Oh no! We've been transported to another world where podcasters fight in some sort of Battle Royale (and also Z has been turned into a washing machine)?! This week, we're talking about the fascinating fandom that is Light Novel fans, with special guest, [Justus R. Stone](justusrstone.com)!

Next week, we'll be going to another other world... in ... space? Talking about... Galaga?!

## Where can I learn more about Justus R. Stone?

[Justus R. Stone](justusrstone.com) is the author of the apocalyptic fiction series, The Bleeding Worlds, and has a podcast ([Light Novel Podcast](lightnovelpodcast.com)) and [YouTube channel](http://youtube.com/justusrstone) dedicated to light novels.

You can also find him on Twitter ([@justusrstone](http://twitter.com/justusrstone)), Instagram ([@justusrstone](http://instagram.com/justusrstone)) and Facebook (... [@justusrstone](http://facebook.com/justusrstone)).

## Episode outline

### Fandom Facts

**History and Origins:**

Light Novels are short (approximately 50 000 words), Japanese novels primarily targeted at high- and middle-school students which are often accompanied by manga- or anime-style illustrations. The "light" in the name actually comes from the lack of hard-to-read kanji (ideographic characters in Japanese).

Light novels are sort of the evolution of pulp novels and magazines in Japan: Somewhere in the 1970s, many pulp magazines had started to move away from classic-style covers towards more anime and manga style covers and including illustrations at the beginning of stories.

In the 1980s, novels like _The Heroic Legend of Arslan_ and _Record of Lodoss War_ took a hold of audience, as did _Slayers_ and the _Boogiepop_ series in the 1990s (note that many of these were turned into anime). Interest in light novels really took off in the mid-2000s with the success of the _Haruhi Suzumiya_ series.

**Search Data:**

By Google Trends search volume, [Light Novels have become much, much more popular since 2004](https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=all&q=%2Fm%2F06b_0_) and are arguably the most popular they have ever been. Since 2006, they have been on a steady climb upwards with exception to the last few years where interest has been a bit flat. There was a sharp increase in interest between February to August 2015, but we couldn't figure out why.

In terms of search volume, the top ten countries for_Light Novel_ are: Japan, Taiwan, Macau, Hong Kong, Phillipines, South Korea, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Kazakhstan.

[// There is a pretty dramatic decline in interest: Kazakhstan is at 17]: #

[// Canada is at 22, with 6; United States is at 26 with 5]: #

**Fan Demographics:**

Based on some data from the [r/LightNovel Community Survey from 2016](https://www.reddit.com/r/LightNovels/comments/3g2rm5/rlightnovels_community_survey_results/) (with over 1500 respondents):

- _Gender_: In the subreddit, overwhelmingly male (95.6%; 3.3% female)
- _Age_: Predominantly folks age 17-25 (40% 17-20 years old, 36.5% 20-25 years old)
- _Location_: Most of respondents are in North America (51.1%) but many in Europe (27.2%) and some in Asia (11.1%)

Some other interesting bits of data from the survey:

- Most folks come to the subreddit for Chinese light novels (57.8%), followed by Japanese (34.9%)
- Respondents are predominantly lurkers (74.6%)
- Most folks prefer to read by chapter (60.8%) as compared to by book (37.1%)
- Most folks do not buy licensed light novels (76.4%)
- Most folks do read Western books (78.4%) but do not prefer Western books to Light Novels (66.9%)

### [Last Episode's](http://fanthropological.com/e/366365f057a51a) Famous Last Words

**Erica**

What do you think are the qualities of light novels as a genre that makes them so interesting as reader and reviewer of light novels? (What are your thoughts about the genre as a whole, and personal interpretation of why you like them)

**G**

Why 'light' novels? Why are they called light novels?

**T**

Why have they...

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