One of the big distinguishing points between “light novels” and “regular novels” is that light novels are born into a multimedia ecosystem. They aren’t made up of text alone—they have insert illustrations and distinct anime-esque character designs, making it easy for them to make the leap from book to screen. Kadokawa’s business strategy revolves around …
I’ve been quiet on this blog for a while, and by the end of this post you will understand why. (It’s all good news, don’t worry!) I Translated a Mushoku Tensei Book! So… After I left ANN, I got into the manga and light novel translation sphere. Translation was always something I dabbled in, like …
When light novel titles swap the same couple dozen keywords between them, I wouldn’t blame you for getting them mixed up. Last season, there was an anime called Banished from the Hero’s Party, I Decided to Live a Quiet Life in the Countryside, and this season there’s one called The Banished Former Hero Lives as …
Over the years, these year-end wrap-up posts have taken a variety of shapes and forms. In the past, I’ve enjoyed making list of my top shows of the year. But in a year where few airing television anime really moved me, I thought I’d forgo that formality by telling you all 28 (more or less) …
The first arc of The Apothecary Diaries begins and ends with a mystery that relatively few people in modern Japan have to reckon with: why would a baby die before their first year of life? It’s a stark window into a time when high infant mortality rates were seen as an unavoidable fact of life. …
It’s that time of the year again! Looking back on this year’s English light novel debuts, there were a handful of titles that I was really looking forward to but which ultimately disappointed me (Agents of the Four Seasons, The Ephemeral Scenes of Setsuna’s Journey, and Days With My Stepsister, to name a few), but …
