What If? Japan gets the “Pulp Genre” alongside the Isekai genre boom

[LifeisTiresome]

That sure is true in the Western world. What about in Japan? I don't have the data to affirm either way, but I know that most of the bland stories you see in anime and light novels started in Shousetsuka ni Narou and managed to raise enough interest to get picked up by professional publishers(granted, I'd say that right now the bar to clear is a little lower considering isekai is the current fad).

You make a good point. I have no idea what percentage of fanfic/doujins in Japan go to what property in the current year. I'm going entirely off what I see of English (and limited Spanish) works.

I say good on the authors. A lot of them have managed to earn quite a lot of money for mere fanfiction. At least they are pleasing the people that like their shit instead of insulting them for just existing like Hollywood and through this they can hopefully escape the salaryman hell a lot of other japanese men face.

 

[Bear Ribs]

@Bear Ribs
One thing I notice is that the “Generalists” I see are experienced adventurers already

Or are on the move, constantly long before the series starts

Yeah, won’t see it with everymen

Also true of the previous age of anime characters. Ranma had just finished his ten-year training trip and having all kinds of adventures that came back to bite him when he settled down. Kenshin was an experienced assassin who'd resolved to retire and never kill again. Inuyasha had hundreds of years of adventures before the show started. Urameshi was just beginning his journey into learning about the supernatural but was a delinquent and experienced brawler. Roger Smith... well he seems to be an experienced giant robot pilot and detective but since amnesia's a theme of the show it's hard to say. Lina Inverse knew the most powerful spells ever at the start of Slayers.

Sailor Moon... not so much I'll grant unless you count her previous lifetime.

 

[CarlManvers2019]

Also true of the previous age of anime characters. Ranma had just finished his ten-year training trip and having all kinds of adventures that came back to bite him when he settled down. Kenshin was an experienced assassin who'd resolved to retire and never kill again. Inuyasha had hundreds of years of adventures before the show started. Urameshi was just beginning his journey into learning about the supernatural but was a delinquent and experienced brawler. Roger Smith... well he seems to be an experienced giant robot pilot and detective but since amnesia's a theme of the show it's hard to say. Lina Inverse knew the most powerful spells ever at the start of Slayers.

Sailor Moon... not so much I'll grant unless you count her previous lifetime.

Experienced Protagonists seem to be something sorta lacking in most anime/manga that I've seen

Ever read Kengan Asura? The MC's 28 years old surprisingly enough, not some beginner or guy who's getting into martial arts all of a sudden and working his ass off, but a guy who's been training and fighting for his life since childhood....still gets challenged and has a tough time against a 21 year old and 19 year old who gave it their all, also

That said, no offense, these guys aren't exactly the "generalists" I've noticed in Swords & Sorcery genre I mentioned before

 

[Bear Ribs]

Experienced Protagonists seem to be something sorta lacking in most anime/manga that I've seen

Ever read Kengan Asura? The MC's 28 years old surprisingly enough, not some beginner or guy who's getting into martial arts all of a sudden and working his ass off, but a guy who's been training and fighting for his life since childhood....still gets challenged and has a tough time against a 21 year old and 19 year old who gave it their all, also

That said, no offense, these guys aren't exactly the "generalists" I've noticed in Swords & Sorcery genre I mentioned before

I don't take offense, I just suspect that I'm using "generalist" in a different way than you.

That said the limitation may be what you're watching rather than anime itself. The shows I listed all have experienced heroes from the start and I can list many more. This Link leads to a list of 27 of the top anime from the 90s. Of those I think maybe three or so have inexperienced protagonists at the start and the rest are the kind of rugged, battle-hardened experienced types I think you want.

That said even some pulps have newb heroes just starting their journeys. Star Wars, for instance, is quite Pulpy in feel.

 

[CarlManvers2019]

I don't take offense, I just suspect that I'm using "generalist" in a different way than you.

That said the limitation may be what you're watching rather than anime itself. The shows I listed all have experienced heroes from the start and I can list many more. This Link leads to a list of 27 of the top anime from the 90s. Of those I think maybe three or so have inexperienced protagonists at the start and the rest are the kind of rugged, battle-hardened experienced types I think you want.

That said even some pulps have newb heroes just starting their journeys. Star Wars, for instance, is quite Pulpy in feel.

I think Indiana Jones, which was also by George Lucas, was also very much inspired by old pulp works