Light Novel Recommendations

[NeoSam]

Originally Posted by Doraneko

Hey NeoSam, long time no see . I am still a loyal reader of the Dengeki Bunko magazine after you have recommended me Dengeki HP (its predecessor) more than 2 years ago. o_0

Wait, I do rememeber someone starting a thread about light novel magazines in this forum, at a time where many still didn't know what a light novel was ooh so that was you

Ahh, its about 4 years ago:
http://forums.animesuki.com/showthread.php?t=36260

Originally Posted by Doraneko

I wonder if you have read any of the Smash Bunko novels? The current titles sound fun but I am not too fond of blatant fanservice...

And Kodansha's possibility of starting a new label is a good news too. More competition = better product + lower price for broken students like me.

I wouldn't start reading any light novel series of this new "small" label (it seems they publish 1-2 light novel volumes a month, so I would say its a small label) until at least a few light novel volumes are out of a title that I might be interested in (at least 5 volumes are out).

Also starting to read a light novel series from this new label is a little risky, if the label doesn't do well (sales wise), this new label might not live long... after all who wants to read an uncompleted light novel series so I would definitely wait before I start reading a light novel from this label.

[Doraneko]

Oh time certainly flies . I have never realized that almost 4 years have passed. Checking the archives I got your light novel magazine recommendations post (that caused me an additional outflow of ~780yen x 45 months ).

http://forums.animesuki.com/showthre...155#post632155

The situation of the male-oriented light novel department hasn't changed a lot. You can almost post the same message today without anyone questioning its authenticity.

Originally Posted by NeoSam

Also starting to read a light novel series from this new label is a little risky, if the label doesn't do well (sales wise), this new label might not live long... after all who wants to read an uncompleted light novel series so I would definitely wait before I start reading a light novel from this label.

I feel that the whole light novel industry is more committed to cash than to the readers. Even for the big labels, you can have some decent works that got discontinued due to the poor sales. On the other hand, good-selling titles are forcibly prolonged even though the authors have clearly lost interest in them. This sounds very similar to the manga industry.

For example, フィリシエラと、わたしと、終わりゆく世界に〈1〉 from one of the Kadokawa Big-3 labels is one of my first light novels, and I have been eagerly waiting for〈2〉throughout my entire light novel reading history. I'd love to recommend this book, but I simply cannot as it is cruel to keep someone in suspense for his whole life . Shana, another work from the Kadokawa Big-3, is the complete opposite. Peaked during the first 5 volumes, it has been since then on a shounen-manga style drag and to-date 22 volumes have been published.



Like manga, from time to time there are hidden gems from minor light novel publishers. If I learn about them, I won't be hesitate to pick them up. Of course, locating them is another matter though.

[NeoSam]

Originally Posted by Doraneko

Oh time certainly flies . I have never realized that almost 4 years have passed. Checking the archives I got your light novel magazine recommendations post (that caused me an additional outflow of ~780yen x 45 months ).

http://forums.animesuki.com/showthre...155#post632155

The situation of the male-oriented light novel department hasn't changed a lot. You can almost post the same message today without anyone questioning its authenticity.

What do you mean by "The situation of the male-oriented light novel department hasn't changed a lot. You can almost post the same message today without anyone questioning its authenticity." ???

[Doraneko]

Originally Posted by NeoSam

What do you mean by "The situation of the male-oriented light novel department hasn't changed a lot. You can almost post the same message today without anyone questioning its authenticity." ???

What I meant is that basically we are still stuck with the following magazines for male-oriented light novels, same as four years ago. Quite a number of newer magazines has come up but most cannot stand the test of the time. The only ones that persist and be consistently published on a bi-monthly basis are these older magazines. Of course we have some net magazines too, but that is another story.

Originally Posted by NeoSam

Male oriented novel magazines:
Dengeki hp
The Sneaker
Dragon Magazine
2D Dream Magazine (a magazine that serializes adult light novels, a magazine thats aimed at adult males)

[NeoSam]

Originally Posted by Doraneko

What I meant is that basically we are still stuck with the following magazines for male-oriented light novels, same as four years ago. Quite a number of newer magazines has come up but most cannot stand the test of the time. The only ones that persist and be consistently published on a bi-monthly basis are these older magazines. Of course we have some net magazines too, but that is another story.

I see... yeah, but its good that we still have these magazines >_< their readership hasn't gotten much better from what they were back then. I remember that Dragon Magazine had about 54,000 readers (years ago) now according to the publisher it has about 59,000 readers. The Sneaker had about 23,000 readers (if I remmeber right) and now its about 29,000 readers. Though according to the JMPA the readership of Dragon Magazine has dropped to 37,000 readers, and The Sneaker has 33,000 readers.

I'm not a light novel magazine reader, but I would still like to see these magazines always published... It would be too sad not having at least a few light novel magazines out there

Hopefully someday the mook "GA Magazine" might become a bi-monthly publication and a true magazine, and we can add it to this list the publisher did start another mook that is a special issue of GA Magazine: http://www.comipedia.com/magazine/ga-magazine-creators

GA Magazine Creators contains illustrations of popular light novels from the GA Bunko label, and its first issue was released in March 2010:
http://ga.sbcr.jp/bunko_blog/nekopyon/014628/

[AlaAlba]

I read Sword Art Online just yesterday, some time since I read a light novel, and I dont regret with my choice this time. Although some people would think SOA is a bit too much cliche, it is the kind of novel I'd read in one go cause of it's numbers of climaxes prevent me feeling boring.
Any fan of SOA here? I plan to start on 2 but after saw its illustrators on first pages I'd skip it It's only a flashback story...

[Matt122005]

I recently read GOSICK 2 (english edition). Another great book. ^_^ You guys should read the series if you haven't yet.

[Doraneko]

In an unexpected turn of events, the "Sugar Dark" series which took the Grand Award of the Sneakers Bunko Award (the first winner after Haruhi) is prematurely terminated.

Although it is not the best novel in terms of plot and storytelling, I appreciate how it deals with the relatively obscure theme of grave-keeping and tries its best to avoid falling into the general light novel stereotypes. The selection committee's open-mindedness in choosing something non-conventional instead of going for some safe but cliched choices also deserves praises.

But apparently Kadokawa has been trying too hard to push the book, dubbing it as the successor of Haruhi. The large gap between the extremely high expectation and the solid but plain content makes the sales figure much to be desired.

The young writer eventually threw in the towel today: after around half a year since the first book has been published. He was ambiguous with the reason behind, but it seems to be related to the difficulty in striking a balance between creative liberty and commercial viability.

Anyhow he is writing a completely new story as a means for him to "recover." As much as I am disappointed with how "Sugar Dark" was brought to an abrupt end, I still look forward to his next work.

On a side note, I have just read Seiren Sangokushi (精恋三国志) by Nanajyuu Niko published under the Dengeki Bunko label. The author himself regarded it as "a fairy tail in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms era," with Chou'un (趙雲) as the main protagonist.

The recent Japanese renderings of the RoTK story in anime/manga is not exactly impressive, flooded with ecchi, school comedy and gender-bending stuff. Therefore it is a pleasant surprise that the author of this novel has at least tried to be faithful to the original source in most parts of the story, despite of the addition of fantasy elements.

Although the depiction of wars and strategies are quite good, the main meat of the book is still the romance part, as the title has clearly indicated. Chou'un and his partner Yuuin are both very likeable characters. I especially like how their relationship develops and how they interact with each other. The way they subtly love each other while still actively maintaining a distance is a very Chinese concept, that actually reminds me of some traditional Chinese fairy tales.

Shameless plug: feel free to visit my blog for a more detailed review.

[jonathan614]

Originally Posted by Tiamat's Disciple

In fairness to TP on this point, the lack of subsequent releases of Kino no Tabi isn't thier fault. They've tried to license the subsequent novels, but for some reason the license holder is refusing. So while they do want to publish the volumes, they cant.

part of this might be due to poor translations and the re-ordering, despite thew idea that it can be read in any order, i still wonder if them re-ordering into chronoligical order rather than maintaining the order they were initially presented is a burr hard to overcome.

i hope someone can get the publishing rights to the series -- even including the 1st volume and re-issue a different presentation and maintain everything more intact and make sure to include all the art, et al.

of course my pov is based on a print of vol 1 by TP that is a workprint, so things may have changed, even dramatically.

[Kunagisa]

Originally Posted by AlaAlba

I read Sword Art Online just yesterday, some time since I read a light novel, and I dont regret with my choice this time. Although some people would think SOA is a bit too much cliche, it is the kind of novel I'd read in one go cause of it's numbers of climaxes prevent me feeling boring.
Any fan of SOA here? I plan to start on 2 but after saw its illustrators on first pages I'd skip it It's only a flashback story...

MEEEEEEEEEEEE, MEEEEEEEEE SO HARDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

Really, I just right into SAO after reading Accel World, and I must say it did not disappointed.

Reki Kawahara is just so good at building up emotions between characters and very vivid action scenes. I've been reading a ton other translated ones but this author's stories just make me very impressed (being a huge VR fan helps too =P).

[apr]

Zaregoto 2 is out in English now, just so you know. I'm currently reading it in Japanese, and can't help but want to marry Nishio.

In other news, Ben-to v03 was magnificent, as usual. Great series.

[Kunagisa]

Originally Posted by apr

Zaregoto 2 is out in English now, just so you know. I'm currently reading it in Japanese, and can't help but want to marry Nishio.

In other news, Ben-to v03 was magnificent, as usual. Great series.

Volume 2 is reasonably funky to translate give how Mikoko talks. I was reading an excerpt online from the DelRay's website but it didn't show any of her signature speech. I'd probably end up still buying it one of these days ($10 USD is pretty cheap but I'm cheaper), but I really would wait for the whole series to be over and buy a box set or something if they have those, but god knows when that will happen.

Lately, I've reading Sugii Hikaru's The Sword Queen and Branded Child (剣の女王と烙印の仔) after I've caught up with Kamisama no Memochou (which I started reading thanks to asrielchase's signature). I can't really believe the author wrote both serious as Sword Queen is so much more grim and savage compare to KamiMemo, but still both are great read. I've always been a fantasy/magic/romance fan, which is exactly what Sword Queen is. Despite the grim nature of the story, there are still fair amount of comedy.

Spoiler for Description and minor spoilers of Sword Queen:

Chris was a cursed child who was born with a brand/seal/mark that would eat other people's fate (thus killing them). He would go feral near a full moon (he is not a werewolve) and go into a killing spree to devour other people's fate. Minerva is a skill swordswoman who had prophetic power of her own future. For countless nights she would dream of her own death by the hands of a young man with seal on his forehead and hand.

Not exactly what you call entirely new and brilliant (most can't these days), but execution feels fresh enough that I can't say it reminds me of any work that I've read in the past. After reading the translations up to volume 3 I would recommend this to people who likes this type of story. The illustrations are quite simple and pleasing to the eye as well.

[Westlo]

Originally Posted by apr

Zaregoto 2 is out in English now, just so you know. I'm currently reading it in Japanese, and can't help but want to marry Nishio

Thank god I clicked on this thread for some reason and saw this, just ordered it off ebay, can't wait to get started on this, loved Volume 1.

[Zetsuen_no_Myuu]

Originally Posted by stuopidget

Volume 2 is reasonably funky to translate give how Mikoko talks. I was reading an excerpt online from the DelRay's website but it didn't show any of her signature speech.

That just gives me more reason to hate Del Rey. Damn language barrier...

Anyways, before I tackle the book, and just because I want to know, can I ask in what way/style/dialect/etc does Mikoko speak in, or how? Is there any other characters that has a unique way to talking? I'm sure there are since this is Nisio here. I'm also sure there are numerous wordplays , puns, and abnormal/freakishly cool names that are hard, if not impossible to translate. So, I don't really have high expectations of Del Rey.

[asrielchase]

Originally Posted by AlaAlba

Any fan of SOA here? I plan to start on 2 but after saw its illustrators on first pages I'd skip it It's only a flashback story...

Huge fan here!!! just saw a promo image of vol.5 today and it got me so excited that i started searching around looking for info and ended up here

I kind of paused in the middle of Vol.1 back then thinking it would just drag on and on like other RPG-esque lightnovels, but after I finished reading it I just couldn't stop. To be honest I went online and managed to find the web version of SAO series that the author has posted before they got published... and they were amazing. The author is certainly taking it very seriously when he chose to write about VR world/Real world relationship.

Dunno if you've finished it or not but I would recommend reading vol.2 first. I skipped it at first because the description of vol3 is much too tempting, but I went back and read it while waiting for the translation of vol4. It doesn't matter in terms of plot, but you'd enjoy the ending of the Fairy Dance arc a bit more if you read vol2 before hand.

Spoiler for
promo pic for vol.5: (not really spoilerish i think):

new character on the left, Kirito on the right

[apr]

Originally Posted by HailEmperor

That just gives me more reason to hate Del Rey. Damn language barrier...

Anyways, before I tackle the book, and just because I want to know, can I ask in what way/style/dialect/etc does Mikoko speak in, or how? Is there any other characters that has a unique way to talking? I'm sure there are since this is Nisio here. I'm also sure there are numerous wordplays , puns, and abnormal/freakishly cool names that are hard, if not impossible to translate. So, I don't really have high expectations of Del Rey.

No particular dialect or words, exactly, but most of her sentences end with a っ (small tsu), which makes them seem breathy and bouncy, like she's an excited, cute little bunny. She also has this habit of comparing the protagonist's quirkier lines with made up situations gone odd, that are insane and incomprehensible. No idea how the poor translator handles this.

Aikawa Jun speaks in a very manly way, which might not come across too easily in English.

One character has the given name むいみ (Muimi) which means "pointless" (speaks like a gangster), another character is called Emoto Tomoe, which in Japanese is an anagram, but not in English. There are probably more I haven't realized in my ignorance. Nishio basically never uses sane names.

As for puns, yeah, they're everywhere. Nishio's favourite thing is playing with words, and all his books are filled to the brim with crazy language tricks. The most immediate example is the chapter titles, which have homonym-ish subtitles. He also keeps describing different paths taken through the streets of Kyoto, so you may want to have a city map at hand.

[Zetsuen_no_Myuu]

Originally Posted by apr

No particular dialect or words, exactly, but most of her sentences end with a っ (small tsu), which makes them seem breathy and bouncy, like she's an excited, cute little bunny. She also has this habit of comparing the protagonist's quirkier lines with made up situations gone odd, that are insane and incomprehensible. No idea how the poor translator handles this.

Aikawa Jun speaks in a very manly way, which might not come across too easily in English.

One character has the given name むいみ (Muimi) which means "pointless" (speaks like a gangster), another character is called Emoto Tomoe, which in Japanese is an anagram, but not in English. There are probably more I haven't realized in my ignorance. Nishio basically never uses sane names.

As for puns, yeah, they're everywhere. Nishio's favourite thing is playing with words, and all his books are filled to the brim with crazy language tricks. The most immediate example is the chapter titles, which have homonym-ish subtitles. He also keeps describing different paths taken through the streets of Kyoto, so you may want to have a city map at hand.

I see. I'm a quarter in chapter 1, and I don't exactly see any of that in Mikoko's lines. I mean, it's noticeable that she is energetic, but it's more of the tacky kind than "breathy and bouncy". It's not so cute either. I'm already nitpicking at certain lines that comes off downright eyebrow-raising with characters saying things that just seem out of character and/or plain wrong. Like with Ii-chan saying "honey" to Mikoko.

All this is probably because I'm hearing and imagining the characters saying it in English (as if they themselves are from the U.S.), which clashes with me knowing that it's in a different culture/setting entirely. Also, that this is a LN, so I'm visualizing anime/manga characters and all of their usual idiosyncrasies that I"m so familiar and fond of.

Anyways, I'll keep all of that in mind.

[apr]

NGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGH!!!!!!11111

ゴールデンタイム１ 春にしてブラックアウト
著/竹宮ゆゆこ イラスト/駒都えーじ
私の描く人生のシナリオは完璧！　そう豪語するお嬢様と出会った多田万里のま
まならない青春の行方は!? 「とらドラ！」の竹宮ゆゆこ、待望の新シリーズ始動！

Release in September!

*runs around screaming excitedly*

[Kunagisa]

Another youth series! More high school romance? Strangely I've never read her work, I think I've only read the manga of Tamura-kun, and ... wait no I did read TxD1 but I just don't remember much about it.

[asrielchase]

Takemiya sensei, finally back from holiday!!!! with a new series!!
September please come sooner.