Discussion Japanese novels

I haven't read any japanese novels till now, because i keep feeling fear of encountering a moronic MC... So i decide to open this Thread, for read the opinion of those who read japanese novel put their opinions about it. So guys how is it? Am i wrong?

 

Many of them contain moronic mcs though there are a couple of good ones.

 

Alot of them are wimps that carry around a pussy magnet the author gave them

 

Can you list some of those?

 

What bothers me more is the obsession with lolis and slaves.

 

I don't really know what you mean by moronic but here some works that are nonstandard for Japanese novels
Summoned slaughter
Epic of the forsaken hero (both of these have mcs that don't mind killing or torture )
Rakudai kishi no eiyuutan ( the main character actually picks a girl instead of being a dense guy who accumulates harem members ....)
The reunion with twelve fascinating goddesses (only one volume out but the personality of this mc seems like it has potential )
Magika no kenshi to shoukan Manu ( this one seems like a typical Japanese novel till volume 3 where he starts actively pursuing the girls)

 

Tsuyokute New Saga
Yobidasa Reta Satsuriku-sha
Konjiki no Wordmaster
Overlord(will be license by yenpress soon)
has been licensed but if you spend time to search you can find the old translation in somewhere:
Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei
log horizon
It the novel titles that have no such thing as moronic MC if I interpret "moronic" right

 

It's because during the previous generation, there's a too heavy emphasis on impossibly big breasted matronly women. The new generation was disgusted by 'cow-like women', so they slowly went to the extreme end, the 'pettanko'. I don't mind loli, a number of lolis can balance a story in many cases. My problem is with too many lolis, such as Oda Nobuna no Yabou, it's like the whole Japan in the Sengoku period was filled with lolis and lolicons. I dropped it after a loli came to Nobuna's palace driving a mecha.

 

With Japanese, it's either loli/short pettanko or busty beyond D cup. Average seized heroines are a very rare breed.
Mcs are not pragmatic/realist enough. Excessively naives in some cases.
MCs above 18 yo are a rare breed as well, most are 15-16.
MCs are either very dense when dealing with girls, or pussies that run away from the pussies
Culture when there is reincarnation/transport to a different world: Modern day earth = Modern day Japan. Anything that happened in the world within the last 100 years is of little importance. They forget that before WW2 Japan wasn't the peace loving country they are now

 

I like magi's grandson. Tensei shitara slime datta ken is good too. Kumo desu ga, nani ka is okay.
They're all another reborn in a fantasy world stories. Oh, re:monster is one of my favorites.

 

MAGI GRANDSON???????
The mc is supposed to have finished college and be an active member of the society before dying. Yet he is more oblivious and naive than the teenagers in the world he was reincarnated.

 

+1 for Mahouka
And Spice & Wolf
They've both been licensed but you can find pdfs on a certain website.

 

He lived in a forest his entire new life with people that only taught him how to be op. His lack of common sense isn't his fault, which is part of his character. I'm pretty sure lots of people would have socializing problems if they only lived in a forest for 15 years learning magic and fighting

 

He knows he lacks common sense. He should be carefull. But he isn't. Not one bit. He doesn't think much before talking. Worst, during all the time he lived in the mountains, he didn't ask anything about the outside world. There were people visiting, but he didn't ask to learn more about the outside world. For someone who comes from a society where education is widespread, he didn't think to learn more about the new world where he ended up. That's just too horrible for someone who was supposed to be an adult.

 

the MC of magi's grandson is a Riajuu. He is talented, his parents are awesome, good looks, funny personality, very strong, has a girlfriend and etc. His is living his life in luxury, he has no money problem, he has good connections(the royalty) damn makes me jealous, i hope he would suffer at least once

 

i kinda could not understand why people badmouthing LN, as much i aware they have bad point
but what in the world that make xianxia/wukia (?) better than them as few i read them, they still have bad point too
i think this matter more to what kind genre/story/style you want to read?
as side note i only read what i think enjoyable to me

 

Well... considering Japan LN MC as basically the reader 'avatar' where the reader can project themselves into the MC, most MC lack defining personality and had passive role in the story (think as Bella from Twilight).

Of course I suspect that cultural value dissonance also play part in this. As it is, there is really difference between Western and Eastern set of ethics and value system.
In Western Mythology or generic story archetype, the MC is basically a superhero, a hero who can do everything. An ubermensch that knew no fear, no failure, quick to act, no mercy to his opponent and always bed any women he just met.
Looking at how Westerner put so much value on "Superiority above others" and "Material successful" this concept of hero was of course so much popular, and so I guess people with this view would find an MC who did too much thinking, passive, avoiding-conflict, indirect, restrained emotion, didn't act because of fear of others, etc. will look wimpy.

Actually as an Easterner, I found the notion of "Real Man is Killer", the abundance of violence, and solve everything with a gun in Western popular media is disturbing.
Not that any of this stop me from gunning down innocent civilians in GTA, though....

 

i think hakomari ,Mahouka ,spice and wolf,Gekkou and Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuutsu are good

 

That's the general opinion because many Japanese novels seems like they take similar premise; ie: typical harem member characters, weak and unambitious lead, etc. But just because many of them like that, doesn't mean that all of them is...well, that way.
+1 for Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei, Spice And Wolf, and Suzumiya Haruhi; they're awesome, and definitely no moronic MC.
Other "non-standards" are:
Overlord (obviously)
Kino no Tabi
Log Horizon
Mondaiji-tachi
Altina
And many, many others.
They presents varied themes, unique characters, and built many very, very interesting plots.

 

Because the title of the topic has 'japanese' in it.

Actually, there's no excuse for them. Read, the Legend of condors, in one chapter the character knows that he steals but feels nothing.. And he's on the good side. Those type of stories tend to justify everything from the perspective of power.

I've had read western literature, where characters sleep with womens and so on but I've never found that shamless type of guys that I've found in japanese literature. I don't know if my set of values is strange but.. I have something agains those guys. First of all, too much sexualization. Ok, they can write about it but.. They don't know when to stop. They insist and repeat the same thing over and over - stop that, it's annoying. There's also that annoying aspect where the Mc stops at the first answer, even if he/she knows that there's more to think and more answers, in contrast to western literature, where, if the Mc is, usually, a thinker and if not, the writer will not go by - whatever. Also, if in japanese literature it's described peace, ok, got nothing against that but.. That's only because there's law and social bindings to do so. Someone once saied that, in all those transported/reincarnated stories the characters can't decide what to do, they go with the flow and think that everythink will be alright.

Also, in japanese literature.. It is insisted on the phsihical power, in contrast to westerns where the power of the mind makes the difference. Also, that power is described and used by the perspective of a set of values, i rarely find that in japanese/chinese novels where the set of values isn't fixed or believed by the character.

I've wrote only about martial arts novels and/or adventure /fight type of novels.

I think that the main fault of those writers is that they don't have a viable personal/universal system of values. And that shows that they don't know their society or themselves or.. Thar they write just for commercial reasons.

I've also had read american literature where are many heroes - as in comics by Marvel. Those writers write from the premise that those powers are inexplicable by humans standards, that they are borned by coincidence. In contrast with that, the superheroes from chinese literature receive power from gods, from teachings or from certain sets of law or by using some treasures. There are some common points between literatures but, usually, the diffrences are more poignant. Also, where the... If not in chinese/japanese novels the Mc can be either a villain or a hero if you change just the perspective or if the writer doesn't describe him her as so?

In the end, everyone has the right to choose. You can read or not a novel and, also, you can judge it as you see fit.

Anyway, i'm no critic, those are my primary toughts that comes in my mind when I try to point out the main differences between western and eastern novels of the same kind. I'm nit used with that 'grey' zone and that 'power means right'.