What you need to know about reading Japanese light novels

In Japan, more than 100 anime are produced every year.

In the past, most of them were anime originals, but recently light novel originals has been increasing.

Therefore, the origin of anime is light novels, and there are many interesting works including those that are not made into anime.

However, reading light novels requires a certain amount of prerequisite knowledge, and it can be difficult for first-time readers from overseas to read them.

So this time, I'd like to introduce some knowledge that you should know when reading light novels for foreigners.

Naro-kei(なろう系)

Have you ever heard of the term "Naro-kei(なろう系)"?

In Japan, there is an online platform called "Shosetsuka ni Narou!(小説家になろう！)" where many amateur light novelists post their works.

You can read their works for free, and some of their popular works have been made into novels, comics, and animations. Famous works include "That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime", "Mushoku Tensei Jobless Reincarnation", and "Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World".

So the works published in "Shosetsuka ni Narou!(小説家になろう！)" are called "Naro-Ukei(なろう系)".

As you may have noticed, many of these popular works are "isekai-mono(異世界物"), and I'll explain about it.

By the way, "Kakuyomu(カクヨム)" and "Hamelin(ハーメルン)" are also famous novel posting platforms.

isekai-mono(異世界物)

isekai-mono(異世界物) is the most popular light novel genre in Japan.

isekai-mono(異世界物) is a story set in "the other world other than reality" as the name suggests, and it is largely divided into the following two patterns.

1. other world reincarnation 
2. other world transfer

First of all, the other world reincarnation means that the protagonist dies in the real world and is reborn in another world. When reincarnated, there are many stories where the setting is "I have memories of my previous life," and by utilizing the memories of that previous life, the protagonist is very active in the other world. "That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime" and "Mushoku Tensei Jobless Reincarnation" are just such works.

Secondly, "Otherworld Transfer" means that the protagonist of the real world is transferred directly to the other world. In many cases, it is not easy to return to the real world, and there are many stories where the protagonist struggles in the other world to return. "Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World" is a good example of this type.

Heroines in isekai-mono(異世界物)

As for the heroes of isekai-mono(異世界物), they are often basically the strongest, but the heroines are not always so.

Here, I'll introduce the "XX-Dere" type. "Dere" is a Japanese meaning "to dere," or "to spoil."

Basically, the setting is used to enhance the heroine's gap.

Tsun-dere
Tsun: to be always curt
Dere: to be sweet
= usually to the main character, but sometimes to be cute and sweet 

Coo-dere
Coo: Always cool,
Dere: to be sweet
= always sweet, always cool, but sometimes cute and sweet.

Yan-dere
Yan: Mentally ill Yang
Dere: to be sweet
= Mentally dependent on the main character.

Daru-dere
Daru: always looking languid
Dere: to be sweet
= Always looking boring, but being cute and sweet.

My best is "Mushoku Tensei Jobless Reincarnation"

By the way, my most favorite work is "Mushoku Tensei Jobless Reincarnation".

As I mentioned above, it was originally posted on "Shosetsuka ni Narou!(小説家になろう！)" and you can read it for free even now. It's only in Japanese, though.

"Mushoku Tensei Jobless Reincarnation" has been translated into English as well, so please give it a try.

And that was just the basics this time, but if you have any questions or want to know more, please feel free to contact me via Twitter.