@raitoiro Exactly my point.
I was making the point that the fact that the story is a bit ecchi isn't the reason it isn't getting licenced... There are many other reasons, but the genre isn't the reason.

57LTQADN8FP exp Jan 29, 2019

DPXLATTGK7K exp Feb 28, 2019

VPEDZDDWM3W exp Mar 30, 2019

Someone needs to get me this merch from Comiket (nah, don't need it, but it looks fun).

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https://twitter.com/lizhi3/status/1078933833586593792?s=20

@pleco_breeder I mean obviously you are going to have tropes regardless of Star Trek. The Worf Effect and Redshirts would still have been tropes without Star Trek, but it is because of Star Trek that we recognize and classified these tropes. Star Trek popularized so many things related to Fandoms.

The reality is there are no "original works". There are occasional "original ideas", but then they become entwined in parts of a story that's already been told. All stories are a mixture of components which have already been used somewhere else. It's how those components are used which makes the story interesting, or not.

This is what bugs me about the idea of "tropes". Yes, they're generalizations about what happens in the story. However, the same thing happens with EVERY literary work regardless of format (movie, tv, audio, text, etc...). If these weren't repeated components, the idea of a hero/protagonist would've worn out LOOOOONG before the bible ever used the idea.

As mentioned, there are "original ideas", but nowhere near enough to create a successful literary work on premise alone. As corny as it sounds, I would probably go so far to say that the most original idea I've read in recent history would be the use of "slip" in Smartphone. Pretty much everything else recent has been done in some form of media. If not somewhere else, I'm pretty sure the Simpsons already did it.

I just realized something, I did not neccesarily say what hooks me, just what I prefer in general. Though I guess if the first few minutes exude that sense of britishness then that would hook me. Really the small minor details are what hooks me he most. To name an example Llenn from GGO being a fan of a certain person's music or in say Log Horizon that food has no taste or the players respawn or the main characters are LV 90. There are so many series I love that have small details like why those Giant frogs need to be killed and that also they are they are used for food too. If a story does not have those kind of small details it does not neccesarily mean I will quit but it is more likely, my time is precious and I want tot spend it on good stories so I have no problems dropping a show in like half an episode or even a minute if it is that bad.

Edit: boy that last bit makes me look a bit pretentious and digibro-like.

For a manga, it needs good art. If the art is trash, it's not worth 2 pennies. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but there's been a few stinkers I regretted getting based on the art, and didn't continue them.

For games, I try to wait until they're sub 30 or 20.

LN, it doesn't really matter. Maybe if it were 13 bucks or something digitally, I'd hesitate though.

Well, this is J-Novel club, I'll stick to Japanese novels lol (If I start to go for other mediums, this comment will be way too long!! (Even I'll just give up on many titles I may mention)

Well, let's start with:

Boogiepop series:
Influence of Kouhei Kadono wasn't just on LNs, but he was cited as influence to other big name authors who are quite influential themselves:
NisiOisiN
Nagaru Tanigawa
Nasu
Yuya Sato

NisiOisiN's Monogatari along with Nagaru Tanigawa's Haruhi series promoted use of Meta in LNs, not like Meta didn't exist before, you can even find meta humor in some of Osamu Tezuka's work.
And due to wave of attack on Otaku in media back then along with this renewed passion for meta, We have Oreimo. Well, it's influence in the whole non-otaku & Otaku pair is obvious (even so many LN covers make homage to the series)

NisiOisiN's Zaregoto was a huge influence.

"And Zaregoto‘s legacy is beyond anybody’s ability to write. The work has influenced many, many, many creators. Ii-chan’s narration, the strange mixture of Osamu Dazai’s protagonist in 人間失格 (No Longer Human) and JD Salinger’s Holden Caulfield in Catcher in the Rye, has infected writers — light novels and mainstream/literary — without them realizing. It is not an exaggeration to say that visual novels like Danganronpa would not exist without Zaregoto.The worldbuilding techniques that writers associate with the likes of Horizon in the Middle of Nowhere could be charted to the Zaregoto series. Its influence goes beyond the constraints of genre and literature: it may be one of the many parts that constitute what a Japanese novel can be."
-Kastel

Well, if we are on Mystery:
NisiOisiN's Zaregoto belonged to a movement called Shinhonkaku, which some may attribute its beginning to Yukito Ayatsuji's debut, The Decagon House Murders. (Same author as Another) It's available in English with an introduction by Shimada Soji (from the same movement, some of his works are available in English as well)

Well, if we are gonna mention Japanese Mystery, we gotta mention Edogawa Ranpo. (Unfortunately, I haven't read anything by him yet)
Ryuusui Seiryoin is the probably the only name I mentioned who got nothing in English. He is one of the 5 god-like authors NisiOisiN mentioned, his JDC (Japan Detectives Club) series has inspired tribute novels by authors Otaro Maijo, NisiOisin.

There are names that are too famous to be mentioned like Osamu Dazai, Natsume Soseki (You may know him either for his translation for I love you or Kokoro), Kenji Miyazawa, Ryuunosuke Akutagawa.

The Tale of Genji

It is sometimes called the world's first novel, the first modern novel, the first psychological novel or the first novel still to be considered a classic. While regarded as a masterpiece, its precise classification and influence in both the Western and Eastern canons has been a matter of debate.

Oniroku Dan.
"The most celebrated writer of popular SM novels in Japan." -Nicholas Bornoff
(Verical has semi-autobiography anthology by him)

Dan developed his own variation on S&M, but when asked if he ever acted on his S&M and bondage fantasies with his wife, Dan replied, "No way! She would beat my ass."

There are so many authors I may mention but the comment will be way too long for that!
Edit: It might be too late to say that.

I am giving this a little bump in discussion because of something I said in Seven Seas Early Digital Releases. Basically I am inclined to "impulse buys" when it comes to books I have absolutely no knowledge about leading me to buy Übel Blatt vol 0 and dropping it after reading the the first chapter. These "impulse buys" have lead me to many stories that I really really liked and would never have experienced if I "played it safe," thought it also had stories I just did not like as can be seen with Übel Blatt. So "impulse buy" at yout own risk.

Dead Dead Demon' DeDeDeDestruction volume 2 has a Christmas scene thingie.

One of the girls mentions how Celebs lie on their Twitter about spending "quiet time with my family! *".

One of the adult male characters bluntly says "Yeah, sure. It's the day you have sex" in response to a question about what Christmas is (eating cake and exchanging presents is the girl's response).

I see no reason not to

@drone205

Binged DNA2 on VRV over the weekend- so 90's (hair/ clothing etc.)
reminded me of being in school

@chocolatkey Good thing web apps are easy to update.

As an official statement, J-Novel Club and Crunchyroll could not agree on certain aspects of the relationship, therefore we mutually decided that us being included in the Super Fan Pack was not in either of our interests.

Well, I made a list of these in another topic that specifically asked about novels, but since it applies fairly well across all media I'll copy-paste it here:

As I've mentioned several places, I tend to like lighthearted, slice-of-life works. That said, what I'm really looking for is the type of story where it feels like you're living life alongside the characters. So having a strong cast of characters is critical. Well, all it really means is that good characters are what I really look for in all stories. I also like stories with strong worldbuilding. This is especially important for fantasy stories; I like to read those for the feeling of adventure from visiting new places and learning more about them. This includes isekai, of course; after all, my favorite fictional work is The Chronicles of Narnia, which is overall really good at this sort of "adventure fantasy" and is technically an isekai, to boot. Speaking of isekai, though, I like seeing the various ways in which elements of our modern world mesh with that of a typical fantasy world. It's why I find stories like Realist Hero and Outbreak Company particularly fun. Overpowered protagonists in general are neither particularly interesting nor boring to me, but what is interesting is when the protagonist has a specific skill that he/she must manipulate in creative ways, and in doing so becomes "overpowered" in particular ways. Examples of this include Mixed Bathing and Gear Drive. One theme I particularly like to see come up in stories of all sorts is "family", especially that which goes beyond that of lovers. For example, I particularly like it when characters end up having to take care of children (see: Foll from Elf Bride and the first 3 volumes of For My Daughter). Of course, one can always just make something that is simply utterly hilarious. Sometimes all I need is a good laugh.

@drone205 Related, but Batman is also often maligned for being a rich person who uses training and gadgets to "beat up poor people", as though that is the entire extent of his crime-fighting.

It ignores that he also uses his persona of Bruce Wayne (and the Wayne Foundation) to fund multiple charity works and initiatives to fight the systemic roots of crime in Gotham, from poverty to infrastructure to corruption to opportunities. He believes very strongly in rehab.

Just about every "why doesn't Batman do this to really fight crime" criticism I've read can be answered with "he does".

As far as I am concerned: If it's a fictional story, anything goes. Literally anything. Child abuse, rape, murder, torture, genocide, racism, emotional exploitation, psychological warfare, any sort of cruelty - and of course compassion or love - is acceptable in a story.

The question is: is this plot device being used by the author in a good way. To make a point, to make the reader think, to build up the foundation of the fantasy world the story is told in or simply to open a new branch in the story telling?

Or is it used in a bad way, to appeal to the existing fantasies of a niche group of people?
I say bad, because that is my opinion as to what constitutes a "bad way" here, but strictly speaking, both choices are equally valid. The thing is: No one forces you to continue to put up with it. If the story doesn't do it for you, you are free to stop at any point.
However, I've been surprised more than once here. Sometimes I've kept reading a book I thought was rather disappointing only to find that suddenly things that have irked me beautifully come together at a later point.

A story is in part what you make of it. If you feel uncomfortable reading a book, you should stop there for a second and reflect on that.
Why do you feel uncomfortable? What are your values that the book is violating? Maybe entertain the thought of imagining yourself in the different available perspectives in the situation at hand. A book can be much more than the story it tells, really. You just need to be open to imagination.

Of course, I have been left feeling utterly depressed more than once doing that. But I have also felt exhilarated, inspired. Sometimes it made me forge new moral values or even change existing ones. Fictional stories have in no small part contributed to my world views, simply by contemplating the actions of characters, their individual situations, circumstances and relationships.

In that sense, even a poorly written book can hold surprising value, which is why I rarely drop a novel series at all, and I can't remember ever stopping to read a book because of extreme content. If anything, I stop reading books if there is constant repetition.

@bloodygaikotsu said in NaNoWriMo:

@terrence said in NaNoWriMo:
But, seriously, I can't write long clickbait titles like this—and I feel really self-conscious about typing very LN-esque stuff lol.

I have no self-respect so I can do this, lol. xD

Hopefully I get into the writing mood today. Only day off this week. T_T

@saskir for your time control thing I have a thought.

Flow Chart
The power to travel to key events from any dimension. You would have to actually experience the events and they can be a close of hours apart from each other or years apart. You have no control what an event is, the only criteria you are aware of is that this point I time must be a time and place where there is a major choice that will have hugely different consequences depending on what choices you make. It could be something like the choice to turn left to save the world and universe or turn right and see the stars dissapear. The important thing is that it must be something that causes huge change. You can NOT go back to an event when you die (like in re zero), you have to manually choose to go back. There is also the fact that the farther back an event the greater effect over time it will have, so if you want an even bigger change you have to go back farther AND will have to live through that timeline until you make it to another event to save that choice. So if say you just ignore some person and say five years down the line that person had a powerful skill or ability that is required for your quest to defeat the demon lord or something but he committed scuiside because no one treated him with well, you would have to go back 5 years to help that person and live through those 5 years again.

Actually, gloves are used quite often in occult rituals, mythically. It's one of the common ritual tools you see in actual medieval occultism, along with cups and wands and a few other things. It's all about imagery. Probably drawing on that a bit.