Example: Romance novel, two characters who hate each other but find each other attractive and are always flirting get stuck in a lift together. After finally confessing to each other, one of them says, "I swear my life is like a romcom!"
This happens a lot in manga, where a character says or does something absurd but that's in line with the genre, and another character goes, "Why are you talking like we're in a manga?"
Or in a film when a character talks directly to the camera and says something really cool, and someone else says, "What, you think you're in a movie or something?"
One I just read today: a character just blurted out that they'd fallen in love with their friend, and then blushes and thinks「まるで少女小説でわないか」which means "It's like we're in a girls' novel!" Checks front cover Yep, it's a girls' novel. Well, it's a sci-fi mystery novel, but its target is middle-school girls so kinda counts.
Generally such lines cause me to chuckle slightly. I do however think that it's a slightly risky thing to do as an author, because you are deliberately drawing attention to the stereotype you're using, which might make the reader realise that what has happened was kinda predictable. Not to mention that going meta is usually not a good idea unless you have a specific reason. I've also never heard or said any of these phrases, or anything comparable, in real life before.
by otah007