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Next Haruhi Novel Gets Record 513,000-Set 1st Printing
posted on by Egan Loo
The Japanese publisher Kadokawa Shoten confirmed on Thursday that Nagaru Tanigawa's next Haruhi Suzumiya light novel, Suzumiya Haruhi no Kyōgaku (The Surprise of Haruhi Suzumiya), will receive a first printing of 513,000 sets. This print run sets a record for light novels. The novel will ship in two 300-page volumes on May 25, so Kadokawa is actually publishing over 1 million book volumes for the launch. In addition, the limited first edition of the set will bundle a special booklet containing Tanigawa's short "Rainy Day" story about the protagonist Kyon's time in middle school. (The regular editions of the two volumes will then be sold individually, without the booklet, on June 15.)
According to the Mainichi Shimbun paper's Mantan Web site, over 16.5 million copies of the Haruhi Suzumiya light novel series have been published in 15 countries, including 8 million in Japan.
The Little, Brown Books for Young Readers imprint will publish the fifth light novel, The Rampage of Haruhi Suzumiya, in North America in June. A two-volume English vocabulary guide based on the light novels is shipping in Japan on Thursday.
Source: Mainichi Shimbun's Mantan Web
Update: The 16.5-million tally includes the manga adaptations as well as the original light novels.
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