hai! :)
im new to the fandom as i've only found out about it through the anime. but ive been curious ever since i came across ur blog. are the characters in the novels/mvs very much different from the ones in the anime? i would like to read the novels if that's the case. anime adaptations tend to make their version much more different than canon so... i hope u dont mind me asking...
Good morning anon !! (Or afternoon, evening, etc)
Tbh, I'd say yes, they're pretty different. They have the baselines accurate, but in all honesty the anime felt more like a fanfic rather than an actual re-telling of the events. Not to mention, the anime completely trashes LIPxLIP's trauma which I will honestly never forgive.
The novels are honestly so good.
For Hiyori, there's Nonfantasy, which is basically just her becoming LIPxLIP's manager.
And then there's her next (also last) novel, Heroine Development Plan. This is quite different from the anime as it follows the MV of the same name, where Hiyori falls for a guy named Asuka. He had to be retconned though since Asuka belonged to ASCANA, who were Johnny's Project characters. They collabed with Honeyworks but ended sometime in 2021, so the anime couldn't use them. Though personally, I like to consider Asuka's events happened and then Nagisa's happened, since the MVs are continuing and saying that Nagisa's events happened as well.
As for LIPxLIP, they have 2 (technically 3) novels.
One is Kono Sekai no Tanoshimikata, which is also the name of the movie...which tbh, I recommend more than the novel, simply because 1, you can actually see the other characters and their thoughts as well as see the performances, and 2, it's honestly faster. You can find the movie on any 🏴☠️ site, but if you want the novel, it's linked above.
After that is the Romeo novel, which is basically them after they become idols but before their debut. This novel was the first for them specifically to come out and it's very important to their character and backgrounds! It goes pretty into detail for both of them (Mostly Aizou since most of the novel is in his point of view, but Yujiro has a couple chapters that pretty much confirms he's canonically depressed. The novel gets pretty heavy, I'm not gonna lie)
And finally! The most recent novel for them that came out only a few months ago, Fantasia LOVE&KISS! This novel is styled a bit different as half of the novel is about the fantasy world basically following the events of the MV. And the other half is also very important to their characters, and even expands on their trauma and how they work to overcome it together. I def recommend reading this one after Romeo, but this one is soooo important and honestly, it gets pretty intense! (/pos). It seriously shows how much the two have grown not only as idols, but as people, and shows just how important the other is to them and..
God I want to cry I literally love this novel so much. They make me mentally ill anon 😭😭 it's such a beautiful novel.
I sincerely hope that you read the novels and find as much joy in them as I, and many others, have!!
