The anime industry has undergone a major metamorphosis in the last twenty years, but one trend that continues to create discussions among otakus is big titles.
- Top 5 Psychological Animes that will make you go to therapy
- Castlevania: Nocturne brought a sequel worthy of the original series
In the early 2000s we had animes where the title was just one or two words, like Naruto , Bleach , One Piece , Dragon Ball , among others. These anime were adaptations of popular manga that were released in the 80s and 90s.
Over the years, other media received anime adaptations, such as visual novel games and light novels (LN).
Light novels are most likely responsible for the popularization of “descriptive titles”, which are titles that practically describe the work.
While it's impossible to pinpoint exactly which works started the trend, two stand out. The light novel Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuutsu ( The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya ), written by Nagaru Tanigawa and illustrated by Noizi Ito, released in Kadokawa Shoten's seinen magazine The Sneaker in 2003; and Toaru Majutsu no Index ( A Certain Magical Index ), written by Kazuma Kamachi and illustrated by Kiyotaka Haimura, released in ASCII Media Works' Dengeki Bunko magazine in 2004.
At this point we began to see that the titles were not just an identification, but rather a suggestion of what the story of the work is about. Especially in the case of the LN “The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya” which highlights a character's feeling in the title, offering the possibility of a dramatic story or a tragic comedy.
But why do light novels have such big titles?
There are some points to be analyzed to reach a conclusion about this question. Firstly, most light novels with “descriptive titles” are self-published online by authors on webnovel websites.
The website Shosetsuka ni Naro, for example, gave rise to the light novels Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari ( The Rising of the Shield Hero ), Tensei shitara Slime Datta Ken ( That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime ) and Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku wo ! ( KonoSuba: God's Blessing on this Wonderful World! ).
Despite the favorable environment for creating a story, authors needed to adapt to attract readers' attention. Webnovels rarely have illustrations, so there was no visual appeal, in addition to the high competition from light novels on publishing sites.
Considering people's aversion to reading synopses, authors began trying to describe the plot of the story in the title with the aim of drawing more attention to the work, making the title itself a hook for the story.
Although the title “ That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime ” may seem simplistic at first glance, it serves the function of arousing readers' curiosity. This unconventional choice raises an intriguing question in the audience's mind: "How can someone be reincarnated as a slime?" – a question that precisely reflects the author’s intention and his ability to generate interest in his work.
“We noticed that many light novel titles are extremely long. Why do you think that is so?”
The author of the light novel “Kouri no Reijou no Tokashi Kata” ( How To Melt The Ice Queen's Heart ), Kakeru Takamine, answered this question in an interview with the website Anime Corner .
“That question is so good. This background is a long story to explain. Many Japanese readers now want just the title to explain the whole story. They use the title to decide whether or not to buy a novel, so a detailed explanation is necessary. Inevitably, there will be a lot of long titles. I didn’t like that, so I made mine short.”
Repercussion and adaptation
“Descriptive titles” continue to meet resistance within the otaku community. These titles have often become a laughing stock due to their length and the amount of details they reveal about the plot.
Initially, there was antipathy towards the big title stories, such as that of “Tensei shitara Slime Datta Ken” itself, which was ridiculed upon its release. However, over time, this resistance gave way to the understanding that, behind an apparently unpretentious title, a captivating plot could be hidden.
Currently, in my personal perception, the joke with the big title is a healthy joke. “Descriptive titles” were a necessity that came from the LN, I don’t think they should be a rule on how to create titles for works, but it is important to understand why they exist in the literary context.
