News Reporting

Anime Expo 2018: J-Novel Club Adds Amagi Brilliant Park 7 Other Light Novels


It looks like light novel fans have a lot to love today!

Earlier today, J-Novel Club announced that they licensed eight titles. The publisher picked up the global English digital rights to the following:

  • Amagi Brilliant Park by Shouji Gatou and illustrator Yuka Nakajima
  • Kokoro Connect by Sadanatsu Anda
  • Sorcerous Stabber Orphen by Yoshinobu Akita
  • Gear Drive by Kabayakidare and illustrator Koutaro Sugi
  • Seirei Gensouki: Spirit Chronicles by Yuri Kitayama and illustrator Riv
  • JK Haru is a Sex Worker in Another World by Kou Hiratori
  • Last and First Idol by Gengen Kusano
  • Märchen der Werwolf: The Annals of Veight by Hyougetsu and illustrator Nishi(E)da

The first half of the first volume of Amagi Brilliant Park, Kokoro Connect, Sorcerous Stabber Orphen, Gear Drive and Seirei Gensouki: Spirit Chronicles are available to J-Novel Club members as of press time. The title will see their e-Book debuts hit stores in late August.

The first part of JK Haru is a Sex Worker in Another World, Last and First Idol, and the first volume of Märchen der Werwolf and are available to J-Novel Club members as of press time, with their e-Book debuts scheduled for this fall.

Free previews for all titles are also available for all readers via the J-Novel Club website.

Amagi Brilliant Park

Amagi Brilliant Park Light Novel Volume 1 Cover

The first half of the first volume of Amagi Brilliant Park is available to J-Novel Club members as of press time. A free preview is also available for all readers. The e-book version is slated to hit digital storefronts in Late August.

The series launched under Fujimi Shobo’s Fujimi Fantasia Bunko imprint in February 2013. The ongoing title currently spans eight volumes, as well as several spinoffs. The title received two manga adaptations, Amagi Brilliant Park and Amagi Brilliant Park? Fumo, which ran in Monthly Dragon Age magazine.

Amagi Brilliant Park also received an anime adaptation, which hit Japanese TV in the Fall 2014 broadcast season.

J-Novel Club describes Amagi Brilliant Park as:

Amusement parks are places of wonder and fun for all ages… right? Well, that’s not quite the case for Amagi Brilliant Park, a “crummy” amusement park on the outskirts of Tokyo where the snacks are inedible, the attractions are falling apart, and the mascots regularly get into fistfights with the guests. It’s the kind of place that cool, handsome, brilliant Kanie Seiya wouldn’t be caught dead in… until a mysterious girl drags him there–at literal gunpoint–and demands that he help them save the park!

Kokoro Connect

Kokoro Connect Light Novel Volume 1 Cover Art

The first half of the first volume of Kokoro Connect is available to J-Novel Club members as of press time. A free preview is also available for all readers. The e-book version is slated to hit digital storefronts in Late August.

Kokoro Connect kicked off in January 2010 under Enterbrain’s Famitsu Bunko imprint. The title ran through September 2013, spanning a total of eleven volumes.

Anda worked with illustrator Cuteg to produce a manga adaptation of the title, which ran from October 2010 – August 2013 in Famitsu Comic Clear magazine. Silver Link produced an anime adaptation, which premiered in July 2012 and ran for two cours.

J-Novel Club describes the title as:

The Cultural Research Club is an eclectic bunch: a pro wrestling fanboy, a goofy ditz, a master of snark, a laid-back jokester, and a total girly-girl. Their peaceful teenage lives are turned upside-down, however, when they suddenly and inexplicably start swapping bodies with each other. At first it’s all wacky hijinks… but then things get a little too personal. Boundaries are crossed, and dark secrets come to light—secrets that threaten to destroy the very foundations of their friendship.

Who—or what—is causing the body-swap phenomenon? Will it ever stop? But most of all… can their club survive it? Find out in the hit ensemble dramedy light novel from award-winning author Sadanatsu Anda!

Sorcerous Stabber Orphen

Sorcerous Stabber Orphen Light Novel Volume 1 Cover

Yoshinobu Akita’s Sorcerous Stabber Orphen light novels launched in Fujimi Shobo’s Dragon Magazine in 1994. The series, which ran through 2003, spans 20 volumes. Two sequels and a spinoff, which includes a cross-over with The Slayers (Famitsu Comic Clear, 2005), have also been released since the title’s 1994 debut.

Akita worked with illustrator Yuuya Kusaka to produce a manga adaptation of his work, which ran in Dragon Magazine from 1998 – 2001. Two anime titles were produced by J.C. Staff, which aired in Fall 1998 and Fall 1999, respectively. The title recently saw a new anime project announced, which will hit the airwaves in 2019.

J-Novel’s acquisition of Sorcerous Stabber Orphen is the company’s first-ever license from TO Books. J-Novel Club describes the series as:

Orphen is a Sorcerer drop-out from the prestigious Tower of Fangs. His journey to save Azalie, a girl he looked up to like a sister, has brought him to the bustling city of Totokanta. Here they are reunited for the first time in five years. But what is the truth behind her monstrous transformation, and just what secrets lurk behind the Sword of Baldanders…?

Gear Drive

Gear Drive Light Novel Volume 1 Cover

Gear Drive launched in February, under Overlap’s main imprint. J-Novel Club describes the title as:

In a world where magic abounds, 15-year-old Anti Kythera is the odd one out. No matter how hard she studies, she can’t even use the most basic of skills. Her only hope is her upcoming Skill Bestowal: a ceremony that can help even the chronically magicless discover their talent.
But what Anti receives is something completely new: Gearcraft, a skill that allows her to make and control golden gears!

What can a restaurant owner’s daughter, much less an aspiring adventurer, do with gears? As it turns out, quite a bit. But it’s going to take a little imagination, and a lot of effort, if she’s going to discover the secrets of this never-before-seen power.

Can Anti tame the tiara-shaped artifact that calls itself “Crown Gear”? Will she ever become as great as her idol, Purple Lightning? Join her as she gets into gear for a life of adventure!

Seirei Gensouki: Spirit Chronicles

Seirei Gensouki Spirit Chronicles Light Novel Volume 1 Cover

Seirei Gensouki: Spirit Chronicles originally launched in September 2015 under Hobby Japan’s HJ Paperback imprint. The series spans ten volumes, with the latest hitting Japanese bookstores on March 31.

J-Novel Club describes the title as:

Meet Rio: a callous orphaned boy living in the slums. At only 7-years-old, he realizes he’s actually the reincarnation of Haruto Amakawa, a Japanese university student with a tragic past. While still reeling from this shocking epiphany, Rio also comes to learn that he possesses extremely potent magical abilities and uses his new powers to solve the kidnapping case of a little girl. His good deed is acknowledged, and he’s rewarded by being enrolled into… a prestigious academy for noble children…?

JK Haru is a Sex Worker in Another World

JK Haru is a Sex Worker in Another World is a single-volume novel, which originally debuted under Hayakawa Publishing’s main imprint on December 6, 2017.

J-Novel Club describes the title as:

*record scratch*

*freeze frame on Haru Koyama getting choked by a horny naked dude*

Yep, that’s me. You’re probably wondering how I got into this situation. Not by choice, I can tell you that! It started when my weirdo classmate, Chiba, tried to save me from a runaway truck and got us both killed instead. Idiot. Then we got transported to another world, which I guess is like an otaku dream come true, or something? Chiba ends up with cheat abilities, and what do I get? Nothing! Lucky me, I get to be a sex worker instead. Gotta earn money somehow — but since I have to do it, I’m gonna kick ass at it. This world treats women even worse than the one we came from, so things get…rough. Still, I’ve made friends with some of the girls, and if I can juggle Chiba’s idiocy and Sumo the virgin’s emotions on top of all the various kinks my customers throw at me, things will be all right…won’t they?

Last and First Idol

Last and First Idol Novel Cover

Last and First Idol is a short story collection, which hit Japanese stores on January 24. The title won several awards, including the Hayakawa SF Contest Special Prize, the Seiun Award (Japanese Short Story Division), the Dark Seiun Award (Guest Division), and the Sense of Gender Award (Future Idol Award).

J-Novel Club describes the title as:

“Bye-bye, Earth! My idol activities here were so much fun!”

4th Hayakawa SF Contest Special Prize

48th Seiun Award (Japanese Short Story Division)

27th Dark Seiun Award (Guest Division)

16th Sense of Gender Award (Future Idol Award)

Last and First Idol earned the first ever special prize in the Hayakawa SF Contest, and the first debut work to win the Seiun Award in 42 years! This existential widescreen yuri baroque proletariat hard sci-fi idol story has carved out a new legend in science fiction history!

Also includes Evolution Girls, in which some gacha-expert friends race to find the truth of the universe, and Dark Seiyuu, a brand-new space opera about voice actors! Gengen Kusano’s astounding debut collection!

Märchen der Werwolf: The Annals of Veight

Märchen der Werwolf: The Annals of Veight Light Novel Volume 1 Cover 001

Märchen der Werwolf: The Annals of Veight launched under Earth Star’s novel imprint in November 2015. The series spans nine volumes to date, with the most recent shipping to Japanese stores on May 16.

J-Novel Club describes the title as:

The reborn werewolf known as Veight now leads the Demon Lord’s third regiment under the title of Vice-Commander. Having conquered the trading hub known as Ryunheit, he soon learns the struggles of governing a city of mixed human/demon population. Armed with an understanding of inter-species relations and a desire for peace, he spends his days quelling violent demons and pacifying disruptive humans in his pursuit to bring balance and tranquility.

Source: J-Novel Club (Press Releases) [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]

About the author

Samantha Ferreira

Samantha Ferreira is Anime Herald’s founder and editor-in-chief. A Rhode Island native, Samantha has been an anime fan since 1992, and an active member of the anime press since 2002, when she began working as a reviewer for Anime Dream. She launched Anime Herald in 2010, and continues to oversee its operations to this day. Outside of journalism, Samantha actively studies the history of the North American anime fandom and industry, with a particular focus on the 2000s anime boom and bust. She’s a huge fan of all things Sakura Wars, and maintains series fansite Combat Revue Review when she has free time available. When not in the Anime Herald Discord, Samantha can typically be found on Bluesky.

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