Reading webnovels cause serious allergies, especially Chinese novels

[NobleTalon]

After years of reading webnovels, I'm now definitely allergic to Japanese MCs and Chinese names in cultivation novels.

I suffer from severe amnesia whenever I attempt to recollect which character in which stage of cultivation has used which technique.

Core Disciple Zhong Dong from the Zhongchengpai Immortal Sect has just breakthrough the fifth stage of the Body Refining Core Formation thanks to mastering his Heaven Defying Six Meridian Dragon Subduing Palms after consuming a Blooming Ying-Yang Water Moon Flower. (I just made it up myself, but you have to admit that it's quite close to what we see in cultivation novels)

Like, seriously, am I the only one who has difficulty recalling details from Chinese novels?

As for the Japanese MCs, I'm just tired of 90% of them being either mega simp or dumb as fk.

 

[Leficios]

Japanese names are pretty easy to remember, at least for me. Naruto Uzumaki is much more memorable. (but thats just me, I've seen more jp stuff than china so...)

 

[NobleTalon]

Japanese names are pretty easy to remember, at least for me. Naruto Uzumaki is much more memorable. (but thats just me, I've seen more jp stuff than china so...)

tbf I have no trouble with both Japanese and Korean names. Same for western names.

But when it comes to Chinese... it's just a pain in the a** to remember them.

 

[SailusGebel]

You are not the only one who has difficulty recalling details from Chinese novels.

As for the 90% of Japanese MCs being either mega simp or dumb as fk, stop reading romcoms.

 

[Reborn_Cat]

Read about some Korean female protags, they will give you another allergy about toxic MLs

 

[FernGilly]

If you ARE writing a cultivation novel, you can just do what I did and honestly translate their names into English. When you translate 'xiao bai' it doesn't become 'Mark' in English, but 'Noob'. Chinese names become things like Victorious, Happy Money, Strong Horse and Treasure. When you read 'Seven Clouds', you instantly know what someone is talking about, and it looks normal in English, rather than Qi Duoyun which is near impossible to remember for an English speaker.

 

[NobleTalon]

As for the 90% of Japanese MCs being either mega simp or dumb as fk, stop reading romcoms.

It is precisely because Japanese MCs are mostly trash no matter the genre that I stopped reading them. The two genres in which MCs tend to be interesting are either fully-assumed comedy or serious and grimdark novels. Just compare them to Koreans mc, there is a huge difference in maturity no matter the genre.

Those are the 10% jewels hidden among the 90% mainstream garbage.

 

[Reborn_Cat]

If you ARE writing a cultivation novel, you can just do what I did and honestly translate their names into English. When you translate 'xiao bai' it doesn't become 'Mark' in English, but 'Noob'. Chinese names become things like Victorious, Happy Money, Strong Horse and Treasure. When you read 'Seven Clouds', you instantly know what someone is talking about, and it looks normal in English, rather than Qi Duoyun which is near impossible to remember for an English speaker.

The problem is not that they are particularly hard to remember, it's just that they get needlessly complicated in details, and since 90% of Chinese and Japanese novels are practically the same they just aren't very memorable.

Now if one of the protags was named Long Dong, then people would remember even if the novel was bad

 

[DarkeReises]

After years of reading webnovels, I'm now definitely allergic to Japanese MCs and Chinese names in cultivation novels.

I suffer from severe amnesia whenever I attempt to recollect which character in which stage of cultivation has used which technique.

Core Disciple Zhong Dong from the Zhongchengpai Immortal Sect has just breakthrough the fifth stage of the Body Refining Core Formation thanks to mastering his Heaven Defying Six Meridian Dragon Subduing Palms after consuming a Blooming Ying-Yang Water Moon Flower. (I just made it up myself, but you have to admit that it's quite close to what we see in cultivation novels)

Like, seriously, am I the only one who has difficulty recalling details from Chinese novels?

As for the Japanese MCs, I'm just tired of 90% of them being either mega simp or dumb as fk.

I have the same problem with foreign names, but I do also just have it on all names in general. I can't recall details that well, even if i'm binging a novel.

 

[NotaNuffian]

To me, the reason why they are unrecognisable fucks is because, they are.

Most of them just follow a bloody archetype. To hell, there had been quite a lot of pink haired, big titted school girl FLs in different LNs that serves the same purpose as horny objects for MCs and in extension, the readers, that sometimes, I cannot differentiate between whose who.

The MC, be him CN or JP, is just the same; a bloody stand-in for the reader. A somewhat hardworking, talentless hick that made it to the big league and squeezing breasts.

The antagonists are the same. Same old sob story, same old ObitoxNaruto "we are same but different" BS that tries to teach the readers that the end does not justify the mean and being a homicidal maniac means BAD.

I just turn my brain off and watch the imaginary TV in my head trying to render text-to-animation and watch the "whack whack" moment.

Ps. CN enjoy bombastic words. It is the only way to cover up their shit plot.

 

[SailusGebel]

It is precisely because Japanese MCs are mostly trash no matter the genre that I stopped reading them. The two genres in which MCs tend to be interesting are either fully-assumed comedy or serious and grimdark novels. Just compare them to Koreans mc, there is a huge difference in maturity no matter the genre.

Those are the 10% jewels hidden among the 90% mainstream garbage.

Mainstream Korean MCs are the same garbage but in a different wrapping. They are either apathetic, emotionless edgelords, or ultra gigachads, and lastly, sometimes the only personality trait they possess is being jaded. I can't understand how this is better than Japanese MCs.

Also, can you perhaps name a couple of trash Japanese MCs, but NOT from isekais, romcoms, or harems?

 

[Hans.Trondheim]

I love watching the bloodshed in this thread.

 

[Reborn_Cat]

Mainstream Korean MCs are the same garbage but in a different wrapping. They are either apathetic, emotionless edgelords, or ultra gigachads, and lastly, sometimes the only personality trait they possess is being jaded. I can't understand how this is better than Japanese MCs.

Also, can you perhaps name a couple of trash Japanese MCs, but NOT from isekais, romcoms, or harems?

Korean MCs aren't as bad, the ratio of generic to original is 8:2 which is better than most.
Eg:- Spirit Farmer
Please have a meal
My daughter is a musical genius
The Gamer
To hell with being a saint, I'm a doctor

 

[SailusGebel]

Korean MCs aren't as bad, the ratio of generic to original is 8:2 which is better than most.
Eg:- Spirit Farmer
Please have a meal
My daughter is a musical genius
The Gamer
To hell with being a saint, I'm a doctor

I didn't say Korean MCs are bad. I said MAINSTREAM Korean MCs are bad. Same with Japanese MCs. If you only consume mainstream, you will obviously see trashy copypaste MCs, regardless of country of origin.

 

[NobleTalon]

Mainstream Korean MCs are the same garbage but in a different wrapping. They are either apathetic, emotionless edgelords, or ultra gigachads, and lastly, sometimes the only personality trait they possess is being jaded. I can't understand how this is better than Japanese MCs.

Also, can you perhaps name a couple of trash Japanese MCs, but NOT from isekais, romcoms, or harems?

Most of generic JP MCs are retarded, dense, simp and overly rigtheous.

I would rather follow an apathetic, emotionless edgelords, or ultra gigachads MC tbh.

As for the names, sure. Pick out any JP novel on novelupdate and roll a dice : if you get a 6 then you won. That's the ratio between interesting and trash Japanese MCs. As I said above, I don't consider every JP webnovels bad there are still jewels among the trash, but unfortunately, there are much less than in Korean novels.

And tbh if the novel is good and the MC is interesting it doesn't matter whether the author is Japanese, Korean or Chinese. I'm just saying the ratio is much lower for Japanese writers, cuz they tend to stay in the 'mainstream' flow too much compared to others.

The only two genres I think JP authors are excellent at writing are comedy that isn't meant to be taken seriously and grimdark stuff, may the novel be horror, psychological, thriller etc.

 

[Reborn_Cat]

Most of generic JP MCs are retarded, dense, simp and overly rigtheous.

I would rather follow an apathetic, emotionless edgelords, or ultra gigachads MC tbh

Once you've read solo leveling, everything else feels like a meh copy of it

 

[SailusGebel]

As for the names, sure. Pick out any JP novel on novelupdate and roll a dice

Do you understand that this sounds like a confession that you, in fact, don't read anything non-mainstream? I asked a specific question to see if you really read non-mainstream works or made your judgment based on shitty romcoms\isekais. You didn't give me an answer.

I will be honest. I won't be able to name good(non-trash) Japanese MCs from novels. I haven't read as many novels. However, I can easily name more than five from the manga.

 

[NobleTalon]

Do you understand that this sounds like a confession that you, in fact, don't read anything non-mainstream? I asked a specific question to see if you really read non-mainstream works or made your judgment based on shitty romcoms\isekais. You didn't give me an answer.

It just means that I'm too lazy to go through the 2892 bookmarks in my tab to find a novel that I probably didn't read past the first five or so chapters because of the MC, just to please you lmao.

I did give you a much easier answer btw : just roll a dice and hope for a 6.

 

[SailusGebel]

It just means that I'm too lazy to go through the 2892 bookmarks in my tab to find a novel that I probably didn't read past the first five or so chapters because of the MC, just to please you lmao.

I did give you a much easier answer btw : just roll a dice and hope for a 6.

It's not about pleasing me. It's about proving your point. But you don't want to spend your time, and it's understandable. You are not interested, so we will stay with our own respective opinions.

 

[ManOnAWaywardBoat]

Like, seriously, am I the only one who has difficulty recalling details from Chinese novels?

I've read a lot of Chinese novels and I can safely say, a good rule of thumb is to just forget everything but the MC's name. Cultivation novels specifically go on for a long ass time, and almost always you solely follow the MC. Characters are forgotten for like 100s of chapters, to just randomly appear and be forgotten again.

As for the power level and/or items. Most of them rarely play a significant role in the story other than to just give the MC a power boost or show him face slap a bunch of people who underestimate him.

The only Chinese novels that I found don't do the things mentioned above and has a cast of memorable characters has been ISSTH(I Shall Seal The Heavens) and RI(Reverend Insanity). RI is by far the best cultivation novel I've read thus far.