Hello there.
TL:DR — I want an emotionally succinct story with clever storytelling. I want it to be wholesome, feel good stuff without being brain-rot or using cheap tricks to create any suspense that adds no value to the story…
I’ve always found linear things claustrophobic and have tended to play with Lego rather than get immersed in interactive novels as a kid. I usually give up on movies in the second half because it’s when the story converges towards an outcome too much and the excitement dies. I don’t care for boss fights or the thrill of suspense. I tend to experience climaxes as boring.
But I’ve started to watch “iyashikei” or “slice of life” anime recently and it’s really hit the spot. Except the writing is trashy and complete brain-rot so I want an upgrade. I also like comedy but I find that the term has no measurable meaning.
I find that those animes are infected with tropes and clichés so much it hurts. Almost everything is about school-girls and school festivals. Unoriginal and uncreative.
But one anime had a story that was surprisingly succinct (despite the tropes). It reminded me of when we read shakespeare in school. It was a romance.
What I want is a “healing” story. I don’t like drama; “will they won’t they”; or anything too suspenseful. I get easily offended at cheap tricks writers use to increase the temperature of a story without actually adding value to the story.
In general I just love watching human beings learn to love eachother. Be kind and compassionate together. I like sweet and cute things. — But I don’t think that has to mean that the story is boring. I actually think that watching people’s emotional development as they overcome the psychological barriers to affection can be written through clever devices and succinct story-arcs that get to the heart of the issue.
I watched the TV adaptation of Wodehouse’s Jeeves and Wooster with Fry and Laurie. I loved it because it felt well written. It’s clear that everything in that story is “relevant” to the characters. There are no overt emotional displays or unnecessary faff or drama and yet it’s clear that the relationship between master and butler is investigated. The political commentary isn’t sensational or provoking. There are no cheap digs at anyone. When the butler has a dispute with his master, Wodehouse pulls an artful twist of expectations when it’s actually the butler that misses his master more. It’s emotional, not political, and I love that. (Or at least the politics aren’t savage)
I’m worried I haven’t done a good job of explaining.
Jeeves and Wooster.
Non non byiori.
Interviews with monster girls.
Tomo-chan is a girl.
Angel next door spoils me rotten.
Aharen-san wa hakarenai
Black adder 4
Rick and Morty
(These are things I liked but it’s hard to explain how they are related, and some of these suck in their own ways.)
by Optimal_Curve
1 Comment
It really sounds like you should just read light novels or manga. “Literature” in the usual sense doesn’t tend to care about having cute girls doing cute things, it’s rarely plot-first, and the vast majority of it is not “feel-good” without any drama or suspense. That’s sort of the opposite of what high-brow literature is going for. One of the few exceptions I can think of is Terry Pratchett who writes funny, lighthearted novels that still tackle serious subjects. Very big on the value of loving other people, too.
Now, if we leave out the “quality” part (because tbh a lot of your examples certainly are not what I’d call the sort of “quality” that people usually talk about) there’s plenty of novels that fit your requirements, usually under the feelgood romance category.