Eight other titles can now be read online worldwide
For J-Novel Club, there’s nowhere to go but up. When I received the letter from Otaku Journalist Lauren Orsini about this news, she said that this is a landmark in the service’s history.
After acquiring the license to Mari Okada’s biography “From Truant to Anime Screenwriter” last March and “How NOT to Summon a Demon Lord” October last year, they dropped a bombshell announcement at Anime Expo 2018 in Los Angeles, California July 5th.
In their latest announcement, J-Novel Club will release the Hobby Japan light novel “In Another World with My Smartphone” on physical print.
“J-Novel Club has teamed with Ingram Publisher Services LLC, an Ingram company, for sales and distribution in the US and Canada. More details about format, pricing, distribution, and release date will be announced in the coming months, as well as information on additional titles that will be getting the print treatment.” [from their Press Release]
This is the service’s first foray into physical print publishing.
In addition, they have acquired licenses for the following titles, which you can preview on their website:
Amagi Brilliant Park
The first half of volume 1 is available for members on j-novel.club to read today, plus a free preview for everyone else! The E-Book for volume 1 will go on sale in late August of 2018.
[…] Author Shouji Gatou [also of Full Metal Panic! and its spinoffs] says: “I’m curious to see how they render the copulas, like ‘fumo,’ ‘ron,’ and ‘mii.’ I can’t wait!” [from their Press Release]
Kokoro Connect
The first half of volume 1 is available for members on j-novel.club to read today, plus a free preview for everyone else! The E-Book for volume 1, “HITO-RANDOM”, will go on sale in late August of 2018.
[…] Author Sadanatsu Anda says: “It brings me great pleasure to have this opportunity to share my work with the rest of the world! As the title suggests, Kokoro Connect is a story about hearts — something that truly transcends all cultural barriers — and I hope you’ll connect with it, too. In the meantime, I intend to craft even more stories for everyone in the world to enjoy!” [from their Press Release]
Gear Drive
The first half of volume 1 is available for members on j-novel.club to read today, plus a free preview for everyone else! The E-Book for volume 1 will go on sale in late August of 2018.
Gear Drive is based on a web novel of the same name, serialized on the Syosetsu ni Narou website, and its first volume was published as a light novel by Overlap earlier this year. Our heroine Anti Kythera might have ended up with some useless-seeming never-before-heard-of “magic” called “gearcraft” (whatever that is!) but with the encouragement of her parents and friends she’s gonna go off and be the best damn adventurer ever anyway! At least she can make a mean milkshake… right? [from their Press Release]
Seirei Gensouki: Spirit Chronicles
The first half of volume 1 is available for members on j-novel.club to read today, plus a free preview for everyone else! The E-Book for volume 1 will go on sale in late August of 2018.
Seirei Gensouki: Spirit Chronicles was originally a web novel and has been published as a light novel with 10 volumes and counting by Hobby Japan. It tells the story of a poor orphan boy who comes to the realization that he was actually reincarnated, and his tale of revenge and rags to riches, as he ends up in a prestigious academy for rich kids and nobles! [from their Press Release]
Sorcerous Stabber Orphen
[…] The first half of volume 1 is available for members on j-novel.club to read today, plus a free preview for everyone else! The E-Book for volume 1 will go on sale in late August of 2018. […] This is the first series J-Novel Club has licensed from publisher TO Books, Inc., and we hope it will lead to even more of their content to be released officially in English!
Author Yoshinobu Akita says: “I’m overjoyed that more people will have the opportunity to read Orphen! Thank you very much.” [from their Press Release]
JK Haru is a Sex Worker in Another World
[…] The first part of the novel is available as a free preview today, and the rest of the novel will be streamed weekly for J-Novel Club Members! The E-Book for will go on sale in Fall of 2018.
[…] Author Kou Hiratori says: “Haru, who traveled from Japan to another world, finally makes it to LA! I hope you’ll stick with Haru in this new story as she bravely makes her way in another world that is harsher and more absurd than reality, yet still familiar.” [from their Press Release]
Last and First Idol
[…] The first part of the novel is available as a free preview today, and the rest of the novel will be streamed weekly for J-Novel Club Members! The E-Book for will go on sale in Fall of 2018.
Last and First Idol is a collection of three short stories by up-and-coming author Gengen Kusano, including the titular Last and First Idol, which was awarded the prestigious Seiun Award for best science fiction short story in 2017. In addition to this epoch-defining masterpiece, two other stories, Evolution Girls and Dark Seiyuu, are also included. Gengen Kusano masterfully combines the highest of high sci-fi with otaku, gamer, and pop culture elements to produce stories of a truly mind blowing scale. Whether it’s idols or gacha games or seiyuu fandom, it’s always going to go intergalactic if it’s Gengen Kusano.
Author Gengen Kusano says: “In the universe, there are infinite minds, and infinite moments of time. You are but one such mind, at once such moment. Why do you exist? And how should you live the life you have? A truly great work of fiction is one that helps you find answers to these problems. Last and First Idol will provide those answers. Thus, it is a masterpiece.” [from their Press Release]
Märchen der Werwolf: The Annals of Veight
[…] The first part of the novel is available as a free preview today, and the rest of the novel will be streamed weekly for J-Novel Club Members! The E-Book for will go on sale in Fall of 2018. [from their Press Release]
I have tried J-Novel Club for a month and I went on to read “Me, a Genius? […].” Look, I still haven’t finished the whole series yet, but I can bring it anywhere as long as I am connected to the internet. Services like J-Novel Club acquire licenses for worldwide digital release — when I said anywhere, they mean anywhere around the world.
For a yearly subscription of US$4.50 a month (US$54, around Php2,881 as of posting) you can read a lot of titles available in their library, such as “Invaders of the Rokujouma!?”, “If It’s for My Daughter, I’d Even Defeat a Demon Lord”, “Arifureta: From Commonplace to World’s Strongest”, “Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash”, “The Faraway Paladin”, “In Another World With My Smartphone”, “How a Realistic Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom”, and more.
Launched in October 2016, J-Novel Club has partnered with various publishing companies in Japan such as OVERLAP, Inc., KADOKAWA, ENTERBRAIN, Hobby Japan, TO Books, Inc., Hayakawa Publishing Corp. and Earthstar Entertainment to bring the latter’s titles worldwide.