Is the “storytelling present” tense used in spoken/written Japanese between friends? Is it normal to switch from past tense to present tense when telling the exciting part of a story/anecdote?

In English for example this might sound natural or somewhat affected (depending on how gifted the story teller is).

Just curious if this occurs in spoken/informal written Japanese or only limited to literary sources.

1 comment
  1. I have no idea about the answer to your question. But I want to thank you for telling me why they do that in books. Using the change in tense for emphasis makes sense.

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