More licenses for light novels and novels of interest were announced at Anime Expo in Los Angeles. Here is a rundown of what new titles will be getting English releases in the future. (And remember, check here for all of J-Novel Club’s announcements a couple days ago.)
From Vertical:
- 5 Centimeters Per Second: One More Side — by Arata Katoh
From Yen Press:
- Bungo Stray Dogs — by Kafuka Asagiri (with art by Sango Harukawa)
- Penguin Highway — by Tomihiko Morimi
- Walk On Girl — by Tomihiko Morimi
- Mirai — by Mamoru Hosoda
- Woof Woof Story — by Wanwan Majin (with art by Kochimo)
- 86 — by Asato Asato (with art by Shirabi)
From Seven Seas:
- Division Maneuver — by Shippo Senoo (with art by Nidy-2D)
- Clasroom of the Elite — by Shogo Kinugasa (with art by Shunsaku Tomose)
- Mushoku Tensei — by Rifujin na Magonote (with art by ShiroTaka)
5 Centimeters Per Second: One More Side is a novel that was released in Japan in 2011, offering different points of view on the story told in Makoto Shinkai’s anime film 5 Centimeters Per Second. It is planned to release in English in February 2019.
Synopsis: A tale of two people, Toono Takaki and Shinohara Akari, who were close friends but gradually grow farther and farther apart as time moves on. They become separated because of their families yet continue to exchange contact in the form of letters. Yet as time continues to trudge on, their contact with one another begins to cease. Years pass and the rift between them grows ever larger.
Bungo Stray Dogs is an ongoing manga series being released in English by Yen Press. Now they have licensed the light novel tie-ins, which will focus on the past of Dazai Osamu before he joined the Armed Detective Company. An anime adaptation of Bungo Stray Dogs aired in 2016.
Penguin Highway is a novel by Tomihiko Morimi, published in Japan in 2010. It won the Nihon Taisho SF Award that year. Morimi is also known for writing the novels The Tatami Galaxy and The Eccentric Family, both of which received anime adaptations. Penguin Highway will be getting an anime film, set to air in Japan this August.
Synopsis: Fourth-grader Aoyama investigates the mysterious reason behind the sudden appearance of penguins in his village. Is it somehow related to the power of a young woman working at a dental clinic?
Walk On Girl is a novel also by Tomihiko Morimi, published in Japan in 2006. It won the Yamamoto Shugoro Prize that year. It also received an anime film that aired in Japan in April 2017, its English title translated as The Night is Short, Walk On Girl. It will air in theaters in the United States on August 21st. The story shares the same Kyoto University setting as The Tatami Galaxy, and the anime adaptations for both were handled by the same staff.
Synopsis: On a mysterious night that seems to last a year, an ordinary college student continues to chase one of the underclassmen, a girl with black hair--the girl of his dreams. Up until now, he has been relying on a simple plan, bumping into her every day while making it seem like a meaningful coincidence.
Mirai is a novel by Mamoru Hosoda, known for directing anime films such as the upcoming Mirai (also known as Mirai no Mirai), The Boy and the Beast, Wolf Children, and Summer Wars. The Mirai film will release in Japan on July 20th, and will likely air in other parts of the world later on. Yen Press previously released the novelization for The Boy and the Beast.
Synopsis: Kun, a spoiled 4-year-old boy, comes across a magical garden where he meets his future sister, Mirai, who is now a young woman and has traveled back in time to see him. Their adventures together help Kun cope with learning how to live with a baby sibling.
Woof Woof Story, known as Wanwan Monogatari in Japan, is an ongoing isekai fantasy series with three volumes out so far, published by Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko.
Synopsis: Oogami Routa, a corporate slave who died from working too much, wishes he could be the dog of a rich household… and has his wish granted by an enthusiastic rookie goddess! But isn’t he a little too big for a dog?!
86 is an ongoing war drama series with four volumes out so far, published by Dengeki Bunko. It won first place for the “New Works” category in the 2018 Kono Light Novel ga Sugoi! contest.
Synopsis: The Republic of San Magnolia has been attacked by its neighbor, the Empire. Outside the 85 districts of the Republic there is the ‘non-existent 86th district,’ where young men and women continue to fight. Sheen directs the actions of young suicide bombers, while Lena is a “curator†who commands a detachment from a remote rear. The story of the tragic struggle between these two begins!
Division Maneuver is a series with two volumes involving battles with mechanized suits. It was published in Japan by Kodansha in 2017.
Synopsis: In the novels’ story, it’s been 10 years since the appearance of mankind’s natural enemy, the Jaive. As a result, human territory has narrowed considerably. But humans can fight back using the Division Maneuver weapons. The protagonist attends a school that trains budding warriors, but operates Division 1, the weapon with the lowest magical power.
Classroom of the Elite, known as Youkoso Zitsuryoku Shijou Shugi no Kyoushitsu e in Japan, is an ongoing high school drama/mind games series with eight volumes out so far, published by MF Bunko J. It received an anime adaptation in 2017.
Synopsis: Ayanokouji Kiyotaka has just enrolled at Tokyo Koudo Ikusei Senior High School, where it’s said that 100% of students go on to college or find employment. But he ends up in Class 1-D, which is full of all the school’s problem children. What’s more, every month, the school awards students points with a cash value of 100,000 yen, and the classes employ a laissez-faire policy in which talking, sleeping, and even sabotage are permitted during class. But among all the students who lead such self-indulgent lives, there is one who disagrees with it all and chooses to remain solitary, avoiding contact with others: the beautiful Horikita Suzune. She has figured out that, even though the school gives students huge amounts of money, it also offers many means of “assistance for students with no money.” One month later, Ayanokouji, Horikita, and the students of Class D learn the truth of the system in place within their school…
Mushoku Tensei is an ongoing isekai fantasy series with 18 volumes out so far, published by MF Books. Seven Seas is already releasing the manga adaptation in English as Mushoku Tensei – Jobless Reincarnation.
Synopsis: The story follows a 34-year-old virgin NEET who is kicked out of his house when he runs out of money. He’s regretting his life when he’s suddenly killed in a traffic accident, and he’s reborn in another world full of swords and sorcery. As a newborn baby, he resolves to live his life without regrets and make the best of his knowledge from his previous life. While developing his skills in magic, he meets a small girl who is a magic tutor, and a beautiful quarter-elf with green hair.