We’re long overdue for another post for news, reviews, and other LN-related links. Sorry I’ve been so busy lately! I hope to have a few more posts out before this month is over though.

Recent Releases

In March, there were six releases: Legend of the Galactic Heroes (vol 1), Vampire Hunter D (vol 23), Log Horizon (vol 4), Accel World (vol 6), Durarara!! (vol 3), and No Game No Life (vol 4).

Then in April, there were another six releases: The Irregular at Magic High School (vol 1), Black Bullet (vol 3), Sword Art Online (vol 7), The Devil is a Part-Timer! (vol 4), Spice and Wolf (vol 17), and Is it Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? (vol 5).

Also, at the beginning of this month, a new Naruto book was released. This one is called Sakura’s Story.

Upcoming Releases

There are five more light novels set to release this month! They will all show up on the 24th. Titles include Baccano! (vol 1), Strike the Blood (vol 3), Seraph of the End: Guren Ichinose – Catastrophe at Sixteen (vol 2), Overlord (vol 1), and Another: Episode S/0.

Note that the Seraph of the End release is an omnibus, this one containing what was volumes 3 and 4 in Japan.

Interestingly, there are three hardcover releases this month. Baccano! and Overlord are both going to be series released in hardcover format. Another: Episode S/0 will also get the hardcover treatment, just as the original story for Another eventually did. All three of these can be purchased as ebooks as well.

UPDATE: There were two light novels planned to release this month, but are delayed a bit. A Certain Magical Index volume 7 will release June 28th, and Kagerou Daze volume 4 will release July 19th.

Site News

The summer reading program will start next month. For June, we will read the first volumes of Baccano! and The Empty Box and the Zeroth Maria. As I mentioned before, I’ll be sure to put up a post detailing how much to read before each week’s discussion, so watch out for that!

English Light Novel News

• Yen Press has licensed a new light novel series: Goblin Slayer!, written by Kumo Kagyu and illustrated by Noboru Kannatuki. The first volume is planned to release this December.
• In early April, Japanese publisher Kadokawa announced its new partnership with Hachette Book Group (which owns the Yen Press and Yen On imprints). Yen Press is now jointly owned by Kadokawa and Hachette, as Kadokawa purchased a 51% stake in it. “The announcement added that the new joint venture aims to establish light novels as a new content genre by using Hachette’s existing production and distribution infrastructure, with Kadokawa providing leadership.”

• Vertical has announced the casts for the audiobook releases of Kizumonogatari and Attack on Titan: The Harsh Mistress of the City. Kizumonogatari‘s audiobook will release on May 25th, while both Harsh Mistress volumes will follow on June 1st. The voice actors and actresses may be familiar to fans of various English-dubbed anime and video games.
• Aniplex has put up an English trailer for the upcoming Sword Art Online film.
• Guess what live-action Hollywood film is getting a sequel? Pretty much all of them! Also, The Edge of Tomorrow, the movie loosely based on the light novel All You Need is Kill by Hiroshi Sakurazaka.
• Here’s a completed fan translation I never expected: Shin Sekai Yori (From the New World)!

Japanese Light Novel News

• Some anime adaptations of various novels were announced: the baseball-themed story Battery, and the story of two men publishing a new dictionary, The Great Passage. Both of these will air on the Noitamina programming block, Battery in the summer and The Great Passage in the fall.
• Also, a live-action film for Haruta and Chika.
• Here is a new preview for the anime film adaptation of Zutto Mae Kara Suki Deshita (Confession Executive Committee Love Series).
• Light novels being taught in a university literature course? Professor Masahiro Hirose at the Aichi University of Education is doing just that, using Bakemonogatari for textual analysis. You will be able to write a report on this novel too, when it begins releasing in English this December.

• Nisio Isin’s mystery series Zaregoto will be adapted into an anime. This announcement coincides with a new release in the Saikyou light novel spin-off series, this entry titled Jinrui Saikyou no Junai. That series stars a side character from Zaregoto named Jun Aikawa. The first two volumes of Zaregoto were released in English by Del Rey back in 2008 and 2010.
• Mamare Touno, the author of Log Horizon and Maoyu LN series, was found guilty of tax evasion and sentenced to three years’ probation–and given a hefty fine. Perhaps this could be seen as a sort of life imitating art situation, given all the economic machinations his stories often incorporate.
• In April, an Akihabara maid cafe had a collaboration with the LN/anime series Hundred. It was everyone’s big chance to get a coaster featuring a chibi version of one of the four heroines.
• Dengeki and Nico Nico have announced an upcoming “user participation drama” for Kino’s Journey. To be honest, I don’t know what that means, but apparently there will be a story of some kind with decisions made by the online audience.

• Are you interested in Re:Zero? An interview with the anime adaptation’s voice cast has been translated.
• The seventh volume of Kagerou Daze will release in Japan this August.
• There will be another Naruto Shinden novel releasing in Japan, this one starring Guy, Kakashi, and Mirai.
• Oregairu will be getting another PS Vita visual novel, and the limited edition release will include an anime adaptation of a story from volume “10.5” of the light novel series.
• Tomohiro Matsu, author of light novel series Listen to Me Girls, I am Your Father!, has recently passed away at the age of 43. His family allowed colleagues to pay tribute with character illustrations on his coffin.
• On June 18th, anime film director Makoto Shinkai will release a novel for Kimi no Na wa (“Your Name”), his upcoming movie.

Links to Recent Reviews and Articles

• The August Hail has been posting more light novel reviews, including ones for Seraph of the End: Guren Ichinose, The Irregular at Magic High School, and 13 volumes of Date a Live.
• Matt Doyle writes a bit about Spice and Wolf in this post, among other things.
• Here are reviews for Sword Art Online volume 7 and A Certain Magical Index volume 6 at Anime Tengoku.

• Naruto: Kakashi’s Story gets a review at The Other Side of the Dice.
• At Melodicity, a review for Kizumonogatari is up. Also: some commentary on Yen On’s licensing of Psycome.
• Toshokan Comix provides a brief introduction to light novels and goes over a few examples.
• At Nerd Rambles, Log Horizon turns out to be a new obsession.
• Regarding Kadokawa’s investment in Yen Press — what does it mean to us fans? Kuuderes_shadow goes over just that.

• Frog-kun has also posted some nice light novel write-ups the past couple months: a post for Full Metal Panic and the Cold War, a question of whether or not Haruhi Suzumiya has aged well, a look into what the author of Welcome to the NHK is up to these days, and some explanations regarding the popularity of “stuck in another world” fantasies.

And that's all I have for now! Please feel free to post links to more light novel-related articles, and to share your thoughts on this feature or anything else for the site.