I’m reading Eromanga Sensei, Oregairu, and Oda Nobuna no Yabou. They are really good, especially Oregairu. (Whenever I read it I feel like Hachiman was inspired by me,lol. He’s exactly like me!)
As it turns out I’m not the only one!!! I absolutely loved Utsuro no Hako. The story is so much fun going from volume to volume and trying to figure out the trick behind each box while trying to just survive it at the same time. I loved the latest arc and seeing how much of an effect everything that is happening had on Kazuki and watch how his characters warps as he finally finds a purpose for himself. One of my favorite scenes by far was When they trick Kazuki into “attacking” while Aya was disguised as one of the bag heads.
I do have to say though the one downside is how long it is taking the author to finish the final volume since he picked one heck of a cliff hanger to end on With Daiya getting stabbed by one of his “worshipers” and then being pulled in Aya’s box I’ve tried to get Iotheria and Gigaspy to read it several times now but they are stubborn no matter how good I tell them it is.
If Hachiman was inspired by you, you’d have to be some kind of god xD
[quote=“Bowiie, post:11, topic:720”]
I do have to say though the one downside is how long it is taking the author to finish the final volume since he picked one heck of a cliff hanger to end on[/quote]
Yes, the waiting is killing me. I never expected so many explosive changes to occur in the current arc. The finale is going to be amazing O_O
I’d love to read the author’s other novel that he seems to be currently working on, F-Rank no Boukun, but sadly, there is no translation for it >_<
It is said that the protag of that story is based on Daiya.
I have read the first two Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai! light novels, and I can say they are better than the corresponding anime. Less fanservice, better love triangle, different takes on the characters…it’s just handled a lot better in my opinion. :3
I wish I could find a translated copy of the third one. I’m so excited to find out more about these characters!
The perils of being a fan of a lesser known author.
Misread this several times as the protagonist was Daiya and got a little excited. I would love to see all the different ways Daiya could screw with people given his own series.
I moved a post to an existing topic: Toaru Majutsu no Index / Kagaku no Railgun Series (LN Spoilers)
People who read a decent amount of LNs, here’s a question: I was surfing on Wikipedia, when I found this:
“MF Bunko J […] is aimed at young adult males with a focus on Visual Novel style plots and harem romantic comedies.”
What does this mean? I haven’t read any LN by them, so I can’t answer. I don’t get how LNs can be structured like VNs since they have no choices or routes.
Gonna take a guess that they follow an approach of initial character introduction, heavy focus on one heroine and her problems, then move on to the next. A good comparison would be many visual novel to anime adaptations, which often take that approach. Like, imagine taking the Clannad anime and adapting that into a light novel.
Well, that’s just what I think. I’ve certainly read light novels that felt like visual novels before, and that was the general sense I got from 'em. There’s just a pacing and structure inherent to many visual novels, even if you take away the choices.
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Are these from MF Bunko J? What are the titles?
I’ve just finished Chapter 5 of vol 8 of Oregairu. I don’t think anyone had this same reaction, but I shed some tears when Hayama tells those two girls those thongs .
It’s not like I pity Hachiman, because I completely understand how he feels. I would be really angry if someone did that for me. I’ve always hated when people go out of their ways to defend others regarding stuff they have nothing to do with. Much less doing it with me. But, really, seeing that someone actually thinks Hachiman is more than just a loner is really… Impressive.
I’m really considering reading the LNs once season 2 finishes. That series has been getting better and better, it’s super good.
I need to read more light novels from other series.
To start off, here’s what I have read:
- Haruhi Suzumiya - All volumes available now (Melancholy through Surprise). I’ve read through these three times so far. (I am far too into this series in general…)
- Shakugan no Shana - Volumes 1 and 2. I didn’t realize this was a shounen-y thing, but then when I read it I was actually somewhat interested. There’s no volume 3 LN officially translated to English.
- Gosick - Volume 1. Volume 2 is somewhere around $100+ on Amazon last I checked. (And various other places.) So… Yeah… Absolutely loved this though.
- Tokyo Demons - Books 1 and 2. These aren’t from Japan. Also they’re free and I’d definitely recommend them. Check it out here: http://sparklermonthly.com/series/tokyo-demons/ I have the paperbacks. I don’t like waiting between chapters if I can just pay for the book itself, so I usually just wait for the next release.
- Haganai - Volume 9, 10~ (partially). Enjoying this. Haven’t read the earlier volumes, but the anime covered enough of the story for me to not be lost.
- Tsuki Tsuki - All volumes available now (1 through 12). Waiting on volume 13… This series is very ecchi, but I find it entertaining nonetheless. I guess it’s just one spoonful of sugar away from my cup of tea. The translations are unofficial, and the English isn’t very good, but it’s still worth it IMO. (Definitely not for everyone though.)
- OniAi - Volume 1 - 4~ (partially). Umm… guhehe?
- Omae wo - (Everything available so far). I have nothing to say in defense of myself.
- Kamisama no Memochou - Volume 1. Right away there were some amazing quotes that just completely jive with my general philosophy and personal views. Alice is awesome. I’ve been meaning to read more of this.
- Hyouka - (Not sure where I am.) - Enjoyable.
- Kanon - Volume 1 (Nayuki). Yay~ Need to read the rest of these.
I’m sure I’m forgetting a bunch. There’s a lot I’ve been meaning to read, but haven’t made it to yet. Especially Angel Beats: Track Zero, and 5 Centimeters Per Second.
Of those, my general recommendations would be Tokyo Demons, Gosick, and Haruhi. (The anime for Haruhi covers the first four volumes entirely, and parts of the fifth and, iirc, sixth volume. But those two, and all after, will have new content as well.)
I would really like to see some of the Key LNs get official English translations someday (soon, preferably). It’s nice to see (what seems like) a surge of interest in official translations for LNs lately. (That means owning an official paperback or hard copy if that’s your thing. It is for me.)
Thanks to @LinkThinks’s post, I’ve just started reading Famima! Only went through the prologue so far. But it made me laugh, so we’ll see how this one goes.
Just want to throw this out there but… Remote Island Syndrome from The Boredom of Haruhi Suzumiya is just terrible compared to the anime version. They mention Kyon’s sister about once or twice then completely forget about her existence. The anime does a better job of managing and presenting this story overall. The new elements they add in, like the “shadow on the island,” fits in better with the overall story.
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So after watching anime that have been adapted from light novels, I really wanted to go check out their source material and continue with the story. Sadly, the series I have been looking forward to reading for example like Kono subarashii Sekai ni Shufuku wo! or Amagi Brilliant Park have gotten hit with a left hook by the DMCA(Digital Millennium Copyright Act). It’s a United States copyright law that “criminalizes production and dissemination of technology, devices, or services intended to circumvent measures that control access to copyrighted works.” So, it basically screws over many translation projects like NanoDesu’s translation for amaburi.
I want to ask, what does this mean for light novels transitioning over to western culture? I understand some series have translation projects still up and some series are licensed by big companies, but that alone does not cover a huge amount of titles - or I could be wrong?
Also, what are some recommendations? haha
I have been meaning to start on a light novel title but I just keep pushing that thought aside since I get indecisive.
I started reading Kizumonogatari last week and am really enjoying it. Vertical did a pretty good job on the localization - it reads much more like a regular book than a “book you know wasn’t written in English” which was how I felt reading Strawberry Panic and the first two Haruhi LNs.
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I’ve been reading Spice and Wolf recently. I’m on vol. 3. It was quite entertaining at the beginning, but lately, I feel like it’s not worth paying money for anymore… Don’t get me wrong, it’s not bad or anything, but it’s already become pretty repetetive, being all about trade and using some kind of witty trick to outsmart someone else and get profit. I liked the serious scenes with the female lead, too…
But I’m really losing interest and probably won’t buy vol. 4.
Does anyone else here read it?
I started some time ago and I’m at the beginning of vol. 6. If you are already bored you really shouldn’t buy the other volumes. So far it’s all about trading, how to make profit and the relationship between lawrence and holo. I read the first 3 volumes pretty fast in like 1 month but then I slowed down to one volume in 1-2 month.
If you want to kinda finish the story Vol. 5 works good as an ending. You could watch the anime, they adapted vol 1, 2, 3 and 5. Vol. 4 isn’t really necessary because it’s, well, more of the same and nothing really happens.
But I think I’m going to continue reading because I’m a romance fan and lawrence and holo just work too perfect together.
For the first time ever I actually bought a legitimate light novel. It was Rising of the Shield Hero volume 2, since volume 1 was online but anything else after that isn’t. I read the original web novel a while back and I loved it so I decided to read the first volume and then buy the second one. I just finished the second one and I can confidently say that I still love the series and will buy volume 3 soon.
I was also reading Spice and Wolf a while ago illegally… I stopped at volume 4 but I think I’ll pick it up again.
Also I read HakoMari a while back on recommendation by @Yerian who still hasn’t actually finished it.
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I’ve read the first three volumes of Sword Art Online: Progressive (I like the world building Kawahara’s doing with this remake, and a number of the original characters are interesting. If only I could say the same for Kirito and Asuna…) I also ready the first volume of The Legend of the Galactic Heroes, which, while clearly old-fashioned in terms of prose, was engrossing in the way it presented its characters and how the interact in the geopolitics of this universe. I’ll be looking forward to reading volume 2.
Personally I have read a few from my end, from what I remember I have read:
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Taimadou Gakuen 35th Shiken Shoutai (5 Volumes before the DMCA came around, I think it came weeks before the anime even ended… which, the anime was pretty poorly adapted imo)
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Sword Art Online Series (Up to Alicazation)(From what I remember I read them through a translator that was translating them on wattpad… I know its not a good site but I did read them there, it was entertaining, better than the anime due to its explanations and world building is pretty much fine for me)
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Soshite Fumetsu no Renagne (This one was probably the more recent one that I’ve read, and I loved it after a few more volumes from my friend who gave me the translations. Pretty much what I wanted, in all honesty)
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Log Horizon (This one is better than Sword Art Online’s Novel and the second season of the adaptation personally, and I think this one is pretty well from the writing aspect towards the character aspect. Really would recommend it)
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Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance (I’ve read 3 volumes of it, and its pretty enjoyable, but I heard from Volume 4 and onward is where the actual characters get well done characterization, and the way the writer did it, from what I was told, its a bare case. It’s pretty much characterizing the characters all at once. Or at least from what I know, the main cast)
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DanMachi (This one is pretty much the “generic” one but in all honesty, its much better explained in the LN compared to the anime adaptation, and well paced for the last 2 volumes that the anime adapted which was rushed)
Other series to include:
Saijaku Muhai no Bahamut
Black Bullet
Hundred
Kagerou Daze
Ikai no Gunshi no Fairytale
Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei
Machine-Doll wa Kizutsukanai
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Alicization is the good part though! Well, for a bit.
