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[Furtuka]

Speaking of light novels it felt very odd encountering actual ones irl for the first time and learning why they're called light.

[UXLZ]

Is it because they're small?

[Reelya]

I've read some criticism of light novels along the lines of "all light novels are repetetive junk, don't those damn Otaku ever get sick of reading the same stuff over and over". Which is missing the point of who LNs are marketed at. They're not aimed at older otaku, they're cheap books aimed at middle school and highschool kids. That's also the reason for the sexy girl coverart which adorns 90% of light novels: grabbing the eye of horny teenage boys. The target audience of horny 15 year old boys also explains the quality of the writing in most LNs. Sure, some older people read them too, but they're not the core audience, in Japan at least. Outside Japan, since you need to be kinda in the know to get the LN translations, then the average reader is quite a bit older than in Japan.

They can get away with plot repetition for the same reason kid's toys manufacturers can - you always have a fresh batch of victims in the target age-range. But they're at an age where they're obsessed with things that are new, so you can't sell them last years batch of light novels, you need to market them this years "new" batch even if they're the same basic story over and over.

[UXLZ]

All the light novels I've had a look at seemed to be fairly unique with an interesting story line (though admittedly I haven't actually read them, just seen a summary or adaptions.)

Then again, I haven't looked at that many... The one closest to what you're describing that I can think of is Highschool DxD, but that has been going on for aaaages, so I'm not sure about the 'new' thing you're describing.

[Spehss _]

So, wait, Is This a Zombie is marketed to kids? But...magical girls with chainsaws. I'd totally read that.

[Reelya]

The more ecchi ones are probably aimed at 17-18 year olds. But by the time they get an anime adaptation the original fans are 20-21+ so they go all out with the fanservice. Explaining why those things are both childish as hell and uber smutty. The target audience kind of explains why they're almost always some bland highschool guy thrown into a random adventure featuring heaps of hot girls, you're meant to imagine you are him.

[UXLZ]

That doesn't make them bad, though (subjectively they're bad to some people, to other, not.) Escapism isn't inherently terrible as long as it isn't dwelt upon to an unhealthy extent.

[IronyOwl]

That doesn't make them bad, though (subjectively they're bad to some people, to other, not.) Escapism isn't inherently terrible as long as it isn't dwelt upon to an unhealthy extent.

No, but if your escapism consists of "Hey what if a bunch of hot ninja girls started hanging around you and you kept stumbling into their chests?" I'm inclined to suspect you could do better.

[UXLZ]

It's pretty fun to imagine, though. For me, personally, the escapism usually comes less from the 'stumbling into a lot of hot ninja girl's chests' and more from the 'living in a more interesting world' part.

[Reelya]

All the light novels I've had a look at seemed to be fairly unique with an interesting story line (though admittedly I haven't actually read them, just seen a summary or adaptions.)

Then again, I haven't looked at that many... The one closest to what you're describing that I can think of is Highschool DxD, but that has been going on for aaaages, so I'm not sure about the 'new' thing you're describing.

See below. And I'll keep it to just shows that have aired since October 2013. From the season charts, these are the notable highschool/harem/ecchi shows that were adapted from light novels (I've excluded the returning light novel/harem shows like SAO, Infinite Stratos, Date A Live though, and just counting brand new shows)

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

October 2013: Strike the Blood, Tokyo Ravens, Unbreakable Machine Doll

Jan 2014: Mahou Sensou, No-Rin

April 2014: Nanana's Buried Treasure, Mahouka. Black Bullet, No Game No Life

July 2014: Rail Wars, Jinsei. Momo Kyun Sword, Rokojyouma no Shinryakusha!?, Seirei Tsukai No Blade Dande

October 2014: Madan no ou to Vanadis, Amagi Brilliant Park, Inou Battle in Everyday Life, I Will Be The Twintail

Jan 2015: Shinmai Maou no Testament, Juuou Mujin No Fafnir, Seiken Tsukai no Blade Dance, Saenai Heroine no Sodateka, Absolute Duo

So, i count 22 new ecchi/harem animes based on light novels over 6 seasons, we're looking at around 4 harem shows a season which are from light novels, which is the majority of the harem shows they make.

Read this amusing post about light novels:
https://jphinano.wordpress.com/2012/02/29/all-light-novels-are-the-same/

It's an outrage that no-one has adapted the light novel "Why my tsuntsun koakuma sister became dere before becoming my waifu" yet. I thought this couldn't possibly be the correct translation, so I found the novel on amazon.jp ... amazingly, this looks like an accurate translation of the title.

[Kobold Troubadour]

Well, from the the top of my head, here's a list as a reminder of some Light Novels with interesting plots & had nice/awesome adaptations that isn't all about harems/moe stuff (and overused things most LNs tend to go).

Spice & Wolf, Kara no Kyoukai, Fate/Zero, Baccano!, Kino no Tabi, Durarara! & The Twelve Kingdoms.

Can be subjective or debatable on how "good" they are but I also liked Hyouka & Suzumiya Haruhi (Not really sure where to put series' like Monogatari & Shana, while ToAruIndex has a lot of harem antics)

[Zangi]

That doesn't make them bad, though (subjectively they're bad to some people, to other, not.) Escapism isn't inherently terrible as long as it isn't dwelt upon to an unhealthy extent.

No, but if your escapism consists of "Hey what if a bunch of hot ninja girls started hanging around you and you kept stumbling into their chests?" I'm inclined to suspect you could do better.

Sure, there could be better... but does the demographic want better?

Its all a matter of preferences anyways.  I don't imagine myself as the protagonist of anime in most cases.  Rather, its the world around that is the captivating part.  Basically, "what sort of mook would I be in this world".  A big reason why I liked Naruto/Bleach.

In my opinion, most sorts of highschool guy surrounded by harem tends to have a lackluster world/setting, very easy to write off.

[Frumple]

... actually, the annoying bit about them is a great deal of them actually have incredibly interesting settings -- or at least the strong potential for them -- that get shat upon, to various degrees, by the poorly handled harem plot. Sidelined, not investigated, chunks of it tossed out in favor of harem antic #Y, etc. It's occasionally frustrating.

[Leafsnail]

Generic harem antics seem better than the sisterfucking trend.  "Why my tsuntsun koakuma sister became dere before becoming my waifu" is an incredible title though.

[Il Palazzo]

My greatest dream is to see Kokoro remade as a harem anime before I die.