). If you like Anime there are many different shows to scratch different niches for example JJK on a visual standpoint, K-on or Bocchi the Rock two series that just wouldn't work without the sound. And of course as the video mentioned there are Light Novel which are kinda an intermediate between Mangas and books and you can get some very unique stories out of them as they use more of a Japanese way of writing compare to the western/european style.
i agree! the title is mostly a response to the inherent vias manga and anime fans have against light novels
"Why don't you write a book, huh? Go write a book. See if you can do it."
Alright, bet. Release date: February 1st 2026.
looking foward to it 0_0
The problem with lightnovels is that is a incredible swallow way of making a book, and you have to keep buying the novels to see were it goes. 1 volume of a novel does not cover anithing about the story, and you have to reach at least the novel 10 of one to get a conclusion. I think the good thing about traditional novels, mostly fantasy or fiction is that they are at most 3 volumes, a trilogy, a 5 volume series an thats it. The story is complete. Then you look at something like Its it wrong to pick on a dungeon, it keeps on going.
Even more than something that has more of a "novel" title like lord of the rings, or harry potter, they dont keep going and going and going.
Its like a subscription, but you only get a book that you read, and have to keep buying and buying to se where its going with the plot.
idk, I get people have issues with them but I think shallow is kinda too extreme a word. It's just a different way of formatting a story. Manga does it, traditional TV did it for a while, and even books in other countries did it too with stuff like westerns and sci-fi paperbacks. perry rhodan, john sinclair, Even discworld, which is a critically acclaimed fantasy series had a whole lotta volumes. If your issue is the stories not having a foreseeable conclusion then I think its a matter of perspective. I mention this on a vid a while ago, but reading long-running LNs is more about them having aspects you really like (good character writing, good worldbuilding, interesting premise, interesting pacing, interesting mechanics, etc.) and less about the story itself. It's not a new concept, there are people that buy every new stephen king or neil gaiman book because they love the quirks in their writing more than the stories. I'm sure there are plenty of fantasy and sci-fi authors with similar fanbases. The only difference between them and LN authors is the readers following them by buying multiple books as opposed to following them by buying multiple volumes of a series. I even mention in that old video that if I wanted a life-changing, fulfilling literary experience I would just read a cormac mccarthy or faulkner book lmao. I read LNs cuz they're fun, that's it. So ye idk, I think it's just a matter of perspective and what you enjoy most about a piece of media.
yo bro did you read Magical Index?
have the first five volumes but have only read through vol 1. need to read all of sometime soon tbh
@@akileaves2669 hope you will love it, tho it has pretty slow start i could say
@@vpr- even that is up to interpretation. I, for one, LOVED the start of index. It doesn't mesh well with some people though.
Preach, my favorite LN ever
any light novels for starteres to read?
lets see...
good starting points in general would be:
No preference in genre: Boogiepop.
Romance: Bottom-tier character tomozaki.
Fantasy: Reign of the seven spellblades for something dark, secrets of the silent witch for something light.
Isekai: The faraway paladin for something more traditional, or torture princess for something more weird.
Mystery: The apothecary diaries.
Action: Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? (its a hot-blooded action series disguised as a fantasy harem)
thats all that comes to mind, tho please note of course that these are all series I like personally, so there's def a possibility that you won't like em as much. Thank you for watching!
Rascal does not dream, tensura, and Mushoku tensei are my favorites
Re:Zero and Overlord
konosuba!
@@NexusPrimordialreading konosuba made me genuinely chuckle several times. that's some high praise imo
Reverend Insanity would cure you of your LN addiction. It would definitely ruin isekai for you at the very least.
this was a great video man, have you read any nisioisin works?
I have! though not much. Read some of zaregoto. I"ve watched all of the monogatari anime multiple times but have only read S1 of the LNs
@@akileaves2669 Nisio Isin is a weird author in the way that his works are in the border of light novel and "regular books" in Japan, so they are very interesting to analyze in a way, I really recommend reading all of Zaregoto and see the progression in writing style from "regular novels" to "light novels."
Reading his other early works like Sekai Series and Mahou Shoujo Risuka (only manga available in English) is also pretty interesting because of that
Also Post-Zaregoto like Another Note and Another Holic, or more recent works like Bishounen Tanteidan or Boukyaku Tantei, he's a pretty versatile author that can't be categorized in light novel or regular books or a mystery author whatever
Sorry I just ended up babbling about an author I really like 😅, but I really recommend his books as you can see, especially if you liked Monogatari and Zaregoto
yeahhh i def wanna get through zaregoto one of these days for sure! I'll also add the other ones you mentioned to my plan to read. and dw you're not babbling lol
Your argument is that light novels are about ideas; let's take that to it's extreme. If people read textbooks as if they were novels, then you'd get complaints about under developed characters and non-existent plots.
Maybe if people approached light novels as a sub-genre of speculative fiction, where characters and plots are just an excuse to explore an unfamiliar world, then people would enjoy it more. Or at the very least, they'd understand what they are signing up for.
yeahhh really good point! its def just a case of people not understanding what they're getting into because out of manga, anime, and LNs, Lns are the least popular and the most different
"Muuuh LNs aren't well written"
Honestly, this is a hollow statement.
I have researched about this a lot in the past and I found nothing substancial in statements like these.
Welcome to literature dumpster diving family were writing style doesn’t matter and how female anatomy is drawn can make or break the book there are skme genuinely good light novels out there, but even the trash like survival in another world with my misteress is some one of the best things I've read, were like the people who buy a game like Golum and actually plays it to the 100% because we paid the preorder price for it
"Muuu it is fun....but it is not good."
If something is fun and engaging, it objectively has quality.
Because it is not easy or trivial to hold people's attention in the modern world.
Try you writting stories that hold people's attention. Good luck doing it without understanding how to do it.
Fun is not opposite of quality.
I personally don't like light novels as I find that I enjoy a simple premise with great execution much more than a book with nothing but ideas. I find it incredibly frustrating when authors have clearly interesting ideas but lack the vision/ability to realise them in a satisfying way.
perfectly valid reason imo. definitely a better reason than just not liking them because the titles are goofy or something lol . I tend to read normal books and light novels simultaneously so I get it both ways. Should mention that there are def LN authors with the vision/ability to realize their premise in a satisfying way tho. the stuff I mention 13:35 onwards falls under that category
That's actually a good point. I just finished an anime where they didn't execute or pay off their main ideas and emotional arcs well enough. Like you said, too many ideas and no real substance when it counted.
Really wish people would actually write in the comments sections with specifics so Uploader and others would have an accurate idea what OP is talking about. I
t’s just frustrating when I read something like this and it’s just vague AF.
What stories didn’t execute very well? What were the ideas you gleaned from it? What was the section that did it for you? What would have been better? Things like this convey actual substance.
The irony of writing that original post and then not having substance yourself 🤡 🤦♂️
@@MerlinTheCommenter The actual irony is that you can apply the same logic and complaint to the video itself. A few examples sprinkled here and there, but mostly vague and subjective statements. Based on the content of the video, if I didn't know what a light novel is, I would just think he's talking about books in general. Every single thing that is good about a LN according to the author is just what is good about a book in my eyes.
In order to have the conversation you want you'd have to go to a place where people have the bare minimum of understanding and knowledge when it comes to literature. A baseline where one can use a particular example and expect the other side to actually know what they're talking about (or be willing to inform themselves).
So many well constructed and insightful arguments get dismissed by "Nu-uh", "Hard disagree" and "I ain't reading all that" that it's stupid to expect a person to write a dissertation under every opinion online.
And that's before we get into the issue of people just "feeling" that something is better made but being unable to understand or convey convincingly why. Like when you can tell one car drives better than another, but you don't actually know why that is.