Earlier this month, a university professor in Japan made a post on social media asking his followers to encourage their personal reading habit, not through light novels, but through well-known authors such as Keigo Higashino, Miyuki Miyabe and Kaoru Kitamura, who "have more organized works." Readers of light novels felt that the market was demerited and were quick to respond.
頼むからもっと小説を読んでくれ…。できればラノベではなく、もう少し文章の整ったものを…。東野圭吾とか宮部みゆきとか北村薫とか、あるいは翻訳ミステリやSFもいいぞ…。そうすれば自分で文章を書くときにもう少しマシになる…。こちらも答案を解読する手間が減る…。頼む…。 #採点の祭典
— 飯島明子 (@a_iijimaa1) February 4, 2021
"A professor at a certain university commented via Twitter that he did not appreciate light novels, and some fans were quick to react negatively. Before we begin, let's review what he wrote in his original post earlier this month: 'I ask you to encourage your reading habits... If possible, instead of a light novel, let them read something more organized and appropriate... Keigo Higashino, Miyuki Miyabe, Kaoru Kitamura and all those sci-fi and mystery novels are good choices. That way they will also learn how to express themselves properly, and reduce us the effort of trying to decipher their messages.""
"Hundreds of responses and quotes began to flood the original publication , who noted, "It's sad that a reader would label light novel readers as separate groups," "Youjo Senki is very well organized, if you ask me," "I have read Keigo Higashino and Miyuki Miyabe, but even among light novels there are masterpieces," and "First of all, Keigo Higashino and Miyuki Miyabe are very close to light novels, don't you think?" as the most popular replies."
"Certainly, the publication was considered by some to be a criticism of the light novel market. Indeed, a large number of such works feature multiple writing and narrative errors that leave much to be desired, but the description does not apply to the entire set. However, since light novels were singled out as "a novel with poor writing and development," it was obvious that more than one would speak out against it."
It should be noted that a light novel is a type of book aimed at an audience unaccustomed to reading, such as high school or middle school students. The term coined from English in Japan is also written as "Ranobe (ラノベ)" and feature an average length of 50,000 words published in a format called "Bunkobon," which is the name for A6 size (10.5 x 14.8 cm). The light novels have gained a reputation as "mass-produced and disposable," largely due to author Kazuma Kamachi (author of Toaru Majutsu no Index), who wrote one volume a month for two years, and because of the extremely high rate of author turnover.
Source: Yaraon!
