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Post #672994
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8:53 pm, Oct 24 2015
Posts: 432


...
Wait it says web novels?
Crap.
I thought it said "light novel", or just "novel", for some reason...
I voted "maybe a couple", but that's wrong. I don't read any.

Last edited by zarlan at 8:58 pm, Oct 24 2015

Post #672995 - Reply to (#672978) by lambchopsil
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8:56 pm, Oct 24 2015
Posts: 432


Quote from lambchopsil
"Maybe a couple" meaning "Just a few", which isn't "Lots"

Maybe=perhaps=possibly

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10:03 am, Oct 25 2015
Posts: 170


Needs an option between 'Maybe a couple' and 'Used to, not anymore'

That said, the vast majority of web novels are shit. You can't go wrong with free but when this community is (mostly) a community of manga pirates, why bother pirating the crappy stuff?

And that doesn't even take into account the effort(?) of the translator(s). (Seriously, I know Google Translate is a good tool, but proofread the damn thing before bragging about your "translation".)

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First-Class Logic
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11:45 pm, Oct 25 2015
Posts: 90


I don't mean to sound like an elitist snob, but I'm going to now proceed to sound like an elitist snob. dead (Warning! Writerly snobbery ahead!)

On this site, anything with "Novel" in the title or "Adapted from Novel" in the tags makes me run for the hills. But, as a writer and librarian, I hate when people judge the medium as a whole -- "I hate YA" or, "Comics all suck." Those are, after all, silly over-generalizations. So I won't go that far, but I will say that every light or web novel that I've ever attempted to read (yes, even the popular ones -- especially the popular ones) has been irredeemably awful. From my experience, the writing is clumsy, purple, and embarrassingly unfunny (like manga or anime in purely written form -- no, that does not work), and many of them have ridiculously convoluted plots. Common tropes, trends, and devices I've also noticed and that I can't stand: follow-the-leader series (I never want to see another "trapped in a virtual reality game" series again -- ever), ecchi/harem fantasies (especially with the bland generic shounen everyboy self-insert main characters), descriptions in gory detail of each new character (yuck yuck purple yuck), heavy reliance on anime and manga visual tropes (no, you cannot "sweatdrop," and no, onomatopoeia should never be used with that weight or frequency), and gratingly hold-your-hand levels of poorly written descriptions telling you exactly what everything does, looks like, and means so that you don't have to use even one ounce of brain power figuring anything out for yourself. I will give them the benefit of the doubt and suggest that maybe some light novels do have legitimately decent plots and characters. But, in my experience, the writing has been so gut-wrenchingly horrid that I've never been able to read far enough to find out.

Ugh. I know these things are geared toward younger readers (except for the uneasily mature ones??), but there is no excuse for bad writing. That goes doubly when writing for children and young adults. They need good literature even more than us adults do! They're piecing together their own identities! [earnest children's librarian mode=off]

So tl;dr, no, I don't read web novels since they're basically wannabe light novels, which I can't stomach. If I want to read bad fiction (because everyone's a little masochistic sometimes!), then I'll hop onto FictionPress. At least over there I might stumble upon a gem! laugh

But as always, that's just my silly opinionated opinion, so take it as you will. xP

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Post #673029 - Reply to (#673025) by crazyboutcute
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2:59 am, Oct 26 2015
Posts: 79


Let me guess, you did not read those light and/or web novels in Japanese, you tried their translations. If my assumption is correct, and I'm pretty sure it is, then sorry but you have no right to judge their writing.

Translation is a derivative work based on original, it can be closer to original or further but it is never the same. Even with professional translations that are released commercially what we get is frequently very different from what was written by original author, and fan-translations are just that much more random.

What's more, some of the issues you mentioned in your post are just things you personally dislike and not necessarily signs of bad writing.

I'm not trying to say that light/web novels have great writing on average, neither I want to deny you from having your own opinion on the matter. I just hate when people bash something without being properly informed and having sufficient experience with the subject.

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3:20 am, Oct 26 2015
Posts: 6


No, I don't read web novels anymore and I wish I could filter those out under latest releases, not just under advanced genre search; it's kind of an eyesore for me. Except it's inplemented already and I don't know how.
There are good written ones and not so good ones but the amount of not so good ones is astonishing, but that's just like any other kinds of media. Although I see web novels mostly on same level as fanfictions so I tend to avoid them.

Post #673031 - Reply to (#673025) by crazyboutcute
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Seinen is RIGHT
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3:41 am, Oct 26 2015
Posts: 2401


I have read "official translations" of LN´s if anyone cares roll and I basically agree with crazyboutcute´s points. I even deem 99% of all LN writers and at least 99,9% of our web "novelists" to be irredeemable amateurs or worse and their prose tends to have a reading level that won´t challenge a grade schooler...
I will never speak up against the format of youth novels itself which LN´s are as "The Hobbit" is one for example (LoTR has no target demographic btw. and targets children as much as adults). Or look at the current reception of "Journey to Star Wars: The Force Awakens Lost Stars" and there are a lot of complicated factors why books are published as non-adult fiction too. (Cough they make more money cough).
LN´s though are a quick cash grab by default as they are the most inexpensive way possible to kickstart a franchise and are a blight open the current anime scene. The amount of adaptations they get at once after the publishers start smelling success is lastly all the prove I need to see how cynical and greedy the entire system is form the bottom up.

I obvious have nothing against actual Japanese novels as the works of Haruki Murakami
(or Japanese youth novels that have been published outside of the anthology/web system) and can only recommend everyone to extend their horizons beyond the MU releases list.
Edit: @Mariejoanna The Novel Filter may help you.

Last edited by residentgrigo at 9:22 am, Oct 26 2015

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Post #673045
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3:44 pm, Oct 26 2015
Posts: 56


For the most part, no I don't read Web Novels - way too much of the same generic characters with the same generic narrative, more so than manga. It's quite ridiculous, honestly.

Last edited by dosetsu at 3:50 pm, Oct 26 2015

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8:25 pm, Oct 26 2015
Posts: 25


I've toned down on reading manga and watching anime due to various reasons. So started reading those Light Novels or Web Novels. They tend to be more fullfilling though i try to avoid the cliche shounen types which a aplenty...

I also no longer buy figurines or paperback manga. Sticking to digital manga and mostly digital novels.

Post #673066 - Reply to (#672991) by mysstris
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hungry
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6:34 am, Oct 27 2015
Posts: 421


Nope. I'm reading LNs from about 2-3 years. When I finished(graduated from) Highschool I had alot of free time before entering college. So, they grew in numbers.

I'm reading mangas from about 12 years ago and started reading Manhwa/Manhua sometimes after.
Hope it clarifies it. ^^

Last edited by MinatoAce at 6:43 am, Oct 27 2015

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6:40 pm, Oct 27 2015
Posts: 291


It's interesting to see how many people reply to this thread about reading web novels compared to the thread about removing web novels. There were a lot more people in the other thread who say they read web novels compared to this thread. Though the poll seems to lean towards people reading web novels.

Anyway, yes Murakami, now that I read. biggrin

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8:11 pm, Oct 27 2015
Posts: 716


I read quite a lot of them. It's true that there is a lot of garbage mixed in, but so does everything else. Always good ones and always bad ones.

I find the good ones to be very enjoyable, while the bad ones are just... well, bad.

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Post #673140 - Reply to (#673066) by MinatoAce
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11:52 pm, Oct 28 2015
Posts: 354


Oh ok. You said novels instead of graphic novels so what you said was open to misunderstandings

Post #673144 - Reply to (#673092) by silencecomes
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2:41 am, Oct 29 2015
Posts: 90


Quote from silencecomes
I read quite a lot of them. It's true that there is a lot of garbage mixed in, but so does everything else. Always good ones and always bad ones.

I find the good ones to be very enjoyable, while the bad ones are just... well, bad.


It is exactly this. Web novels can pretty much be published by anyone, meaning that most if not all are amateur works. While that is true, it is a good media for people who want to go pro to gather population and criticism in order for their work to improve in quality. I'll say that we should be giving them the chance to prove their quality instead of bashing the whole media as just plain bad.

It is true that the genre for web novels are mainly leaning towards the same direction where vmmo or reincarnation are involved, but that is because it is currently popular. This caused more web novels of such genre to be written and also translated, making it seemed like there aren't any web novels that are different.

I have to say that there are definitely many web novels that are gems and were given the chance to transit into other forms of media but there could be more.

Some web novels(or were from web novels) that I can recommend:

Turned Light Novels
Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari (Novel)
Death March kara Hajimaru Isekai Kyusoukyoku (Novel)
Only Sense Online (Novel)
Risou no Himo Seikatsu (Novel)
Konjiki no Moji Tsukai (Novel)

Turned Light Novels+Anime
Overlord (Novel)


Turned Manga
Toaru Ossan no VRMMO Katsudouki
The New Gate
World Customize Creator

Still Web Novel, but have potential
The Black Knight Who Was Stronger than Even the Hero (Novel)
Daraku no Ou (Novel)

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Post #673155 - Reply to (#673140) by mysstris
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hungry
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8:34 am, Oct 29 2015
Posts: 421


Well.
If by saying 'Novel' you understand something like " A Song of Ice and Fire ", then the thing is, I used to read them alot.
I love Fantasy and Mistry genres.
Though nowadays I don't read them much as for the issue with time and money...lol

The last one I bought and read was last year, " The Broken Empire Trilogy ".
It's a great novel series. I highly recommend them, try it sometimes.
Antihero Male Protagonists are my favourite. ^^

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