Writing Anime and manga related novels

[Dagger]

There are more than a few Japanese series that I'm interested in reading (Kino's Journey, Twelve Kingdoms, Mirage of Blaze, etc.), so I was very excited to find out that some companies have started translating anime/manga-related novels for the North American market. Now, this isn't totally new; Tokyopop has been releasing the Slayers novels and the CLAMP School Paranormal Investigators novels for at least several months. Additionally, I believe an Onegai Teacher novel has been available for a while.

However, a lot these are either a) really short, b) poorly written, or c) obviously aimed at a younger audience. So I can't say any of them interested me much (although I might go for Slayers if I can pick it up on the cheap--the first-person narration is actually quite amusing).

But once I found out that Dark Horse is planning to release the [b]Vampire Hunter D[/b] novels and that some other company (heh) will be releasing the [b]RahXephon[/b] novels, my interest was re-ignited. The first volume of each series is already listed at Amazon, by the way. Both have gorgeous covers--I wish more fantasy/sci-fi books looked that good. VHD's cover artwork, along with some internal black-and-white illustrations, was done by Yoshitaka Amano.

I've seen people say that Vampire Hunter D has very elegant writing, so I hope the translation is nice (and plus, it inspired the movies--not the other way around--which is a big point in its favor). As for RahXephon, if it's anything like the anime, it has to be pretty sophisticated. I'm hoping that bookstores will shelve these alongside real books, rather than tossing them in the manga section, which would probably just hurt sales.

So, does anyone else plan to read these? :catgirl:

~Dagger~

[AzureWolf]

[COLOR=blue]Based on your placement of this thread, and how you talk about it, it sounds like this isn't a manga in any way. Are you saying that these novels are literally stories: no pictures but just writing?[/COLOR]

[Dagger]

Some may have the occasional illustration (I'd guess that they probably appear at the same frequency as the illustrations in Susanna Clarke's [i]Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell[/i], although that remains to be seen). All in all, though, they are indeed ordinary books.

It seems like more and more anime nowadays are being based on novels rather than manga, which is really pretty cool. Of course, that's not to say it hasn't happened in the past. There are so many series I'd love to read in English... I hope that the companies translating these are able to find a way to successfully cross-market them, assuming there's already a licensed manga/anime out there for them to use in blurbs and stuff.

~Dagger~

[AzureWolf]

[COLOR=blue]The idea actually sparks my interest. I heard about this [B]Kara no Kyoukai[/B] novel from [url=http://www.geocities.com/max3075/top.htm]Moonlit World[/url], and the website creator makes it sounds like it's every bit as good as Tsukihime, if not better. So I downloaded and thought it'd be no sweat to babelfish through... ...

No amount of translating is going to work on something that freakin' long, haha. So it would be really nice to see those types of novels translated (those are the types of novels you are talking about, right?). Any idea on the chances of Kara no Kyoukai being translated? It is obscenely long...

Also, do think these things are going to succeed? What's the motivation for manga readers to read these? I don't read manga, but I'm betting the pictures are a big factor to its popularity, so taking the pictures out sounds like a bad idea. On the other hand, I realize that, without pictures, novels are almost another entertainment medium, but I think text works better with adults than with kids.

I do admittedly hate to read, but if something sparks my interest enough, I'll read [B]volumes[/B] (not manga volumes, but textbook volumes) of things. I'm obsessive like that, haha.[/COLOR]

[Godelsensei]

[quote name='AzureWolf][COLOR=blue']I do admittedly hate to read...[/COLOR][/quote]

For shame, Azure-jiji, for shame.

Anyway, I'd most definately glance at such volumes in stores, if I came upon them. However, I usually don't spring to read translations, as I find them very frequently wooden and, as a result, dull.

Wait a sec..

I now remember the fact that I own a copy of "Kiki's Delivery Service", translated into English, complete with original illustrations. It's a charming book, but the [re-]writing practically killed me.

So, yeah, I guess I can't deny that I'd readily get into "anime- and manga-related novels". (Though it's kind of the other way around, when you think about it...)

I'd never read a book based on a comic, movie, show, etc..., though. Maybe it's just a matter of elitist pride or something, but those things just make me want to kick stuff.

Hard.

[KarmaOfChaos]

[color=deeppink][size=1]As Azure noted, I guess this can be considered a mixed blessing. Because, I mean, come on. Art is a huge part of why people buy manga. Of course, having a good story is must for most people too, but the art is what will make or break a manga. So I think they're going to have to develop the story a lot more, and not have the typical stale nature of translations, especially translations done in a rush.

But at the same time, there are several mangas and animes that I would love to see/read in novel form. Vampire Hunter D, which Dag mentioned, is an excellent example.

So I guess this could go both ways. We'll see. ;)

-Karma[/size][/color]