(L) Yahari Ore no Seishun Love Come wa Machigatteiru.

[Exlaminis]

Ok then. Is it fine to ask how it is compared to other light novels?

[RioFoxx]

Originally Posted by Excorsism

I would kill for a Meguri spin-off. Don't know why, but she's my favorite after Yukino. Must be that comfy nature of hers.

How about something like...

Megu Megu Megurin♪ is clearly comfy as illustrated?

[JDFUdude]

Originally Posted by Exlaminis

Ok then. Is it fine to ask how it is compared to other light novels?

Besides the fact that Oregairu has two really good translators, its prose (at least the way it's carried in English) it's clearly superior compared to another Light Novels. Just read whatever chapter from Highschool DxD, or Haganai, then whatever chapter from Oregairu (not that these novels' translators are bad, but the source material can get you only so far).

I have other examples, but I'd be better to have an answer from someone who reads moon runes

[Guy Incognito]

Originally Posted by Heat066

It's (the chuuni) Zaimokuza and (the airhead) Tobe...do you even need to ask?

Hay Zaimokuza has show up in every Vol.(in some form) and has even help sometimes don't count him out just because he's a chuunibyou!

As for Tobe yeah your right. poor guy

[HereticMagus]

Originally Posted by Exlaminis

Ok then. Is it fine to ask how it is compared to other light novels?

As far as english translations go, writing, especially dialogues, is clearly superior in Oregairu compared to works like Mahouka or Haganai or so

I still prefer the prose of Legend of Legendary Heroes though

[itisjustme]

This side of Biblia Koshodou no Jiken Techou (which might or might not be a light novel) the prose/translation is some of the best I've seen in light novels. Which isn't saying too much mind but at the very least it reads fluently and is somewhat clever, compared to the majority of pretty unreadable stuff out there, whether it is the original or translation I have no idea.

[Rioter]

Originally Posted by Exlaminis

Also, just why is Yukino the best girl?

Who is the best girl is always personal opinion. You can check 4chan but it's highly dangerous for whom who're not prepared.

[R.LocK]

Originally Posted by Exlaminis

Ok then. Is it fine to ask how it is compared to other light novels?

That's what Frog-kun's ask for. Or Spyro's blog.

[Excorsism]

I can't really say much on the topic myself since I haven't really read other light novels, or even actual Japanese literature for that matter, to the degree I have for Oregairu.

Like all light novels, Oregairu still suffers from bad writing practice as far as I know, but as far as how the story's constructed, I think it's a bit above other works. The prose can be pretty clever at times, and the text can be pretty heavy compared to other light novels (at least, comparable to other romantic comedy centric novels). It's certainly thought provoking and you could probably count the number of pages where Hachiman goes on a rant about how soft/pretty a girl is which I'm assuming is a dime a dozen in other works in the same genre. Of course, in place of that, you get a lot of random 2chan memes/references instead which can be pretty funny (also bothersome).

I'm not too familiar with Japanese writing in general, so it's hard to say. But it does grind my gears when I read "sigh" 300 times in one chapter. Another one would be "Yukino putting her hand to her temple/forehead as if to hold back a headache". Plenty of repetition elsewhere, but those are just two of the many.

As for English prose, well, I didn't graduate with a degree in English, so it's a work in progress!

[SomeChineseGuy]

Originally Posted by Excorsism

I'm not too familiar with Japanese writing in general, so it's hard to say. But it does grind my gears when I read "sigh" 300 times in one chapter. Another one would be "Yukino putting her hand to her temple/forehead as if to hold back a headache". Plenty of repetition elsewhere, but those are just two of the many.

And also everyone having the same set of gestures (head tilt being the most aggravatingly common). And dedicating the whole paragraph to paraphrase the same thought. And weird composing of the sentences into paragraphs (very often the sentence that should logically immediately follow the previous one is in the next paragraph).

Don't think it's your fault, but yeah. Pretty annoying.

[RioFoxx]

Originally Posted by Heat066

It's (the chuuni) Zaimokuza and (the airhead) Tobe...do you even need to ask?

But Zaimokuza's has the potential to be funny...and yet incredibly sad.

[itisjustme]

Originally Posted by Excorsism

I'm not too familiar with Japanese writing in general, so it's hard to say. But it does grind my gears when I read "sigh" 300 times in one chapter. Another one would be "Yukino putting her hand to her temple/forehead as if to hold back a headache". Plenty of repetition elsewhere, but those are just two of the many.

I've always thought of LNs as mangas except the authors can't draw so are putting it in words so some kind of manga repetition/mannerism is kinda expected. :P

[Armando99]

Originally Posted by itisjustme

I've always thought of LNs as mangas except the authors can't draw so are putting it in words so some kind of manga repetition/mannerism is kinda expected. :P

Hi, new here but I have been reading this story for some time,

I agree with you. It's a little bit different to Western writing style. One will get used to it after a while.

Btw, does anyone know when the new volume is coming out?

[Armando99]

Originally Posted by R.LocK

...It'd be preferable not to compare LNs with classics. Let's just say that good prose's hardly experted from an LN, and stop at that.

Actually you're not exactly correct about this. There are a few Uni's in Japan who has been studying Manga and Light Novels as part of Japanese literature (there are actually real classes and credits). It won't be part of classic literature any time soon but the mainstream is beginning to take it a bit more seriously than they did in the past and consider a part of their changing culture.

[R.LocK]

Originally Posted by Armando99

Actually you're not exactly correct about this. There are a few Uni's in Japan who has been studying Manga and Light Novels as part of Japanese literature (there are actually real classes and credits). It won't be part of classic literature any time soon but the mainstream is beginning to take it a bit more seriously than they did in the past and consider a part of their changing culture.

I hope you do know the glaring logical errors in the way you constructed your post, since I've got absolutely no idea where to begin. Oh, first of all, it doesn't even back up the notion that my point was wrong.

I've always thought of LNs as mangas except the authors can't draw so are putting it in words so some kind of manga repetition/mannerism is kinda expected. :P

Eh, not really. LN authors are more like fanfiction writers at the very beginning of the writing progression.

[JDFUdude]

Originally Posted by R.LocK

I hope you do know the glaring logical errors in the way you constructed your post, since I've got absolutely no idea where to begin. Oh, first of all, it doesn't even back up the notion that my point was wrong.


Eh, not really. LN authors are more like fanfiction writers at the very beginning of the writing progression.

Basically THIS. LN (even comics, manga in general, with exceptions obviously) are fanfic tier writing, not that it's bad or something, but you can't compare it with other literature.

[itisjustme]

Hrmmmm tbh even in the west there's a plague of badly written fiction now, some of it is YA but mostly I'm thinking of all that self-publishing press. Some of that drivel even manage to get really popular on Amazon or Goodreads and some even manages to reach worldwide blockbuster status (I'm looking at 50 shades of grey here).

That said Murakami isn't a classic but he's the kinda hype/hipster author out of Japan lately, and I read his 1Q84 2 years ago. While I won't comment on the content, the prose is as different from LNs as Nabokov is different from Stephenie Meyer, so I don't think it's purely a Japanese cultural thing. :P

[HereticMagus]

While I do agree that the prose of LN authors is often fanfiction tier, some of them have content than can potentially rival many best selling novels Paulo Coelho's books for example

Oregairu, for instance, has much more substance than many best selling 'literature' here in India(glorified generalizations about extravagant teen life in fanfiction tier writing is hailed as better than Milan Kundera or Salman Rushdie...you can guess the rest)

Hrmmmm tbh even in the west there's a plague of badly written fiction now, some of it is YA but mostly I'm thinking of all that self-publishing press. Some of that drivel even manage to get really popular on Amazon or Goodreads and some even manages to reach worldwide blockbuster status (I'm looking at 50 shades of grey here).

Ever heard of 'The American Kitsune'? The one by famed FF author Engulfing Silence? It is the perfect example of the atrocities that can be committed if an FF author turns to serious fiction. Granted, there are good ff authors too, but it's rather sad that the more popular ones are those who write wish fulfilment and nothing else.

[SuitUp]

The thing about LN writing it's that not only it uses novel autors who make rookie mistakes when writing, it's that the format itself forces them to write from a facfiction type of perspective, limiting whatever talent any given autor has.
Also, since this usually proves popular, the guy writing never finds himself needing to correct it's mistakes, because why bother when whatever you're churmming out sells like hot cakes?

[lijenstina]

The most important question is: does it have anything memorable?

I remember playing Hikoukigumo no Mukougawa.

That VN was really interesting to me from a writing point. On one side, it was ordinary, formulaic and sometimes quite boring, but, at the same time, the good bits made it above average. So, it had the usual dose of filler, cringe inducing stuff, tropes that makes you wonder just why writers don't map CTRL+C and CTRL+V on the right and left mouse buttons. Still, putting the unbearable noise of the gears of a production line like it was coming out from the Chaplin's Modern Times and the poor writers not keeping up with the incessant churning of new games down the conveyor belt ending up stuck in the machine aside, some moments of good writing and characterization got through. Glimpses of an effort put into the job were present not counting the usual one for VN writers - reaching the word quota until the next product comes down the line.

Still, while some extra effort is rewarding like a gold star on the elementary school homework essay about a book you did read during the summer vacation, the main reason why I remember it is the epilogue for one of the heroines. It was a very simple and effective way of catching the game's main theme, it felt like the person writing it understood the point they wanted to make. The metaphor at the beginning was reproduced through that story. That stood out. Some other games I've played I couldn't recollect what the hell was going on, who was doing what and why, it all morphed into an amorphous, generic, bland mass of I've already seen this before somewhere else but I don't remember where.

To cut the long story short - find a silver lining in the clouds before the rain comes.