In a landscape filled with insincere critics, be it the “Im a Fan of Property Ergo it must be good” or the “I didn’t really watched/played/read it but let me tell you about how it’s woke garbage like everything else”, I cannot but have utmost respect for people like James who just put their sincere opinions no matter how popular, and actually do the leg work in laying out why they think as they do. Adam from YMS also comes to mind (even though god knows how he can get mad salty); I have massive disagreements with many things both said - But the mere fact that I can look at those and go “yep, that’s an opinion that passes the Turing Test, no algorithm informed it” makes me stop and listen.
Books are for people to enjoy. If some people enjoy cozy fluffy no-conflict-just-comfort books -- then it's ok. Calling it "unhealthy" is a bit arrogant (and cringeworthy) I'm not really into cozy fantasy myself, but I can imagine why some peoply would be. So why not let all the flowers bloom? (Idk if there's an idiom like that in English, but I hope my translation can do)
I don’t think that at any point James said that no one should enjoy them. He simply stated his personal opinion. Don’t make this into “oh, so you hate apples then huh” kind of discussion.
@@notsteve5927 He did say, paraphrasing, that it's an unhealthy relationship with media. (I'm not upset at him or anything by the way, just clarifying)
@@notsteve5927 James said, word to word, „If You’re into cosy fantasy, i don’t believe You have a healthy relationship, with the media You consume.” and „People just cannot handle any sort of conflict in real life and none in their fiction” He directly said that if you're into cosy medium (or 'shit' medium, as he described it), then there is something seriously wrogn with you. And he said that in a way that no matter what other medias you consume, liking cosy at all makes you that.
He did voice his opinion harshly, yes, but at no point he said people shouldn’t read it. I don’t understand people who eat red meat. It is proven to be carcinogenic, it is generally unhealthy for your gut, and I think there is something wrong with people who prefer red meat over white meat. Does that mean that I hate red meat and would prefer to ban it altogether so no one can eat it? No. I also will not go to something like r/redmeatlovers (or some subreddit like that if it exists at all) and tell people there that they should stop eating red meat. I reserve the right, however, to voice my opinions on my own platform, even if the phrasing is harsh. I don’t actually dislike red meat, but I was trying to give an analogy of the case we have here.
@@notsteve5927 ppl criticizing him for calling it unhealthy like a cringelord is also fine. You couldn't catch me dead within a mile of a slice of life or cozy anything but calling ppl who enjoy it unhealthy if they like it too much is absolutely ridiculous. I can appreciate that he at no point said he wants to burn and ban all cozy fantasy books, which is bare minimum of civility. but judging ppls qualities and mental health by the media they consume is such bullshit. Straight up on par with someone assuming someone who likes dark fantasy is messed up or violent. Like idk maybe some ppl like cozy fantasy not bc they can't handle conflict but bc they already do handle conflict irl and don't need it (unlike me, who suffers very little conflict irl and conversely craves the worst suffering known to man in fiction) to find a piece of fiction appealing.
Man, I am honestly just baffled by this video. "...if you're really in to cozy fantasy, I don't think you have a healthy relationship with the media you consume," like...really??? I get that you don't like the genre but to put everyone who appreciates it under a blanket statement oozing with such a contemptuous sentiment is just something I did not expect at all. And yes, I do believe that your opinion is both a reach and uncharitable. But hey, maybe I'm just overreacting and cannot, as you say, handle the adversity being levied here LOL.
I was irked by that comment too, thanks for speaking up. I personally love cozy fantasy - NOT because I can't handle adversity but because I'm worn down by it, burnt out, and struggle with depression and anxiety on top of it all every day. So what if a comfort read is about a orc starting a coffee shop? It's a fun and peaceful break from the stress of life. Doesn't mean I don't like fantasy stories on the darker side, most of my book collection are fantasy books (epic, dark, political, etc.), and cozy fantasy has a place alongside them.
So in other words the problem isn’t necessarily that it’s cozy It’s just that there’s no real interesting problems for the characters to solve or go through in these stories. Even in the Kiki’s Delivery Service Ghibli movie their was still some sort of conflict that still kept the cute and cozy vibe. It just seems that many of these cozy writers just don’t know how to write conflict at all or worse they aren’t interested in doing so.
@@juleksz.5785 because a conflict is literally one of the most important elements of a story. No matter the genre, (hell even children's books have it) a story without a conflict has no real direction or reason to read it.
And to avoid misunderstandings, narrative conflict does not automatically mean conflict between people. It can be as simple as "X wants Y but can't get it."
@@loop1786I can see why some people would like reading books with a lack of conflict and just full of cozy vibes. Some just want to disconnect from any sort of problem and that is very valid. It's almost like how many people like playing minecraft in pacifist mode, the only problem you have is how amazing of a house you want to create.
Have you considered that people seek out harmonious media, BECAUSE they need a break from the turmoil in their real life? I don’t read cozy fantasy, but I imagine that some people treat it like relaxing asmr.
Regarding slice of life anime, they are popular because they target a specific demographic: Overworked 20-30 year old japanese office workers. If you come home after a 12 hr shift + commute time you are unlikely to be able to concentrate on something while you are also having dinner and are getting sleepy, hence: they watch something cozy while doing it
Gonna write a "cozy coffeeshop fantasy" novel where the conflict is the characters' coffeeshop getting too popular and struggling to make hundreds of lattes an hour. Saw someone else say that these stories are a very consumer sided view of the service industry, which definitely rings true, having worked at a very busy coffeeshop in downtown Manhattan.
Okay but saying that people who enjoy cozy media must not be able to handle conflict at all is like saying you don’t like cozy media because your attentionspan is so short that you cannot be engaged in a story without it having conflict. People like what they like man. Sometimes I just wanna turn my brain off and immerse myself in a cozy vibe.
I would agree. If i didn't see reviews of some people lambasting cozy authors for "ruining their vibe" with character conflict in their cozy fantasy. 😅 I fully believe that YOU may not have those mental issues, but the general fans of the genre? Absolutely do.
As a person that makes what I would describe as a "cozy fantasy" webcomic, I call it that because I want my readers to feel comfort and feel understood by my work. But that does not mean things have to be conflict-less or "un-fantasy" (where the fantasy only seems to have the function of making the book cover more interesting to look at), or that it can't be dark. I do think that cozy fantasy stems very heavily from studio ghibli films, but I think people forget that there is a lot of dark in those movies, even in more kid-friendly ones like My Neighbor Totoro. It's sad to see, because it feels as though people do use these books as a supplement to real friends, like how there's a large dependence on AI chatbots currently
You gave a pretty inclusive definition of conflict. I would think many of these stories at least have some aspect of psychological conflict, even if it is subtle. After all, many actual literary novels would probably be considered "slice of life." There's also just a lot of reasons to read literature. I mean, a poem doesn't necessarily have conflict, right? You can just admire the writing. Same with prose.
Cozy fantasy serves the exact same purpose as iyashikei anime/manga/novels. They're supposed to be "healing" and calming stories. They mostly emerged in Japan after some tragedies (the metro attacks etc.) as a safe heaven from the unrest of that period in time. I understand not liking them but I think cozy fantasy should be compared to the japanese iyashikei stuff and not to western fantasy as it's not what they're trying to achieve.
I'm sorry to point this out, my dude, but it's spelled "isekai." Not all of the genre is light-hearted, some series like Re:Zero, have some pretty dark themes at times. But it just depends on the series.
@@noahblackburn62no that’s an entirely different fucking genre; iyashikei are very rarely isekai, i think there’s a few about people who get isekai’ed and end up just doing farm things, but it’s an entirely different genre? It’s like mixing up “sekaikei” with isekai (“sekai” means world and “kei” means, like, style or type). I don’t know if there are any sekaikei that are isekai, but Romeo and Juliet is basically a sekaikei work. The big thing about iyashikei that “cozy fantasy” misses out on, though, is the art, as iyashikei mostly works by virtue of being in a visual medium. Worldbuilding would also be useful in these circumstances, as Wikipedia also says that that’s an important bit
"Cannot handle conflict" seems a reach, akin to calling people enjoying fantasy people that cannot handle they don't have meaningful influence on their life and thus want stories where magic exists. Don't do that, it's cringe. Just call it boring, that's really enough, because cozy fantasy is. Boring. no need to diss it with this weird moral grandstanding.
Stop I need to write that fanfiction now. I’ve been addicted to them lately because I recently watched the 90s show for the first time (first time read through too).
@@Ulaclarewrites Did my own draft but it was a Crossover with Konosuba. Basically this is post Griffith, which is to say Farnese and Sherike managed to develop some manner of risky planeswalking spell while Guts and Casca was Boxing with Griffith who was mostly winning. When all seemed lost, Sherike activated the spell, sending Guts' group to the Konosuba setting and three years later, Guts and Casca settles down but now has to deal with Kazuma and his "party" being Nimrods.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, THE AMOUNT OF TIMES IVE TOLD PEOPLE “oh, my favorite series is Terry Pratchetts Discworld” and they proceeded to recommend me Legends and Lattes because it’s cozy, and isn’t the discworld cozy? no…please stop. I’ve read Legends and Lattes and it was ok. Was it anything like the discworld? No. THIS FRUSTRATES ME SO MUCH.
...I would very much not call Discworld "cozy". The books have some great cozy moments, but no way are the books cozy. even the YA Discworld novels aren't really cozy.
I'm my opinion cozies are mystery, romance or paired with something else. That's where the conflict comes from. Or even a character study. Someone's life and you get a message or whatever from it.
It even can be business struggle , if the writers knows enough to include the logistics of a business to show them as issues and frustrations. Doesnt have to be realistic but enough to be clear as, yeah its problems? caan be comedy too i guess if you have fun playing off and absurd situational humor.
@marocat4749 Exactly! ANY story can be written about anything and in any genre (won't mean it'll be good) but with the right conflict it could be a story. There is this one story I wrote when I was like 10? An immortal fire witch with fire wings and a fire scythe were really powerful and won all her fights (with other fire witches) and then was crowned Queen fire witch and was awesome. I found it recently and realized I had written down a story I had created playing with my barbies. It was one big power fantasy, and nothing happened. No problems, isses, story, nothing. The reason they were fighting was to see who became queen in a big tournament. I bring this up because that's what with no conflict is. A series of events that happen. That's the root cause of a lot of the bad book James talks about. What I love is that he sees the potential in the story and points it out.
I find slice of life stories pretty boring but i don't think there's an issue with people being really into it. The fact that I like epic, charismatic heroes overcoming their trauma to stand up for what they believe in doesn't mean that I can handle adversity in my day to day life. Conversely someone who has faced a lot of adversity or who's imagination runs wild at the things in the news might just appreciate a good nothing story. Cosy stories are no worse for their consumers than power fantasies or other escapism IMO
Your reasoning is very myopic on this issue. I don't think I need to elaborate much farther, you're welcome to your tastes but bringing in the idea that one "doesn't have a healthy relationship with what they consume" because it doesn't address adversity is a remedial take.
Prove me wrong: Cozy Fantasy is the same problem/opposite direction of Dark Romance - both have minimal plot, but one has pointlessly dark elements and the other has light-hearted vibes.
i feel like an important part of those generes are the fact that they are just fanfic tropes that seeped into traditional publishing. "coffee au" "fluff" "hurt/comfort" are all extremely popular because it allows to subvert the source material in interesting ways. Everybody in your favorite show is miserable/dead? Stick them in a coffee shop and see them be happy for the first time. Favorite couple feeling too happy? Put them through hell and trauma. The problem of published books is lack of that established source material and thus a lack of subversion, so it becomes boring if characters or plot fail to catch your attention
@@lorenzomeulli750 It's fanfiction. The bar for quality is going to be lower than that of a whole ass book you're expected to buy. To add onto the earlier point, it also means a lot of the heavy lifting is already done. If I go read a fanfic staring my favorite character from a series, the author of said fic doesn't have to bust their rear endearing me to the character, I already care and want to see what happens.
love the idea of cozy fantasy, hate the execution. was so so intrigued by legends and lattes but it was so disappointing to me. like they took a fantasy book, gutted it, and stuffed it with cotton candy and glitter.
I still quite like it when more serious books have _moments_ of cosiness, such as characters having a nice dinner before a battle the next day, or a chat around a campfire. It reminds you what the characters are, on some level, really fighting for.
James: Cozy fantasy is fine if you like them Also James: If you like cozy fantasy, you can't cope with the real world In all seriousness, I think there was more interest in cozy fantasy because of the pandemic. It was a time of uncertainty and people just needed to unwind from the "end of the world" vibe and regular fantasy isn't helping against that fear. I don't think that makes people unwell, they're just tired. Why do you think "Animal Crossing New Horizons" became the biggest game in the series despite being around for nearly 20 years. Fantasy is often used to escape from our boring, stressful, overwhelming lifes. Whether to defeat the demon lord to give your life meaning, learning magic to give people hope or to farm in a peaceful village to escape the world. Cozy fantasy is just one of many fantasy genres out there. Also Kiki delivery service is one of my favorite movies so f you too I guess
Gonna be real. people saying they need cozy fantasy because of 'stress' just seem to not be getting the appeal. Theres something cathartic about reading something which makes you think. 'cozy vibes' can be found in a beam of sunlight, in a painting, in a field, and is at it's least when it isnt saying anything. The point of literature is to say something, and everything is a conflict. People in the modern era live in a tough time, I mean it's a really harsh time to live in, but reading something that makes you think at least gives you something to hang onto, and cozy fantasy gives you something to slip off of, it isn't giving you anything to contemplate. I guess that's the problem with lot's of consumer commercialized literature.
Idk about Kiki the book, but the movie is amazing. All the miyazaki movies are, because they have conflict. Often, life ending conflicts, even if not world ending ones. Too many people are too media illiterate to see it beyond the cozy aesthetic. It's what emphasises the "flavor" of the whole story, having deep themes walking in-hand with the cozy music and art. Overall i agree with you though. Cozy fantasy has a place for specific people, and im happy it exists for them, but if i want mindless fluff, i can read coffee shop AU fanfic for free. It has potential as a genre, but it's also kinda hamstrung by its own fans, who often hate when any of these stories try to have meaningful conflict and end up rating them poorly.
WHA is amazing, I cannot recommend it enough. What makes this manga interesting is that the Mangaka put a lot of thought into the socio-political workings of the world. The conflic comes from the rules put upon magic and witches. The rules are opressive, yes, but you can also see *why* they were made. Fantastic characters and worldbuilding
I literally just finished the first volume of that today. It really does seem like it'll be a cool series and I can't wait to see more of how the magic system works
I dunno. I feel like i might need a follow up on the orc coffee shop book or something to be more convinced that it's an issue, cause this is my first hearing about this trend. i also have a different working definition of conflict because in the case of Kiki, every chapter has like its own very small conflict that is resolved in its own chapter. Finding the toy, or the letter, or finding a place to live. There's no big overarching conflict unless you count whether or not she's making it as a witch and making her family proud. It's definitely more of a theme or character driven narrative than we see in fantasy. I would personally consider it more magical realism but for kids, myself. Much love, regardless. Update: i have done a little more research and feel comfortable saying that it all looks pretty mid to me.
I disagree with the thesis of the video. You're entitled to your opinion obviously, but I think you're missing the point. There's a semi popular genre in Japan which is intended to have very little or no conflict as a way of being healing to the reader. It's not a genre that really exists in America or Europe. (I'm not saying everything Japan makes is automatically good, just that this genre has existed for much longer than it's trended in the west.) 'Cozy fantasy' is likely a response to the feeling of helplessness a lot of people are experiencing right now. It's intended not to be mind numbing, but rather soothing. I personally would argue that it's not exactly fair to judge a genre with a unique purpose from other genres in the same way you would those other genres. There's poorly written fantasy intended to be romance, adventure, or comedy, and there's healing media which has a different intent behind it. It's not a genre I often engage with, but the points in this video seem similar to comparing a drama about the military to a marvel movie and complaining that there's no one liners or bright costumes. (Before anyone comes for that point, I like Marvel movies most of the time. I think they're fun and colorful. Wouldn't want to only watch those for the rest of my life, but I'm not being critical of them here.) As for the remark that people who like cozy fantasy can't handle any sort of conflict, I would argue that they're not incapable, they just don't enjoy it as an addition to their normal lives. I live in a generally warm climate and like cold showers, but if I lived in a colder one I might prefer a warmer shower, I might not. It's fine to hold whatever opinion you do, it's not hurting anyone, but it does come off as judgmental and to me implies you view enjoying cozy fantasy as something babyish. Additionally just to acknowledge it, the 'cozy' genre in general where there's little to no conflict at all is a popular genre among people dealing with recent loss and trauma, so even without the points above, I would argue it has its place. I don't want to see it suffocate other fantasy any more than you do, but I also disagree that its existence at all is pointless.
But slice of life s usually still having a plot even if its very light, and can have themes, and character stuff. From what i get from anime that slice of life have decent characte rconflicts or are educative. and seem often either comedy or romance. or romcom-sitcom style which still. Ok slice of life often eventually get a plot or have conflict too, whatever that be.
@@marocat4749 I don't understand what you're trying to say because you've worded it in a way I find difficult to read. I'm also unsure which part of what I said you're responding to. I think you're trying to say that slice of life as a genre usually still has conflict, is educational, or features romance or comedy. I don't know what that's responding to from what I said, because slice of life is not the same thing as the described 'cozy fantasy'. What I'm referring to is called iyashikei (癒し系) and has the specific intention of having almost no conflict, which is different from Slice of Life which is intended to be generally realistic looks into a character's life or characters' lives. (In this context 'realistic' refers to making sense within the provided context, a fantasy or sci-fi slice of life can and does exist.) The key difference to me is that in Slice of Life the problems faced by its characters are realistic within the context of the world they're in and can range from a vending machine habitually refusing their bills because they're too wrinkly to having their dog put down because it's sick. Iyashikei as a genre goes out of its way to minimize its conflict to the characters' biggest problems being closer to the vending machine end, because it's intended to be a relief from real world stresses closer to the dog end. Sorry if it wasn't clear in my initial comment that I was not talking about Slice of Life.
Really do wish that people would accept that some genres just aren’t for them… 😅it’s fine to not like cozy fantasy, I can understand that it might be boring to some, but judging it as a whole is dumb. I, myself, don’t read cozy fantasy often but genuinely - some times I just don’t want to read conflict. It’s similar to how occasionally I’ll open up one of my books and read only the parts I like, which I’ve come to notice aren’t the moments of conflict. It’s often just the characters having down time, being cute or comfortable with each other. Maybe it’s also because I have some anger issues linked to my trauma, but I feel WAY too deeply to any sort of conflict, and some times I’m just not in the mood to provoke myself. Some times the fantasy is literally just being able to explore a fantasy setting with minimal (or even no) stakes lol.
But if it's light, why not make it a character study or comedy? If it can really be broken down to "characters just existing" that can be had by staring at a Low-Fi pixelart background. Honestly, people just hanging out and chatting, in a fantasy or sci-fi setting, is something I'd use as a character setup before a dramatic (and probably bloody) turn.
I respect your opinion but I love cozy fantasy because it’s safe. You know nothing really terrible is going to happen and that’s really calming on my nervous system. I suffer from tremors and things with to much adrenaline can trigger an episode. This genre is very helpful for me as safe media consumption. I never read the book though so I can’t speak on that.
Cosy fantasy is something which has potential, but is too often used to excuse lazy or inconsistent worldbuilding. I liked the concept of 'Can't spell Treason without Tea' but there wasn't a good structure to compensate for a lack of tension.
a beautifully illustrated anime doesn’t have to have anything happening. the eye candy alone is enough for anime lovers. some people don’t really even read comics, they collect the beautifully illustrated releases. i think the literary version of this would be a book that’s written beautifully? but nobody writes beautifully anymore.
I think I understand the potential appeal of comfy fantasy, but: 1. I need high stakes in fantasy. 2. Tropes like the Chosen One are comfy fantasy to me. 3. I think it works well for short stories. Not longer works.
7:11 considering youre literally saying people who enjoy cute books about fantasy people just vibing "dont have a healthy relationship with the media they consume" and "cant handel confict" pretty much just bc *you* dont like that style of story, yea, very uncharitable. You do realize that people can like both cozy and non cozy fiction right? Or that maybe people want something calming considering all of the conflict and strife they might deal with day to day? Gee, i wonder if liking violent, grimdark stories says anything about a person or if its just cute stories about orcs getting coffee that suggest personal failings to you
I always pick up cozy fantasies after finishing a big series or a very serious book. Its a nice pallet clenser for me, but I agree it can be very bland on its own.
I think you are being harsh on people who enjoy cozy fantasy. Having a non-challenging read once in a while, or when real life is too much is totally fine. We all have games we chill out with or tv shows we just throw on to de-stress. It's just when that comes at the exclusion of everything else, when you read only cozy stuff that you start to miss out on the full range of experiences that fantasy can provide. Also fully agree with cozy and romantacy books choking out the fantasy shelves.
I feel divided about this topic. For once, I find slice of life inherently boring. It feels as if it should be newspaper mandatory cartoons, but they are not. I don't understand the idea of having eight volumes of highschool girls cooking breakfast or smth. Likewise, I don't get the point of doing fantasy, especially high fantasy to not use the setting. What is the point of creating a world where orcs exist, for the story be about gardening. Feels like a waste of setting. Why make it the Shire where it could as well be rural Wales or any place with plant space really. Also, it feels strangely like Fanfic feeling too ashame to be itself, that it tries to be a genre. Although, at the time it isn't really that. Since in fanfic, thematic like coffee AU, university au and Sick ficks are common. Nevertheless, the draw in fanfic is the characters, and the divergence between cannon and fannon. Not to mention, fanfic is meant to be at least partially self indulgent. However, this video also feels like that one negative review of Pride and Prejudice that said "It is just a bunch of rich people hanging out." In a sense, the reviewer was correct, but I think that is missing the point of P&P both in a thematic and genre sense. In addition, while I find this genre extremely wasteful, I feel I am not being fair. I have liked novels, respected novels, where the conflict is almost secondary. I like "The Unbearable Lightness of Being" where things, in a matter of speaking, just happen. There is conflict, but it is secondary to the thematic thesis of the novel. Its focus is not for conflict to be solved in the third act structure, despite kinda following one.
>Likewise, I don't get the point of doing fantasy, especially high fantasy to not use the setting. What is the point of creating a world where orcs exist, for the story be about gardening. Feels like a waste of setting. Why make it the Shire where it could as well be rural Wales or any place with plant space really And i don't get why you thing like that. Gardening itself isn't more interesting just because somewhere are orcs, sure, but setting itself does. If I would have to pck between 8 volumes of girls coocking or 8 volumes of girls coocking but in fantasy/sci-fi world, i would pick the second one, 100% of time.
@juleksz.5785 Well, if I had to do the analogy, it has the same energy as when people say England colonizes half the world for spices, only to do the most bland food imaginable. Fantasy as a genre leads writer to create interesting worlds and cultures that are beyond comprehension. Explore themes both in a meta and philosophical level. However, that most interesting thing this writer could write is someone doing eggs and sausages in a cottage? But, isn't it wacky and cool that instead of chicken eggs and pig sausage, it is dragons egg and wild boar sausage? Not really, because it is still just eggs and sausages. It doesn't even try to explore wider themes. It is just vibes. I could as well do it at home or watch some fancy cooking at UA-cam.
My problem with cozy fantasy is that it doesn't fit with what I want to write. I prefer stories with tension, action, and angst. I like to make my characters suffer, and you can't do that with cozy fiction. Of course, if somebody likes cozy fantasy, that's fine. It's just not my taste.
This is an interesting take, and I'm almost curious now to read legends and lattes. I've heard so many good things about it, but when I read the synopsis, I was less than thrilled. As a challenge, and as someone who wants to write for kids, I entered a short story contest for cozy fantasy. Even though they stressed "low stakes" in the requirements, I had a difficult time lowering the stakes and managed to keep the conflict as "cozy" as possible... The brownies didn't get baked or their heads bashed in.
I feel like your echoing a sentiment I’ve heard by Brandon Sanderson, apparently a lot of his early work were epic worlds but no conflict. His friends begged him to put an actual conflict in his worlds
I don't think stories inherently need central conflicts to be a "good" story. I've read novellas that are just loose vignettes of a person's life with the only thread bein the characters, settings, themes, and the emotional narrative that acts as a through-line weaving the story together. The idea that a story must be structured around this tangible goal that the plot and characters must advance towards is fine but not the ONLY way a story has to be told to be good. Loose narratives that are focused on incidental events in life have just as much artistic value as a Hero's Journey structured story. Also, when you say Japanese novels are low on word count and less detailed, are you referring specifically to Light Novels? LNs are written with less prose depth compared to other Japanese novels since their intended for a younger demographic with less free time (see: the Japanese School System) so the word count is lower. I don't think Japansese novels are all inherently less verbose then western novels. Also, on the note of "people like cozy fantasy because they can't handle real world problems", do you realize the world is pretty shitty right now? Of course people want light, conflict-minimal media. The world is suffering. Shitty economy, Crazy inflation, No ability to get a home for most young people, Genocide , Climate Change, Second Trump term!! Why would the masses torture themselves by reading entertainment that further plagues them in misery. People who flock to this genre are seeking relief. There's nothing inherently wrong with that since there still is, and has always been, more heavy media that you would prefer. It's unnecessary judgements to assume everyone who enjoys stories that are light on conflict are only doing so because they are weak people.Some people do read stories mostly for character interaction, so a genre that priorities that over other elements are a niche worth catering to. They're a market who exists. Also, what differentiates a slice-of-life anime from any western animated sitcom that's just young pleople doing regular stuff like going to school? Heck, most live action sitcoms are just regular people doing regular boring things with jokes. No character development or world-building either. Why is this story structure only bad when it's anime?
I think cozy should be a descriptor, not a genre. But my life is currently crap and full of stress... A bit of escapism to a world without all that pain and stress can be comforting.
It's like those tweets where the person is like, "I want a horror film where instead of going to the creepy cabin in the woods, the protagonist instead goes to get coffee and falls in love." Like bro???
But let the loved one be a bad person, slowly and methodically ruining the person and his life until he's just a walking, talking(well, weeping) husk of its former self. That can be at least horrifying
I think it still has its place though. Because I think slower and more slice of life stories are a nice reprieve, especially if you’re into heavy worldbuilding or heavy topics. I think it just depends on what you’re looking for. It doesn’t necessarily mean that the book is bad, but it just means that it may not be the right book for you at the right time. Or it may not even be your type of comfort book that’s OK too😊
6:30 Legends of Latte do have some conflict, but it results with watered down story with needles action that was quite poorly written, in result, making the book overall worse. 6:55 And what’s the point of conflict? 7:00 „If You’re into cosy fantasy, i don’t believe You have a healthy relationship, with the media You consume.” 7:20 „People just cannot handle any sort of conflict in real life and none in their fiction” -Why liking cosy settings means to You that someone automaticly dislikes media with conflict in them? And how liking it means that you have an unhealthy aversion to conflict? My shelves are filled with violent, dystopian and unpleasand (settign wise) books, but that doesn’t change the fact that Steam Sale Girl, CoffeTalk, or Legends Latte were pleasand to engage with (ok, maybe not LL, but you get the point). 7:45 „Cosy fantasy has nothing to get attached to” -It has characters for example. And the story. And its setting. Generally sepaking it has exactly the same stuff as Eragon, Discworld, or Witcher. 7:50 „It’s like, it is literally equivalent of slice of life” -Yes. They are both cosy genre. You've just scored Nat20 on Diff4 perception check. 8:00 „They’re not struggling with anything” „There’s nothing interesting to get into. No interesting characterisation or character development, no interesting worldbuilding or action.” All of this things may or may not be in the story, no matter the genre. 8:15 „No plot of any sorts” -That’s blatand lie. It’ hard to find worldbuilding pieces that don’t have any sort of story inside them, let alone story-driven piece of media. 8:35 „What’s even the point” -Pleasure. You might like scenes of tortures, others maylike scenes of petting doggos, sipping wine next to chimney or going out with friends. 8:45 „Pretending to have a bunch of friends” -…Is absolutely fine and there is nothing wrong with it. Same as pretending to be a world saving hero, beloved by the people, riding on top of a dragon in hug with love interest.
I think it's interesting that conflict-free stories are not only A Thing, but actually popular. Maybe it's not a necessary ingredient after all? Which writing rule should we try breaking next? I wanna see what a character-free story looks like. Anyway, James. Jimbo. Buddy. Accusing the cozy enjoyers of having an unhealthy relationship with their media is right up there with accusing videogames of causing violence. Come on now.
I like the concept of cozy fantasy, but they are badly written. However something slow and more personnal would be great with internal/societal conflicts
I haven't read anything that I'd classify as cozy fantasy, but I know and like some slice of life stories. The staple of slice of life is it's low stakes, not the absence of conflict. I suspect it's the same with cozy fantasy. If it's boring it's just badly written. Epic fantasy has plenty of stories that have world-ending threats to overcome, but are still boring.
i've never liked kiki's delivery service, ever since i was a kid, and could never understand why the people around me loved it. it always left me feeling uncomfortable and upset, and i could never figure out why. i think you've really hit the nail on the head and put into words something i'd been feelinng for a long while
My favorite quotes from this video: "What's even the point? It's like the literary equivalent of slice of life anime. You ever watched that crap? I have, unfortunately." "Throne of Glass became porn partway through, but there were characters. With like, personalities in there. They weren't likable characters, with likable personalities, but they were characters, so..." Perfectly summarizes how I feel.
I think these "rogue" genres like cozy fantasy and slice of life anime were originally borne out of a desire to combat the three-act structure most stories take, with varying degrees of success. Globally, there's also the fact that we're gradually descending into fascism and the sense that the end times are close. People want a safe space where they can escape and don't have to confront the horrifying dystopia that we find ourselves in. While I'm not one of those who enjoy cozy fantasy, I understand that they don't want have to read suffering or conflict in fantasy because there's already so much suffering in the real world. Because of that, I have to disagree with your take that people who enjoy cozy fantasy have an inherently unhealthy relationship with the media they consume. Again, I don't enjoy these genres either. That doesn't give you free rein to yuck other people's yum 😆😆😆
I haven't read cozy fantasy (outside anime), for what I heard I feel it wants to do worldbuilding exposition while making you feel good with character driven little plots. It's about making the reader feel they are in a magical place and they get to enjoy daily life tasks in a less gray world. Maybe. Its just speculation. I know some who would just call it self help literature disguised as fantasy.
Honestly, I love cosy fantasy, but most writers get it wrong, because there needs to be some conflict, like in Kiki's delivery service, which is one of my favourite cosy fantasies of all time. Though I mostly read cosy fantasy to get myself out of reading slumps.
Even in anime and manga, Slice of Life is already a tiring genre. It was fresh twenty years ago. I remember people praised certain books or series because it did not have any conflict just like real life. Now the market is over-saturated. I still enjoy a lot of work in this genre. Good stories are good with or without conflict. But having no conflict as a strong point of your book does not cut it any more.
Slice of life usually does have conflict since its paired with surreal/absurd comedy or drama between the characters (although when done poorly the drama just feels forced like a sitcom comedy). Only two slice of life I've found interesting are The Way of the Househusband and Azumanga Daioh.
Gonna argue slightly as a slice of life enjoyer. It really depends. Bad slice of life is exactly that very boring and absolutely shit. Good slice of life has conflicts and stuff it's just more grounded. What makes it work is having interesting characters and a setting youre enjoying existing in. The plots might be more episodic or the conflicts might be smaller more moment to moment things. But low stakes doesn't necessarily mean no stakes. Like, oh I need to earn enough money to buy a guitar to join a band. Low stakes. However what I do to earn the money what sorts of things I choose not to do, that's the meat. It'll change based on my character and the tone of the story I'm in. If I just got the money and bought a guitar theres no story. Can't speak for cozy fantasy but in a good slice of life anime the who. what, and how is still very important. The worst slice of life moe shows ive seen tend to just kinda present you with moe and slice or life and just expect you to care. Gotta find the people going through the situations interesting. And they've gotta be engaging even in mundane settings. I vaguely referenced K-on! earlier. It's one of the best slice of life comedies. It's about a ditzy girl who goes to high school determines not to just be an uninvolved loner and join a club. She slacks off until stumbling across her more go gitter classmate and that classmates shy best friend who want to start a music club but need a third member to before becoming official. They eventually add a friendly rich girl who just wants to experience life outside her bubble and a straight laced under classman who whose father is a musician who gets constantly frustrated by the gang's goofing off. They're all different brands of good meaning idiot and their personalities mix and march with each other and the other characters that plots like dealing with a heat wave or going on a school trip are interesting because you like the characters. You've got a lot of stock school anime plots: school festival, going to a temple on a holiday, starting a club, summer vacation, going to the beach or a hot spring, etc etc but while they're familiar settings the tone and characters kinda set the direction. Going to a beach house in K-on! means moe fun and goofs and gags. In Toradora it'll start there but quickly evolve into heartbreak
Thing worh all of this is that there's that secret sauce to making something land and I don't know what it really is how do you make your characters engaging enough in a low stakes setting? Sometimes you make those low stakes feel as high as the world ending stakes. Oh you tried your big romantic confession but it fell flat because of some trauma in the love interest's life? That might have the same stakes as a character getting a fist put though his chest before stopping the villain from doing something evil. Thing with more cozy genres is that you need to achieve thar sort of engagement without these wrought emotional highs and lows. That's way harder.
Maybe I’m thinking about it wrong but why would I want to read about someone hanging out at a coffee shop when I could just…..hang out at a coffee shop???
I read Legends and Lattes last month and hated it. So many of the “conflicts” in the story are resolved so easily that it was like reading the Berenstain Bears. Obviously everyone is entitled to what they like, but it’s not for me.
You should look into bear bear bear Kuma. It takes cozy fantasy and unintentionally makes the main character into a completely terrible person and tries to pass it off as wholesome. It's the best example of why cozy fantasy is bad.
So it has the same issue of poorly done dark fantasy: why fight? In dark fantasy (when done poorly) the actions of those who fight seem meaningless and hopeless and with no reason other than suffering. In cozy fantasy, by the sounds of it, why fight when you can put your feet up on the table? By the sounds of it one could feasibly have the Norf FC meme dream with the option of getting into a wrestling match. It is in pain, in adversity, in suffering, one finds oneself. You can cry, you can beg, you can roar, you can thrash, it's true. There's an old Taoist poem, I believe from Tao te Ching. "When the great Way collapses, there is true humanity. When there is disunity at home, there is true loyalty. When there is chaos in the nation, there is true patriotism." I think that applies to this here. There is no true loyalty, as there is no chaos. There is no humanity as there is no cruelty. There is no patriotism, as there is no disloyalty. There must be hatred for there to be love. There must be war for one to appreciate peace. For there to be friends there must be enemies. Cozy fantasy, as described, seems like the way to chaos delayed
Sometimes the fantasy really is to have no problems and just be content with life. Can't say that people who like cozy fantasy only likes cozy fantasy... I don't know them. I like cozy fantasy and action anything so thinking in the only one is silly.
a lot of cozy fantasy just feels like the equivalent of pinterest/tumblr moodboard things; all aesthetic no substance. I think it's okay to want to "play it safe" with reading but it's also essential to learn ~things~ even if those topics/ideas make us uncomfortable. Feeling uncomfortable is not an inherently a bad thing but can be a sign of growth/willingness to reflect.
Cozy needs to be paired with something else to keep it entertaining at least for me. Maybe I’m too action or plot oriented in my brain but I can’t watch something thats just relaxing and nothing else. You know what I think it might just be my ADHD to be fair
That's what I thought cozy fantasy was, just slice of life stuffs set in fantasy worlds. It's for the vibes. No conflict, no stakes, just a couple goblins kickin it doing goblin things. Not for me at all. My idea of a cozy read is Stephen King, so this whole trend of cozy (insert genre) isn't something I'll ever be into, but I can see how after having a long rough day, you might come home and want to jump into a "story" with no conflict and just vibes. I don't think it has anything to do with outright avoiding adversity or claiming ppl who enjoy cozy fantasy can't also enjoy Abercrombie or Sanderson on a different day. It's a mood thing from what I've gathered.
This doesn't make people like the books you like, if anything it drives them off because who wants to be lectured on how you're wrong and hate fun for having a critique of something. I've seen needless negativity but this ain't it chief.
@@LadyAsteria58 that's exactly what this channel is doing in this video. He said if you're into a cozy fantasy then you can't handle conflict well and don't have healthy relationship with the media you consume
With the type of cozy you’re describing, I like it but I can’t binge read it. I think it fits well with the webcomic/webnovel/magazine release where you get 1 chapter a week/month. Or as side stories/ bonus chapters to an already existing store. I see this a lot in manga and light novels where you’ll get a couple of pages of the characters just doing normal things
The problem is the writers think that cozy fantasy should mean no conflict (not even down to earth) and no stakes. They don’t seem to think they can have low stakes and tension in a cozy fantasy. They assume that cozy fantasy doesn’t deserve low conflict or interesting characters.
While I am personally not into cozy fantasy (I‘m a.classic epic fantasy person) Indo understand why someone would be. With the world getting worse seemingly every day simply having an escape into something…nice for a change can be something people would look for. This is also why I don‘t understand the appeal of „grimdark“. Why would I want to read grimdark when I can get grimdark by just watching the news?
Im glad I'm not the only one who hates this trend. I knew the pendulum would swing the opposite direction after the end of grimdark's long reign in the late 2010s, but not this drastically so soon. Can't stand that stuff. The genre's really going to the dogs with this double attack of cozy and romantacy.
Maybe, with more examples, more books citaded, the video would be less general... About people not knowing how to deal with conflicts, that seems ambiguous. Like, yes, there may be people who want to avoid conflict at all costs, and yes, this literature can be educational and numbing on this issue. Just as it can be a reflection of people who are already too surrounded by political, economic and environmental conflicts and crisis to want to deal with more of that in entertainment. I haven't read this literature to give an opinion on it. But I remember playing a cozy literature game, Coffee Talk. While it was relaxing, it didn't ignore personal dramas and raised questions about racism, so I always believe in “how it's done” and what kind of conflicts we're talking about. Existing is already an open door to having conflicts with ourselves and others.
Lazy might be right as, Kikis delivery service is having the ongoing plot of burnout, which , isnt lazy. the movie? But yeah there has to be some conflict, that kinda plays into it. Or at a very interesting backdrop. and that creating a fun contrast and parallel coming together? Or have connflict, any conflict, whatver that may be? It can be cute or funny or, every day? What can be really good could be done be cozy and ease into, till ther comes up characte conflicts, , past that they have protect that found family proably they got. Be it some debt collector or, a vengeful dark lord or, a complaining customer or bad business? From what i heard csffee and latte could have been way more in the difficulties of opening a cafe and getting support and having to be resourceful and growing in that skills with the business partner? What someone mentions, Terrry pratchet mentioned does a lot, does take his knowledge from a lot and translates it into fantasy but still human. Terrry pratchet isnt cozy fantasy but its comfy , and has conflicts. Like making real life conflicts that are frustrating into fantasy ones genuinly is intersting and , yeah openin a business has many struggles that, should be more hitting. harder, personal issues, maybe fighting with business partner. Maybe the coffe source ran dry and logistics and finances. Also thr characters really have to be good and play each othe roff and have room fo conflict while being not one dimensional or too bad. Idk, sitcom rules thsat still have conflicts? or characte studies. like a magical IRS could be pretty interesting.
I totally agree!! I also find that this is an issue with some "cozy" isekai stuff, the MC just goes into another world and is so OP that there is no conflict at all and its so boring
The only cozy fantasy I read was Legends and Lattes and saying there's conflict in that book is very generous. Most problems the protagonist had with opening the shop would be solved the very next chapter if not in the same one and sometimes leaned on children's logic. I didn't expect an epic adventure but I was expecting a lot more than what was there
My problem is theres all this legends and lattes, and dungeon crawler carl...but i cant find any real books about dungeon crawling like in an rpg with wizards and thieves. If anyone can reccomend me please do
Learning how different our tastes are just makes me want to recommend more books to see what the outcome is. Its a mystery every time.
We should trade recommendations and see what happens.
The two of you should have a baby see the baby's taste
@@JamesTullos @danielgreenereviews - I would watch BOTH of those recap videos!!
@@AsIfItNeverWas 🤨
In a landscape filled with insincere critics, be it the “Im a Fan of Property Ergo it must be good” or the “I didn’t really watched/played/read it but let me tell you about how it’s woke garbage like everything else”, I cannot but have utmost respect for people like James who just put their sincere opinions no matter how popular, and actually do the leg work in laying out why they think as they do. Adam from YMS also comes to mind (even though god knows how he can get mad salty); I have massive disagreements with many things both said - But the mere fact that I can look at those and go “yep, that’s an opinion that passes the Turing Test, no algorithm informed it” makes me stop and listen.
Books are for people to enjoy. If some people enjoy cozy fluffy no-conflict-just-comfort books -- then it's ok. Calling it "unhealthy" is a bit arrogant (and cringeworthy)
I'm not really into cozy fantasy myself, but I can imagine why some peoply would be. So why not let all the flowers bloom? (Idk if there's an idiom like that in English, but I hope my translation can do)
I don’t think that at any point James said that no one should enjoy them. He simply stated his personal opinion. Don’t make this into “oh, so you hate apples then huh” kind of discussion.
@@notsteve5927 He did say, paraphrasing, that it's an unhealthy relationship with media. (I'm not upset at him or anything by the way, just clarifying)
@@notsteve5927 James said, word to word, „If You’re into cosy fantasy, i don’t believe You have a healthy relationship, with the media You consume.” and „People just cannot handle any sort of conflict in real life and none in their fiction”
He directly said that if you're into cosy medium (or 'shit' medium, as he described it), then there is something seriously wrogn with you. And he said that in a way that no matter what other medias you consume, liking cosy at all makes you that.
He did voice his opinion harshly, yes, but at no point he said people shouldn’t read it.
I don’t understand people who eat red meat. It is proven to be carcinogenic, it is generally unhealthy for your gut, and I think there is something wrong with people who prefer red meat over white meat. Does that mean that I hate red meat and would prefer to ban it altogether so no one can eat it? No. I also will not go to something like r/redmeatlovers (or some subreddit like that if it exists at all) and tell people there that they should stop eating red meat. I reserve the right, however, to voice my opinions on my own platform, even if the phrasing is harsh.
I don’t actually dislike red meat, but I was trying to give an analogy of the case we have here.
@@notsteve5927 ppl criticizing him for calling it unhealthy like a cringelord is also fine. You couldn't catch me dead within a mile of a slice of life or cozy anything but calling ppl who enjoy it unhealthy if they like it too much is absolutely ridiculous. I can appreciate that he at no point said he wants to burn and ban all cozy fantasy books, which is bare minimum of civility. but judging ppls qualities and mental health by the media they consume is such bullshit. Straight up on par with someone assuming someone who likes dark fantasy is messed up or violent.
Like idk maybe some ppl like cozy fantasy not bc they can't handle conflict but bc they already do handle conflict irl and don't need it (unlike me, who suffers very little conflict irl and conversely craves the worst suffering known to man in fiction) to find a piece of fiction appealing.
Man, I am honestly just baffled by this video. "...if you're really in to cozy fantasy, I don't think you have a healthy relationship with the media you consume," like...really??? I get that you don't like the genre but to put everyone who appreciates it under a blanket statement oozing with such a contemptuous sentiment is just something I did not expect at all. And yes, I do believe that your opinion is both a reach and uncharitable.
But hey, maybe I'm just overreacting and cannot, as you say, handle the adversity being levied here LOL.
I was irked by that comment too, thanks for speaking up.
I personally love cozy fantasy - NOT because I can't handle adversity but because I'm worn down by it, burnt out, and struggle with depression and anxiety on top of it all every day. So what if a comfort read is about a orc starting a coffee shop? It's a fun and peaceful break from the stress of life. Doesn't mean I don't like fantasy stories on the darker side, most of my book collection are fantasy books (epic, dark, political, etc.), and cozy fantasy has a place alongside them.
So in other words the problem isn’t necessarily that it’s cozy It’s just that there’s no real interesting problems for the characters to solve or go through in these stories. Even in the Kiki’s Delivery Service Ghibli movie their was still some sort of conflict that still kept the cute and cozy vibe. It just seems that many of these cozy writers just don’t know how to write conflict at all or worse they aren’t interested in doing so.
What's wrogn about there not baing a conflict?
@@juleksz.5785 because a conflict is literally one of the most important elements of a story. No matter the genre, (hell even children's books have it) a story without a conflict has no real direction or reason to read it.
@@juleksz.5785 *_EVERYTHING_*
And to avoid misunderstandings, narrative conflict does not automatically mean conflict between people. It can be as simple as "X wants Y but can't get it."
@@loop1786I can see why some people would like reading books with a lack of conflict and just full of cozy vibes. Some just want to disconnect from any sort of problem and that is very valid. It's almost like how many people like playing minecraft in pacifist mode, the only problem you have is how amazing of a house you want to create.
When edgy misses it becomes comedy. When comfy misses it's just boring.
Somehow seeing someone hating on the cozy genre, it makes me want to write some, but make it good instead.
In other words: Challenge accepted!
@@HannesRadke Go for it, I'm rooting for your success.
@@JamesTullos I'm just a humble Webtoon Original grunt, atm. If they also buy my next pitch, I might get a chance.
@@HannesRadkeNice to see you here ❤
@@JamesTullosreview Anne of green gables it’s a classic kids book that’s mainly made of vignettes, that do come together to tell a bigger story
Have you considered that people seek out harmonious media, BECAUSE they need a break from the turmoil in their real life?
I don’t read cozy fantasy, but I imagine that some people treat it like relaxing asmr.
Regarding slice of life anime, they are popular because they target a specific demographic: Overworked 20-30 year old japanese office workers. If you come home after a 12 hr shift + commute time you are unlikely to be able to concentrate on something while you are also having dinner and are getting sleepy, hence: they watch something cozy while doing it
@@kris1123259exactly. I like it in doses but it's like too much sugar, you start feeling nauseous.
Gonna write a "cozy coffeeshop fantasy" novel where the conflict is the characters' coffeeshop getting too popular and struggling to make hundreds of lattes an hour. Saw someone else say that these stories are a very consumer sided view of the service industry, which definitely rings true, having worked at a very busy coffeeshop in downtown Manhattan.
Or a magical restaurant with all the kitchen politics and substance abuse of a lot of real restaurants.
Cozy fantasy is useful as a palette cleanser between much heavier reads. Low stakes is very calming after a sea of trauma and death.
@Rock-Child i never said the other books were fantasy. Nor did I say why I was reading them. You make a lot assumptions
@@kohakuaiko Oh, sorry about that.
@@Rock-Child I think this is the first apology I've received in the comments.
Apology gladly accepted. You have my respect
Okay but saying that people who enjoy cozy media must not be able to handle conflict at all is like saying you don’t like cozy media because your attentionspan is so short that you cannot be engaged in a story without it having conflict. People like what they like man. Sometimes I just wanna turn my brain off and immerse myself in a cozy vibe.
I would agree. If i didn't see reviews of some people lambasting cozy authors for "ruining their vibe" with character conflict in their cozy fantasy. 😅 I fully believe that YOU may not have those mental issues, but the general fans of the genre? Absolutely do.
As a person that makes what I would describe as a "cozy fantasy" webcomic, I call it that because I want my readers to feel comfort and feel understood by my work. But that does not mean things have to be conflict-less or "un-fantasy" (where the fantasy only seems to have the function of making the book cover more interesting to look at), or that it can't be dark. I do think that cozy fantasy stems very heavily from studio ghibli films, but I think people forget that there is a lot of dark in those movies, even in more kid-friendly ones like My Neighbor Totoro. It's sad to see, because it feels as though people do use these books as a supplement to real friends, like how there's a large dependence on AI chatbots currently
Kiki’s Delivery Service gets really dark post timeskip where she’s used her dark magic to enslave an entire kingdom and goes mad with power.
That's called wandavision bro
You gave a pretty inclusive definition of conflict. I would think many of these stories at least have some aspect of psychological conflict, even if it is subtle. After all, many actual literary novels would probably be considered "slice of life."
There's also just a lot of reasons to read literature. I mean, a poem doesn't necessarily have conflict, right? You can just admire the writing. Same with prose.
Cozy fantasy serves the exact same purpose as iyashikei anime/manga/novels. They're supposed to be "healing" and calming stories. They mostly emerged in Japan after some tragedies (the metro attacks etc.) as a safe heaven from the unrest of that period in time. I understand not liking them but I think cozy fantasy should be compared to the japanese iyashikei stuff and not to western fantasy as it's not what they're trying to achieve.
I'm sorry to point this out, my dude, but it's spelled "isekai." Not all of the genre is light-hearted, some series like Re:Zero, have some pretty dark themes at times. But it just depends on the series.
@@noahblackburn62no that’s an entirely different fucking genre; iyashikei are very rarely isekai, i think there’s a few about people who get isekai’ed and end up just doing farm things, but it’s an entirely different genre? It’s like mixing up “sekaikei” with isekai (“sekai” means world and “kei” means, like, style or type). I don’t know if there are any sekaikei that are isekai, but Romeo and Juliet is basically a sekaikei work. The big thing about iyashikei that “cozy fantasy” misses out on, though, is the art, as iyashikei mostly works by virtue of being in a visual medium. Worldbuilding would also be useful in these circumstances, as Wikipedia also says that that’s an important bit
@@noahblackburn62 I'm sorry to point this out, my dude, but "iyashikei" and "isekai" are two completely different genres of fiction. Google it.
"Cannot handle conflict" seems a reach, akin to calling people enjoying fantasy people that cannot handle they don't have meaningful influence on their life and thus want stories where magic exists.
Don't do that, it's cringe. Just call it boring, that's really enough, because cozy fantasy is. Boring. no need to diss it with this weird moral grandstanding.
I just need a cozy fantasy fanfic of guts and casca so I can pretend it’s canon
Stop I need to write that fanfiction now. I’ve been addicted to them lately because I recently watched the 90s show for the first time (first time read through too).
@@Ulaclarewrites
Did my own draft but it was a Crossover with Konosuba. Basically this is post Griffith, which is to say Farnese and Sherike managed to develop some manner of risky planeswalking spell while Guts and Casca was Boxing with Griffith who was mostly winning. When all seemed lost, Sherike activated the spell, sending Guts' group to the Konosuba setting and three years later, Guts and Casca settles down but now has to deal with Kazuma and his "party" being Nimrods.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, THE AMOUNT OF TIMES IVE TOLD PEOPLE “oh, my favorite series is Terry Pratchetts Discworld” and they proceeded to recommend me Legends and Lattes because it’s cozy, and isn’t the discworld cozy? no…please stop. I’ve read Legends and Lattes and it was ok. Was it anything like the discworld? No. THIS FRUSTRATES ME SO MUCH.
...I would very much not call Discworld "cozy". The books have some great cozy moments, but no way are the books cozy. even the YA Discworld novels aren't really cozy.
@ seriously, Mr Maurice and his educated rodents was so vivid, I was quite shocked when I found out it was a “kids novel”
@@sevenlayer_dip Yeah, I know what you mean. Even when writing kids book Pratchett didn't hold back much.
To be fair Pratchett and Douglas Adams are in a class of their own
I'm my opinion cozies are mystery, romance or paired with something else. That's where the conflict comes from. Or even a character study. Someone's life and you get a message or whatever from it.
It even can be business struggle , if the writers knows enough to include the logistics of a business to show them as issues and frustrations. Doesnt have to be realistic but enough to be clear as, yeah its problems?
caan be comedy too i guess if you have fun playing off and absurd situational humor.
@marocat4749 Exactly! ANY story can be written about anything and in any genre (won't mean it'll be good) but with the right conflict it could be a story. There is this one story I wrote when I was like 10? An immortal fire witch with fire wings and a fire scythe were really powerful and won all her fights (with other fire witches) and then was crowned Queen fire witch and was awesome. I found it recently and realized I had written down a story I had created playing with my barbies. It was one big power fantasy, and nothing happened. No problems, isses, story, nothing. The reason they were fighting was to see who became queen in a big tournament. I bring this up because that's what with no conflict is. A series of events that happen. That's the root cause of a lot of the bad book James talks about. What I love is that he sees the potential in the story and points it out.
I can agree with this. Most understand and have more dynamic plotline to wrap the coziness around.
I find slice of life stories pretty boring but i don't think there's an issue with people being really into it. The fact that I like epic, charismatic heroes overcoming their trauma to stand up for what they believe in doesn't mean that I can handle adversity in my day to day life. Conversely someone who has faced a lot of adversity or who's imagination runs wild at the things in the news might just appreciate a good nothing story. Cosy stories are no worse for their consumers than power fantasies or other escapism IMO
I’m quite the opposite. I find epic stories boring or not as great as slice of life. Yet I prefer my cozy fantasy to have low stakes.
Your reasoning is very myopic on this issue. I don't think I need to elaborate much farther, you're welcome to your tastes but bringing in the idea that one "doesn't have a healthy relationship with what they consume" because it doesn't address adversity is a remedial take.
This.
Yeah that alone basically ensures I won't be subbing or engaging with his content, that's such an arrogant bastardly thing to say
I like cozy fantasy as light hearted mindless fun. It’s the mental version of marshmallow fluff. It’s nice when I’m sad.
Prove me wrong: Cozy Fantasy is the same problem/opposite direction of Dark Romance - both have minimal plot, but one has pointlessly dark elements and the other has light-hearted vibes.
i feel like an important part of those generes are the fact that they are just fanfic tropes that seeped into traditional publishing. "coffee au" "fluff" "hurt/comfort" are all extremely popular because it allows to subvert the source material in interesting ways. Everybody in your favorite show is miserable/dead? Stick them in a coffee shop and see them be happy for the first time. Favorite couple feeling too happy? Put them through hell and trauma.
The problem of published books is lack of that established source material and thus a lack of subversion, so it becomes boring if characters or plot fail to catch your attention
@@treplox4318If all it takes to get your attention is "subverting" something, you clearly don't need much
@@lorenzomeulli750 It's fanfiction. The bar for quality is going to be lower than that of a whole ass book you're expected to buy. To add onto the earlier point, it also means a lot of the heavy lifting is already done. If I go read a fanfic staring my favorite character from a series, the author of said fic doesn't have to bust their rear endearing me to the character, I already care and want to see what happens.
Pyro has short combat range whether or not we look from Pyroland
... That's not a problem, idiot, that's just a trope you don't like. That's like saying complicated plots are bad because of how complicated they are.
love the idea of cozy fantasy, hate the execution.
was so so intrigued by legends and lattes but it was so disappointing to me. like they took a fantasy book, gutted it, and stuffed it with cotton candy and glitter.
I still quite like it when more serious books have _moments_ of cosiness, such as characters having a nice dinner before a battle the next day, or a chat around a campfire. It reminds you what the characters are, on some level, really fighting for.
James: Cozy fantasy is fine if you like them
Also James: If you like cozy fantasy, you can't cope with the real world
In all seriousness, I think there was more interest in cozy fantasy because of the pandemic. It was a time of uncertainty and people just needed to unwind from the "end of the world" vibe and regular fantasy isn't helping against that fear. I don't think that makes people unwell, they're just tired. Why do you think "Animal Crossing New Horizons" became the biggest game in the series despite being around for nearly 20 years.
Fantasy is often used to escape from our boring, stressful, overwhelming lifes. Whether to defeat the demon lord to give your life meaning, learning magic to give people hope or to farm in a peaceful village to escape the world. Cozy fantasy is just one of many fantasy genres out there.
Also Kiki delivery service is one of my favorite movies so f you too I guess
Gonna be real. people saying they need cozy fantasy because of 'stress' just seem to not be getting the appeal. Theres something cathartic about reading something which makes you think. 'cozy vibes' can be found in a beam of sunlight, in a painting, in a field, and is at it's least when it isnt saying anything. The point of literature is to say something, and everything is a conflict. People in the modern era live in a tough time, I mean it's a really harsh time to live in, but reading something that makes you think at least gives you something to hang onto, and cozy fantasy gives you something to slip off of, it isn't giving you anything to contemplate. I guess that's the problem with lot's of consumer commercialized literature.
Idk about Kiki the book, but the movie is amazing. All the miyazaki movies are, because they have conflict. Often, life ending conflicts, even if not world ending ones. Too many people are too media illiterate to see it beyond the cozy aesthetic. It's what emphasises the "flavor" of the whole story, having deep themes walking in-hand with the cozy music and art.
Overall i agree with you though. Cozy fantasy has a place for specific people, and im happy it exists for them, but if i want mindless fluff, i can read coffee shop AU fanfic for free. It has potential as a genre, but it's also kinda hamstrung by its own fans, who often hate when any of these stories try to have meaningful conflict and end up rating them poorly.
i think you might like witch hat atelier. cute fantasy but very real problem solving that feels satisfying to the reader
WHA is amazing, I cannot recommend it enough. What makes this manga interesting is that the Mangaka put a lot of thought into the socio-political workings of the world. The conflic comes from the rules put upon magic and witches. The rules are opressive, yes, but you can also see *why* they were made. Fantastic characters and worldbuilding
I literally just finished the first volume of that today. It really does seem like it'll be a cool series and I can't wait to see more of how the magic system works
Tames Jullos😈
Tumes Jallos
@@JamesTullos And theeeeres your Star Wars name
@@JamesTullosthe timeline in which james hispanic
I dunno. I feel like i might need a follow up on the orc coffee shop book or something to be more convinced that it's an issue, cause this is my first hearing about this trend.
i also have a different working definition of conflict because in the case of Kiki, every chapter has like its own very small conflict that is resolved in its own chapter. Finding the toy, or the letter, or finding a place to live. There's no big overarching conflict unless you count whether or not she's making it as a witch and making her family proud. It's definitely more of a theme or character driven narrative than we see in fantasy. I would personally consider it more magical realism but for kids, myself. Much love, regardless.
Update: i have done a little more research and feel comfortable saying that it all looks pretty mid to me.
I'm struggling to think about Slice of Life animanga that isn't also a comedy. The reason I like certain SoL series is because they make me laugh
I disagree with the thesis of the video. You're entitled to your opinion obviously, but I think you're missing the point. There's a semi popular genre in Japan which is intended to have very little or no conflict as a way of being healing to the reader. It's not a genre that really exists in America or Europe. (I'm not saying everything Japan makes is automatically good, just that this genre has existed for much longer than it's trended in the west.)
'Cozy fantasy' is likely a response to the feeling of helplessness a lot of people are experiencing right now. It's intended not to be mind numbing, but rather soothing. I personally would argue that it's not exactly fair to judge a genre with a unique purpose from other genres in the same way you would those other genres. There's poorly written fantasy intended to be romance, adventure, or comedy, and there's healing media which has a different intent behind it. It's not a genre I often engage with, but the points in this video seem similar to comparing a drama about the military to a marvel movie and complaining that there's no one liners or bright costumes. (Before anyone comes for that point, I like Marvel movies most of the time. I think they're fun and colorful. Wouldn't want to only watch those for the rest of my life, but I'm not being critical of them here.)
As for the remark that people who like cozy fantasy can't handle any sort of conflict, I would argue that they're not incapable, they just don't enjoy it as an addition to their normal lives. I live in a generally warm climate and like cold showers, but if I lived in a colder one I might prefer a warmer shower, I might not. It's fine to hold whatever opinion you do, it's not hurting anyone, but it does come off as judgmental and to me implies you view enjoying cozy fantasy as something babyish.
Additionally just to acknowledge it, the 'cozy' genre in general where there's little to no conflict at all is a popular genre among people dealing with recent loss and trauma, so even without the points above, I would argue it has its place. I don't want to see it suffocate other fantasy any more than you do, but I also disagree that its existence at all is pointless.
But slice of life s usually still having a plot even if its very light, and can have themes, and character stuff. From what i get from anime that slice of life have decent characte rconflicts or are educative.
and seem often either comedy or romance. or romcom-sitcom style which still. Ok slice of life often eventually get a plot or have conflict too, whatever that be.
@@marocat4749 I don't understand what you're trying to say because you've worded it in a way I find difficult to read. I'm also unsure which part of what I said you're responding to. I think you're trying to say that slice of life as a genre usually still has conflict, is educational, or features romance or comedy.
I don't know what that's responding to from what I said, because slice of life is not the same thing as the described 'cozy fantasy'. What I'm referring to is called iyashikei (癒し系) and has the specific intention of having almost no conflict, which is different from Slice of Life which is intended to be generally realistic looks into a character's life or characters' lives. (In this context 'realistic' refers to making sense within the provided context, a fantasy or sci-fi slice of life can and does exist.) The key difference to me is that in Slice of Life the problems faced by its characters are realistic within the context of the world they're in and can range from a vending machine habitually refusing their bills because they're too wrinkly to having their dog put down because it's sick. Iyashikei as a genre goes out of its way to minimize its conflict to the characters' biggest problems being closer to the vending machine end, because it's intended to be a relief from real world stresses closer to the dog end. Sorry if it wasn't clear in my initial comment that I was not talking about Slice of Life.
Really do wish that people would accept that some genres just aren’t for them… 😅it’s fine to not like cozy fantasy, I can understand that it might be boring to some, but judging it as a whole is dumb. I, myself, don’t read cozy fantasy often but genuinely - some times I just don’t want to read conflict. It’s similar to how occasionally I’ll open up one of my books and read only the parts I like, which I’ve come to notice aren’t the moments of conflict. It’s often just the characters having down time, being cute or comfortable with each other.
Maybe it’s also because I have some anger issues linked to my trauma, but I feel WAY too deeply to any sort of conflict, and some times I’m just not in the mood to provoke myself.
Some times the fantasy is literally just being able to explore a fantasy setting with minimal (or even no) stakes lol.
But if it's light, why not make it a character study or comedy? If it can really be broken down to "characters just existing" that can be had by staring at a Low-Fi pixelart background.
Honestly, people just hanging out and chatting, in a fantasy or sci-fi setting, is something I'd use as a character setup before a dramatic (and probably bloody) turn.
I respect your opinion but I love cozy fantasy because it’s safe. You know nothing really terrible is going to happen and that’s really calming on my nervous system. I suffer from tremors and things with to much adrenaline can trigger an episode. This genre is very helpful for me as safe media consumption. I never read the book though so I can’t speak on that.
Cosy fantasy is something which has potential, but is too often used to excuse lazy or inconsistent worldbuilding. I liked the concept of 'Can't spell Treason without Tea' but there wasn't a good structure to compensate for a lack of tension.
Finally found a video of yours I don't like or agree with.
a beautifully illustrated anime doesn’t have to have anything happening. the eye candy alone is enough for anime lovers.
some people don’t really even read comics, they collect the beautifully illustrated releases.
i think the literary version of this would be a book that’s written beautifully? but nobody writes beautifully anymore.
I think I understand the potential appeal of comfy fantasy, but:
1. I need high stakes in fantasy.
2. Tropes like the Chosen One are comfy fantasy to me.
3. I think it works well for short stories. Not longer works.
Sorts agree. I love some slice of life, but it would benefit from having some simple conflict
Booktok fantasy romance style stories and cozy fantasy are not my favorite but imo Litrpgs are the true blight on the genre
7:11 considering youre literally saying people who enjoy cute books about fantasy people just vibing "dont have a healthy relationship with the media they consume" and "cant handel confict" pretty much just bc *you* dont like that style of story, yea, very uncharitable. You do realize that people can like both cozy and non cozy fiction right? Or that maybe people want something calming considering all of the conflict and strife they might deal with day to day? Gee, i wonder if liking violent, grimdark stories says anything about a person or if its just cute stories about orcs getting coffee that suggest personal failings to you
You and I have a lot of differing takes, James... but I'm with you on this one.
I just wanna talk to him.
I just wanna talk to him.
I just wanna talk to him.
🔫
😅
Its like how a lot of sitcoms are really low stakes but they still have conflict, its why people like them
I always pick up cozy fantasies after finishing a big series or a very serious book. Its a nice pallet clenser for me, but I agree it can be very bland on its own.
I think you are being harsh on people who enjoy cozy fantasy. Having a non-challenging read once in a while, or when real life is too much is totally fine. We all have games we chill out with or tv shows we just throw on to de-stress.
It's just when that comes at the exclusion of everything else, when you read only cozy stuff that you start to miss out on the full range of experiences that fantasy can provide. Also fully agree with cozy and romantacy books choking out the fantasy shelves.
I feel divided about this topic. For once, I find slice of life inherently boring. It feels as if it should be newspaper mandatory cartoons, but they are not. I don't understand the idea of having eight volumes of highschool girls cooking breakfast or smth.
Likewise, I don't get the point of doing fantasy, especially high fantasy to not use the setting. What is the point of creating a world where orcs exist, for the story be about gardening. Feels like a waste of setting. Why make it the Shire where it could as well be rural Wales or any place with plant space really.
Also, it feels strangely like Fanfic feeling too ashame to be itself, that it tries to be a genre. Although, at the time it isn't really that. Since in fanfic, thematic like coffee AU, university au and Sick ficks are common.
Nevertheless, the draw in fanfic is the characters, and the divergence between cannon and fannon. Not to mention, fanfic is meant to be at least partially self indulgent.
However, this video also feels like that one negative review of Pride and Prejudice that said "It is just a bunch of rich people hanging out." In a sense, the reviewer was correct, but I think that is missing the point of P&P both in a thematic and genre sense.
In addition, while I find this genre extremely wasteful, I feel I am not being fair. I have liked novels, respected novels, where the conflict is almost secondary. I like "The Unbearable Lightness of Being" where things, in a matter of speaking, just happen. There is conflict, but it is secondary to the thematic thesis of the novel. Its focus is not for conflict to be solved in the third act structure, despite kinda following one.
>Likewise, I don't get the point of doing fantasy, especially high fantasy to not use the setting. What is the point of creating a world where orcs exist, for the story be about gardening. Feels like a waste of setting. Why make it the Shire where it could as well be rural Wales or any place with plant space really
And i don't get why you thing like that. Gardening itself isn't more interesting just because somewhere are orcs, sure, but setting itself does.
If I would have to pck between 8 volumes of girls coocking or 8 volumes of girls coocking but in fantasy/sci-fi world, i would pick the second one, 100% of time.
@juleksz.5785 Well, if I had to do the analogy, it has the same energy as when people say England colonizes half the world for spices, only to do the most bland food imaginable.
Fantasy as a genre leads writer to create interesting worlds and cultures that are beyond comprehension. Explore themes both in a meta and philosophical level.
However, that most interesting thing this writer could write is someone doing eggs and sausages in a cottage?
But, isn't it wacky and cool that instead of chicken eggs and pig sausage, it is dragons egg and wild boar sausage?
Not really, because it is still just eggs and sausages. It doesn't even try to explore wider themes. It is just vibes. I could as well do it at home or watch some fancy cooking at UA-cam.
My problem with cozy fantasy is that it doesn't fit with what I want to write. I prefer stories with tension, action, and angst. I like to make my characters suffer, and you can't do that with cozy fiction.
Of course, if somebody likes cozy fantasy, that's fine. It's just not my taste.
This is an interesting take, and I'm almost curious now to read legends and lattes. I've heard so many good things about it, but when I read the synopsis, I was less than thrilled.
As a challenge, and as someone who wants to write for kids, I entered a short story contest for cozy fantasy. Even though they stressed "low stakes" in the requirements, I had a difficult time lowering the stakes and managed to keep the conflict as "cozy" as possible... The brownies didn't get baked or their heads bashed in.
I feel like your echoing a sentiment I’ve heard by Brandon Sanderson, apparently a lot of his early work were epic worlds but no conflict. His friends begged him to put an actual conflict in his worlds
I don't mind cozy fantasy as long as its written well.
The stakes have never been lower.
I don't think stories inherently need central conflicts to be a "good" story. I've read novellas that are just loose vignettes of a person's life with the only thread bein the characters, settings, themes, and the emotional narrative that acts as a through-line weaving the story together. The idea that a story must be structured around this tangible goal that the plot and characters must advance towards is fine but not the ONLY way a story has to be told to be good. Loose narratives that are focused on incidental events in life have just as much artistic value as a Hero's Journey structured story.
Also, when you say Japanese novels are low on word count and less detailed, are you referring specifically to Light Novels? LNs are written with less prose depth compared to other Japanese novels since their intended for a younger demographic with less free time (see: the Japanese School System) so the word count is lower. I don't think Japansese novels are all inherently less verbose then western novels.
Also, on the note of "people like cozy fantasy because they can't handle real world problems", do you realize the world is pretty shitty right now? Of course people want light, conflict-minimal media. The world is suffering. Shitty economy, Crazy inflation, No ability to get a home for most young people, Genocide , Climate Change, Second Trump term!! Why would the masses torture themselves by reading entertainment that further plagues them in misery. People who flock to this genre are seeking relief. There's nothing inherently wrong with that since there still is, and has always been, more heavy media that you would prefer. It's unnecessary judgements to assume everyone who enjoys stories that are light on conflict are only doing so because they are weak people.Some people do read stories mostly for character interaction, so a genre that priorities that over other elements are a niche worth catering to. They're a market who exists.
Also, what differentiates a slice-of-life anime from any western animated sitcom that's just young pleople doing regular stuff like going to school? Heck, most live action sitcoms are just regular people doing regular boring things with jokes. No character development or world-building either. Why is this story structure only bad when it's anime?
I think cozy should be a descriptor, not a genre.
But my life is currently crap and full of stress... A bit of escapism to a world without all that pain and stress can be comforting.
It's like those tweets where the person is like, "I want a horror film where instead of going to the creepy cabin in the woods, the protagonist instead goes to get coffee and falls in love." Like bro???
Then it won’t be a scary. Also do people think every cozy fantasy has to have romance.
But let the loved one be a bad person, slowly and methodically ruining the person and his life until he's just a walking, talking(well, weeping) husk of its former self. That can be at least horrifying
I think it still has its place though. Because I think slower and more slice of life stories are a nice reprieve, especially if you’re into heavy worldbuilding or heavy topics. I think it just depends on what you’re looking for. It doesn’t necessarily mean that the book is bad, but it just means that it may not be the right book for you at the right time. Or it may not even be your type of comfort book that’s OK too😊
DO YOU ENJOY KICKING PUPPIES TOO?!
Only if by "Puppies" you mean "my own ass!"
6:30 Legends of Latte do have some conflict, but it results with watered down story with needles action that was quite poorly written, in result, making the book overall worse.
6:55 And what’s the point of conflict?
7:00 „If You’re into cosy fantasy, i don’t believe You have a healthy relationship, with the media You consume.” 7:20 „People just cannot handle any sort of conflict in real life and none in their fiction”
-Why liking cosy settings means to You that someone automaticly dislikes media with conflict in them? And how liking it means that you have an unhealthy aversion to conflict? My shelves are filled with violent, dystopian and unpleasand (settign wise) books, but that doesn’t change the fact that Steam Sale Girl, CoffeTalk, or Legends Latte were pleasand to engage with (ok, maybe not LL, but you get the point).
7:45 „Cosy fantasy has nothing to get attached to”
-It has characters for example. And the story. And its setting. Generally sepaking it has exactly the same stuff as Eragon, Discworld, or Witcher.
7:50 „It’s like, it is literally equivalent of slice of life”
-Yes. They are both cosy genre. You've just scored Nat20 on Diff4 perception check.
8:00 „They’re not struggling with anything” „There’s nothing interesting to get into. No interesting characterisation or character development, no interesting worldbuilding or action.”
All of this things may or may not be in the story, no matter the genre.
8:15 „No plot of any sorts”
-That’s blatand lie. It’ hard to find worldbuilding pieces that don’t have any sort of story inside them, let alone story-driven piece of media.
8:35 „What’s even the point”
-Pleasure. You might like scenes of tortures, others maylike scenes of petting doggos, sipping wine next to chimney or going out with friends.
8:45 „Pretending to have a bunch of friends”
-…Is absolutely fine and there is nothing wrong with it. Same as pretending to be a world saving hero, beloved by the people, riding on top of a dragon in hug with love interest.
I think it's interesting that conflict-free stories are not only A Thing, but actually popular. Maybe it's not a necessary ingredient after all? Which writing rule should we try breaking next? I wanna see what a character-free story looks like.
Anyway, James. Jimbo. Buddy. Accusing the cozy enjoyers of having an unhealthy relationship with their media is right up there with accusing videogames of causing violence. Come on now.
I like the concept of cozy fantasy, but they are badly written. However something slow and more personnal would be great with internal/societal conflicts
THANK YOU for voicing my real thoughts on the Cozy Fantasy genre. The only real conflict in "Kiki's Delivery Service" is when she had to save Tombo.
I haven't read anything that I'd classify as cozy fantasy, but I know and like some slice of life stories. The staple of slice of life is it's low stakes, not the absence of conflict. I suspect it's the same with cozy fantasy. If it's boring it's just badly written. Epic fantasy has plenty of stories that have world-ending threats to overcome, but are still boring.
my name for this genre of Hygge Fantasy is a better term for this genre than Cozy Fantasy it just feels right
i've never liked kiki's delivery service, ever since i was a kid, and could never understand why the people around me loved it. it always left me feeling uncomfortable and upset, and i could never figure out why. i think you've really hit the nail on the head and put into words something i'd been feelinng for a long while
My favorite quotes from this video:
"What's even the point? It's like the literary equivalent of slice of life anime. You ever watched that crap? I have, unfortunately."
"Throne of Glass became porn partway through, but there were characters. With like, personalities in there. They weren't likable characters, with likable personalities, but they were characters, so..."
Perfectly summarizes how I feel.
I think these "rogue" genres like cozy fantasy and slice of life anime were originally borne out of a desire to combat the three-act structure most stories take, with varying degrees of success. Globally, there's also the fact that we're gradually descending into fascism and the sense that the end times are close. People want a safe space where they can escape and don't have to confront the horrifying dystopia that we find ourselves in. While I'm not one of those who enjoy cozy fantasy, I understand that they don't want have to read suffering or conflict in fantasy because there's already so much suffering in the real world.
Because of that, I have to disagree with your take that people who enjoy cozy fantasy have an inherently unhealthy relationship with the media they consume. Again, I don't enjoy these genres either. That doesn't give you free rein to yuck other people's yum 😆😆😆
I haven't read cozy fantasy (outside anime), for what I heard I feel it wants to do worldbuilding exposition while making you feel good with character driven little plots. It's about making the reader feel they are in a magical place and they get to enjoy daily life tasks in a less gray world. Maybe. Its just speculation. I know some who would just call it self help literature disguised as fantasy.
Honestly, I love cosy fantasy, but most writers get it wrong, because there needs to be some conflict, like in Kiki's delivery service, which is one of my favourite cosy fantasies of all time. Though I mostly read cosy fantasy to get myself out of reading slumps.
Even in anime and manga, Slice of Life is already a tiring genre. It was fresh twenty years ago. I remember people praised certain books or series because it did not have any conflict just like real life.
Now the market is over-saturated. I still enjoy a lot of work in this genre. Good stories are good with or without conflict. But having no conflict as a strong point of your book does not cut it any more.
Slice of life usually does have conflict since its paired with surreal/absurd comedy or drama between the characters (although when done poorly the drama just feels forced like a sitcom comedy).
Only two slice of life I've found interesting are The Way of the Househusband and Azumanga Daioh.
Gonna argue slightly as a slice of life enjoyer. It really depends. Bad slice of life is exactly that very boring and absolutely shit. Good slice of life has conflicts and stuff it's just more grounded. What makes it work is having interesting characters and a setting youre enjoying existing in.
The plots might be more episodic or the conflicts might be smaller more moment to moment things. But low stakes doesn't necessarily mean no stakes. Like, oh I need to earn enough money to buy a guitar to join a band. Low stakes. However what I do to earn the money what sorts of things I choose not to do, that's the meat. It'll change based on my character and the tone of the story I'm in. If I just got the money and bought a guitar theres no story.
Can't speak for cozy fantasy but in a good slice of life anime the who. what, and how is still very important.
The worst slice of life moe shows ive seen tend to just kinda present you with moe and slice or life and just expect you to care. Gotta find the people going through the situations interesting. And they've gotta be engaging even in mundane settings. I vaguely referenced K-on! earlier. It's one of the best slice of life comedies. It's about a ditzy girl who goes to high school determines not to just be an uninvolved loner and join a club. She slacks off until stumbling across her more go gitter classmate and that classmates shy best friend who want to start a music club but need a third member to before becoming official. They eventually add a friendly rich girl who just wants to experience life outside her bubble and a straight laced under classman who whose father is a musician who gets constantly frustrated by the gang's goofing off. They're all different brands of good meaning idiot and their personalities mix and march with each other and the other characters that plots like dealing with a heat wave or going on a school trip are interesting because you like the characters.
You've got a lot of stock school anime plots: school festival, going to a temple on a holiday, starting a club, summer vacation, going to the beach or a hot spring, etc etc but while they're familiar settings the tone and characters kinda set the direction. Going to a beach house in K-on! means moe fun and goofs and gags. In Toradora it'll start there but quickly evolve into heartbreak
Thing worh all of this is that there's that secret sauce to making something land and I don't know what it really is how do you make your characters engaging enough in a low stakes setting? Sometimes you make those low stakes feel as high as the world ending stakes. Oh you tried your big romantic confession but it fell flat because of some trauma in the love interest's life? That might have the same stakes as a character getting a fist put though his chest before stopping the villain from doing something evil.
Thing with more cozy genres is that you need to achieve thar sort of engagement without these wrought emotional highs and lows. That's way harder.
I read Kiki with the mindset of a parent reading to their daughter. That was how the author intended it and it made the experience very enjoyable.
Does this fella like anything??? Lol
00:01 god-tier shirt instaliked
Maybe I’m thinking about it wrong but why would I want to read about someone hanging out at a coffee shop when I could just…..hang out at a coffee shop???
I read Legends and Lattes last month and hated it. So many of the “conflicts” in the story are resolved so easily that it was like reading the Berenstain Bears.
Obviously everyone is entitled to what they like, but it’s not for me.
You should look into bear bear bear Kuma. It takes cozy fantasy and unintentionally makes the main character into a completely terrible person and tries to pass it off as wholesome. It's the best example of why cozy fantasy is bad.
Finally! I thought I was the only one not liking this trend. Made me think I was going crazy.
So it has the same issue of poorly done dark fantasy: why fight?
In dark fantasy (when done poorly) the actions of those who fight seem meaningless and hopeless and with no reason other than suffering.
In cozy fantasy, by the sounds of it, why fight when you can put your feet up on the table? By the sounds of it one could feasibly have the Norf FC meme dream with the option of getting into a wrestling match.
It is in pain, in adversity, in suffering, one finds oneself. You can cry, you can beg, you can roar, you can thrash, it's true. There's an old Taoist poem, I believe from Tao te Ching. "When the great Way collapses, there is true humanity. When there is disunity at home, there is true loyalty. When there is chaos in the nation, there is true patriotism." I think that applies to this here. There is no true loyalty, as there is no chaos. There is no humanity as there is no cruelty. There is no patriotism, as there is no disloyalty.
There must be hatred for there to be love. There must be war for one to appreciate peace. For there to be friends there must be enemies. Cozy fantasy, as described, seems like the way to chaos delayed
Slice of life stories are boring unless they are sitcoms. But I love Kiki Delivery Service.
Sometimes the fantasy really is to have no problems and just be content with life.
Can't say that people who like cozy fantasy only likes cozy fantasy... I don't know them.
I like cozy fantasy and action anything so thinking in the only one is silly.
a lot of cozy fantasy just feels like the equivalent of pinterest/tumblr moodboard things; all aesthetic no substance.
I think it's okay to want to "play it safe" with reading but it's also essential to learn ~things~ even if those topics/ideas make us uncomfortable. Feeling uncomfortable is not an inherently a bad thing but can be a sign of growth/willingness to reflect.
Cozy needs to be paired with something else to keep it entertaining at least for me. Maybe I’m too action or plot oriented in my brain but I can’t watch something thats just relaxing and nothing else. You know what I think it might just be my ADHD to be fair
Cozy Fantasy is, to me, an over correction to Grimdark
I love Slice of Life anime, but I cannot fathom reading a slice of life book. It sounds leagues more boring than it's anime equivalent.
That's what I thought cozy fantasy was, just slice of life stuffs set in fantasy worlds. It's for the vibes. No conflict, no stakes, just a couple goblins kickin it doing goblin things. Not for me at all. My idea of a cozy read is Stephen King, so this whole trend of cozy (insert genre) isn't something I'll ever be into, but I can see how after having a long rough day, you might come home and want to jump into a "story" with no conflict and just vibes. I don't think it has anything to do with outright avoiding adversity or claiming ppl who enjoy cozy fantasy can't also enjoy Abercrombie or Sanderson on a different day. It's a mood thing from what I've gathered.
I respect your opinion...
And I say that you hate fun and can't find happiness in the simple things in life.
This doesn't make people like the books you like, if anything it drives them off because who wants to be lectured on how you're wrong and hate fun for having a critique of something. I've seen needless negativity but this ain't it chief.
@@LadyAsteria58 Isn’t that exactly what he’s doing in the video lmao
@@LadyAsteria58 that's exactly what this channel is doing in this video. He said if you're into a cozy fantasy then you can't handle conflict well and don't have healthy relationship with the media you consume
With the type of cozy you’re describing, I like it but I can’t binge read it. I think it fits well with the webcomic/webnovel/magazine release where you get 1 chapter a week/month.
Or as side stories/ bonus chapters to an already existing store. I see this a lot in manga and light novels where you’ll get a couple of pages of the characters just doing normal things
The problem is the writers think that cozy fantasy should mean no conflict (not even down to earth) and no stakes. They don’t seem to think they can have low stakes and tension in a cozy fantasy. They assume that cozy fantasy doesn’t deserve low conflict or interesting characters.
While I am personally not into cozy fantasy (I‘m a.classic epic fantasy person) Indo understand why someone would be. With the world getting worse seemingly every day simply having an escape into something…nice for a change can be something people would look for.
This is also why I don‘t understand the appeal of „grimdark“. Why would I want to read grimdark when I can get grimdark by just watching the news?
This right here. Plenty of people take enough of a beating in real life so having a story that helps bring them comfort is a great thing.
Wait, so have you actually read any modern cozy fantasy?
Im glad I'm not the only one who hates this trend.
I knew the pendulum would swing the opposite direction after the end of grimdark's long reign in the late 2010s, but not this drastically so soon.
Can't stand that stuff. The genre's really going to the dogs with this double attack of cozy and romantacy.
Maybe, with more examples, more books citaded, the video would be less general...
About people not knowing how to deal with conflicts, that seems ambiguous. Like, yes, there may be people who want to avoid conflict at all costs, and yes, this literature can be educational and numbing on this issue. Just as it can be a reflection of people who are already too surrounded by political, economic and environmental conflicts and crisis to want to deal with more of that in entertainment. I haven't read this literature to give an opinion on it. But I remember playing a cozy literature game, Coffee Talk. While it was relaxing, it didn't ignore personal dramas and raised questions about racism, so I always believe in “how it's done” and what kind of conflicts we're talking about. Existing is already an open door to having conflicts with ourselves and others.
You're a Beast in Black fan? Nice! Love those guys.
Lazy might be right as, Kikis delivery service is having the ongoing plot of burnout, which , isnt lazy. the movie?
But yeah there has to be some conflict, that kinda plays into it. Or at a very interesting backdrop. and that creating a fun contrast and parallel coming together? Or have connflict, any conflict, whatver that may be? It can be cute or funny or, every day?
What can be really good could be done be cozy and ease into, till ther comes up characte conflicts, , past that they have protect that found family proably they got. Be it some debt collector or, a vengeful dark lord or, a complaining customer or bad business?
From what i heard csffee and latte could have been way more in the difficulties of opening a cafe and getting support and having to be resourceful and growing in that skills with the business partner?
What someone mentions, Terrry pratchet mentioned does a lot, does take his knowledge from a lot and translates it into fantasy but still human.
Terrry pratchet isnt cozy fantasy but its comfy , and has conflicts.
Like making real life conflicts that are frustrating into fantasy ones genuinly is intersting and , yeah openin a business has many struggles that, should be more hitting. harder, personal issues, maybe fighting with business partner. Maybe the coffe source ran dry and logistics and finances.
Also thr characters really have to be good and play each othe roff and have room fo conflict while being not one dimensional or too bad.
Idk, sitcom rules thsat still have conflicts?
or characte studies.
like a magical IRS could be pretty interesting.
Perhaps if it were more “coming of age” or self discovery as opposed to “slice of life” it’d be more interesting.
I did not expect a children book on this channel
I totally agree!! I also find that this is an issue with some "cozy" isekai stuff, the MC just goes into another world and is so OP that there is no conflict at all and its so boring
The only cozy fantasy I read was Legends and Lattes and saying there's conflict in that book is very generous. Most problems the protagonist had with opening the shop would be solved the very next chapter if not in the same one and sometimes leaned on children's logic. I didn't expect an epic adventure but I was expecting a lot more than what was there
I won't lie and pretend like anything I've written in the past few years is good, but at the very least, I give my books conflict.
My problem is theres all this legends and lattes, and dungeon crawler carl...but i cant find any real books about dungeon crawling like in an rpg with wizards and thieves. If anyone can reccomend me please do
And i just saw that Generic Entertainment video lol
I have some similar problems with most Isekai. I like cozy but nothing is worse than boring.