That description was part of the reason I wasn't sure how to take what was said on AoD seriously. I'm only vaguely aware of Hannah Montana (she seems to be what Lindsey Lohann used to be and perhaps what Britney Spears was a decade or so ago) but the description made me do a double take and I wasn't quite sure what to make of it. But if they are trying to reach young teens, that description is probably a good one and vaguely true. I can at least see the Heroes connection.

I think the hard part is going to be keeping non-anime fans interested when they are bombarded with foreign names like Haruhi, Mikuru, Itsuki, etc. If you aren't already prone to dealing with entertainment with lots of funny names, it may be a hard barrier to get across. But this is still the best thing they could do and it at least has a chance of hooking people outside the anime/manga fandom. Who knows, if it really hits off, it could potentially bring new blood into the anime industry as well, blood that hasn't been tainted by becoming used to getting anything and everything for free.



Heh, thanks, glad you like it. I figured there was no better way to celebrate the new RightStuf forums and MariMite's imminent release than by making my avatar the adorable Shimako, and that image was too cute to resist.

I guess it depends on the target demographic. I mean, if they're aiming roughly for young adults or younger, I think quite a few of those readers would take to unusual names as well as anything else, if not moreso if they're perhaps too used to seeing safe, modern, suburban American kid names used for most books, with the occasional strange alternate spelling or cutting-edge name of the month chosen for a secondary character just to mix things up a bit.

I suppose it can't be any worse than discovering anime or manga for the first time, and taking a while to become accustomed to unusual names, to say nothing of culture-specific references and somewhat typical quirks (the sweatdrop, the OK sign to mean money, etc.). In that sense, novels might be easier since you can't include sight gags and such except through description, which doesn't really work for some of them. But that does make me wonder if Yen Press also plans to include some good liner notes for any references that aren't self-explanatory.

True, true, manga does have it's quirks. I guess you could say light novels are a training ground for manga. I however, for the most part prefer manga to novels. Not always, exceptions are Vampire Hunter D and Haruhi to name a few. But Welcome to the NHK was a million times more funny in manga format.

i'm currently reading/want to read:

Twelve Kingdoms
Kino no Tabi
Brave Story
Vampire Hunter D (which i really wish they would release in a sepcial edition hardcover format. i would so fork over the monies).

what i would like to see translated:
Seikai no Monshou novels
Heroic Legend of Arslan novles (since i will never have a completed anime series)

(all i can think of now. will add more later :))

Yes, and yes again to all of the above. And i also agree with you about the Vampire Hunter D hardcover. Though i am loathe to re-buy my entire set.

i also plan on picking up the shweetly collected hardcover editions of the complete, original Speed Racer and Swallowing the Earth by Osamu Tezuka. it will also be getting the pretty hardcover collectors release.

ok. granted they aren't "light novels" but they are def Classics of the manga genre and i can't wait to partake of them

Osamu Tezuka is a definite yes, Speed Racer tho.... Eh. I never liked racing manga. Initial D was okay but thats about it.

i've never been a fan of initial d, and SR holds a soft spot of nostalgia in my heart. for sheer classic and nostalgia value, i gotta have em

Never said that i was a fan, i just happened to read it in my travels. As for nostalgia, well you could be right, maybe i'm just biased. Never was really a racing kinda guy. But for me (tho i am loathe to say it) i would get Sailor Moon. Now THAT is nostalgia right there.

you said Sailor Moon

. . .

I. LOVE. SAILOR MOON!

the nights i would stay up and watch the episodes i missed and taped on vhs. the day i surfed the internet and found out how much DIC had fubared the original glory of SM. cruising toys r us for the toys such as the moon wand, etc... buying the original japanese soundtracks. getting each vkll fansub as it came out. stayinng up all night and blogging on alt.fan.sailor-moon like crazy. getting my sailor moon tattoo when i was 18 (gonna get it touched up soon, and another one of all the outer senshi since my current one is of all the inner senshi).

and then, in 2007, along came Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon. again, sheer fangirl bliss.
u want sailor moon, then ashamed be not, and go for it.

~points to current avatar~ recognize her?