LogFAQs > #956097071

I_Abibde posted...

I call it the 50 Shades Effect. As soon as publishers figured out that dreck sells as well as quality, they leaned into dreck, since there is so much more of it. And LNs are no exception.

50 Shades is more than just a matter of dreck >_> iirc, it was a forerunner in the "new adult" genre so there's also the right place, right time coming into effect.

But in general, most of the really popular books at any given moment aren't exactly known for being conventionally good, whether we're talking Dan Brown novels, Twilight Novels, 50 Shades, or anything else.

YoukaiSlayer posted...

This is the surprising part though. Like, with how many people exist and how many write stories in various forms, how are we not overflowing with quality pieces? Theres got to be thousands of light novels coming out every year. If 1% are great we should have enough for like 100 great anime per year. Instead we get like 15-20 pretty good shows, 3-5 great ones, and one masterpiece every couple years. I guess I don't want to believe talent is really that rare.

Because gatekeepers focus on things like perceived marketability and whether something will sell more than just quality. And the people in those positions often aren't great at spotting things that are both highly saleable to a large audience AND are of quality, or in some cases aren't willing to take a risk on what could be a huge hit (so instead you get relatively "safe" garbage like Demon Slayer which looks pretty but rehashes so many other series in a worse manner).

I'd also argue that the sheer volume of VNs probably also buries the really good stuff and, since a lot of the crappy stuff sells, they look at those numbers and go with that. Beyond that, even with how much stuff comes out during any given year, you don't necessarily have good stuff come out.

Then another issue might just be the fact that so many manga, VNs, etc, are solo creations where a lot of content might be better with collaboration. (And, kind of a side-tangent, I enjoy Hero? I Gave that Up a Long Time Ago, which is a *terrible* webtoon based on what was likely a bad VN. Even though the story, writing, etc, often suck (although the scanlation is probably to blame, too), I still find it entertaining enough that I've actively followed it.)

To top all that off, part of it is the anime itself. A good production can make weak material work.

But, in general, it's *very* hard to predict what will or won't resonate with audiences. Some can be absurdly well put together with clever writing, strong characters, etc, and completely bomb. Quality is no indication of success.

The only time I really scratch my head over is when it's something that's just so clearly bad that you wonder what they were thinking in making it. Other things start off mediocre or become mediocre through the process (for example, the Junji Ito Collection took something incredible and apparently made it terrible).

---

(\/)(\/)|-|
There are precious few at ease / With moral ambiguities / So we act as though they don't exist.