TYErannical
So can I assume you read the Chinese Novel first before you know Japanese Novel.
Most people are like that, when something 'alike' , they would see the one they see later as the inferior one. I myself didn't like the arrogant nature of most CN MC, and just recently reading CN, mostly because the release rate are totallllyyyy faster, on a different level all together from any Jap Novel.
And, maybe you haven't read Overlord, Konosuba, Log Horizon, Mahouka Kouko, Danmachi, Mushoku Tensei, Tate no Yuusha, etc.

Beside all that, the character of the MC is deeply affected by the culture of the author's place, most LN/WN from japan have a humble, slow, peace-loving, and slightly 'beta' characteristic, is mostly from the fact that current japan are indeed peaceful, and one of the best living condition in the world. While chinese novel are more overwhelming, prideful, feeling superior, and the 'alpha' characteristic, is from the fact that chinese is really competitive in EVERY SINGLE THING, and the strong ancient piety they got.
BOTH likes to have a numerical / leveling system, is from the effect of game and competitive nature as an asian.

Most novel from both country ARE WISH FULFILLMENT, it's just the 'wish' or the 'dream world' they wanted is different. While the novel from europe / us are, you know very variative from the genre and doesn't have something like leveling system, maybe because it's from the fact that 1st world country are indeed living easier. Not much wish fulfillment there.

      Odinlowe yup, I agree, most are like that, while the good one that doesn't repeat thing every 30 chapter are updated like 4ch/ week, while the one that repeat even the sentence updated like 14/week.

          Try "Kumo Desu ga, Nani ka?"

            GregLuck slightly 'beta' characteristic

            Dude...... what is your definition of slightly.... These guys won't even touch a naked girl who offers herself to him or make even the slightest move, afraid to even touch hands, note I said touch, not hold, holding hands is an even higher level for them. Let be honest here.

                Leylin_Farlier If a naked girl begging to have sex with me was literally right in front of me... Umm... I would... ummm... do stuff...

                    GregLuck I've tried to read jap novels but the characters are uninteresting and often take a long time to accomplish anything in their stories. CN novels are more realistic and gritty while jap novels are always basic and happy go lucky, this contrast makes it more impactful and enjoyable when the CN main characters succeed in doing things while it makes it mundane and boring when the jap MC succeeds in doing anything.

                    The worlds of Jap novels are always small and always feels extremely limited because their are always gods and stereotypical 'Demon lord" in it, and because of that most of the mystery's you see in CN novels, like 'is their god' or ' is their a higher plane of existence i can see by becoming stronger', and because of this the world always seem like an ant farm made out of glass, its totally transparent and boring . the novels feels unbelievably childish, the side characters often do not actually react like real people would, making me have to often times suspend my disbelieve when ever something happens.

                    Romance is always forced into the story, the MC is always a happy go lucky fool, and the side characters act more like NPC's that can be discarded by the MC and forgotten about easily ( especially the harem girls. Over all jap novels are just plain terrible, the stories are generic and boring and to few jap novels are any good.

                    Chinese MC's sometimes think little and succeed by will power and their perseverance, making the story about an underdog you wish to succeed. While Jap MC's often overthink every little thing, sucking the intensive actions and thriller away from the story , but they always manage to fuck things up.

                        [unknown] As I have previously said... you haven't read enough Japanese novels, as the cliche's you are talking about are non-existent in most of them, and have a better pacing and story line than most of the CN's.
                        You cannot talk shit about things due to your ignorance, You love CN alright!! good for you, but you need to understand, there is a reason for the Light-Novels from japan being officially translated(not this fan translation/machine translation), the story quality is much better compared to CN's and characters are believable most of the times(in LN's.... not WN)

                        The Chinese novels are mostly Webnovels and have that amateur feeling to it, with their overused plots and stuff.
                        While we see intricate plot and politics interweave in the story(Overlord, log horizon etc) while having fare share of good times, as well as dark times.
                        I am pretty sure that most of the Japanese novels you have read are Webnovels written by amateurs and not Lightnovels, with a pinch of gaming elements(levels and useless skills) in to the mix.
                        It isn't Japanese novels fault if your choice on those novels is bad.
                        And besides!! if you want to read power fantasies(99% of CN's) you can just go and read thousands of shonen manga, or if you want blood in it... then go and read Senin.
                        Its just depends on your choice.

                        P.S. your mentality is just like a kid discriminating and feeling awesome because you are grouping a novels from certain place that they are all same.(You Novecist(novel+racist))

                        Be accepting of things and don't generalise them.(like I did about the CN's just now)

                          TYErannical please kindly list the crap japanese light novel you have already read. as you know every nation have their own trash novel and good ones.

                          GoGo i got a feeling he just read a couple of bad webnovels then label all japanese novel trash.

                              TYErannical well to be fair anyone can make a stereotypical claim like this. for example

                              i hate cn webnovel, their story is always the same, a mortal aspiring to be immortal. the mc doesnt have any real bottleneck, he just eat tons of drug to breakthrough. there is always alchemist profession in their world, is drug so important?
                              the female is much worse, every female is describe as a stunning beauty, fairy - like creature, its impossible for one to be as pretty. then dozens of chapter ahead, another female appears, though female A is impossibly beautiful, this female B is a level more beautiful than her. then repeat this pattern. there is no uggly female, only more beautiful female exist.
                              what is up with all cn webnovel i read? the are all obsessed with jade and white. is becoming a rock so beautiful? so white that you look like paint? i dont get it with their obsession to jade and white. come on, black brown yellow white every colour is beautiful.
                              love? what is love in cn webnovel? mc meets pretty girl, fall in love, make babies, mc travel another place. then repeat pattern. what love?
                              the problem with most cn webnovel is their villain, always dumb, arrogant and blind. have eyes but cant see mt tai. not to mention repetitive lines like, its impossible no one can do that, but mc did it just fine and then the crowds are too surprised they didnt know whether to laugh or cry.
                              the problem with most cn cultivation world is they are too vast, after the mc levels up then there will be new plane, new realm. the world is too massive leading too a lots of plot being recycled, the character barely have any growth forever. and most side character are just forgotten.

                              but the most heaven defying is right after the author exaggerate the massive different between realms of cultivation, the mc picks a fight with someone of 2 realm different and wins. and mc is the only one who could do it due to combination of strategy, luck and undying tenacity.

                              see i can make cn webnovels look bad too.

                                  TYErannical I feel you haven't seen the right kind of Japanese light novels, In such a broad category to form a view based off a small sample is not right. If you are only reading translated novels then you need to expand your search as sites that host novels tend to host similarge novels as they see those types of novels working for them. If you are reading raw Japanese novels you should search for a different genre as the type of light novels you described are usually related to 2-4 genres.

                                      Odinlowe you have to think the Chinese language is so different from the English language in which a single term in English could translate to a sentence in Chinese and often times a Chinese writer will write some detailed description of something such as a beauty or a scene however when being translated over to English there is a lack of substence that can be used to fully explain or translate the original text.

                                          GregLuck love your statement, one thing though konosouba and tate no yuusha are nearly exaftly the genre he described. Konosouba a goddessert pulls Mc into a new world and offers any one item or power. Tate no yuusha hero summoned from a another world to fight an enemy and given what is obviously a big cheat. I have read and enjoyed the two novels and have to say while great they match the criteria that OP mentioned.

                                              TaiXai Oh, I'm well aware that there is a reason why it's written that way. That doesn't make reading it any more enjoyable though.

                                                  Eehhh I like Common Sense of Duke's Daughter, Tensei Slime Shitara Datta Ken, Tensei Oujo..., Death March..., and Lazy SwordMaster, SAO, overlord, spearmaster and black cat huhuhu

                                                  TYErannical Have you read 'Road to Kingdom'? It's a masterpiece of a JP novel and no, it's not boring and characters don't piss me off. There are no game elements whatsoever, it's purely a kingdom+harem building novel.

                                                      Odinlowe and the number 1 CN NL for that is mga ..as I'm sure bee has no clue as to what he has done or were it going, sometimes i think he needs to reread his own work from chapter 1

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