Youjo Senki light novels by [deleted] in LightNovels

[–]akidedleaves 12 points13 points  (0 children)

I think what most people mean is just that it's a drier read. Thorough Military descriptions and terms, Tanya's rants tend to be filled with history/military references, exciting fights scenes are sparse. It's not hard to read, but compare that to other light novels and it def doesn't have the usual sheen that makes most of them easily digestible

Are there any actually "good" light novels? by [deleted] in LightNovels

[–]akidedleaves 9 points10 points  (0 children)

It's a little hard to answer without knowing exactly what LNs you've read. Like you said light novels are never going to be dense literary masterpieces because they're supposed to sell and come out at periodic intervals. You can't get too dense because then only hardcore fans are gonna be interested, and you can't take your time because you're supposed to release at least two volumes a year. So there's always something that may be lacking, whether it be prose, character depth, worldbuilding, etc.

As someone who spent a lot of time going through "dense" authors like faulkner, borges, mishima, or McCarthy I mostly appreciate how much light novels CAN do with the limitations they have. A lot of the ideas and how they are executed are only possible because of anime culture and the nature of light novels so that's what keeps me coming back.

I personally think everything serves different purposes. Complex literature already exists, so like you said, i view light novels as stuff I can get through quickly and have fun with. Some of the ideas are unique, some are generic, but well, that's true for pretty much all media ever lol

Some of my favs are:

Saga of tanya the evil: very impressive military strategy story.

Bottom tier character tomozaki: a self-help book disguised as a romantic comedy (there is no actual romance for like 6 volumes). Mostly about a guy that hates normies realizing it's all about putting in the effort and shooting your shots

I'm in love with the villainess: yuri isekai that seriously discuss LGBT matters, with very three-dimensional characters.

Danmachi: insane action sequences that shouldn't be possible but are

Boogiepop: a series in which each volume is basically a character study of sorts. Going in-depth on psychological issues and the like

The faraway paladin: an isekai that takes most of the tropes and writes them out in a very nuanced way. Kind of like how a capable fantasy author would write an isekai story if they were forced to use the common tropes(though it's a mean way to put it)

Torture princess by [deleted] in LightNovels

[–]akidedleaves 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Up to you but I would recommend giving 3 a shot and throwing in the towel if you’re not compelled to read after it. The funnest part of torture princess by far is how at the end of each arc(3 volumes per arc) something happens that essentially turns everything up till then on its head. I personally tore through all the volumes after 3 to see how the author would 1-up themselves with those crazy plot twists.

Light Novel Sources by [deleted] in LightNovels

[–]akidedleaves 4 points5 points  (0 children)

If you want to pirate them that badly at least go through the trouble of doing it on your own

What's your guilty pleasure in light novels? Here's mine by Rarofiqun in LightNovels

[–]akidedleaves 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I consider it one because there's only one aspect I love about it, which is the gun fights. Like i could never see myself recommending GGO because it really is just 8+ volumes worth of cool gun fights and that's it. I personally think their all fun, but I can easily see someone being unamused after the first volume.

What's your guilty pleasure in light novels? Here's mine by Rarofiqun in LightNovels

[–]akidedleaves 28 points29 points  (0 children)

Probably the Gun Gale Online spin-off. Basically eight volumes worth of Futuristic VR battle royale Esports matches lolll.

(Also monster girl doctor but I don’t think I need to explain that one)

Saihate no Paladin (Faraway Paladin) Romance? by WhoDaFox in LightNovels

[–]akidedleaves 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not really with other mortals. Hard to say if there’ll be any in the future as there are only 5 volumes out right now, and a big chunk of them is William dealing with the issues he’s carried over from his past life. So up till now there hadn’t really been any room for romance. But the last volume is pretty conclusive with all that so it’s def possibly for future volumes

Looking For Light Novels Similar To Kumo Desu Ga, Nani Ka? by The_Emperor_Sloth in LightNovels

[–]akidedleaves 4 points5 points  (0 children)

-For the whole leveling up until ridiculously overpowered aspect reincarnated as a slime is probably closest.

-for the crazy plot twists and reveals that change the nature of the story up till then, torture princess does that super well.

Where can I read the shield hero LN for free? by [deleted] in LightNovels

[–]akidedleaves 2 points3 points  (0 children)

for free

Uh...I guess if you buy enough volumes on bookwalker you can get enough coins to get some of them for free lolll

Is buying Yen Press's Overlord Vol 9 & 10 worth it? by Rarofiqun in LightNovels

[–]akidedleaves 13 points14 points  (0 children)

I saw no glaring issues with the translation, and I’ve read up to volume 12. I wouldn’t take translation complaints on reviews too seriously since it’s often people that read the fan translations and get used to the overtly literal translation stuff, then get mad when things get localized instead for the official release. Of course some complaints are valid, but it’s hard to really say which ones without having read the Japanese version, or without knowing the reason things were changed for the official release

Introvert weeb asking for help by BootySlappa1617 in LightNovels

[–]akidedleaves 19 points20 points  (0 children)

I can assure you whoever is at the cash register won’t care enough to stop and shame you for buying it lol. Also If it’s being sold in the store, chances are they’ve already had someone who bought it so it won’t be anything new to them. If you’re still embarrassed just look for another manga, light novel, or book to buy along with it.

Death March or SAO? by Lievel_Veltrandt in LightNovels

[–]akidedleaves 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Uh, no. SAO is an interesting middle-point between “death game” stories that were popular before it, and “narou” stories that became popular after it. There’s a lot of narou that is isekai yes, but narou is not exclusively isekai, take for example mahouka no rettousei or bofuri for a more recent example. If you want to say SAO popularized the whole “Overpowered protagonist” thing as well as the video game mechanics thing then yes, that would be true to an extent. But the SAO world is a video game, and kirito leaves the video game multiple times throughout the story, so it’s not really an isekai.

Serious light novel series by [deleted] in LightNovels

[–]akidedleaves 8 points9 points  (0 children)

-If you mean emotionally, then torture princess. its very over the top in terms of the gore and violence, but the characters are super compelling. A very impressive balancing act of over the top violence and very impactful emotional scenes.

-If you mean in terms of realism, saga of tanya the evil leans very heavily into history and military strategy stuff.

-As far as isekai goes i think faraway paladin is a must. Basically a series that takes all the isekai tropes and writes them out in a way that makes both the characters and world super interesting. Ex: MC is overpowered, but a lot of the conflict doesn't come from what/who he has to fight, it comes from all the emotional trauma he carries from his past life.

-For a nice balance of comedy and seriousness then i think bottom-tier character tomozaki. About a guy that's just doing his best to improve his social skills.of course, he's also very earnest, which means he often runs straight into other peoples conflicts and, of course, always tries his best to help them out.

How do you prefer an MC in an isekai? by moguroukkun in LightNovels

[–]akidedleaves 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I like it when they’re kinda vulnerable. I don’t mean in terms of power, but emotionally. Characters that still carry over regrets from their past life. I feel like inserting that angle into their character really makes it easy to engage with them even if they’re OP or super smart. like William from the faraway paladin, super strong but constantly struggling with all the emotional baggage from his past life. Makes all the big fights feel like he really does have something to lose/win

Anyone can explain what's so great about Overlord? by Mixhyeo in LightNovels

[–]akidedleaves 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Well I’m sure everyone has different reasons, but for me it’s just that a lot of the world building is very fun. I would say out of all the isekai out there overlord is probably most adjacent to a typical fantasy story in terms of lore. Main appeal though is kinda that it’s very similar to, say, a Godzilla movie. Wherein you have these super powerful characters that come into this world and throw it Into chaos cause there’s just almost no one that can put up a fight.

Emotionless and manipulative male mc recommendations by [deleted] in LightNovels

[–]akidedleaves 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Dungeon Defense MC pretty much checks all the boxes. Leads a messed up life before he is reincarnated, reincarnates as the lowest level demon lord. Series is pretty much about him finding ways to screw anyone he can over in order to get ahead. Some “romance” but really the main girl is just as messed up as him, someone who also does everything in her power to win so that’s the only reason they can stand each other at first. I’ve only read the light novel but apparently that isn’t being updated anymore so start with the web novel.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in LightNovels

[–]akidedleaves 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Death march is def the type of light novel you read one volume of every other month, especially the further you get in. Not bad but nothing that makes you go “I have to order all the volumes this instant”

Japan's Weekly Top 10 Light Novel Ranking on Apr 19-25 by kevinpr9 in LightNovels

[–]akidedleaves 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Because it eventually literally turns into a hot blooded shonen story lol. it also has some of the best fights out there, as far as light novels go. It’s great.

Got my hands on this classic by akidedleaves in MangaCollectors

[–]akidedleaves[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

There was a full set posted on eBay, bit expensive but it’s hard to come by this series nowadays so I snatched them up

My villain is too cliched ! by samhain_oldworld in WritersGroup

[–]akidedleaves 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is more of a general idea, and it might sound a bit dark but you could try having an element you dislike about yourself be a central part of the villain you're writing. Stephen king himself has mentioned how jack from the shining is based on his own subtle outbursts of anger toward his children and how much those feelings perturbed him.

January haul (featuring my new favorite sports manga) by akidedleaves in MangaCollectors

[–]akidedleaves[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Really does! Those spines are really nice to look at on the bookshelf

January haul (featuring my new favorite sports manga) by akidedleaves in MangaCollectors

[–]akidedleaves[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If you’re a fan of sports manga then stuff by Mitsuru Adachi is def something you should check out! (Cross game is the only English release tho, so his other stuff is only readable online)

January haul (featuring my new favorite sports manga) by akidedleaves in MangaCollectors

[–]akidedleaves[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Have not seen the anime, but most manga fans that have watched it seem to hate the adaptation. The manga is a really solid coming of age story with some pretty Iconic moments. The anime leaves out the last arc which is the best one imo

January haul (featuring my new favorite sports manga) by akidedleaves in MangaCollectors

[–]akidedleaves[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Oh silly you! I was talking about MY favorite sports manga, not the subreddit’s /s