/lit/ - Literature

When you read older modern Japanese literature like Dazai or Mishima it seems extremely serious to the point of melodrama. I am curious why this is the case even though Japan is so commonly associated with the exact opposite sort of escapism.

Is Murakami born from the same Japanese societal sentiments that made anime?

There’s a lot of stuff I like about modern Japanese entertainment. A lot of anime and manga is honestly really good at just being comfy.

Are there any modern authors that can take some of the more serious and thematically complex elements of older literature and combine it with some of the happy and carefree elements of modern pop culture?