Light Novels

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No, not a novel composed entirely of beams of light, although that would be awesome.

While related to Manga and Anime, light novels are actually prose, written in short paragraphs for fast reading. Light novels are very popular in Japan, chiefly among teenagers and young adults, but due to the amount of translation involved, very few of them make their way to English-language markets. This may start to change, however, as Haruhi Suzumiya sold better than expected, and Yen Press has created the 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 yaoi light novels. Due to the nature of the illustrators, many Light Novels out at the moment are mostly 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 (and they usually don't last much longer than 200 pages) or that it uses manga-style illustrations, 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. The closest parallel in the Western world is probably the distinction between "Modern English", "Middle English" and "Old English".

Light Novels commonly get adapted to Manga and Anime, and more often than not are promptly displaced by said adaptations outside Japan for the reasons stated above. This is so common that some light novels are mistakenly believed to be anime or manga even if they don't have such an adaptation, or, oddly, that every Japanese-derived book adapted into anime/manga is a light novel regardless of text simplicity. Sometimes it may be the other way around, and a manga or anime project may get a Tie-In Novel or Novelization in the form of a light novel. Either way, due to the close-knit relationship between the media and their habit of sharing illustrators, light novels have come to be seen as manga and anime's text-based cousin.

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 for convenience they will be listed here, though expect them to be listed under the Literature namespace (because most, if not all of them are Web Serial Novels).

The rough Western equivalent would be Young Adult Literature, which is typically aimed at teenaged and up readers (with the upper age, depending on the authority, ranging from 25 to 34). However, publishers are making efforts to market light novels to adult readers, while there are several Young Adult and even Children's books that aren't "light" by any stretch of the imagination (the later Harry Potter books come to mind).