Japanese Light Novel Book Club discussion

I am currently watching Welcome to NHK and really enjoying it.

I read it is an adaptation of a novel of the same name and was also created into a manga. Has anyone read any of these?

The anime is an intelligent mix of comedy and pain. (btw I am watching with Eng subtitles)

Megha wrote: "I am currently watching Welcome to NHK and really enjoying it.

I read it is an adaptation of a novel of the same name and was also created into a manga. Has anyone read any of these?

The anime i..."

I've heard about Welcome to the NHK, I think I even saw a review of it, but it's another one of those that I just haven't gotten around to. I think I'll read the light novel before watching the show this time. Lately it seems I keep watching the anime first, only to find out it started as a LN.

James wrote: "Lately it seems I keep watching the anime first, only to find out it started as a LN."

Don't watch Rokka: Braves of the Six Flowers, book releases early next year in English. It's really good (fantasy with "whodunit" mystery tinge).



English Edition: Rokka: Braves of the Six Flowers, Vol. 1

I don't know if Alderamin LNs are planned for stateside release, but that's another one to avoid watching.

I think Grimgar is coming stateside too. (I spoiled myself on events by looking them up thinking a localization wouldn't happen; the anime only covers about two volumes, same amount as Devil is a Part Timer covered).

Grimgar:

Also, Steins;Gate has a visual novel that started it all, so that's best to catch on STEAM or wherever you game on PC (or PS3 + Vita) if you haven't participated with it.



I recently picked up Romantic Comedy SNAFU's English volume. I feel like I didn't get everything in the anime / not everything translated well in that format with English subs, so I'll get something out of it (same goes for Monogatari series). I know I'm getting a decent amount out of reading Baccano after having watched it.

Shiki, Sakurako San novels and Subete Ga No F series not being localized makes me a sad panda too. T.T

James wrote: "I've heard about Welcome to the NHK, I think I even saw a review of it, but it's another one of those that I just haven't gotten around to. I think I'll read the light novel before watching the show this time. Lately it seems I keep watching the anime first, only to find out it started as a LN."

Oh, don't bother picking the light novel. I read it and it's not even 50% fun the anime is.

Thanks for the heads up =D

So for Rokka, they released the anime before the LN? Are they doing the same for other series? I noticed some Full Metal Alchemist novels on here (they may have been manga though...), and I'm pretty sure I don't remember there being Full Metal Alchemist LNs before, but I wasn't up on the market when it came out either...

James wrote: "Thanks for the heads up =D

So for Rokka, they released the anime before the LN? Are they doing the same for other series? I noticed some Full Metal Alchemist novels on here (they may have been man..."

Many times you'll see the anime make it over stateside well before the volumes of the light novels that have been released in Japan for years get localized, but most of the time that just means they gauged interest from the anime and then decided to localize the volumes after it became popular / had a buzz. You see this with games too (Steins;Gate, Chaos;Head, Danganronpa). Keep in mind too, releasing light novels is a relatively new practice for certain stateside distributors, at least on the current scale, like Yen Press' Yen-On division.

The anime for Rokka is out in English (at least subtitled; not sure about dub), but the light novels have been releasing in Japan steadily before the anime became a thing. The anime only covers one volume, so if you want to watch it before April of next year when LN volume 1 releases officially stateside, it won't utterly ruin the series. I just think the pacing will be better as a book.

FMA started as a manga, then became an anime (two animes actually; the anime, Brotherhood, is super faithful to the comics), so those novels are definitely something extra.

A few books I just remembered started as LNs are Konosuba: God's Blessing on This World and Re: Zero. If you follow Crunchyroll, those'd be two that you probably have seen brought up a lot.

Also, this started as an LN (someone who just joined said they didn't like the first volume, so maybe it's not that great a read?):

It's not, I read that one and haven't seen the anime yet. The writing was...pretty bad... But the story was good ^_^ Maybe it was me XD

Another interesting one is All You Need is Kill. It doesn't have an anime (though it has a manga), but it surprisingly enough has a Hollywood blockbuster film starring Tom Cruise called The Edge of Tomorrow. The audiobook shares the film's title. That's on my docket for next month.





Also, Durarara, as with Baccano by the same creator, started as a light novel (it has a manga too).



And Overlord, Asterisk War, and Black Bullet started as LNs, and are now readily available in English.





Phew, there's a whole bunch of anime based on LNs out there like this. Luckily we're getting some original unadapted material now, like Goblin Slayer, Death March, and Rising of the Shield Hero.

=D I'm reading Vol. 1 of Durarara! right now! I'm really liking it.

Terrence wrote: "Another interesting one is All You Need is Kill. It doesn't have an anime (though it has a manga), but it surprisingly enough has a Hollywood blockbuster film starring Tom Cruise called The Edge of..."

yea, man. i nominated All You Need Is Kill in another group. i read the first few pages and it's pretty cool--but i have so many other books that i've signed up to read and need to read--in addition to creative writing--that i need an excuse to pick it up again.

I rented both All You Need is Kill and Welcome to the NHK novel thanks to this thread. We'll see how it goes (neither is super long, but I've got big plans for my holiday reading this month). xP

James wrote: "=D I'm reading Vol. 1 of Durarara! right now! I'm really liking it."

Have you checked out Baccano? Same guys like I said above, so definitely worth reading / watching. Volume 1 is a self contained beginning to ending story, so it's an easy entrance.