Character as Style: A Study of Role Language and the Linguistic Mechanisms in Japanese Light Novels
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: As a distinctive form of popular literature, Japanese light novels have long been categorized merely as byproducts of the anime-manga industry chain or as artifacts of “database consumption,” causing the independent textual value inherent within them to be frequently overlooked. This paper aims to transcend previous research paradigms that prioritize media formats and the sociology of consumption. By introducing Satoshi Kinsui’s theory of “role language” (yakuwarigo), it seeks to reconstruct the stylistics of light novels from a linguistic ontological perspective. Through the exceptional case of dialogue-minimalist direction in Mamoru Hosoda’s animated film Wolf Children, this study reverses the analytical lens to examine the conventional mechanism of “character” construction in Japanese anime and light novel culture—namely, a heavy reliance on formulaic dialogue and monologue to externalize character psychology. The paper further argues that the core characteristic of Japanese light novels lies in establishing a semiotic correspondence between specific Japanese linguistic forms and character archetypes. Essentially, the “character” in light novels functions as an integrated “stylistic construct” composed of language, appearance, and behavior. In textual mediums stripped of visual imagery, “role language” assumes the critical function of granting characters immediate recognizability and a “virtual body.”
DOI: 10.15096/0002000223
Author: Yang, Tianyun
Language: Chinese
Subfield: Language and Linguistics
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7169732010
FWCI:
Cites:
Cited by:
Related to: