Trendspotting: Story, Literature, and Japan

Fiction writing, screenwriting, and literature all seem to be on the rise in popularity with younger male readers in Japan. There are more Japanese novels being released in the United States than any time before, with things like light novels based on anime, and fantasy and science fiction novels such as Brave Story and All You Need Is Kill. And famous Japanese scriptwriter Dai Sato—who started writing professionally at the age of 19—starting his screenwriter consulting company StoryRiders as recently as 2007. Never has the Japanese love for literature and the printed word been so strong collectively. I can’t wait to see how this develops in the future.

I've been into anime and manga for a long time now, and I don't remember Japanese printed literature that wasn't primarily visual, like novels, scripts, and whatnot ever having this much visibility in the American anime mainstream. Personally, I've always been a writer since at least the age of 16 or so,  but it's nice to see a visual medium like anime seeming to really start considering story and literature more.