Yes, exactly! I’m sure there must be a pattern to how Japanese covers work too, we just need to find it. I’m curious - maybe people who have been reading for years are now confident in interpreting a book’s cover at a glance?
I wish there was a “search by cover” function in online bookstores (ie. anime girl, illustration, abstract, landscape, empty classroom, etc). That might offer some insights more easily…
9 Likes
One way might be to open the different genres in different tabs and comparing the covers to each other. Might be better to be on like bestsellers lists, as long as weird marketing things aren’t happening on the Japanese side too (on amazon US for example it seems that all the same bestsellers are on all the genre lists, because Amazon tends to not force publishers to put the right tags/genres on their stuff, so a clear fantasy book might show up in sf bestseller list and thriller bestseller list, really anywhere… I assume this hasn’t been fixed since I last wandered around the bestsellers list on amazon US…)
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Amazon, bad UI? :shocked-pikachu:
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Time for more fun with covers!
Judging by the cover art only, do you think this book is…
- Romance?
- Historical Novel?
- Mystery?
- Horror?
- Fantasy?
- SF?
0 voters
It’s horror
- Romance?
- Historical Novel?
- Mystery?
- Horror?
- Fantasy?
- SF?
0 voters
It’s a historical novel
- Romance?
- Historical Novel?
- Mystery?
- Horror?
- Fantasy?
- SF?
0 voters
It’s horror
- Romance?
- Historical Novel?
- Mystery?
- Horror?
- Fantasy?
- SF?
0 voters
It’s a mystery
- Romance?
- Historical Novel?
- Mystery?
- Horror?
- Fantasy?
- SF?
0 voters
It’s a mystery
- Romance?
- Historical Novel?
- Mystery?
- Horror?
- Fantasy?
- SF?
0 voters
It’s mystery
- Romance?
- Historical Novel?
- Mystery?
- Horror?
- Fantasy?
- SF?
0 voters
It’s labeled as horror
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Little Pet Shop of Horrors translated into Japanese.
History of the NZ Silver Ferns netball team.
High-school physics textbook.
High-school PDHPE textbook.
High-school mathematics textbook.
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To better highlight the difference in how covers are designed (and presumably perceived) in Japan vs elsewhere, here are some covers of Japanese originals next to the covers of their translations:
Those of you who have read the books, or have a good idea of what they’re about, which cover do you think better conveys what the book is about?
, |
- The original
- The translation
- Both
- None
0 voters
,
- The original
- The translation
- Both
- None
0 voters
, 
- The original
- The translation
- Both
- None
0 voters
, 
- The original
- The translation
- Both
- None
0 voters
,
- The original
- The translation
- Both
- None
0 voters
,
- The original
- The translation
- Both
- None
0 voters
,
- The original
- The translation
- Both
- None
0 voters
,
- The original
- The translation
- Both
- None
0 voters
, 
- The original
- The translation
- Both
- None
0 voters
, 
- The original
- The translation
- Both
- None
0 voters
,
- The original
- The translation
- Both
- None
0 voters
, 
- The original
- The translation
- Both
- None
0 voters
,
- The original
- The translation
- Both
- None
0 voters
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I’m surprised I got most of it right! This is pretty fun when you get it right haha
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I’ve read 64 and watched at least some of the TV adaptation and I have no idea who that woman is supposed to be. None of the women are noted for being *pretty, made up, etc and she looks the wrong age for any of the main female characters (child, high schooler, middle aged woman). This is the English cover I’m familiar with and I think it does a better job:
*I wrote that and then remembered the middle aged lady was a looker and the dynamic of her vs her husband’s looks was mentioned, but still, it’s not a main plot line and the lady on the cover does not look 40+
7 Likes
Ah, that’s the woman that says: Japanese! and Mysterious! 
see also:
(no women that age that I remember)
among others. Without the women they’d have to add sakura or something. 
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At least it sorrrrrrt of makes sense for Devotion of Suspect X. The main motivation there is a woman.
I can only imagine the disappointment of someone opening 64 expecting it’s about pretty ladies and finding out it’s about a 1989 child murder cold case and the majority of the cast is middle aged men 
edit: Did you say sakura? 
13 Likes
Holy cr**! I knew that something about this book seemed familiar to me and upon reading the summary it turns out that this is one of the very few crime?/thriller? novels I read in my free time. No wonder did I almost not recognise it because I tried forgetting about this book since I was stubborn enough to force myself to read through it – and I hated it (I use the word ‘hate’ sparingly, by the way); especially the last chapter.
My uncanny memory and rambling aside, @omk3 do you know what the Japanese cover is supposed to depict? Some sort of deteriorated bathtub? (because if I remember correctly the women went on to cut the corpses in pieces in their bathtub or something). A coffin? A hole in the ground where a coffin would be deposited? I’m not sure what to make of this cover. And I’m not particularly fond of the English cover either as it looks too formulaic to me. Thus my vote ‘none’.
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I’m surprised that they put fake Japanese on an actual Japanese book 
11 Likes
I believe it must represent a bathtub, but looks more like a sarcophagus to me. I mean, I get the symbolism but going in I’d probably look at the cover, think treasure hunters horror and never read it. I loved the book by the way, although I dont remember many details any more, it’s been years.
The book cover has no sakura and the face is unclear. How else would we know it’s Japanese?
9 Likes
(Sarcophagus shaped) bathtub it is, then! 
Glad to hear that you liked the book, though! Just because I don’t like a piece of media doesn’t mean I dislike it when other people like it – on the contrary, (with some exceptions, for example, when a piece of media purposely propagates harmful stereotypes similar to hate speech) I’m glad when the creator’s efforts get to be appreciated.
Is the treasure hunters horror you mention a sub genre of horror? I’m not sure what to picture when hearing that term.
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I don’t think it is. It’s just that the sarcophagus makes me think of Indiana Jones style treasure hunters, and the darkness of the cover makes me think of horror. 
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If that’s what you had in mind, I think the term you coined for it fits quite perfectly! When I read it, I immediately thought “oh so like Indiana Jones minus the comedic effects, then?”
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Incidentally, if anyone has any treasure hunter horror (or treasure hunter in general) recommendations, I would love to hear them 
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I went to go buy the second book of チュベローズで待っている and discovered there is a different cover! Which fits the theme (man begins working in sketchy nightlife world to support his family) better?
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I’d like to answer none, but at least the darker one shows turbulence, I guess? And maybe feels more grown-up? Strange choices for this book, both versions. 
5 Likes
I might be alone in liking the face covers. The second book especially with the dragging hand and the dead eyed look just seems to fit the mood so perfectly.
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