Original author: 反竹川
Original publishing date: 2013-12-18 07:11 (GMT+8)
Original address:
http://tieba.baidu.com/p/2766226257
Original posted on: Baidu Tieba, moe-war(saimoe) division
Background Information: Network Novel is not really anywhere near positive in the atmosphere of that Chinese social network space where this passage originally posted, due to the nature of global network culture, and is used to represent works that have similar characteristics
Remark I: My translation cannot fully reflect what the original post worte due to my own limited capability
Ramark II: This article is the reason why some Chinese-using peoplpe use "the light of Heisei" as a short form to call Mahouka
Remark III: From wikipedia: Heisei (平成) is the current era in Japan. The Heisei era started on 8 January 1989, the first day after the death of the reigning Emperor, Hirohito. His son, Akihito ...
Translation of title: MKR, the light of Heisei! MahouRettou must be starting a new era for LN-adapted anime!
Translation of content:
Mainstream teenagers had just accepted Light Novel in the past twenty or thirty years, but to talk about all those rise and fall of fashion shifting in it, that would be more vivid and splendid than political struggles of any little African countries.
Japanese LN beginned from flooding of shoujo novels in 1970s, and then space drama type of epic scifi going popular in 1980s, after that in 1990s it developed into a carrier for a type of literature and subculture that is based on TRPG and Sekai Type novel, tightly connected to anime and manga in the same age, all of them uses the setting of interpersonal relationship as a starting point, closely connected to social life at that time, and to a greater degree expressed contradiction of humanity, contradiction of people against themselves, and contradiction of individuals against society. These artistic expression method allow LNs of that era, not just carrying abundant amount of literature and art content in it, but also serve as an awakening call to Japanese teenagers at that time which are experiencing Heisei Economic Growth.
But what heartbreaking is that, since the arrivial of new ceuntry, by the SWuzumiya Haruhi anime's hit and MF bunko J shifted into uchronia fantasy genre, selling moe/ero plus useless male protagonist starting to be the majority of Japanese LN. At the same time, by the childisation of readers and deterioration of reading quality, as well as collapse and death of Sci-Fi works, all these turned Japanese anime-manga culture into part of low-end commercial competition, and even their consumeristic value are being extracting to its end, new generation of Heisei boys had forgotten the honor and pride from age of their father, given up what they hold and fallen be moe pig. Even Okada Toshio whom title himself as OtaKing, cryed out "オタクはすでに死んでいる (Otaku is already dead)".
When those authors and editors wake up from the laurels they were resting on and witnessed the setting sun on top of those moe pig, a new sun is now rising in the closely connected network novel area. It would be another rise and fall for different superior medium.
Year 2012, the year representing catastrophe in Hollywood movie, must leave an important remark on Japanese LN history. On July of this year, three of four Japanese LN that being called as four excellence in Network Novel Type: Sword Art Online, Campione!, and Aesthetica of a Rogue Hero, are having their anime air one after another, lightened interest on anime and manga among ordinary people again in Japan like a bomb. It can be observed via Google Trend, by comparing statistical data before and after August 2012, keywords related to Japanese Anime-Manga industry reversed their falling trend and started their rapid growth. Japanese Network novels are just like a wisp of breeze that injected new vivid power into the dying industry.
And it is the April next year, last of the four excellence in Japanese Network Novel Genre: Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei is now finally coming late in this time and must lead the re-activation of the whole industry and form a new trend after 2 years of time!
Across the whole history, while the creation of Asahi Sonorama Bunko had been viewed as the earliest starter of LN, but it's until year 1977 when Arai Motoko started writing and established New spoken-written-language-unification style that made the LN gain its status and let Arai Motoko be honored as the beginning of Light Novels. For the same reason, although works like SAO created Network Novel stream and leaded the improvement of the whole industry, but to made it into a social phenomenon, and extend influence of Japanese anime-manga around the globe, it can only be achieved be Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei.
Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei make its name sound as a network novel, is "a work that effectively elaborate the 'network novel specific out-of-order style' to the maximum extent" (As Kawahara Reki said). As a network novel, writer Satou Tsutomu bravely used creational writing method, using interpersonal relationship as a guiding point, cut in via mentality of characters, and added fine description on their emotion and action, detaily illustrated the cluster of "revolver" centered with protagonist Tatsuya, with "Liberate magican from the identity of being used as item/weapon" as the ideal, resist and against the whole social machine that's suppressing magicians, expressing how the writer criticize and reflect on the modern society that, judge people's quality by their result, divide and reflect every fresh people as according to their result coldly. And all of these, are what lacked by nowadays Japanese teens that're poisoned by exam-oriented education. It is the shout made by writer Satou Tsutomu to waken anaesthetic Japanese people, it is the light of Heisei!
The setting of Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei is huge, and it have a sophisticated setting. Unlike other works that also focused on setting at the same time, e.g. Horizon or Toaru series, setting of Mahouka is progressively completed alongside the progress of writing. As setting are growing more and more meticulous and detailed, and would not be limited by obsolete structure, thus it have a wide creational space, author successfully shown his own fantasy world to readers step by step, without feeling odd or the feeling of mechanically adding parts into the story.
For character description, author abandoned the "labeling" method used by LN at past, instead created one after another supporting characters with unique personality&emotion via vivid languages and action description. Bishoujo throwing herself on and loyal, childhood playmate that's natural airhead and not emotionless, it's just like oasis inside desert to readers who are deeply influenced by the usual configuration of character description seen in traditional light novel, greatly enriched reader's sensing power.
Different characters in the book are all having mature personality, have a higher emotional quantity. Especially the male protagonist, when processing romantic relationships, he calm and decisive, cruel and strong, kill whenever it is needed without any hesitation, avoided negative influence on the work like those male protagonist that would just talk.
On top of that, this book preciously returned to last ceuntry's sci-fi style, although themed with magic, all its fine setting and world structure revealed its nature as a sci-fi work. Description about social system, life of ordinary population, and the world structure are quite completed. Usually, it'd be very hard to attach fantasy element into realistic world view, as the fantasy power can't be too strong to alter the world's technology and social structure, and it can neither be too small to be marginalized and made people with those fantasy power hard to act. Which power are known among general public, which are to attract people's attention, which can be done scientifically, which would be more effective when done in magic....all of these are details that general readers would not care, that Mahouka's writer pay extra details on these, making this reality+alpha world able to established lively. This seem to be simple, but is actually the hardest point.
The trend of future Japanese LN, mainstream would surely be powerful and fervent, and those trash moe works represented by OreGairu would be an backwash, although the counter-revolutionary backwash seem to be pressing down fervent mainstream, but by the airing of Mahouka animation, fervent mainstream will surely beat counter-revolutionary backwash!
One cannot resist the trend of the whole world; whoever follows it will rise, whoever opposes it, will perish.
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