/jp/ - Otaku Culture

Nobody will discuss light novels in these threads. People will only discuss the anime, just like they have always done in the past.

Haganai actually.

Reported for being a colon crucified nerd.

8 MORE DAYS

>>8565217

Say what now?

Spice and Wolf.

I'll have to learn Japanese so I don't have to wait 10 years for it to come out translated by Yen Press.

>>8565223

Haganai becomes double related.

Thanks for motivating me to rereading Zero no Maria, I've been feeling like doing that recently

>>8565254

>>8565207

I read Kizumonogatari recently. It was excellent.

Also, I'd like to recommend Utsuro no Hako to everyone. Great series.

>>8565259

>>8565263

These LE covers are easily the best thing NBGI have done in the last 5 years.

>>8565258
Me too.
I made pdfs of it ages ago, but still didn't read it.

Also my plan us to read Kizumonogatari soon, and Sword Art Online too.

Longterm plan is to continue studying japanese so I can read untranslated VNs and LNs.

I finally got around to reading volume 17 of Baccano the other day. I wish Narita would drop DRRR entirely and just write more of this. Perhaps one day I will actually read DRRR past the first volume and revise my opinion, but today is not that day.

Ended up rereading Hanamonogatari and hating Nisioisin again. I'm still going to buy the rest. I am so pathetic.

i was in bed reading this before i got up and saw the sticky. i'm so pissed that moot said light novels don't belong on /a/. the last light novel thread we had on /jp/ this fucking idiot janitor went into and was randomly deleting individual posts.

anime and light novels are closely intertwined. why would moot force anime material on /jp/ when the tard janitor and users throw tantrums about anime? it's like everyone tries to prove they hate it constantly.

Is this real life?
This is the happiest day of my life.

>>8565318

What's wrong with Hanamonogatari?

>>8565283
>I made pdfs of it ages ago, but still didn't read it.

Dude it's totally worth it. First volume is god-tier, and the rest are still pretty great.

>implying /jp/ can read japanese

>>8565331
I dislike having the revelation that one of my favorite characters was not, in fact, the person I'd believed her to be shoved into my face out of the blue half a dozen volumes in.

>>8565331
>First volume is god-tier, and the rest are still pretty great.

I believe so.
But there's a problem with me. I always take interest in something and I want to get it. And when I do, I never actually read/watch/play it.

Like when I wanted PSP for JRPGs. So got it, then I got the JRPGs, and now I almost never actually play them.

And stuff keeps filling up.

>>8565354
少ししかできません。

>>8565372

Oh, Kanbaru. Well, it's not like that didn't have setup.

which book is hanamonogatari? I think I'm getting it confused with koimonogatari.

Has anybody here read Date A Live? The first time I heard the premise it seemed pretty interesting, but after reading the first few pages it just seemed like it was going to be another terrible magical girlfriend story.

Otherwise, started reading Another a couple days ago, it's a good read so far.

>>8565397

The book narrated by Kanbaru that, so far, takes place chronologically after every other book.

>>8565385
The setup was poor (to me) and I had a preexisting intense dislike of "I hide my tortured self from the world behind a mask of cheerfulness" type characters--the -monogatari series has enough fucked up people as it is. Sometimes character can be exactly what they appear to be, without hidden depths that distort their character, and still be entertaining and endearing, but noooo.

>>8565397
The one with Kanbaru and Numachi, from Kanbaru's perspective.

>>8565437
>Sometimes character can be exactly what they appear to be, without hidden depths that distort their character, and still be entertaining and endearing, but noooo.

Mayoi?

>>8565462
Yes, I liked her too. But she's deaaaaaaaad.

Well, deaaaaaader.

>>8565415
so when does hitagi end take place?

>>8565469

Kanbaru is probably going to be written out in Tsukimonogatari anyway. NisiOisiN needs to get rid of all the supporting cast before the ending somehow.

>>8565502

I'm not exactly sure, but after Otori and before Hana.

Readin' Index. NT3 was mediocre.

>>8565502
It goes from Kizu, Bake, Nise, Neko (Black or White, can't recall), Kabuki, Otori, Koi (Hitagi End), the 3 newly announced books then finally to Hana.

>>8565533

I suspect that both Owarimonogataris will take place after Hana.

I picked up S&W at Borders (back when Borders STILL EXISTED) but I couldn't get past the first three pages. The prose was hauntingly evocative in some ways, but came off dry and listless.

I cannot understand how the source material for one of the most intelligent, nuanced and charming cartoons of the last decade could be so mundane.

>>8565533
>>8565513
so does kanbaru's arm get better before she's 20 like oshino said? I wonder how the story is going to conclude when the finale is going to come before the last chronoligical part.

Hmm, lots of unobstructed spoilers about in this thread.

>>8565567

Incompetent translations, largely. Japanese is not a really, uh, diverse language. English is, which is where the trouble comes in.

So every thread will be Nisio General?

Can't say I didn't expect it.

Also right now two English volumes of Zaregoto are on their way to my house from bookdepository.co.uk.

I'm expecting a good read and disappointment that morevolumes won't some out in English.

>>8565574
Rouka took the Rainy Devil off Kanbaru in Hana. And after collecting each and every part, nothing happens.

>>8565594
That and Railgun/General.

I'm okay with this to be honest.

>>8565328

Saten-san is the best LN character of all time. Finally, our hard work over the past 3 years has paid off. Now /jp/ can appreciate her without holding back!

>>8565590
I was trying not to but everyone else seemed not to care so I just went with it. If you insist, I'll use them.

>>8565574
Kanbaru's arm was cured during Hanamonogatari.

>>8565594
No not really, if we tolerate the guys who depend on translations.

>>8565636
>Best LN character
>Doesn't even appear in the LNs

>>8565567
Looking back on it, it really was a dry read. If it helps, take S&W anime breaks while reading it, like I did.

>>8565594
I wouldn't mind it, but it'll just be me throwing spoilers all over the place since the majority hasn't read the later books or Nisio's other series.

what is zaregoto about? how does it compare to bake and katana?

>>8565656
Actually she does appear in the To Aru Majutsu no Index light novel series.

>>8565808
no she doesn't. do tell which novel she's in.

>>8565637
Thanks, much obliged.

You call this an appearance?

Well technically, but still.

>>8565831
It's a cameo apperance.

>>8565656
She appears on a side story LN, and acts like a bitch to people she doesn't even know.

Where to find untranslated LNs?

I'm enjoying the S&W light novels, I felt the prose fit the setting quite well. Then again, I'm not exactly a literature buff so I can't comment.

I ordered volume 4 and 5 and they should arrive tomorrow, I'm a little excited.

>>8565831
I seem to remember an illustration of her grinning at a brown chick in a swimsuit, drawn in Fuyukawa Motoi's style, which was from some sort of novel. I don't actually read Index so I may be mistaken.

>>8565797

The first book is a traditional british-style murder mystery. The second book pretends it's a traditional british-style murder mystery. The rest of the books stop pretending.

>>8565870
Oh yeah, there's that.

I hated that one novel.

>>8565882
it's the railgun side story/novel. saten isn't in the main index story whatsoever.

>>8565870

I just finished the first volume of Yahari Ore no Seishun Rabukome wa Machigatteiru. It's definitely zannen love comedy, so ymmv. I found the general silliness ramped up towards the end, taking the demand for suspension of disbelief higher with it. I'm willing to tolerate that though, since I liked the characters.

Since Haganai is quite similar, I think the books will probably end up getting compared a lot. Hikigaya (protagonist) is much more cynical and sarcastic than Kodaka, to the point of -as the book points out- tsundere-like behavior. His narrative tends to wander off on bitter and/or bizarre tangents, which are intended to be amusing, and which I generally found to be so (though I am fairly easy to amuse). If you don't like books where the character spends a lot of time soliloquizing, then steer clear of this.

One thing I particularly liked was Hiratsuka-sensei's categorization of Hikigaya as 高二病 (second-year-high-school syndrome), which she defines as being hyper-cynical (love is dead, fuck the police, etc). Not sure whether that is something the author invented or an established thing like 中二病.

>>8565877
PD / share has a bunch. I got mine from there before I went full buyfag.

>>8565989
If I remember right kounibyou can be summed up as "chuunibyou who believe they've grown past their symptoms and now look down on other chuunibyou." Since originally, chuunibyou is simply a state of mind that a lot of people naturally go through during puberty, people who can't accept that and see it as something to be disdained are being equally immature. They're simply older.

>>8566087
Ah, thanks. That sounds about like what was described in the novel, so I guess the author wasn't inventing anything new.

>>8566087
Does kouniyou have an english equivalent?

>>8565989
Delicious art. Time to hunt that LN down.

>>8566316
Yeah I like ponkan⑧'s art a lot, though sometimes the anatomy kinda collapses. Couldn't resist picking up a couple of clear files for this series at C81.

How many of the /jp/ regulars actually read LNs?

Just curious, since I rarely see LN discussions in the few times I've been here.

>>8566787
I do, whenever I can find a LN thread. Posting on /jp/ actually helped me stay motivated to finish the first light novel I ever read.
http://archive.foolz.us/jp/thread/S2151998

>>8566787
That is because the janitor tends to go apeshit and delete any and all LN threads.

Or they simply end up as redirects to /a/.

>>8566848
Just because you see a redirect doesn't mean you have to follow it.

>>8566843
was that thread deleted? i'm like sweeping because i know this shit eating janitor will be deleting light novels.

>>8566856
Never said i did, but if all the replies in a thread end up being redirects and "get_out_of_/jp/.jpg" images that tends to kill any discussion.

Reading some Ar Tonelico light novels I bought some time ago.

>>8566787
I read LNs. I've tried making LN threads here in the past, but the janitor has deleted them.

>>8566894
If there's not a single on-topic post, then yeah, the thread has no future but it would have no future even if there were no redirects, it would just die due to lack of interest. If there is discussion it doesn't matter if every other post is >>>/a/, it only matters if somebody gets really mad and turns on a bomb script, which is honestly pretty rare.

>>8566848

Why do you guys redirect to /a/? Something the board community has agreed on, or something the janitors arbitrarily decided to do?

>>8566856
do you not comprehend the fucking retard shit eating janitor deletes light novel threads off /jp/ on his whim? do you not comprehend the people who like light novels are now subject to this fucking bullshit because moot randomly decided it's off /a/?

Reading some Ar Tonelico light novels I bought some time ago.

>>8566914
because what's the point of /jp/ if everyone just posts the same stuff they would on /a/?

That is quite something, the janitor just deleted the Saten thread but left everything else.

If this is not a personal vendetta i dont know what is.

>>8566871
Yeah, it was. This one wasn't though:
http://archive.foolz.us/jp/thread/S2219034

>>8566925
No, because light novel threads weren't purged as zealously as you claimed. Even threads about gay niggers and evil jews stay up long enough to people to talk about them; if people really had a great interest in discussing light novels, they easily could.

>>8566948
We only get legitimate LN discussions on very few titles, usually the ones with popular adaptations like Index, Fate/Zero, and S&W. And some people who enter the those threads don't even bother to read the source media. LN threads there easily get stale.

>>8566928
Are they retellings of the game, side stories, or originals?

>>8566973
>>8566912
because when the janitor deletes them and the misfits who inhabit the board shit on the discussion then the discussion will surely flourish.

there is no reason to waste time trying to make a light novel threads on this piece of shit when i can just click on /a/ and see 2 light novel threads (they don't have anime either! SURPRISE) and one of the anime threads has a light novel which has the translator in it.

stop putting the cart in front of the horse. /jp/ does its best to reject light novels. all the retards who go "OMG IT HAS AN ANIME" damper discussion.

>>8567052
If the presence of a few retards screaming "get out" was enough to kill discussion we couldn't even discuss Touhou. Just act like a fucking adult and ignore the shit. And everybody fucking knows the janitor is sometimes a tard, just remake the thread, if it accidentally gets purged with all the 2hu fuk threads.

>>8566960

ah sorry I delete my threads when they hit page 3 or so.

It seems like nobody talks about Narita Ryohgo's works in the west except for fujoshi. I have nothing against fujoshi but they don't post here, and I don't post there, so I couldn't talk to them even if I wanted to.

>>8567096
Oh, Okay.
I guess this means i can put away my tinfoil hat.

>>8567123
Very few people in the west talk about light novels period. The biggest community dedicated to them is probably baka-tsuki, and that place is a fucking shithole.

>>8567123
I think this is part of the problem, we all seem to read different stuff.

Nobody ever discuss LNs.
They are just anime thread masquerading as a LN thread.
Nobody would have told to you get out if you discuss "LN".
Posting a LN cover but then discussing anime of course will get you negative feedback.

>>8567167
Except for the series with popular adaptations. And the people who are more serious LN fans usually hate the secondary-fans that adaptations breed, since all they do is talk about the anime or beg for spoilers and then turn around and start discussing the spoilers and pretending they've all read the books.

>>8567159
How so? I don't visit their forums.

>>8567206
> start discussing the spoilers and pretending they've all read the books.
Uggggh. All my hatred. If I could nuke TV Tropes from orbit, I would do it in a heartbeat.

>>8565530

Pretty much everyone in the Index fanbase disliked it. You are not alone.

>>8567216
Okay so I'm a little opinionated on this, but first off, I think a lot of b-t's translations are utter shit, in terms of writing.

The fanbase is made up of people who have no problem with the fact that they're reading these terrible translations, and lots of posts from people wishing that _________ would get translated, or translated faster, or what have you.

I hate to sound elitist about it, I just wish there were a larger group of raw LN readers out there. Sure I can hit up 2ch's LN board, but my ability to READ Japanese far outpaces my ability to discuss literature in Japanese.

>>8567290
>I hate to sound elitist about it, I just wish there were a larger group of raw LN readers out there. Sure I can hit up 2ch's LN board, but my ability to READ Japanese far outpaces my ability to discuss literature in Japanese.
I agree with this so hard.

>>8567290
so you hate people get to read light novels without learning japanese and you hate the people who translate it for them. you want to discuss it in english (while reading it in japanese) because you can't discuss it with japanese (what did you plan to "discuss" anyway?).

we need moot to rethink this /vn/ board. /jp/ isn't the right place for light novel discussion.

>>8567357
He's got a point, though. A lot of the time fan translators are terrible, and they don't seem to consider that their efforts can actually be detrimental to someone's enjoyment of a series. I'm a translator too and good god, some of the garbage that gets posted on the internet is simply painful to read.

>>8567357
I never said I hate that people get to read them, or that I hate the people who translate. Stop putting words in my mouth.

It's just a terrible community of fans. A lot of them only care about LNs with anime adaptations and the projects die when their anime adaptations end. They aren't in it for the books, they're in it for the spoilers for the anime and that's it.

>>8567357
I'm not him, but I hate that people are willing to settle for such crap. It's depressing.

>>8567044
AT1 novel seems to be retelling. Haven't read far enough yet.
Didn't buy AT2 novel.
AT3 novel has 2 volumes. From the illustrations, I'm guessing that it's side stories or after stories.

Excuse my shitty phone camera.

>>8567290

It's simple really, we can only try to put up with it.

This is coming from a guy who reads LNs off baka-tsuki/independent translators, and can't understand a single word of moonwriting.

True, there are parts in which I just had no idea what the fuck was going on, but its still fun.

LN readers probably won't increase that much. The best you would get would be people dependent on translators like I am.

>>8567411
I bought my first light novel four years before I was capable of reading it. I just let it sit there and mock me until I could finally read it.

>>8567391
Pretty much. It feels like a lot of these people would be just as happy with a written summary or even a list of bullet points with things like "A tells B that he would never turn her away. B blushes and looks away." Even more of them see no problem with secondhand translations done using Chinese or Korean versions.

As someone who actually cares about the legibility of what I'm doing, the knowledge that so many potential readers will not give a flying fuck about it is damn disappointing.

>>8567409
That's cool, I'm a big AT fan but had no idea they existed. I might have to check them out

>>8567431
Are you me? I had all of Scrapped Princess sitting on my bookshelf for about two years before I bit the bullet and started trying to read it. I'm glad I bought it though, seeing it there all the time, tempting me with what secrets it held within, probably helped me a lot in my drive to study more.

>>8567441
>Even more of them see no problem with secondhand translations done using Chinese or Korean versions.
I hate this so much.

people actually read that garbage?

>>8567441

It is the opposite problem with the Index fanbase. Their author Kazuma Kamachi has a really wordy way of saying things, and the fanabse wants to try to preserve the meaning and wording as exactly as possible. So the Index translation is extremely accurate for a LN translation, but it is awkward as fuck to read because of it. The good thing is that all of the J>C>E translations have been replaced by J>E translations. The problem now is that all of the editors moved on to other series as soon as the final translations ended, leaving over half of the content not proofread or edited.

>>8567469

>>>/v/

>>8567469
What are you referring to? LNs in general, or fan translations?

>>8567499
Opposite, maybe, but it annoys me just as much. If word for word translation equaled good translation, we could feed manuscripts through a translation program and that's be that. It's ridiculous.

why do all threads on /jp/ devolve into needless meta discussion due to elitism?

if someone asks you for the plot to your favorite movie, normally, people will happily describe it to them. especially if the person isn't able to view it. you guys are SO 'passionate" you're unhappy others are able to manage a bit of pleasure from a material they won't have a chance to view otherwise.

this is why /jp/ is a fucking shithole. i can simply enjoy the media myself and completely ignore the dribble you nitwits write. 3 years ago this board had some of the most entertaining posts i've ever read in my life. nowadays i want to puke as i read the trash you write with your "elite" (childish) attitude.

>>8567556
If someone asked me for the plot to my favorite movie, I'd tell them to go watch the fucking movie. At most I'd give them a general idea of what to expect.

And if I did tell them about the movie, they most probably wouldn't go to someone else talking about the movie and pretend that they knew all about it without having watched it.

What I'm saying is that that's a terrible fucking analogy.

Vaguely related: thread about yuri LNs.
>>>/u/1171212

>>8567499
>>8567528
I think part of the problem is that, as much as I hate to say it, a lot of these projects ARE too big for amateur translators to take on, but they try anyway.

All of the ideas that anime fan community has about "literal" translation should be thrown out the window when it comes to translating books. Yeah, some of them are so fucking simple that you can get away with being pretty verbatim, but once you run into an author with a noteworthy style, you're doing him a disservice by trying to be overly literal. Stylistics just don't translate well literally from Japanese to English, considering differences in tenses, differences in deictic systems, minimalist diction, etc...

>>8567456
Mine was Marimite. I definitely felt silly sometimes for buying something I couldn't read, but I really do agree that it helps motivate you.

>>8567606
I agree. And sometimes, "I tried" just isn't enough.

I think I've said everything I have to say about this subject, though; anything more from me will just be rehashing and bitching.

>>8567618
>>8567431
>>8567456

Well, I guess I better save up then. Probably won't be posting on 4chan for a while.

>>8567458
That's because nearly all of baka-tsuki's translators are pretty much either Chinese or Singaporean and maybe a few Korean here or there.

I highly doubt there are even any native-born English speakers on the main baka-tsuki staff.

Not only that, but some of the main translators for baka-tsuki are currently enrolled in their country's military since their countries demand mandatory military service for all adults males for a couple of months to years.

Because of this, some of baka-tsuki's translators don't have much time to devote to translating light novels anymore.

>>8567591
it would be akin to someone watching the first 2 movies of lord of the rings and asking for spoilers for the third because they can't read it and the third movie won't ever be produced.

your analogy is fucking terrible. i completely agree, and it only further reinforces my stance that this board has been filled with complete idiots.

someone so oblivious couldn't discuss anything of merit or write something entertaining so you'd never have friends to discuss this sort of stuff with.

>>8567606
I agree with you wholeheartedly, but what to do about that? I can't say that I can think of a comparative style in English when I'm reading a given LN. I usually assume it is because I am not well-read enough, but I have no way of confirming this, obviously.

Usually when I see someone try and use what they think is the equivalent style in English, it's just awkward. I think I have seen cases in which it was done well, but I am not sure.

>>8567674
good luck! we will warmly await your return.

>>8567727
The only solution is to learn nipponese.

>>8567606

Exactly. Which is a problem with Index, because it is a series where the literal wording of many things is taken advantage of because Kamachi is an obsessive rules-junkie but the writing is also stylistic. So the translation is a catch 22. Making everybody in the fanbase not want to edit it because of that knowledge, and all other editors shy away from the project due to the massive size of it. The Japanese readers that I have talked to have no problems with how the novels are written and rather like how it is written. So it comes down to a translation/editing that is more difficult than it seems to do. It doesn't help that many of the other people who could do proper editing on that scale look down on the franchise because of the moe and fanservice aspects. Similar to how a good portion of VN translators focus on certain titles and often refuse to do more "frivolous" VNs that many people want to see translated.

>>8567715
Unless you suffer from some sort of learning disability, you will be able to read it eventually. Instant gratification isn't always the best solution.

>>8567755
Not if you already know enough to read, and just suffer from an interest in translating.

>>8567727
When it comes to stuff like that, usually I just say fuck it, use the literal translation as a first draft, and write however the fuck I please, hoping that I can at least scrape together some interesting prose and diction of my own.

When I TLed a little bit of Haiyoru Nyaruko, I tried subtly twisting the writing to sound a little but more like Lovecraft's (though not nearly as archaic). It wasn't necessarily something that was in the original (although, I haven't read enough Japanese translations of HPL to say whether or not Nyaruko's author's prose was inspired by it or not; maybe HPL sounds entirely different in Japanese than he does in English), but I enjoyed writing that way, and I "feel" like it's something somebody trying to write a parody of HPL in English would do.

Japanese writing is sometimes awkward or minimalist by design, but when it is, it's not as uninteresting or weird in Japanese as its literal equivalent would be in English. Sometimes a translator has to think like a writer, rather than think like a dictionary.

>>8567857
Thank you for that anecdote, it is exactly the type of thing I was interested in hearing.
>Japanese writing is sometimes awkward or minimalist by design, but when it is, it's not as uninteresting or weird in Japanese as its literal equivalent would be in English.
I have noticed this. Sometimes a piece will sound very curt and matter-of-fact in English when you try to translate it, when it did not sound that way in Japanese. I find that sometimes the opposite is true as well -- long sentences full of descriptors tend to sound like extreme run-on sentences in English.

I read the SAO short stories on the author's website if that counts.

I'd read LNs if they're more easily piratable/accessible like eroge are.
All I find are either shitty jpg scans (which are now dead since they were hosted on megaupload), chinese translations, or atlas translated english text (what the fuck).

>>8567942
If you want a second opinion, what >>8567857 said is pretty much how I do it too. I set my first literal draft aside for a bit and then come back to it and edit it without referring to the original. Then when I'm done I take that second draft and compare it to the original just to make sure I didn't completely warp something that was important to the plot.

>>8567969
More information is always better. Thank you very much.

>>8567787
what your saying is nonsensical crap also. your actual stance is simply begrudging those who haven't learned japanese out spite since you put in the effort. that's what you actually getting at.

if you really believe the crap you're spewing and don't realize the trash you're saying it out of elitism and spite then you're the one with a cognitive disability.

thanks for adding needless elitism out of spite due to your swallow ego. it was a great read, really. you're a superb writer.

>>8567981
>you're a superb writer.
Good thing he is, too. Someone has to make up for the crimes you're committing against the English language in this thread.

>>8567981
Kindly stop making things up.
It always makes me mad when people accept sub-par work.
Even more so when it is simply because they are lazy.
That is all.

>>8567951
I am eagerly awaiting the day when e-readers catch on in Japan and we start seeing more new LNs put out in easily manipulatable easily piratable e-book formats.

I hear things are starting to pick up there, in those regards, with Amazon, Apple, and Kobo all trying to be a little more aggressive in forcing their adoption, but who knows how long it will be before their monolithic trapped-in-the-past in-bed-with-the-paper-companies publishing industry actually gets on board. Maybe if self-publishing e-books catches on we could see a small indie-LN scene pop up, though...

Starting with Index. Finding out why this shit is popular.

>>8568115
Because it's full of cute girls. There, I just saved you several hours. No need to thank me.

>>8568109
I used to grab LNs in Aozora Bunkou format off Share. Is this no longer possible?

Exhentai has some light novels too.

What a shocking turn of events that this would be the only decent thread on the frontpage of /jp/

>>8568125
If anything, the girls in Index tend to be annoying.

I personally read Index for the plot.

>>8568137
I never really looked. I buy a lot of them, and don't have any problems reading raster-images of text (unless it's a REALLY terrible scan, I'm looking at you Date A Live).

Maybe I'll hunt around share, having well-done OCRed text would be great for handling multiple-translator projects in TL suites like Trados or OmegaT

>>8568159
I don't think /v/ knows what books are.

Has anyone her bought any LNs? Translated or not. Which ones?

>>8568046
logic and comprehension overshadow all the obtuse nonsense in the english language. the crimes you commit against those daily is worse than me ignoring useless grammatical rules which don't impede communication.

>>8568238
When I lived in Japan, I raided Book Off and Mandarake on a regular basis.

I brought Scrapped Princess, Digi Charat, Slayers, and Boogiepop back with me, along with a bunch of other not-LN novels; Lodoss War, a few Megami Tensei books and other books by its author, and probably some other stuff I can't remember.

Assuming I ever get caught up with Horizon, I'll probably start buying new volumes of that when they come out.

>>8568322
Whenever people bring up the ridiculous "light novels read like manga without pictures" thing, I think of Slayers. Great fun to read, but I imagine it'd be terrible to translate without having it look like it was written by a teenager.

>>8568238
I buy faster than I can read them. It's not exactly a list to be proud of though -- I really just buy anything that catches my eye, and I have pretty crap taste.

>>8568394
It's nothing to really be ashamed of. I keep a bookcase full of classic literature, western canon, intellectual sounding textbooks, etc... but I also have boxes and boxes full of terrible fiction that I've amassed over the years. Even if you read crap, you're still a better person in my book (dohoho) than people who don't read at all.

>>8568238

>Translated:
Haruhi: 1-5
Spice & Wolf: 1-4

>Untranslated:
Toaru Majutsu no Index: 1-22 & SS & SS2
New Testament: Toaru Majutsu no Index: 2
Kore wa Zombie Desuka?: 1

I would buy more light novels, but I got into figures this past fall and I can't afford anything else....

Might as well post a picture. The only picture that I have of all of them also includes manga and figures. So I will just post the original Index light novel series.

>>8568475
This actually made me feel marginally better, thanks.

>>8568238
Trasnlated Zaregoto volumes 1&2

When I'll get money, I plan on buying all 物語 novels.

>>8568486
where do you shop? amazon.co.jp or like yesasia?

>>8568238
Untranslated:
Bakemonogatari
Oreimo 1-9
Haganai 1-4
Bungaku Shoujo 1-8
Young Gun Carnaval 1-3
Kino no Tabi 1-3
Marimite 1-6
ROD 1-2
Yahari Ore no Seishun Rabukome wa Machigatteiru 1-3
Nareru!SE 1
Kara no Kyoukai
Toradora 1
Wagaya no Oinarisama 1
Seitokai no Ichizon
Seitokai Tantei Kirika 1
Bakatest 1
Haruhi 1
Kurenai 1
Denpa-teki na Kanojo
Copyface to Countergirl
Bishoujo o Kirai na Kore Dake no Riyu
Sugar Dark
Ibarahime
Tsugai no Yubisaki
Dorobou no Meijin
Itaike na Shujin
Kimi ga Boku o 1-4
Nobless Oblige
.(period)
Vertigo
Itsuwari no Hime wa Kishi to Odoru
Strawberry Panic
Wild Bouquet 1-2
Meitantei Shikkaku na Kanojo
384,403 Anata o Tsuki ni Sarattara

Translated:
Bungaku Shoujo 1 - I wanted to see what it was like, but I haven't gotten around to reading it yet.

Just don't ask me how many of the above I have actually read.

>>8568718
bk1.jp, sometimes amazon.co.jp if bk1 doesn't have it. If neither of them have it I will order from wherever does have it and ship to proxy address.

>>8568718

About a ten-minute's drive from my house, I have a Japanese bookstore called Sanseido inside a Japanese mall called Mitsuwa. They have great prices with low shipping cost. You can also special order stuff through them, and they will arrive in about 2 weeks. I think anything that has an ISBN code you can order through them if I am not mistaken. They also have a free rewards thing, where you get a $10 gift card for every $200 that you spend, and the point accumulation never expires. So you can spend a day or a year to get that.

>>8568938
How much does a single book cost?
Must be nice not to pay for shipping.

>>8568978

$8-11 usually. They have a set price conversion chart where you can see the absolute price of the item based on its price in yen. You don't have to pay any taxes, so if an item says $10, you will pay exactly $10. Overall, it is much cheaper and faster than relying on EMS or SAL. With the current conversion rate, it is cheaper still. Manga is even cheaper. Overall, I payed around $200 for the entirety of the Index light novel series and got it a little under 2 weeks after I ordered it. They also get manga magazines from Japan monthly along with their specials. So I got a niitengo Shana from a Dengeki Daioh and a Miki (Idolm@ster) cellphone charm from Dengeki Maoh. Presumably if a release comes with a dakimakura or oppai mousepad, I could get that as well. I also know some people who have ordered stuff like artbooks through there.

I might as well just post a compilation picture to show all of the Japanese volumes. Figure section is outdated at this point.

Sword Art Online
DxD
Accel World

>>8568238
My light novels.

>>8568938
>Sanseido inside a Japanese mall called Mitsuwa
Chicago?

>>8568718
We actually have an overseas Book Off nearby. Doesn't get really new stuff, but I can usually find something to buy. Nice to get stuff for $2

>>8569396
That is a lot of books.

>>8569444

Yep. I am a little bit sad, because over 10 years ago they used to have anime/videogame stores there as well. Now the only things of interest to me are the bookstore, the food court, and the grocery store. My parents used to bring my sister and I there to buy Japanese Pokemon cards while they shop for Japanese & Chinese food ingredients from the grocery store there. Looking back, I would have loved for the anime and videogame store to be still there. Imagine the videogames, BDs, and possibly figures & VNs that I could buy...

>>8569498
Sup, >>8569396 here. I've been to the Chicago Sanseido once. That's where I got DRRR!!x5 and NO. 6 volume 1. That game/anime store sounds like it was pretty cool... The only place I know that sells Japanese games near here is Book Off. That's where I got most of the DS games I own.

>>8569547

I remember going in there, and seeing tons of anime VHS and maybe some DVDs (late 90's or early 2000's), a big section for TCGs, and a ton of videogames. I also remember seeing a gigantic plush Totoro for sale that I am guessing was about 3 feet tall. My memory of it is fuzzy because it was a decade ago, but I wish that it was still there.

Based on my memories of the Pokemon card sets released at that time and comparing them to a chart online, that pinpoints that time period to being mid-1999.

I downloaded the first volume of this a while ago and haven't touched it, has anyone here read any of it yet?

Read Zero no Tsukaima a few weeks ago. How long does it take for the volumes to be translated?

>>8569945
If it's not popular stuff like Index or stuff that translator loves like Fellios, expect months.

Are the Bungaku Shoujo novels worth getting?

>>8569967
Damn shame.

>>8569967
It's gotten a lot better since the last tyime I checked it at least. Vol 13 will never be finsihed though.

>>8569992
I got 3 of them now.
I think the fourth is coming out soon.

>>8569967
Fellios' latest books don't even get translations anymore...

Wait, since when was CSR popular?

>>8565216

This guy sure got told.

I was incredibly surprised by how good the LNs in Faust 1&2 were
But I think vol 3 was supposed to come out...last april or somesuch. Hard times at Del Rey I imagine, very hard times.

>>8567265
He said mediocre, not that he didn't like it. And that's far from true. I and many others think it's inferior to NT1 and 2, but it's not bad enough to outright dislike it.

>>8567857
>Sometimes a translator has to think like a writer, rather than think like a dictionary.
Unfortunately, you'll just end up being flamed, look what happened to the Mahoyo translator.

If I start compiling all translated LNs into ePub or mobi for ereaders would that be something people would want?

>>8574651
100X Yes. I read all sorts of Light Novels, Fanfictions and all other books on my Nook all the time.

>>8574651
Preferably ePub and yes.

Rettousei vol 2
SAO ME08 Round of the Illusory Sword
Waiting for Chink translations for SAO vol 9

>>8574651
That would be great. I've done that for a few series myself and over the last year it's becoming a lot more common. Out of curiosity do you mean baka-tsuki projects are other ones also?

>>8574980
Everything I can find translated. I'll set up a wordpress or something in the next couple of days and if anyone wants to help contribute they can feel free.

>>8574992
Unless anyone has a better idea.

>>8575009
There is already quite a few which have PDF floating around. Like stuff on bakabt or stuff like this http://www.mediafire.com/?tw3rebdxe3rb5#0,1

There is a decent number which don't have any easy pdf/epub file though. I would just say don't reinvent the wheel, but if your website is comprehensive and gathers all the LN projects which aren't even hosted on baka-tsuki then it'd be great, but even if it doesn't an easy to find source for /jp/ might be welcome.

Bokusukunai. Thinking about buying the rest of them and some of Spice and Wolf off BK1 and have em sea shipped.

>>8575050
>Bokusukunai
It's Haganai, nerd.

>>8575075
Oh ok. I like Bosuku more.

>>8575050
Why not SAL? They even parcel your order out into nice small-parcel-SAL-sized chunks, because they are awesome like that.

>>8575129
It was the author who dubbed it haganai which you would know if you had read the first volume

Fuck the rules this thread should be in /a/

>>8575143
I think because SEA turned out being the cheapest. I need to recheck.

>>8575149
Didn't see where he put that. also fuck you ┐(´∀｀)┌

>>8575152
Nah, here is perfect.

>>8575159
Nope

>>8575175
As long as they aren't meme spamming shitheads I don't see a problem. It wasn't two weeks ago /jp/ was saying LN are the "last bastion" of otaku shit. Take it easy. I just hope the board doesn't get faster.

>>8575155
It's in the atogaki you dweeb.

>>8575201
I'm on page 53 and don't bother reading atogaki until after I've read the book, douchebigalow ┐(´∀｀)┌

Light Novels on /jp/. This'll take some getting used to.

>>8575203
I don't really care what /jp/ had say.i prefer light novel to be on /a/ rather than here.i have no problem with vn being here through

>>8575304

Not going to happen. All it will do is attract idiots from /a/. We are going to fight this.

Slayers.

>>8575607
Why worry about idiots from other boards when an idiot like you is already around?

>>8575304
It should go back to /a/.vn can stay here through

>>8575607

Yeah /b/ro. Row row fight tha power and keep those /a/ faggots who wish to follow the rules from having legitimate discussion. Hear about the latest batch of meme threads on Reddit?

>>8575631

Doesn't matter if they follow the rules or not. If they act like the nonsense spouting idiots that most are then they should no be welcome.

>>8575607
i already called le /b/lackup to deal with those f/a/ggots. reading is for faggots and anyone who reads needs to gtfo. let's keep spamming light novel threads because we hate /a/ so much we'd kill our family if they visited it.

>>8575647

You are trying way too hard.

>>8575607
i already called le /b/lackup to deal with those f/a/ggots. reading is for faggots and anyone who reads needs to gtfo. let's keep spamming light novel threads because we hate /a/ so much we'd kill our family if they visited it.

>>8575640
>act like the nonsense spouting idiots that most are then they should no be welcome.
you're only describing yourself. like the other guy said, "Why worry about idiots from other boards when an idiot like you is already around?". this thread has no reaction faces, greentext, or memes that fill most visual novel threads, but you decide to come in here and start talking about how bad /a/ is randomly shitposting in the thread.

>>8575640
You're certainly setting a great example.

>>8575304
never

>>8575304
As long as it's discussion about the novels and not adaptations, hopefully it won't be too bad.
Kind of like how /jp/ has VN generals that have completely different material than the ones that might show up on /a/ or /v/ (now /vg/ I guess).

Do the overseas Kinokuniyas stock light novels?

I live about an hour from one, and while I remember they had a really big Japanese section, I don't recall seeing light novels anywhere there the last time I was there. Then again, I didn't really check that section out thoroughly, so I might have missed them.

seems like some posts got deleted

>>8576742
I think that what is happening is that when people post NSFW all of their posts are getting deleted. It has happened to a few people over the last couple of days.

>>8576552
>>As long as it's discussion about the novels and not adaptations
impossible both will get discussed it is inevitable that why I say it is better off in /a/

>>8576751

Some series/franchises like Index, TypeMoon, Majikoi, Utawarerumono, and a few others have the vast majority of their discussions based off of their source LN & VN material. But I guess for the other titles you are correct. I think that it is not a simple enough issue to simply relegate them to one board or to let them be everywhere. Overall, light novels and visual novels would be far better off discussed in /jp/ if people here could get over the fact that it is allowed here, but it is impossible to split up the discussion of a franchise into its separate media types.

I guess I think that it is better off letting those be discussed in both /jp/ and /a/, but with the condition that the majority of discussion fit the correct board for each thread. Meaning, a VN/LN-exclusive discussion should not be on /a/, an anime/manga-exclusive discussion should not be on /jp/, but a balanced franchise discussion should be allowed on both as long as the customs of each board are preserved properly.

>>8576751
Both can naturally be discussed, comparisons and points towards different stuff in the different versions or whatnot.
The problem is mainly when people only discuss the adaptation without discussing the novels.

In the past when S&W aired, people used the novel as an excuse to have anime threads on /jp/.
And with a tame excuse of having the novels backing it up, the Saten/Kuroko spammer happened.

Just discuss the novels like usual.

>>8576623
It depends, if it's big and there's a Japanese section then it's likely they'll have some. They certainly stock things like manga, artbooks etc in the one near me, but I've never checked it for LNs so I could be completely wrong.

>>8576789

I don't think that anyone who likes the novels tolerates the Saten/Kuroko spammer. Especially since people here attack people who want to discuss the light novels simply because of the spam. Those are more based around the Railgun anime, and the relationship between the light novel fanbase and the Railgun anime fabase is possibly one of the deepest and worst inner-fanbase schisms currently on /a/ to the point where it is pretty much mutual hatred for each other and their supported part of the franchise. So to the spammers, they would likely be more than happy if their spamming caused people to hate the light novel. The only choice is to report the spam at every opportunity.

Also, this is supposed to be a light novel discussion. Not a meta discussion. So I will not talk about this further.

Heavy Object and HnA.

Finished IS and liked it.

>>8576745
I think one of the post contain row row fight the power

>>8576789
I sure don't want to discuss it on here

>>8576936

You likely don't want to discuss light novels at all. If you hate light novels, just add them to your filter accordingly and don't ruin discussion for other people.

>>8576951
no I don't hate them.I just saying that I sure don't want to discuss them on /jp/

Light novels are really bad.

Japan has a rich and interesting tradition of legitimate literature. Please explore that instead of this garbage.

>>8576963
Why dont you try /a/?
They are still talking about VN over there, why else would they reject LN? Since most of the LN that you guys talk about got an anime as well.
No need to take your frustration at /jp/.

>>8576986
>>They are still talking about VN over there, why else would they reject LN
maybe you are right but
>>No need to take your frustration at /jp/.
I don't really want to do this but it looks like some of them has move to here

>>8576998
Then discuss it on /a/ and they will move back.
I am not sure what is your problem.
You guys are the one whining about new board, clarification and set rule. You have it, congrats. Just move on. Dont like it here then move back.
Nobody will be enforcing anything.
4years ago they banned touhou and vns off /a/. Just look at /a/ now, plenty of touhous and vns still there.
Nothing change.

>>8576981
wow you're a faggot

>>8576981

>Japan
>Literature

Oh wow, that's funny. I'm sure it ranks up there with Paradise Lost, Catch 22 and As I Lay Dying.

>>8577006
oh I wasn't here 4 years ago

>>8577011

I can't appreciate Japan's poet tradition, so I can't compare anything they've done to Paradise Lost (and few things in any language compare to Paradise Lost). However, with regard to the other two, their post-war tradition holds up very well in comparison.

>>8577011
If you were trying to namecheck good literature, you did not exactly succeed.

Every time the "light novels aren't real literature go read a book you nerds" troll comes along, someone inevitably bites.

After realizing how many anime shows are actually LN adaptations I started to wonder how difficult was to get your stories published...

>>8568109
Most popular LNs can be found in aozora bunko format. Can read them just fine on a mobile phone already.

>>8577295

I'll just show you a little list for June 2010. I am unsure as to what it exactly entails, but it is a little interesting.

>>8568109
Book is probably the only medium that I will actually buy even if it is pirateable.
The feeling of holding a paperback while lying on your bed reading a book is different from reading off your monitor or phone.
I have been reading manga off mobile phone on the train. I can tolerate manga but if I try to read any pdf novel, I just gave up after a minute.

Now let me tell you why this muthafuckah is the baddest muthafuckah in town. He's so badass all he uses is his MIND to kill people. That's right you fuckers, HIS MOTHERUCKING MIND. Unlike your pussy-whipped ass MC who can't kill worth shit, this guy uses kills people left and right. When some faggot ass maniac decides to go down on his WIFE, HE KILLS HIM WITH HIS BARE HANDS. WHILE PARALYZED. CAN YOUR FAGGOT MC DO THAT? And that's not all he's got knockin' in his FINE wardrobe of crazy shit talents. In a world where people can only use one sword, this fucker uses TWO. THAT'S RIGHT, TWO MOTHERFUCKING STRONG HARD SWORDS! ITS LIKE DOUBLE TEAMING SOME BITCH WITH YOUR BRO. EXCEPT WITHOUT YOUR BRO. He's so badass he uses two swords to fuck everyone around him. EVEN HIS SISTER. THATS RIGHT, NOT ONLY DOES HE FUCK THE LOCAL BEASTMASTER (This means she fucks like a dragon in bed for all you uneducated motherfuckers. Go get yourself a degree, goddamn.), THE LOCAL BLACKSMITH who by the way polished his finest and strongest sword, SOME EMO SNIPER CHICK, AND THE HOTTEST GIRL IN TOWN, HIS WIFE. Damn, this motherfucker gets ALL THE BITCHES. And he doesn't stop there. In a world where everyone uses GUNS TO RIP ASSHOLES IN EACH OTHER, HE USES A FUCKING SWORD. HE'S SO BADASS HE DON'T EVEN NEED A FUCKING GUN. And he looks like some GORGEOUS MODEL. TO PROVE MY POINT, THIS GUY FUCKS HIS WIFE AT THE RIPE AGE OF FOURTEEN. WHAT WERE YOU DOING AT FOURTEEN? FUCKING YOUR HAND, THAT'S RIGHT. HE'S FUCKING PEOPLE WITH HIS PENIS AT THE AGE OF FOUR. TEEN.

>>8576786
Send this to Moot. Point out the franchise point and how splitting up discussion is stupid.

Having entire threads deleted because they start talking about the source material on /a/ is fucking retarded.

>>8577295
Apparently not much. Most LNs feel like copy&paste with some small changes, much worse than anime in general even.

>>8577347
Pretty much the reason why no one take LN seriously.
Most of the author write LN with the intend of it getting an anime.

>Nightly Sword Art Online threads on /a/ not getting deleted for "discussing LN outside of /jp/"

Not that I'm against light novel threads on /a/, but really moot, what's the fucking point then? LN should stay in /a/.

>>8578336
Why gut the existing community for no reason?

Generally LNs are basically anime novels, even the publishers will tell you as much.

Honestly I think Kouki Yoshimune even started writing Muv-Luv Alternative Total Eclipse in the first place because he couldn't get the anime adaption of Muv-Luv he wanted.

I think I grabbed all of the Polyphonica Crimson books that were out at the time last year. I should get around to actually reading them one day.
I think I even grabbed a bunch of the other ones too, not realizing what they were.

>>8578388

But isn't Muv-Luv getting an anime adaptation at some point now? Or am I remembering incorrectly?

>>8578514
Yes.
Muv-Luv Total Eclipse is.

>>8578514
Total Eclipse should be getting one sometime this year I think.

>>8578514
>>8578522
>>8578523
>>>/a/

>>8578542
Here is just fine, thanks.

>>8577309
>>8577347
>>8577357

Wow, this sucks. I was kinda disappointed because I read that Slayers, Vampire Hunter D and Lodoss War are LNs too.

>>8578664
Lodoss is actually /tg/ fanfiction.

>>8578664
I don't get why you're upset. Being LNs doesn't automatically mean they suck. It's just that 98% of LNs DO suck and most authors just write them for anime profits.

>>8578697
Genuine inquiry here, name some of the 2% that don't suck. I want to start exercising my moon.

Which market is more oversaturated, eroge or LN?

why do all the shitposters from other boards like /b/ feel it's okay to come into this thread and dump on LN? visual novels aren't real literature and aren't taken seriously either. every season there is manga and visual novels adaptations too.

if you have an issue with light novels feel free to go back to your mother board >>>/b/

>>8578794
We get the same types from time to time in VN threads. Just learn to ignore it.

>>8578744
maijo otaro is pretty good

>>8578794
I take issue with the types who DO think it's real literature, or pull out the stupid "subjectivity" card to excuse their own shit tastes.

Also...
>>>/lit/

>>8578839

Point those people in this thread out. with quote number and why they apparently think that.

Your >>>/lit/ redirect makes you look like a petulant child who simply is mad that light novels are being discussed. Although I am sure that it was supposed to be sarcasm referencing the >>>/b/ redirect that wasn't aimed expressly at you but it looks like you projected enough to feel like it was.

>>8578744
I didn't mean exactly 98%. I'm guessing more than 2% of them are worth reading, I was just exaggerating. It feels like most LN authors don't put any effort into their product though.

>>8577043
>their post-war tradition holds up very well in comparison
pre-war jlit > post-war jlit
Dazai Osamu, Natsume Soseki, Akutagawa Ryunosuke, Kyoka Izumi, just to name a few

>>8577295
There's a lot of luck involved, just like getting your book published elsewhere. Next time you're in a brick and mortar bookstore (if, ya know, you ever go to those) walk through the YA section and think about how you've never heard of most of the books there. Japan's the same way, but for every author who gets picked up there are at least 10 who don't. Failing to be an author is popular everywhere

>>8577357
>>8578697
Maybe for some authors that's the ultimate goal, but I think you're radically underestimating the number of LNs that DON'T get anime adaptations. The only reason most people outside of Japan think this is because the only LNs they've ever heard of are the ones with adaptations. The very popular ones often do, but there are tons of authors out there who just write because they like writing, and LN have been popular for longer than the anime industry started getting flooded with adaptations.