History Main / LightNovels

While related to {{Manga}} and {{Anime}}, light novels are actually prose, written in short paragraphs and conversational language for fast reading and interspersed with manga-style illustrations. Light novels are very popular in Japan, chiefly among teenagers and young adults. Back in the 2000s and early 2010s, [[NoExportForYou very few of them had made their way to English-language markets]], but this changed around 2013 when Creator/YenPress created a successful strategy of marketing them to the people who read novels and not just anime/manga fans. There are also a relatively large number of translated [[YaoiGenre yaoi]] light novels. [[BleachedUnderpants Due to the nature of the illustrators]], many Light Novels out at the moment are {{Ecchi}} to capitalize on their talents.

The term light novel is a misnomer. While many people believe that the word "light" in the name means the novel is '''short''' (they usually don't last much longer than 200 pages, somewhere between a long novella or a very short novel, but some are outright {{doorstopper}}s) or that it uses '''manga-style illustrations''' (while most light novels have illustrations in them, there are some that don't have any), the truth is that this actually refers to the text inside. Modern light novels use simpler, easier-to-read everyday kanji as opposed to "hard" novels, which generally contain much older words which, even for Japanese readers, may necessitate keeping a dictionary on hand to understand. This distinction is LostInTranslation because Japanese is one of the only languages in the world where multiple writing systems are routinely used in the same ''sentence''. The closest parallel in the Western world is probably the distinction between mass-market popular fiction and higher level literary fiction.

* Literature/TheConquerorFromADyingKingdom

* Literature/TheDarkMassacreOfTheVengefulHero

* Literature/DungeonSeeker

* Literature/WorldEndWhatDoYouDoAtTheEndOfTheWorldAreYouBusyWillYouSaveUs

* Literature/WorldTeacherIsekaishikiKyouikuAgent

* Literature/OnlyTheRingFingerKnows

* Literature/WorteniaSenki *

* Literature/DigimonAdventure

* Literature/TheVexationsOfAShutInVampirePrincess

* Literature/TheWeakestTamer

** Literature/TrappedInADatingSimTheWorldOfThatOtomeGameIsToughForUs *

* Literature/ALilyBloomsInAnotherWorld

* Anime/LostUniverse

* Literature/ShunkashuutouDaikousha

* Literature/RiseOfTheOutlawTamerAndHisSRankCatGirl *

Chinese-language literature has a somewhat similar phenomenon, particularly in Taiwan, though there is also a growing online force on Mainland China. Although the term "light novel" is not typically used in China for such works,[[note]]Very few of the works below fits the common beliefs and definitions about [=LNs=] mentioned above. On Mainland China, the term "Light Novels" ("轻小说") is generally used to refer to Japanese [=LNs=][[/note]] for convenience they will be listed here. Most, if not all of them are WebSerialNovels.

* Literature/MyDaughterLeftTheNestAndReturnedAnSRankAdventurer

* Literature/MaiHimeDestiny (AlternateContinuity to the [[Anime/MaiHime anime series]])