CATDOLL: Witness of the times: Where was the golden age of light-adapted animation over the past decade?

Light novels are a new type of entertainment literature originating from Japan, with young people as the main readership. They have flexible and varied writing techniques and are mostly easy to read.

In recent years, with the rapid development of technology, there are more and more cartoons, and comic adaptations and original animations alone can no longer meet people's needs. Therefore, light novel adaptation animations have become another huge market for animation companies.

There are countless examples of light novels being adapted into animations, such as the previous "The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya" and the current "KonoSuba: God's Blessing on This Wonderful World". Recently, Japanese anime fans have been discussing when the golden age of light novels being adapted into animations was, and whether it was in the past or in the future. Let's discuss it together!

[Before 2000]

Representative works:

Slayers (1995)

The Magician Ophelia (1998)

The Travels of Jidaojun (1999)

At that time, there were few examples of light novels being adapted into animations, and most of them were fantasy works. "Lost Universe", "Irresponsible Captain Taylor" and "Alice SOS" were all products of this period. There were 2 in 1995, 2 in 1996, 3 in 1997, 5 in 1998, and 5 in 1999.

【First half of the 2000s】

Representative works:

"Bobby Pop, Don't Smile" (2000)

Full Metal Panic (2002)

Kino's Journey (2003)

Although there are not many, "Full Metal Panic" now has a sequel. Animation such as "The Amazing Troops", "Maria", "The Magic of Love" and "Twelve Kingdoms" are very popular. There were 3 in 2000, 3 in 2001, 4 in 2002, 6 in 2003 and 3 in 2004.

【Late 2000s】

Representative works:

Shakugan no Shana (2005)

Zero no Tsukaima (2006)

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (2006)

Spice and Wolf (2008)

During this period, the number of light novels adapted into animations has exploded, and it is difficult to choose representative works. Other works include "Looking at the Half Moon Sky", "The Ballad of the God of Death", "Inugami", "Toradora and Tora", "Bakemonogatari", etc. There were 8 in 2005, 18 in 2006, 11 in 2007, 18 in 2008, and 18 in 2009.

【First half of the 2010s】

Representative works:

"My Little Sister Can't Be This Cute!" (2010)

Horizon in the Middle of Nowhere (2011)

Sword Art Online (2012)

My Teen Romantic Comedy Is Wrong, As I Expected (2013)

There are more and more light novels adapted into animation, including Baka and Test: Summon the Beasts, Durarara!, Sakurasou no Pet Girl, Chuunibyou ga Koi ga Shitai, and No Game No Life. There were 14 in 2010, 20 in 2011, 25 in 2012, 33 in 2013, and 27 in 2014.

【Late 2010s ~ Present】

Representative works:

How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend (2015)

Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? (2015)

Overlord (2015)

KonoSuba: God's Blessing on This Wonderful World (2016)

Other works include "Aria of the Holy Swordsman", "GATE Fantasy Self-Defense Force", "The Legend of the Failed Knight", "Aria the Scarlet Ammo AA", etc., which left a deep impression on people. There were 27 in 2015 and 8 in 2016.

Japanese anime fans left their footprints one after another: "It turns out that "Haruhi Suzumiya" has been around for 10 years..." "Looking at the list of works, I think the first half of the 2010s was the golden age, and the works at that time sold well." "Now is the golden age, no matter what light novel can be animated." "I want to watch "Aria the Scarlet Ammo" again." ""Haruhi Suzumiya", "Sana", "Zero no Tsukaima", "Kino's Journey" and "Spice and Wolf" are all golden periods during this period." "Haruhi Suzumiya must be mentioned in the light adaptation animation."