Light Novels – The Big Boom of the 2020’s?

Over the past two years, I have really gotten into light novels. My adventure into the medium began with reading light novel adaptations and side stories of established anime and manga franchises I grew up loving, such as Tenchi Muyo and Slayers. From there, I really fell in love with light novels, and have taken multiple trips out to book stores and made many an online order to read all that the medium has to offer. As someone who has been deeply entrenched in the world of manga from a young age, I had always heard about light novels in passing on forums or seeing that a popular series was based on a light novel that was exclusive to Japan, but the idea of light novels, at least here in the States, hadn’t really taken off. I am familiar with the rich history of light novels in Japan, but for this piece, I am going to be writing from my perspective as an American fan. This article is going to be a little different from the usual reviews or recommendations I do here, being more of an opinion piece with some of my personal history and experiences with manga and light novels sprinkled in there. Light novels have become a big part of my free time over the past few years, and I’ve noticed that they have been brought to the American market and really picked up steam, even in the short few years I have been invested in them as a fan. So I wanted to explore the idea that light novels might be on the cusp of a big boom here in the States, similar to how manga really became a tour de force here in North America in the 2000’s, but do do that, let’s first take a look at the manga boom, and the events leading up to it, and then I’ll share my thoughts on why I believe the same thing could happen to light novels here in the 2020’s.

Back in the 1990’s, manga was much more of a cult phenomenon in America, and while I wasn’t there to experience those formative years of the medium coming to prominence here, I understand the importance of those times for manga Stateside, and even have collected and come to enjoy many of the series from that time. Companies like Tokyopop, Studio Ironcat and Dark Horse Comics were licensing manga in the 90’s, and bringing it over chapter by chapter in American floppy comic format. Then they were put out in a mirrored, graphic novel format. By the time the 2000’s rolled around, Tokyopop had moved to their “100% Authentic Manga” approach, and started to put out manga in their original, right-to-left format. Also in the early 2000’s, companies like Viz had really come out swinging, bringing popular manga to just about every big bookstore you could think of. I remember by the time I jumped on the manga train in 2005, I was reading all that I could from the local library, and putting my allowance money together to pick up copies of Shaman King or Flame of Recca, and I had many friends that did the same with the franchises they loved. Manga had boomed here, and had fully entrenched itself as an important piece of pop culture in America, and while a few big players in the manga licensing business sadly closed their doors by the time the late 2000’s had come around, those that stuck around kept the flame going, and with new imprints and companies forming since, manga has endured as a beloved genre of books here in the United States.

Now, let us fast forward to the last few years. Light novels have experienced many of the same phenomena manga had back then, there were some runaway successes back in the 2000’s, such as Bleach, Deathnote, Fruits Basket and Nana that paved the way for manga to go mainstream, and also for companies to pursue licensing to publish other works that were previously unavailable. In the world of light novels, series such as Overlord, That Time I Reincarnated as a Slime, Sword Art Online, Konosuba and the recent reprint of the classic, Slayers, have all been runaway success stories. Fans who watched the anime of these series that wanted to experience the original source material, people with a similar story to myself, who grew up with manga and see light novels as a new frontier, or newcomers into the whole anime/manga/light novel realm alike have helped make these franchises into those household names they are now, and with that, have created an interest in the medium as a whole. This feels extremely similar to my experience growing up in the manga boom of the 2000’s. Now, thanks to companies such as Seven Seas Entertainment, J-Novel Club and Yen Press, light novels have found their way into modern American otaku and nerd culture, and anyone can walk into a Barnes and Noble or Half Price Books location and see light novels displayed right next to the manga, and not just those big name, successful franchises mentioned previously, countless series have been licensed and for the first time, American audiences can experience these amazing stories for the first time. Combined with the amount I see light novels talked about on social media and among anime/manga fan circles, I don’t see this trend slowing down. Compare that to years past, where light novels weren’t much more than a slight blip on the radar for the majority of manga fans in the West, light novels have cemented their place in the American anime/manga fandom, and with the huge selection of series available online, and on-shelf in stores, it gives me almost the exact same vibes as when I was growing up and watching manga turn into the cultural behemoth it has now become. Between the voracious reading appetite of the fans, to the companies hard at work, bringing over franchises with all different levels of exposure and popularity, I personally don’t see the light novel trend slowing down, and even see light novels becoming an even bigger part of American otaku culture in years to come.