To what extent does an anime adaptation impact whether or not you read a light novel series?
When I started buying LN? I started with LN with an anime adaptation that I liked (Gosick, Baccano, Index) as well as a LN with an anime adaptation that I didn't watch yet (luckily actually) but heard about, C^3. After that, for a while I choose LN with anime that I liked (spice & wolf, kyouran kazoku nikki...)or that I didn't watch but heard about as well (toradora, mondaiji...).
I simply wasn't knowledgeable enough about LN to know what could please me and not, and didn't have enough volumes read to understand which LN readers had similar tastes with me and who didn't have.
Right now, I almost completely switched toward LN/novels without adaptation, with a few exceptions here and there. There's very few LN with an existing anime adaptation among my top 20, which shows that it was a smart move in my case.
Do you even pick up series that have not been adapted into an anime?
Mostly now, as answered above, since I noticed that most series being adapted are confined into very specific tags that don't especially gives good things most of the time.
Main tags being Harem, Ecchi, School life
Secondary tags are more varied, but basically, the more of those main tags a series posses, the higher the chance of being adapted. A story without any of those tags has a far far lower chance of adaptation. Considering I don't especially favour any of those tags well...
Are you the sort to go out and read the light novels before the anime begins, or do you wait until the anime is over before you start reading?
If I'm interested into a series that will get an anime adaptation, then the former (or around the same time at least, trying to go over the point that will be the end of the anime before the anime ends), mainly to avoid stumbling into spoilers written here and there by people having seen the anime and not caring about peoples who didn't.
How effectively do you think anime adaptations advertise light novel series for you?
This helps a series to be translated in english by making it more widely known by the western audience, which means more possibilities of having others peoples to talk with about that series.
Outside of that, it helps for sales, which is a good thing. But when the adaptation ruins the original work, the advertising can turn into a nightmare as well, with every single anime watcher sure that X series is crap.
As for the effect on me. Well, right now, close to none.
Are there series where you feel that the anime let down the source material?
A lot.
-I could rant for pages about CubexCursedxCurious adaptation for example, where almost everything possible was butchered, mostly for no reason at all.
-Kyouran Kazoku Nikki adaptation was fun to watch. There's only one probleme. They left out 100% (yes, 100%) of the main plot across the 7-8 volumes they adapted, only adapting the arc plots, some of them very very partially to boot.
When you know that one of the main interest of this series is the very well made main plot, that's a shock.
-Denpateki na kanojo's adaptation is ridiculous. fitting a 300 pages novel into a 40minutes long anime is already screaming lots of content being cut or butchered, but they also managed to skip the second volume, which introduce AND develop HALF of the important characters taking part in the third arc which was adapted with a 40 minutes again. Looking at the result with those short scenes inserted painfully here and there in an already completely butchered and compressed content, those short scenes trying to introduce in a few seconds the missing characters who would have required 1h by themselves was sad. Especially considering that the most interesting element in this stories are the characters, all riiiight...
Rokka no Yuusha will be next, probably. in some case, I don't even watch the anime any more, not interested in seeing the source being butchered like that.
Are there any series where you think the anime far outshone the original light novel series?
I can't think of any. Some did a very good job most of the time like Gosick, some were even very creative like Baccano's adaptation, some tried hard impossible adaptation mission like Kyoukaisenjou no Horizon, but outdoing the original material? I've heard that IS anime actually managed that, but that it was due to the sheer mediocrity of the original material rather than actually be good though.
Have you ever actually been put off a series that you were previously interested in because of an anime that wasn't very good?
This would have happened if I've seen c^3 anime first, that's for sure lol. Right now... Yes, I guess so, with SAO and Accel World, as well as hidan no Aria for example.
To a Light Novel that has an anime adaptation, Did you feel the need to recommend the LN first, or the Anime Adaptation?
LN first and then enjoy the character you learned to like being animated and gaining a voice as well, I'd say. I'd recommend to someone not very fond of reading to first try with a LN that had an anime adaptation he liked, though. |