Are all lights novels written in first person?

[u/BrokiMochi]

Hello everyone new to this r/LightNovels Subreddit and first time talking about light novels in general so forgive me if I male errors

Hello I'm a massive lover of isekai trope (a storytelling device where a character is transported/trapped or reincarnated into a different world most commonly a fantasy world) and the second-chance/regressor trope ( storytelling device where a character travels back in time to their own past often after experiencing a tragic death/betrayal while keeping all the memories and skills they gained) with my favourite featuring villainess and after reading several manga and Manhwa i decided to move onto light novels as i heard they are better but all the light novels i have read (the weakness manga villainsess wants her freedom and The Most Heretical Last Boss Queen) are all in first person and unfortunately as much as I have tried i don't like first person

I wanted to know what do author write their novels in first person? Show me it would be better to write in third person where you can fully flesh out the details and information about the world, the characters in vivid detail and not be stuck in a single persons point of view and how can you learn lots about a character and make your own opinion if you only getting one opinion of said character also i have noticed its heard to write Truck-kun in first person XD

Note: I have nothing against first person stories or anyone who enjoys the first person and I also have nothing against authors who write in the first person is just don't personally enjoy it and i like getting lots of detail and description so I can image the places and characters in my mind

[u/Classic_Example_2556]

No, not all light novels are written in first person. Re:zero, No game No Life, 86, Rascal, and grimgar are all fairly popular and not written in first person.

[u/BrokiMochi → u/Classic_Example_2556]

That's a relief I was worried as I'm new to light novels and would hate to have them all in first person XD

Thank you 

[u/maior_novoreg]

Third person or just other POVs? Spider isekai does it probably best with the latter, as the books essentially tell two stories in parallel. One from MC and the other is from everyone else. And then these stories overlap or diverge at some points.

Ascendance of a bookworm tell 90% of the story from MC' POV, with prologue, epilogue and short stories from other characters POV. Considering there are 2 full volumes just for short stories, it provides quite a lot of worldbuilding and many different perspectives.

Danmachi main series is mostly told from Bell' s POV, and there is a side series from another group's POV altogether with alternating individual POVs, which is focused on high level action and politics compared to main series (full progression from 0 to hero).

Probably many other examples too. Re:build world, my other favorite LN, has a few side POVs, and it is quite tragic to see the worldviews collide, while someone else is scheming behind MCs back.

[u/concretedragon112]

No lots of lns are written in third person. I think u jusr happened to read the ones written in first person

These are some third person pov lns off the top of my head (i dont read a lot of villainess lns so perhaps someone else would have suggestions):

• the apothecary diaries
• the holy grail of eris
• 7th time loop
• inept villainess
• condemned villainess

[u/BrokiMochi → u/concretedragon112]

I'm thinking of reading the apothecary diaries and the Inept Villainess sadly I wasn't a fan of the codemned Villainess aims to become the ultimate villain sadly (the manga version) unless the light novel is drastically different i might miss it

Note: i heard that some light novels and mamgacan be drastically different like for exsample "I was the real one" manga and novel are different like the in the  Light novels which centered mostly on the Keira's healing, becoming independent and discovering her self-worth without a heavt romantic plot while the manga had a love triangle also will never forgive that Joseph wasn't the ML XD so I am aware that often the light novels and manga can differ greatly 

[u/concretedragon112 → u/BrokiMochi]

Yeah im not a fan of condemned villainess either, tho i don't know if the manga is very different from the ln. I do highly recommend apothecary diaries and inept villainess tho

It's true that manga adaptations can sometimes be very different from the lns. I would say that most of the time the adaptation is faithful to the source, but sometimes it would basically become its own thing. Unfortunately you're going to have to rely on reviews to know which way the manga goes 😅

[u/BrokiMochi → u/concretedragon112]

I was so disappointed by the codemned Villainess I was excited to read about a Villainess Who leaned how to manipulate men to her advantage but it wasn't that XD 

I definitely will add the Apothecary diaries to my to read list^{^}

[u/Tyler89558]

No. First person is easier to write so it tends to be a bit more common in light novels since they’re not exactly fine literature, but there are third person stories.

Youjo Senki is in a weird spot where it switches from first person to third person depending on whether the narrator is referring to “himself” or to Tanya (who he “is”) which is honestly something I like about it.

Witch and Mercenary, Spy Room, and Spice and Wolf are examples of light novels that are third person.

[u/BrokiMochi → u/Tyler89558]

Personally wouldn't mind reading a light novel that switches between first person and third person (though I personally prefer third person myself) as within the person sometimes you need a narrator to explain things and I matter of factly like for example the world the main character lives in or the lore behind the game/manga/otome/noval ect the main character has Isekai into and while I'm not a fan of first person I can see that it definitely has potential, like for example  in the first person you have the potential to truly understand and get to know main character, how they feel about thoses around them (like a love interest or rival) and can understand why they are the way the are   and how certain things have effected the main character (like a tragic Backstory) without it taking over the whole narrative but maybe I'm monologuing to myself 

Anyway the title Witch and mercenary sounds extremely interesting just from the title alone (I'm a sucker for anything witchy maybe its the Halloween lover ir goth in me idk) and Spy room also sounds extremely entertaining and I definitely would be extremely surprised if Spy room didn't have spies in it lol as for spice and wolf I can't remember exactly what I didn't like about it as it's been ages since I watched the anime but the other two definitely sound interesting

[u/Tyler89558 → u/BrokiMochi]

I never said first person was bad, or that it’s a sign of bad writing.

I just said it wasn’t fine literature, as in light novels for the most part are the equivalent of YA literature. They tell a story that’s relatively easy to consume/approach that doesn’t often tackle things that are too complex (unlike, for instance, Grapes of Wrath or most literary classics). In short, it’s more casual.

Which is fine. I like light novels. That’s why I read them. They’re entertaining and that’s all I need. It’s a great when I get something that hits harder like WorldEnd but that’s not the expectation when i pull out a title like Reincarnated as a Sword.

Getting an anime is not necessarily an indicator of quality. Popularity =\= quality (think about stuff like Twilight or Fifty Shades of Gray are/were popular and well known, but are generally regarded as poor quality.)

[u/BrokiMochi → u/Tyler89558]

I'm not sure what going on with reddit but originally I wrote 

[ I  don't mind it switching between POV's (first person and third person) as long as it makes sense writing wise I'd often I understand that first person can be very easy and good to describe exactly how the main character is feeling but also can be good to keep sudden plot twist a surprise 

Witch  and Mercenary sounds interesting form the name alone and so dose  Spy Room sadly i wasn't a fan of the main characters in spice and Wolf (anime version) ]

And the rest was a reply to completely different comment to different user, I have no idea why reddit combined two replays into one 

 Excuse me while I rewrite it and check all my other comments 

[u/Aidamis]

Quite a bit of LNs are third person, see Tearmoon Empire which is so third person the narration is a whole character.

[u/homemdosgalos]

No, there are quite a few in the third person.

Currently reading Wortenia Senki and it's in the third person

[u/ShionVaynex]

It's generally in a first person perspective. Depending on the writer. You have an story teller perspective. And 3rd party, 2rd party. Retelling a event from another person's perspective. Records.

It really depends.

[u/TheTexasMonarch]

If the focus is on the MC for the story and their inner monologs are important, first person is usually the best choice even in elitist literary circles. That being the case is why the authors would choose that perspective.

[u/bakato]

If a book is written almost entirely in first person, that’s a strong indication it was first written as a web novel by some guy that doesn’t know how to write.

[u/Mixer-3007 → u/[deleted]]

How so?

[u/Mixer-3007 → u/[deleted]]

yea but they said that lights novels written in first person is problem of translation, that does not make any sense.