[ SECRET POST #5171 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #5171 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.


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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 01 pages, 18 secrets from Secret Submission Post #740.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

Ugh I feel you OP. I kinda love that people are into cnovels now bc it gives me hope that more Japanese BL novels will get official translations. And there IS hope in me for finding something good among the trash.

But damn. People's tastes just suck. Y'all in it for the porn only aren't you?

[(Anonymous)]

Funny you'd say that. I have yet to find a single Japanese BL novel that I like and in my experience, they tend to be much more porny on the average than Chinese BL novels (which has a lot to do with censorship though).

[(Anonymous)]

Yeah so maybe it isn't even about the sex ...? I don't do well with cnovels but I assume it's because of those long titles, terrible translations, not to mention my complete lack of understanding of chinese culture, or maybe I just had bad luck picking. In the same way I despise kdramas (or jdramas for that matter) I just think all of it is SO corny and silly and pointless. Feel free to throw your faves at me because I really want to... Enjoy them.

Indeed some Japanese novels are all porn and no plot. For some with little porn I enjoy a lot: No. 6 ; Gentle Cage ; Love Water and Eat Or Be Eaten maybe

[(Anonymous)]

Yeah, there are a lot of tropes in CNovels that can get tiresome quick, I agree. And my main issue when I started actually was the names (of which characters seemed to have 10 apiece) and especially in Wuxia/Xianxia novels, it's kind of taken for granted that everyone reading knows all the terms and cultivation levels and all so I get that it can turn people away from getting into them.

I'm going to sleep soon but if you'd like you could tell me what genres you'd be most interested in/what you don't like and I can see if I have some recs relevant to your interests later!

[(Anonymous)]

Oh yes exactly, it's so painfully clear I am NOT The Demography they were aiming for, which is why I prefer official translations anyway.

If you could recommend something, uh, easier to digest I'd be very, very happy. I enjoy... Good literature. And romance with well-developed characters. I'm not too picky but I LOVE realistic settings. If not realistic, at least believable (ie. No. 6 is a sci-fi). Once I checked a list of cnovels and I was put off as 90% was fantasy. The one that interested me was fantasy but it happened in a MMO setting so it was forgivable. Lol. (The translation sucked though so)

[(Anonymous)]

(SA) Just adding before I go to bed. Looking at these cnovel lists make me feel like I am browsing through 175 novel itinerations of Kyou Kara Maoh in peak 2k20s. Which isn't the worst thing that could happen to anyone, but damn I have better things to do ...

[(Anonymous)]

(iterations***. I was thinking of... Transmigration was it the word? Suddenly itineraries lol)

[(Anonymous)]

Yeah, transmigration/isekai has been huge for a while now, both in C and Jnovels. Idk, it can be okay but it's not my favourite genre.
But yeah, I'll see if I can get a list of recs together - unfortunately I read a lot of fantasy but I'll see what I can find with more realistic settings!

[(Anonymous)]

Yeah. But somehow, just like with isekai anime (? Don't think I have ever read an isekai BL jnovel as I just... Skip those) I don't think my problem with it is the concept, just how poorly executed it often is. Like I wouldn't mind stories in a parallel world usually (not a plus nor a minus here...) but ever since it became a Trend there are a lot of works that have the EXACT SAME TROPES and much fanservice in spite of shallow worldbuilding soo... It reminds me of back when every YA book was Teenage Sparkly Vampires.

[(Anonymous)]

Yep, they certainly often have these cardboard cutouts of scenes going. I mean, even with those tropes some can be better executed than others but ... meh.

Let's see then for recs-

Finished translations:

Realistic present time:

I Have Amnesia, Don’t Be Noisy! ( https://www.novelupdates.com/series/i-have-amnesia-dont-be-noisy/ ) Genre- Showbiz
It's a fairly cute story with likeable main characters - ML suffers from amnesia after rescuing his boyfriend from getting kidnapped, only thing he remembers is the boyfriend himself. A very light read with no huge drawn out misunderstandings.

God Level Summoner ( https://www.novelupdates.com/series/god-level-summoner/ ) Genre- Gaming

A pro-gamer story - a bit like King's Avatar with BL. MC is a pro-gamer who returns to a fantasy MMORPG to build his own team and finally win a trophy. Romance is fairly slow-burn and the main focus is on the teambuilding etc. This has two other novels in the same universe.

Present day with fantasy/Sci-Fi elements:

Seizing Dreams ( https://www.novelupdates.com/series/seizing-dreams/ )

This one I will admit to have paused but mainly because it wasn't completely my cup of tea. I do like other novels by the same author though. Basically, the characters are able to travel through dreams to solve mysteries and such.

These are most of the realistic(ish) present day ones I read - I also have read one with the main characters as models (Same authors has another novel with actors) but I wasn't too much into it and the main CP was a bit too overpowered for my tastes but in case you're interested - Rebirth of a Supermodel ( https://www.novelupdates.com/series/rebirth-of-a-supermodel/ )

Realistic-ish historical:

Golden Stage ( https://www.novelupdates.com/series/golden-stage/ )
MC is a general who gets injured in an attempted assassination and to get rid of him the emperor makes him get married to a court member who is basically boss of the court's secret service, more or less. They have some sort of history together though. What I like about this are the main characters' dynamic - and hey, it's a very rare case of a switching couple!


Ongoing translations:


Realistic(ish) present time:

Superstar Aspirations ( https://www.novelupdates.com/series/superstar-aspirations/ ) - this is the actor novel by the same author as the model one. I like this better so far, mainly because I like the characters more. It's not 100 % realism because it's some sort of parallel universe where China is a much bigger player in the international entertainment scene than it really is but other than that it's fine.


Present day with fantasy:

Fantasy Farm ( https://www.novelupdates.com/series/fantasy-farm/ )
This one I like a lot because I adore all the characters. It's about a guy returning to the tiny mountain village where he lived with his grandmother as a child to inherit her old house and he basically encounters (and adopts) a shitton of supernatural beings. Lots and lots of food porn as well.


Realistic-ish historical:

The Fourteenth Year of Chenghua ( https://www.novelupdates.com/series/the-fourteenth-year-of-chenghua/ )

The novel the drama "The Sleuth of the Ming Dynasty" is adapted from. MC is a lower-rank judge, ML is captain of the guard, slow burn romance, lots of mystery solving as the main focus, found family and well researched historical setting.

Thousand Autumns ( https://www.novelupdates.com/series/thousand-autumns/ )

Same author as above, Wuxia/Martial Arts centered in a historical setting. I love the main character. Has recently gotten an animated adaption. Unfortunately the translation is fairly slow atm.


These are most of the more realistic ones I've read and liked. Hope you find something!

[(Anonymous)]

Thanks anon, I will check them later!!