What makes your favourite light novel your favourite?
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Another of my favorites:
The Faraway Paladin
One of the few novels that shows a Paladin as someone more complicated than a "good person who fights for their god." In one of the best scenes the main character must deal with the undead, and he sees them as the persons they were not just monsters to destroy.
It's my second-favorite portrayal of a paladin, the first being Elizabeth Moon's Deed of Paksenarrion trilogy.
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@harmlessdave A good paladin is a great thing and I like Faraway Paladin for the same reason. Koutarou in Rokujouma is one to amd I think so is Saouske in FMP!
Outside of LNs, My favorite paladins are Michael Carpenter in The Dresden files and Mles Vorkosagan in his own series by Lois Bujold as is her character Cazaril in The Curse of Chalion. I note that it is character and motivation that make a paladin not just skill at arms. Miles for example is basically Peter Dinklidge playing Tyrion Lanister (with loving parents) as a covert ops agent/fleet admiral in space.I'm reading mostly fluffy harem series right now. Rokujouma always, it and Mixed Bathing are what got me in the door here. Ms. Elf Realist Hero, Bookworm, Ragnarock, really enjoying Altina as anew pick up. Basically a good romance with real emotions and a well thought out setting and addressing life after a relationship actually starts . Chivalry of a Failed knight is good for thi,s as is HS DxD and Kenshi no Magica. The "After story" part of Arifureta has some great humor as Hajime and His harem don't adjust (deliberately) to getting home.
I've given up on Smartphone, IS and Little Apocalypse in part because nothing seems to go anywhere but still read How NOT to Summon a Demon Lord because as slow as Diablo's progress is he knows he ought to be making some he just doesn't know how. Outbreak Company is the same way.
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Ok. I’ll chime in here. In no particular order:
- Smartphone - The series that brought me to JNC.
- Rokujouma - Balanced, well thought out story.
- Faraway Paladin - Excellently written. Which there was more.
- Realist Hero - World building at it’s finest.
- Dendrogram - I’m a sucker for VRMMO stories.
- Ragnarok - Intrigue, adventure and chaos.
- Kokoro Connect - The real-world setting is appealing.
That’s some of my favorites. Some of the newer titles are rather good as well.
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@steelblaidd I hadn’t thought about Sousuke as a Paladin, but I think he qualifies for that title. Ray Starling (Infinite Dentrogram) would also qualify for the title, job title not withstanding.
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@harmlessdave Wow someone else read that series. Very underrated fantasy author IMHO. Discovered her by accident.
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@paul-nebeling Nemesis would argue he's going for the Cursed Knight aesthethic tho
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Hmm I don't know if I have any favorite considering how I like something from Harem, Overpowered MC to Xianxian and Wuxia to Korean Contemporary Drama. and with over 200 title on my reading list I just love reading stories.
but here is some that I considered memorable and why I love them,
Suzumiya Haruhi,
The one novel that got me to know there is fan translation scene and community back in 2006/2007. also the first dead tree version LN that I actually buy.
I love the anime, then when I got to know the LN its make me love it even more, the story telling, the paradox, the sci-fi and the comedy and the tragedy (shoshitsu) is so tugging in my imagination.Full Metal Panic
I just love the concept of lamda driver. and the secret identity thing. also all the Tuatha de Danaan capability. I still have the fan translated PDF from 2005-2008 on my harddrive. and now collecting the re-translated re-released epub by j-novel.Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei
Magic and Believable Magical Theory, I am considering myself a researcher so when a story not only "I can do magic" but also "Here is How the Magic works" I do love it. The main Heroin also lovely to boot. and of course because oni-sama is there to save the day.Mushoku Tensei
Personally my hall mark of self-wish-fulfillment Isekai story, had good story telling lovable character, nice character development and many more. after this title the Isekai genre actually blooming like algae on steroid.Grimgar
Their suffering is my dinner. the suspense the sadness the world are just so good it sometimes ruin my day.Accell World, SAO, Dendogram, Log Horizon
Game and VR, I studied computer programming since I was 12 so I can make game. so this titles are really inspirative to me. and their story telling and world building are so good too. and its my life-time project to make something like Yui SAO.Hikaru ga Chikyuu ni Itakoro
I don't have any good relationship experience so I love something that makes me cry a river like this
especially how this series follow each Heroine experience from the bad to their good, in the end its just so hard to make any heroine favorite because each one is just so good. and being the one that will not be loved by anyone syndrome just make my heart shatter whenever I try to self-insert into the story.Oregairu
That bad boy attitude is just so me syndrome. Yeah judge me I just love how 8man is so anti social. but still Iroha FTW!!Shinonome Yuuko wa Tanpen Shousetsu o Aishite Iru
Another I am not going to be loved syndromeSeirei Gensouki
Haruto's feeling for Miharu and how he tortured himself about it is just so frustrating that I love it.
the story and the character development in the LN actually quite good tho. -
@paulnamida You totally nailed why I like Dendrogram. I couldn't explain it any better. It's just a really fun series with a lot of great characters. Can't wait to see how the anime goes.
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@paulnamida Nemesis would argue with Ray just for the sake of arguing. Him not providing her with enough food would probably be high on the list of topics. His fashion sense (or lack thereof) would be a close second.
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hmm I have diverse tastes in setting or genre, as long as it has an interesting story and character development I'm good. I'm okay with fan service as long it's not overwhelming but there are some themes that I find unpleasant (incest).
Some of my favourites here are :
Realist Hero - the series that brought me to JNC
Bakarina - great character and comedy
Faraway Paladin - excellently written
By the Grace of the gods - quite heartwarming at least the manga does
Archdemon - same with bakarina, its good for a light readsome my favourite outside JNC are :
Danmachi - interesting story and character relationship
Reincarnated as Slime - idk why I'm hooked but it's interesting
Genius Prince - similar to realist Hero minus the fantasy
The Alchemist who Survived - quite heartwarming and lovely
Overlord - idk why I'm hookedand many more, I'm quite excited with JNC new release like Tearmoon Empire, Can someone explain, etc
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@paulnamida this is such a perfect description of why I like Dendro, and I had no idea how to word it until now. I freaking LOVE battle shonen so much, and what drew me to this novel was really the depth of the game's setting, worldbuilding, characters, and how they all clash to shape the future. It's very One Piece in a sense, especially with Ray fighting to live in a way that he can be proud of while keeping his ideals.
On that note, Infinite Dendrogram is definitely my favorite light novel from Jnovel. Something else I love is that the embryo system makes it so that even though this is an MMO with typical RPG classes, they really build upon the whole "infinite possibilities" thing. No two characters have the same power. Everyone's embryo and their abilities are a reflection of who they are, it's like stands or nen, making it fun to peel back the layers of characters and figure out WHY they have their power or what happened in their lives to make them act or respond in certain ways. One of my favorite reveals of all time was in volume 10
This series just delivers everything I want from action, juggling a wide cast of characters, to absolutely gorgeous art. I can't stop thinking about Dendro whenever a new volume comes out lol. This anime adaptation is gonna tide me over until the prepubs come back.
I also agree on Spider btw! It's my favorite Yen title and I love the sheer density of content from the double POV and time perspective changes.
Besides that if I were pressed to make a top 3 I would like to shout out Obsessions of an Otome Gamer, published by Cross Infinite World. It is one of the MEATIEST releases I've seen, and it's an otome isekai romance played completely straight. It has drama, it has suspense, it has a lot of intrigue. And it's a love triangle, no harem. The first novel is set in primary school days, and second volume set in middle school. Also, the slant on the otome game was about classical music. You can tell how much the author loved or researched classical, romantic, baroque music etc. There is a very unique fervor in the way that the prose describes the effect music has on the characters, and the descriptions used as similes and metaphors for the music itself. I was consistently impressed with the writing, I want to shake the translator's hand!
The character development is incredibly impressive and even though those books were like twice or three times the length of a normal LN, I devoured them within a week, reading them before I went to bed, on my commute, and as soon as I got home from work. They were that good. I hope Jnovel Heart can get some super solid romance dramas like that one, because when the prose hits you, it hits! I haven't had a chance to look at prepub stuff because life got in the way in December, but from what I saw of the license hauls at ANYC, there are some really promising titles we got...
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My favorites are usually the series I find to be the most immersive, you know the books you lose track of time reading and find hard to put down. For me some examples are Crest/Banner of the Stars, Alderamin on the Sky, Lord Marksman and Vanadis, and Tokyo Ravens.
