More light novels in English!

Yen Press recently announced two new novel licenses: 1) Sound! Euphonium, and 2) Magical Girl Raising Project.

It looks like both are planned to release in the summer of 2017. Note that the tweet for Sound Euphonium specifies the license is for the first novel. Both series have anime adaptations that are currently airing. You can find them streaming on Crunchyroll: Sound Euphonium — Magical Girl Raising Project.

Interestingly, Yen Press also announced a license for the manga adaptation of Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash. The light novels for that series are currently being translated by J-Novel Club.

And speaking of J-Novel Club, there are two more light novel series that are already being translated: 1) The Faraway Paladin, and 2) Mixed Bathing in Another Dimension.

Like the other titles offered at J-Novel Club, you can read the first portion of each series for free as a preview. If you like what you see, you can buy a membership that will let you read chunks of the light novels (either via your computer or your cell phone) as they are translated week by week. Or if you prefer, you can wait for volumes to be completed and purchase the ebooks as they release.

At the moment, J-Novel Club is giving away free 3-month trial memberships of their subscription service. This offer is limited to 500 readers, so act fast!

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Sound! Euphonium — written by Ayano Takeda (art by Nikki Asada)

Synopsis: After swearing off music due to an incident at the middle school regional brass band competition, euphonist Kumiko Oumae enters high school hoping for a fresh start. As fate would have it, she ends up being surrounded by people with an interest in the high school brass band. Kumiko finds the motivation she needs to make music once more with the help of her bandmates, some of whom are new like novice tubist Hazuki Katou; veteran contrabassist Sapphire Kawashima; and band vice president and fellow euphonist Asuka Tanaka. Others are old friends, like Kumiko’s childhood friend and hornist-turned-trombonist Shuuichi Tsukamoto, and trumpeter and bandmate from middle school, Reina Kousaka. However, in the band itself, chaos reigns supreme. Despite their intention to qualify for the national band competition, as they currently are, just competing in the local festival will be a challenge--unless the new band advisor Noboru Taki does something about it.

Magical Girl Raising Project — written by Asari Endou (art by Maruino)

Synopsis: The highly popular social network game “Magical Girl Raising Project” is a miraculous game that produces real Magical Girls with a chance of 1 in 10000 for each person. Girls who are lucky enough to gain the power of magic spend fulfilling days. But one day, the administration arbitrarily announces that “There are too many magical girls so they will be halved.” The curtain will now be raised on the relentless and merciless survival game between 16 magical girls.

The Faraway Paladin — written by Kanata Yanagino (art by Kususaga Rin)

Synopsis: In a city of the dead, long since ruined and far from human civilization, lives a single human child. His name is Will, and he’s being raised by three undead: the hearty skeletal warrior, Blood; the graceful mummified priestess, Mary; and the crotchety spectral sorcerer, Gus. The three pour love into the boy, and teach him all they know. But one day, Will starts to wonder: “Who am I?” Will must unravel the mysteries of this faraway dead man’s land, and unearth the secret pasts of the undead. He must learn the love and mercy of the good gods, and the bigotry and madness of the bad. And when he knows it all, the boy will take his first step on the path to becoming a Paladin. “I promised you. It’s gonna take a while, but I’ll tell you everything. This is the story of the deaths of many heroes. It’s the story of how we died, and it’s the reason you grew up here.”

Mixed Bathing in Another Dimension — written by Nagaharu Hibihana (art by Masakage Hagiya)

Synopsis: “How am I supposed to fight with this?!” After being summoned into another dimension as one of the five heroes destined to defeat a demon lord, Toya Hojo awakens his hero power only to discover that… it’s an unlimited bath? He was blessed with the power to create a bath that can be accessed anywhere, which seems to spell doom for his quest to defeat the demon lord. As he recovers from his shock, Toya slowly discovers the unique features of his power, which allow him to use it in ways he’d never dreamed of… But will he ever get any bath time with Haruno Shinonome, the beautiful girl who was also summoned along with him?!