News
J-Novel Club Adds 8 Light Novels, 4 Manga
posted on by Rafael Antonio Pineda
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J-Novel Club announced during its Anime Expo panel on Saturday that it has licensed eight new light novel titles and four new manga titles.
The light novel titles include:
Author(s): Sin Guilty (writer), NAKAMURA 8 (illustrator)
Release Date: Launches today with Parts 1 and 2 of Volume 1
Summary: Sol Rock plays the role of support in Black Tiger, an up-and-coming party of prodigies known as the Miracle Children. His party sees him as deadweight and he's expelled by the leader, but the truth is that he has a special talent that gives him the godlike power to bestow incredibly OP skills and stats upon his companions!
Only two members of his party, “Iron Wall” Reen and “Saint of Healing” Julia, realize that Sol is the source of their amazing
powers, and they choose to leave with him. With no one holding him back, Sol can finally unleash his true potential, and he decides to use it to create the world's most powerful party. When Sol is offered five cards, each depicting a monster powerful enough to take on the world on its own, he begins a journey to gather them all to his side and fulfill his dream!
Author(s): Tōko Amekawa (writer), Kuroyuki (illustrator)
Release Date: Launches today with Parts 1 and 2 of Volume 1 as a J-Novel Heart title
Summary: The moment her uncle pushed her out of a window but failed to kill her, six-year-old Princess Claudia remembered everything. In her past life, she was a legendary witch who commanded a veritable army of magicians. She possesses a magic that can leave the world at her mercy!
Never mind her cold reception in this life! Claudia decides to live free of worldly worries. She makes a servant of a handsome but unfriendly boy, Noah, and sets out to do whatever she pleases by using the advanced magic that once shook the world, sweeping away her opposition in the process! Unfortunately, using so much power makes her so sleepy… Zzz... Claudia rests easy in the arms of her unwilling servant after using too much magic. Here begins the story of a legendary witch ready for a comfortable, leisurely life withher grumpy, raven-haired servant!
Author(s): Hyōgo Amagasa (writer), Kyouichi (illustrator)
Release Date: Launches today with Parts 1 and 2 of Volume 1 as a J-Novel Heart title
Summary: Now that she's defeated the Demon King and become the country's greatest mage, Lacey has officially fulfilled her life's purpose. All that's left is to spend the rest of her days in a loveless political marriage. But when her engagement is broken off, Lacey realizes that all she wants is to live freely. Her wish is granted, and she moves into an empty mansion near a sleepy village.
Settling in is hard for her; shy and self-effacing, Lacey doesn't know anything about living on her own! She can fry legions of monsters, but frying up a meal? She'd rather starve. Luckily, herfriends have her back; with the support of the community, her former party member Wayne, and a monster pet, Lacey slowly learns to take care of herself and come out of her shell.
Meanwhile, Lacey's worth becomes clear to the townspeople when she solves their problems with magic that's both unconventional and spectacular. So begins Lacey's newfound calling as a magical handywoman!
Author(s): Mori (writer), Fuyuko Aoi, Yasuyuki Syuri (illustrator)
Release Date: Launches today with Parts 1 and 2 of Volume 1 as a J-Novel Heart title
Summary: Opal Holloway is a determined young lady whose ambition makes her stand out among her peers. When her entire life is seemingly changed overnight, she's left without a man to marry. However, she couldn't be more relieved, since she's been secretly in love with her childhood friend Claude. Opal hoped that she wouldn't be forced to marry a noble other than her childhood friend, but bad news arrives. Wed to a childish duke, whose servants refuse to treat her well, Opal feels like the whole world has turned against her.
But Opal isn't one to take things lying down. She decides to use her wealth to steal Duke McLeod's land and manor away! Now in charge, will she be able to transform the servants and the duke? And will she ever be able to forget her first love?
Author(s): Harajun (writer), fixro2n (illustrator)
Release Date: Launches today with Parts 1 and 2 of Volume 1
Summary: The long-awaited launch day for the VRMMORPG Boot Hour, Shoot Curse has finally arrived! As a dedicated VR gamer, Leah eagerly rolls up her character, excited to make her mark on the grand tapestry of this virtual world. A chance encounter at the start of the game leads Leah to a fateful discovery: a hidden skill called Retainer allows her to tame any NPC in the game and pool their experience points with her own!
Combining Retainer with her powerful enchantment spells, Leah steadily builds an army of retainers made up of formidable unique boss NPCs from the game. With the experience points pouring in, Leah establishes herself as a force to be reckoned with...only to be branded a living natural disaster!
Well, if the NPCs want to crown her Queen of Destruction, who is Leah to argue?
Author(s): Shinten-Shinchi (writer), Tokima (illustrator)
Release Date: Launches today with Parts 1 and 2 of Volume 1 as a J-Novel Heart title
Summary: Ginorious Adolni has but one goal after reincarnating into a new world—find and marry someone he can grow old with. After living for close to a century without ever having a single relationship due to his hideous appearance, Ginorious wishes for companionship from the depths of his heart.
The opportunity presents itself one day when he receives an offer to marry the daughter of the premier duke. It's a shocking proposal for the son of a simple viscount, until he learns that all their attempts to arrange courtships with higher nobles have already failed, and for one simple reason: the daughter's appearance, which has earned her the epithet of the Goblin Maiden. But Ginorious sees his past self in her, and soon learns that she has a genuinely beautiful soul.
Ginorious resolves to use everything at his disposal, including knowledge from his past life, to make her happy.
Author(s): Nekomata Nuko (writer), Cut (illustrator)
Release Date: Launches today with Parts 1 and 2 of Volume 1
Summary: Kaito Irie—an unremarkable young man without even hobbies to speak of—has been killed thanks to a goddess's careless mistake. As recompense, he is offered the chance to continue living in a new world with not just one newfound passion to guide and fulfill him, but three: “Collection,” “Animal Ears,” and “Laser Beams.” But with everything looking too good to be true, Kaito can't help but wonder...is there a catch?
Using his new god-given power to fire a beam powerful enough to smite any foe and precise enough to replace any tool, Kaito becomes an adventurer in search of riches and glory. Along the way, he tirelessly helps the oppressed, half-animal, half-human hybrids that inhabit his new home. Is it out of the goodness of his heart...or out of a desire to get closer to their irresistibly adorable animal ears?! Here unfolds the epic tale of a typical, run-of-the-mill guy who just happens to wield a peerless beam of death!
Author(s): Kametsu Tomobashi (writer), HEIRO (illustrator)
Release Date: Launches today with Parts 1 and 2 of Volume 1
Summary: Sieg's defensive power is through the roof, and he's proven himself to be a rock-solid foundation for a heavy-hitting party, holding every last ounce of monster aggro. But that's not enough to prevent his party from kicking him right out the door!
Who needs defense when you've got devastating attacks, right? Them, apparently—without their tank, the losses keep piling up! Sieg, on the other hand, lands a job as a gatekeeper at the royal capital and starts rising quickly through the ranks. Can he defend against the hordes of attackers, earn the trust of his squadron and the lovely but quirky ladies within, and untwist the problems of the besieged city—all at the same time?
J-Novel Club's new manga titles include:
Author(s): Yuyu Kōhara, based on Fuyu Aoki's original light novel series
Release Date: Launches today with Chapter 1 of Volume 1 as a J-Novel Heart title
Summary: Born with an unusual birthmark on her back, Chloe Ardennes was immediately branded a “cursed child” by her superstitious family and locked away in their estate for her entire life. Forced to cook and clean, Chloe's world shatters one day when an encounter with her mother at knifepoint drives her to flee the only home she's ever known. Desperately seeking refuge, she escapes to the only sanctuary she knows: the royal capital. But is the big city everything she hoped it would be?
Just as she finds herself on the brink of despair, a mysterious, gallant knight rescues her, offering a glimmer of hope and the promise of a new beginning.
Author(s): Rukako, based on Ito Iino's original light novel series
Release Date: Launches today with Chapter 1 of Volume 1 as a J-Novel Heart title
Summary: Nicola von Weber is no ordinary schoolgirl. Endowed with memories of a past life as a Shinto exorcist and natural psychic abilities, she uses her exorcism skills to protect others from malevolent apparitions. In this first installment, Nicola clashes with ghosts, doppelgangers, and more than one ill-fated romance. Most spooky apparitions seem to spawn around the school, where the students' propensity for gossip provides ample sustenance for their existence. Here, the more vividly one imagines something, the more likely it is to come true. However, as first-year student Nicola ventures beyond her schoolgirl life at The Royal Academy, she finds that the tenacity of spirits (and grudges) means that they can turn up in the strangest of places.
Author(s): Itsuki Azumaya, based on Harunadon's original light novel series
Release Date: Launches today with Chapter 1 of Volume 1 as a J-Novel Heart title
Summary: Cecily is a romantic who dreams of finding true love—the only problem is that she's a witch! Scorned by society, she gives up on meeting her very own Prince Charming until a chance encounter with the gruff but gallant knight Zeke reignites her dream. She concocts a love potion in secret and brings it to him, but before she can get a word in edgewise, he accidentally drinks the whole thing! Will Cecily manage to come clean about the whole affair? And will this slipup lead to the happily ever after she's always wanted?
Author(s): Tamura Mutō, based on Riku Nanano's original light novel series
Release Date: Launches today with Chapter 1 of Volume 1
Summary: Exams can be life-changing. Failing one just ended Allen's promising career at the royal court before it began. Now, to make ends meet, the lowborn sorcerer must help one of the kingdom's highest-born young ladies pass hers.
Duke Howard's daughter Tina has a brilliant mind, but the prestigious Royal Academy demands magic. Try as she might, she can't cast a single spell, and her impairment has baffled the kingdom's finest minds for years. With the all-important entrance exams just three months away, Allen and his unorthodox brand of spellcasting seem like her last hope to realize her dream of learning sorcery in the capital. So why does her father, the duke, want the young tutor to dash her dreams instead?
J-Novel Club also stated during the Q&A section of the panel that the company is unable to do any more print releases aside from what is already getting print releases due to complications in the industry right now. The company also confirmed it plans to do more light novel contests.
Sources: Press release, J-Novel panel at Anime Expo (Jeremy Tauber)
Disclosure: Kadokawa World Entertainment (KWE), a wholly owned subsidiary of Kadokawa Corporation, is the majority owner of Anime News Network, LLC. Yen Press, BookWalker Global, and J-Novel Club are subsidiaries of KWE.
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