Trends in Long Titles for Manga and Light Novels
There are thousands of manga and light novels out there, and the number of titles published continuously is ever-increasing. Naturally, bookstores in Japan do not have enough space to display all of them in a way that is easily noticeable. When customers browse through hundreds of titles, the only thing that must stand out is the title itself, separating it from all the other works.
As a result, the trend of long titles has emerged. For a manga or light novel to catch attention and be unique, its title must have something particularly interesting. Long titles often serve a humorous purpose or carry an exaggerated tone (think of titles like “I Want to Eat Your Pancreas” or “Reincarnated as a Selling Machine in a Dungeon, My Life is a Mess”). This is the best way for manga and light novels to sell well and stand out, especially when the isekai (another world) genre is becoming more prevalent and increasingly published.
Of course, when these manga and light novels become popular, the next natural step is for them to be adapted into anime. However, production companies tend to retain these long titles for marketing purposes. After all, the title at least partially bears the responsibility for the book’s success from the very beginning. Moreover, long titles also serve to help the anime become more distinctive compared to all the other anime that may be airing during the same season.
Long Titles as a Summary of Content
One aspect that makes long titles in anime useful is their ability to attract dedicated viewers without needing to define the summary briefly. When you see a title like “I Can’t Understand What My Husband Is Saying,” you already know a bit about the anime’s content just from the title alone. Anime like “Jujutsu Kaisen” and “Neon Genesis Evangelion” certainly cannot achieve this.
This is appealing to two types of audiences. First, it’s great for busy people who don’t have much time. When looking for a new anime to watch, they might not have time to read through numerous brief summaries and scan through countless promotional blurbs to find an anime that suits their interests. However, when they read a long title, they immediately understand that this will be an anime related to a specific theme, and they only need to delve deeper if the title seems intriguing.
The second group of people attracted by this method are those who are avid anime watchers. They are often searching for what is currently trending and want to know what the buzz is about. When they watch animated series with titles like “I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level,” they can easily guess whether it’s an anime they would want to watch or not (slice of life, battle, possibly related to gaming in some way). Or if they enjoy titles like “It Doesn’t Matter What You Look Like, I’m Just Here for the Food!” (comedy, slice of life).
Long Titles: Adorable and Catchy
Ultimately, while it may seem completely counterintuitive, long anime titles are indeed very endearing and memorable for viewers. Certainly, they may not always capture the essence of the story, but they can certainly leave a lasting impression on anime fans, making them curious about what an upcoming title might be, like “Reincarnated as a Selling Machine in a Dungeon” or “The Girls in the Dungeon.”
The anime industry aims to make money, just like any other form of media. Creators look to attract dedicated viewers who will tune in, buy merchandise, and support their favorite shows, leading them to purchase the related manga. However, long titles effectively serve as a marketing tool for anime before they need to do anything else to grab the attention of new audiences and entice them to engage with their content. They may think about the title afterward and might begin to explore anime.
Additionally, many long titles can be quite charming! Numerous anime with long titles are crafted specifically to help everyone remember them, such as “DanMachi” (Is It Wrong to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?).
