One element that the Japanese love to include in their writings is this thing called 'Unreliable Narrator'. It's far, far more common in visual and light novels, and I wouldn't doubt that the Chinese have similar in their own novels. And Koreans. And so on, and so forth.
Thing is, this typically confuses the ever-loving fuck out of Americans. Normies, even in niche hobbies, can't wrap their heads around it. The idea of an 'unreliable narrator' in western literature is horrendously rare, and often seen as 'groundbreaking' when present and noticed. The idea that the protagonist is openly lying to your face? Unbelievable. To the western audience, atleast. Yet, in the eastern literature, it's far more common.
This probably says a whole hell of alot about the respective cultures.
I've heard the unreliable narrator trope, but never knew it was common in Asian literature. Good to know.
I'm gonna butcher this paraphrasing, but the traditional Japanese have like this trio of 'self' I guess. The face you show to others, the face you show to your friends/family and the face you show to yourself. It's not dishonorable if you're authentic to one of those, but 'lying' in another.
To us in the west, it just comes across as dishonest/inauthentic when it's outed. The Chinese have a different, but similar outlook. It's just ok to fleese outsiders, but it's not ok to put one over on peers/family. Now.. shit may have greatly changed in the past 20 years, but that was my interpretation of the norms.
One element that the Japanese love to include in their writings is this thing called 'Unreliable Narrator'. It's far, far more common in visual and light novels, and I wouldn't doubt that the Chinese have similar in their own novels. And Koreans. And so on, and so forth.
Thing is, this typically confuses the ever-loving fuck out of Americans. Normies, even in niche hobbies, can't wrap their heads around it. The idea of an 'unreliable narrator' in western literature is horrendously rare, and often seen as 'groundbreaking' when present and noticed. The idea that the protagonist is openly lying to your face? Unbelievable. To the western audience, atleast. Yet, in the eastern literature, it's far more common.
This probably says a whole hell of alot about the respective cultures.
I've heard the unreliable narrator trope, but never knew it was common in Asian literature. Good to know.
I'm gonna butcher this paraphrasing, but the traditional Japanese have like this trio of 'self' I guess. The face you show to others, the face you show to your friends/family and the face you show to yourself. It's not dishonorable if you're authentic to one of those, but 'lying' in another.
To us in the west, it just comes across as dishonest/inauthentic when it's outed. The Chinese have a different, but similar outlook. It's just ok to fleese outsiders, but it's not ok to put one over on peers/family. Now.. shit may have greatly changed in the past 20 years, but that was my interpretation of the norms.