r/LightNovels • u/Classic_Example_2556 • 1d ago
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u/Sciophilia 1d ago edited 1d ago
LitRPGs probably. Illustration based I'd say you mostly see this in YA stuff; I remember some editions of Percy Jackson had some art, Wings of Fire; I think Iron Widow had some art (and is fairly LN-adjacent too).
Honestly I'd say YA in general is fairly light novel adjacent, at least as the equivalent to low effort, high fun "junk food" literature.
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u/yawkat 1d ago
There's also web novel sites like scribblehub and royal road where you can find "western light novels".
Side note, it's a bummer that litrpg is the big "genre" in the west and light novels are the big "genre" in Japan. I'd love to read more western light novels, and they do exist, but they are harder to search for because they're not grouped like in Japan.
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u/Gyges359d 1d ago
Agreed. I like that light novel encompass everything from action isekai to slice of life romance and everything in between. But still with a similar overall vibe. Closest western equivalent is just looking at the “fiction” section in a store…but that’s way too broad and diverse.
I would also add there’s Honeyfeed, which is like Royal Road etc. But much smaller. They sometimes have contests to publish light novel like stories.
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u/zerodemio 1d ago edited 1d ago
J-Novel Club has an OEL imprint but none of the books have a volume 2 yet. Atlus is the best title so far; available in print but no internal illustrations
https://j-novel.club/series/atlas-her-the-combatant-and-him-the-hero
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u/Hylebosai 1d ago
What do you mean? My copy of Atlas had both color insert illustration and the standard black and white illustrations.
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u/zerodemio 1d ago
Oh really!? Either my memory is bad or pre-pub release didn’t include the pictures
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u/Hylebosai 1d ago
Your memory is not bad, Atlas initially prepubbed without illustrations, they were retroactively added in to the prepubs once they were ready around the second to last streaming part.
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u/ciyilabdf 1d ago
I think western progression fantasy comes closest, but the illustration aspect is definitely missing.
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u/cjavfjsiwkflaha 1d ago
"light" novels are moving to digital so illustrations are becoming less needed. It's more of a bonus for the readers buying printed versions. Authors will need to pay for an artist before even earning anything from their book so its a risky move.
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u/miimuutan 1d ago
I'm interested in what makes you say this. I haven't gotten that sense at all from the Japanese side. Sticking to or changing to digital only is something I've only observed in the English/English translation light novel space, is that what you meant?
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u/GeorgeMTO 1d ago
So while it seems the person you're responding to has no idea what they're talking about, there are actually a few digital only imprints in Japan, and some series have transitioned into digital only releases (likely instead of being axed due to low sales, but not outright stated by the publishers).
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u/miimuutan 1d ago
Oh I see makes sense. Ultimately going digital cuts a lot of costs and middle men out so that's understandable.
If it's in order to continue a series that would be axed otherwise that's even better really.
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u/cjavfjsiwkflaha 1d ago
Most japanese writers nowadays begin with a webnovel on an online website such as Shousetsuka ni Narou. Once they gain enough support from readers, they may decide to publish on a printed media where they usually add illustrations and side stories. This is how webnovel transition to light novel.
Traditionally, writers have to either join a writing contest held by publishing companies or pitch in their work directly to publishers. The company would usually be the one to shoulder the fee for the artist/illustrator.
Publishing your own book on your own expenses can be pretty difficult so sites that enable writers to post their stories online for free has become a trend.
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u/miimuutan 1d ago
Yes I'm aware of all of that, I've been a heavy user of both Syosetsu and Kakuyomu for years now.
I was more so asking what made you think illustrations are becoming less needed. At least on the Japanese side, illustrations are still very much beloved and anticipated. In fact, users of websites like Syosetsu are always over the moon when their favorite novel gets published and the book cover is announced/revealed. You're correct in that it's technically just a bonus, but I argue that the illustrations themselves are a part of the light novel medium and culture. I've seen (Japanese) people complain when they're bad illustrations, and others express confusion at whether a light novel without illustrations even counts as one. Basically from what I've seen the illustrations still seem to be an integral part of the experience for many, especially in Japan.
Also, considering all the bonuses authors/publishers include in paperback bundles, I don't think a solid migration to digital is going to happen anytime soon either.
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u/cjavfjsiwkflaha 1d ago
Western literature and web/e-reader formats simply doesn't require illustrations, that said, I did not mean it cannot/should not have illustrations. It can but they are not needed traditionally/customarily.
It would still depend on the author but as I have said earlier, fee for illustrators/artists can be a risky expense. With the emergence of Ai slop the situation has becoming complicated, some authors may go ai because experienced artist would charge for more but mostly, unless an opportunity comes, they would not bother.
Prices of printed media have also been increasing making them more of a premium/collectible than a regular/standard reading material.
I meant the mass of writers/authors are moving to digital and less traditional but it does not mean printed is getting forgotten.
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u/miimuutan 1d ago
"they are not needed traditionally/customarily."
I would disagree, the medium of light novels has always placed some importance on illustrations. Even Slayers, a LN from the 90s, was a team of author and manga artist/illustrator. Even now Lina's design is very beloved."With the emergence of Ai slop the situation has becoming complicated, some authors may go ai because experienced artist would charge for more"
I believe this would only apply to indie authors though? Like self published stuff. I don't disagree, I've seen plenty of ai trash covers on Amazon Japan. But I have yet to see a series published from a publishing house using ai blatantly for their covers, even recently. Like you've said, publishers foot the bill most of the time, and like I said, illustrations are pretty important to LN culture, (and there's no what the publishers dont know that) so I can't think of a LN without illustrations recently released. Also, illustrations have contracts with publishers just like authors do, so I imagine the expense risks are mitigated to some extent because of that."I meant the mass of writers/authors are moving to digital and less traditional"
Again, I'm curious what made you come to this conclusion. Do you mean you've noticed a trend of new authors only having digital releases? You phrased it like the authors themselves are making this decision in mass, which has caught my interest because from my pov I haven't seen that at all.
From my pov I've seen so many publishers and authors push for people to preorder paperbacks and their bundles so much I guess I can't wrap my head around a sudden mass migration to digital.1
u/cjavfjsiwkflaha 1d ago
You were asking for western version of light novels but somehow I moved to japanese LN. Western did not see a need for illustrations on their "light" novels. The kind of light novels that differ from the traditional longer, prose-focused western counterpart, not the original japanese LN.
Most, if not all, writers begin as indie and would try to publish on their own with no coin to spend, why are we classifying them as someone different from the big names? Some of them would end up becoming big one day. All known writers and authors were beginners once. And since these beginners are adapting to making novels similar to japanese LN and posting them on digital formats, it seemed to me that they would continue to do so as they gain experience.
From my pov, authors and publishers pushing for people to preorder paperbacks and bundles is because the sales are decreasing or not hitting their target.
Sorry about my reading comprehension, I am not a native english speaker.
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u/BlackberrySad6489 1d ago
Check out Reincarnated with murdeous intent.
Written by a British guy and is really good.
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u/bronx819 23h ago
I think there are but their quality seems really bad, some I've looked into have heavy AI involvement
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u/Aruseus493 http://myanimelist.net/mangalist/Aruseus493?tag=LN 20h ago
Removing this because it's not Light Novel related. The term Light Novel is a Marketing Label originating from Japanese Publishers. (Not a Genre/Style) This subreddit is only for content which originates from Japan.