English Title: Ao Oni
Japanese Title: é’鬼 — Ao Oni — “Blue Demon”
Author: Kenji Kuroda
Illustrator: Karin Suzuragi
Translator: Alexander Keller-Nelson
Genre: Horror, Survival Game, Drama
Original Run: February 2013 – ongoing
English Run: January 2018 – ongoing
Japanese Publisher: FreeGameNovel (PHP Institute)
English Publisher: J-Novel Club
Volumes in Japanese: 5 (Completed)
Note: There are other Ao Oni novels in Japan, but are separate from this particular LN series.
Volumes in English: 5 (Completed)
Average Price Per Volume: Kindle $7 – iBook $7 – Kobo $7
Note: Also available to read online through a J-Novel Club subscription. This series is currently digital-only.
Synopsis: Shun is the new kid in school, but he's already managed to attract the attention of the school bully, who's now making his life a living hell. It doesn't seem like things could get any worse, until the night he finds himself and a group of his classmates inside a creepy, abandoned mansion known as the Jailhouse. They quickly start to hear strange sounds and see weird things, but everything escalates when they realize they can't get out. Once they're trapped inside, a blue, unnaturally large figure chases after them. Is it a new species? Or is it the ghost of their old classmate who died in an accident? Nobody knows, but one thing is for certain… If it catches them, they're dead! The scariest game of tag in history begins!
Volume 1 — Ao Oni
Amazon -- iBook -- J-Novel Club -- Kobo — Bookwalker
Released January 6, 2018 — ASIN: B078K7PY76
Volume 2 — Ao Oni: Vengeance
Amazon -- iBook -- J-Novel Club -- Kobo — Bookwalker
Released March 23, 2018 — ASIN: B079GR47Q5
Volume 3 — Ao Oni: Mutation
Amazon -- iBook -- J-Novel Club -- Kobo — Bookwalker
Released August 7, 2018 — ASIN: B07CZ9N7B8
Volume 4 — Ao Oni: Grudge
Amazon -- iBook -- J-Novel Club -- Kobo — Bookwalker
Released November 13, 2018 — ASIN: B07GML9XJD
Volume 5 — Ao Oni: Forever
Amazon -- iBook -- J-Novel Club -- Kobo — Bookwalker
Released February 22, 2019 — ASIN: B07KVDXSH7
Reviews of Ao Oni
Related Game (original source)
Ao Oni — game download — game wiki
Related Anime
1) Ao Oni: The Animation (movie) — MAL Entry — Aired February 2017
Crunchyroll (streaming)
2) Ao Oni: The Blue Monster (series of comedy shorts) — MAL Entry — 13 episodes — Aired October 2016 – January 2017
Crunchyroll (streaming)
Related Manga
Ao Oni Anthology — Published July 2014 (Japan Only)
Related Live Action Films
1) Ao Oni — AsianWiki — Aired July 2014 (Japan Only)
2) Ao Oni 2.0 — AsianWiki — Aired July 2015 (Japan Only)
If you liked Ao Oni, you might also want to try…
- Yume Nikki — also based on a horror game
- Another — horror
- Missing — horror
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