Japan's novels don't seem to be quite the same animal as ours. Here, you can write a novel on just about anything. In Japan, novels are considered appropriate to certain subjects--mostly historical fiction and (often fictional) biography. Those genres don't inspire much fanfiction (and what does appear takes the form of doujinshi).
I think that part of this is because, in Japan, they've had the novel since the 11th century. It's a well-respected form, with long-established conventions and rules much like our sonnets have, for example. The Japanese have a lot of reverence for their history and culture, and they're inclined to view 'traditional' novels as a piece of literary heritage. On the other hand, novels that step out of those bounds are seen as pop culture, and they're fair game for the usual treatment.
Some of these 'experimental' novels have appeared in Japan in the past couple of decades. One fellow in the 80s wrote a fantasy/horror series about a vampire hunter, which produced a fair amount of fan work even before the anime movie came out (Vampire Hunter D)--again, it all seems to be doujinshi. I guess it's the accepted medium. But then, comics in any form are huge over there. Something like 30% of the annual Japanese publishing profits are from comics.
I suppose it's not exactly the same thing. One of the reasons I seldom write fanfic based on books is because they're the same medium. It feels a bit weird, as if they could 'bleed over' somehow. But since doujinshi are established as a forum for that sort of thing, the threat and awkwardness are probably less. Also, doujinshi are usually limited to a print run of a few thousand at most, so it's not as if they'll forever alter the canon interpretation.
Besides...I dunno, they just seem more like an expression of appreciation than fanfic does. Maybe because you have to invest a LOT of work to script and illustrate a comic for even a small print run, while some fanfic is just slopped together and posted on the Web without even a spellcheck (gaaah!--don't they teach people grammar anymore?!).
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branchandroot
no subject
Date: 2004-10-20 02:25 pm (UTC)I think that part of this is because, in Japan, they've had the novel since the 11th century. It's a well-respected form, with long-established conventions and rules much like our sonnets have, for example. The Japanese have a lot of reverence for their history and culture, and they're inclined to view 'traditional' novels as a piece of literary heritage. On the other hand, novels that step out of those bounds are seen as pop culture, and they're fair game for the usual treatment.
Some of these 'experimental' novels have appeared in Japan in the past couple of decades. One fellow in the 80s wrote a fantasy/horror series about a vampire hunter, which produced a fair amount of fan work even before the anime movie came out (Vampire Hunter D)--again, it all seems to be doujinshi. I guess it's the accepted medium. But then, comics in any form are huge over there. Something like 30% of the annual Japanese publishing profits are from comics.
I suppose it's not exactly the same thing. One of the reasons I seldom write fanfic based on books is because they're the same medium. It feels a bit weird, as if they could 'bleed over' somehow. But since doujinshi are established as a forum for that sort of thing, the threat and awkwardness are probably less. Also, doujinshi are usually limited to a print run of a few thousand at most, so it's not as if they'll forever alter the canon interpretation.
Besides...I dunno, they just seem more like an expression of appreciation than fanfic does. Maybe because you have to invest a LOT of work to script and illustrate a comic for even a small print run, while some fanfic is just slopped together and posted on the Web without even a spellcheck (gaaah!--don't they teach people grammar anymore?!).