

So, I came across these comments in [an r/manga
post](https://www.reddit.com/r/manga/comments/82es8c/this_really_lightened_up_my_day_trapped_by_peach/):

> _KibaTeo:_ Even a short series became an isekai
>
> _MonochromeGuy:_ That statement itself just sounds like a LN title.
>
> _in0ri:_ Gotta triple the length of the title, bro
>
> _Irru:_ Even Though This Was Supposed To Be A Generic Romantic Comedy, I
> Somehow Got Transported To A Different World!
>
> _KibaTeo:_ . . . is that an actual series tho? cause it sounds way too
> plausible
>
> _CelioHogane:_ He just tripled the lenght as it was asked.

* * *

I was wondering... why _is_ this a thing, though? It seems that lots of series
these days (especially light novels) are given very long and descriptive
titles. Some classic examples include:

  * [_Oreimo_](https://myanimelist.net/manga/13667/Ore_no_Imouto_ga_Konnani_Kawaii_Wake_ga_Nai)
    * short for: _Ore no Imouto ga Konnani Kawaii Wake ga Nai_
    * translation: _My Little Sister Can't Be This Cute_
  * [_Watamote_](https://myanimelist.net/manga/28533/Watashi_ga_Motenai_no_wa_Dou_Kangaetemo_Omaera_ga_Warui)
    * short for: _Watashi ga Motenai no wa Dou Kangaetemo Omaera ga Warui!_
    * translation: _No Matter How I Look at It, It's You Guys' Fault I'm Not Popular!_

And here's a more recent series (that doesn't seem to have a shortened
nickname yet):

  * [_Imamade Ichido mo Onnaatsukai sareta Koto ga Nai Onna Kishi wo Onnaatsukai suru Manga_](https://myanimelist.net/manga/113626/Imamade_Ichido_mo_Onnaatsukai_sareta_Koto_ga_Nai_Onna_Kishi_wo_Onnaatsukai_suru_Manga)
    * translation: _A Story About Treating a Female Knight, Who Has Never Been Treated as a Woman, as a Woman_

One would think that having super long titles would be a disadvantage because
they'd be difficult to remember :P So, my question is, why is this style of
title so common? Is this a recent thing? How did this trend of super long
titles come about?


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manga-production light-novel-production
Why do light novels and manga have long titles?


To be honest, it just depends on the artist. I don't know if or what they were
smoking when they made it, but there are some longer titles out there.

Perhaps the author is trying to give it a title that is catchy, or that they
want to summarize the title. I don't know. I'd ask them.

Examples:

Danmachi (Danjon ni Deai o Motomeru no wa Machigatteiru Darō ka or Is It Wrong
to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?)

OreGairu (Yahari Ore no Seishun Rabukome wa Machigatteiru or My Youth Romantic
Comedy is Wrong as I Expected)

Okaa-san Online (Tsūjou Kōgeki ga Zentai Kōgeki de ni Kai Kōgeki no Okā-san wa
Suki Desuka? or Do You Love Your Mom and Her Two-Hit Multi-Target Attacks?)

To be honest, I'm just rambling, but I hope this is useful.


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(speculation, but I think of the common sense sort)

When standing in a bookstore crowded with light novels, what is the main thing
a prospective buyer wants to know? **"What is it about?"** They are scanning
through dozens if not hundreds of titles. Two things are available to quickly
help the buyer know what each book might be about.

  1. cover (and back cover) art
  2. title

The title is visible on the book spines, so, depending on how books are
stacked/shelved, is often visible before the art. Good, attractive titles
would be evocative, funny, and/or descriptive. With a long title like _That
Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime_ , one knows immediately what the book will
likely be about. Plus in this case the title is both funny and descriptive. I
would even argue that this title is more informative than the cover art.

Thus long titles are likely viewed as sales aids, providing a summary of what
to expect and often the tone of what will be found inside.


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The Anime Man explains this in [his
video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiP00v8pjBQ).

TL;DR:

  * People get lazy to read the blurb of the novel (the short summary usually at the back of the book) to know what it's about, so a longer title will be more descriptive than titles like "Wish".
  * The LN industry is getting bigger, therefore everyone will eventually run out of titles to use (even movies there are some that have the same title which is not good), a longer title will make your LN unique and stand-out. [Top selling LN in the first half of 2019](https://www.oricon.co.jp/confidence/special/53075/11/) according to Oricon.


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To put it simple, a manga and light novel collection depending on how long it
is can have dozens of sequels and continuations. Usually when a series is
planned to have many chapters and books they name them differently to
differentiate each book from each other, and the hepburn of the japanese name
is made longer since kanji uses picture symbols as words and letters. So
simply the hepburn of japanese characters makes the titles long.


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**Why is this style of title so common? How did this trend of super long
titles come about?**

From what I was able to research, light novels and/or manga have long title:

  1. **Because it helps the light novel/manga stand out**

Due to the competition in the industry, authors have to find ways _to grab the
interest of readers_. One such way that has become popular is via long titles.

In an [interview by Kotaku](https://kotaku.com/japanese-manga-and-anime-
titles-are-too-damn-long-here-5907247) with Pan Tachibana, a light novel
author, he explained his thoughts on the trend and how he chose his light
novel title. To quote,

> At the very least, I wanted a title that was both attention-grabbing and
> catchy, and at the same time would let the reader know what sort of story
> they were getting.

Long titles, while difficult to remember, do not really drive away readers. In
fact, if the series become popular, _they would most certainly get nicknames
for easier remembering_ , as with the case of OreImo, Choyoyu or WataMote, to
name a few.

  2. **Because it can easily convey the plot to potential readers**

_Not everyone has the time or pleasure to read or view plot summaries on the
back of light novels and/or manga_. As such, long titles became a trend for
people to easily know what the plot is about and if it would be to their
liking.

As mentioned by Tachibana,

> There's no guarantee that someone will take the time to read the plot
> description of a book, so if the title is long and has its own descriptive
> meaning, it serves that purpose.

Descriptive titles certainly help save time as compared to having to read a
full summary and as remarked
[here](https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interest/2017-01-10/january-and-
february-light-novel-titles-are-really-weird/.110805), the longer and more
descriptive the title,

> the better for time-pressed browsers to glean the plot at a glance.

**Is this a recent thing?**

[This website](https://www.otaquest.com/light-novel-long-titles-history/)
shows data as to the number of light novels and their title length over the
years. Even before the 2000's, one can see that there are titles that reach
around 30 characters or so. As such, it's not really a recent thing. But it's
not that common and the number of such works with long, descriptive titles
began to see an increase over the years until now.


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