CATDOLL: Netizens hotly discuss: Are today’s light novels all for otakus?

Light novels are a special category in the Japanese ACG world. In the early days, there were many good works, and many of them were adapted into animations. Since the rise of the animation adaptation of light novels, light novels have also won the attention of a large number of anime fans. However, compared with the past, light novels are now very different. The routines are becoming more and more strict. Many light novel illustrations are so exposed that people can't look directly at them. It makes people feel that many light novels now are just to please otakus, so Japanese netizens also began to discuss: Is the current development direction of light novels wrong?

1: Below, \(^o^)/でVIPがお发りします2016/05/17(火) 21:42:55.926 ID:gglL+R3B0.net

I recently read some older light novels and compared them to the current works. I feel that the direction of light novels has gone wrong. Think about it, there were works like "Legend of the Galactic Heroes" (which can also be considered a light novel) and "Twelve Kingdoms" that built a great world view, and as long as the name is mentioned, people can immediately think of the settings in it. But nowadays, light novels seem to be all the same and too otaku-oriented.

3: Below, \(^o^)/でVIPがお发りします2016/05/17(火) 21:44:06.396 ID:S2jjsywDd.net

Isn't this determined by the market? I personally like the series "A Certain Pilot's Love Song" very much, but the response after it was adapted into an animation was a mess, and not many people went to read the original. Oh, it's a pity. Obviously, comics can still find the best works from different types of works, but light novels have declined...

12: Below, \(^o^)/でVIPがお发りします2016/05/17(火) 21:48:46.804 ID:rkhksWC90.net

Because the main force of light novel writers is different now. It can be said that the era of the Silver Heroes was still influenced by some traditional literature, but now the writers basically grew up watching ACG and don’t have any special experience, so the things they write are naturally not right. But ironically, their works can win enough market.

13: Below, \(^o^)/でVIPがお发りします2016/05/17(火) 21:49:06.287 ID:jDQ03VVW0.net

I don't know what light novels in the "old" times were like, but I was crazy about Full Metal Panic before, but there are no similar works now. I also like Kino's Journey from 10 years ago, and travel novels like Spice and Wolf, which are no longer available.

49: Below, \(^o^)/でVIPがお发りします2016/05/17(火) 22:33:07.876 ID:gglL+R3B0.net

All I can say is that the light novel industry lacks someone who can give the industry a new look. In terms of animation, there are masters like Tezuka Osamu, and in manga, there are masters like Fujiko Fujio (Tezuka's manga is also great). But the probability of a master emerging in light novels is too low.

In fact, Japanese light novels are indeed criticized nowadays, but only such "routine" works can have relatively good sales. This phenomenon is also thought-provoking. Overly market-oriented operations seem to have only brought a bad result to the development of light novels. What do you think of the issue that light novels are developed just to please otakus? Let's discuss it.