Cyber Troopers Virtual-On is a series of video games developed by Sega AM3/Hitmaker, and originally created by Juro Watari. The games feature fast, action-oriented gameplay requiring quick reflexes, featuring mecha called Virtuaroids or "VRs", that are large robots the player controls in battles against enemy VRs. The first game was Virtual On: Cyber Troopers (1995), which was released globally, while its following four installments in the series were mainly Japan exclusives where the series has retained high popularity.
Shakugan no Shana, also known simply as Shana (シャナ), is a Japanese light novel series written by Yashichiro Takahashi with illustrations by Noizi Ito. ASCII Media Works published 27 novels from November 2002 to November 2023 under their Dengeki Bunko imprint. The story focuses on Yuji Sakai, a high school boy who becomes involved in an age-old conflict between forces of balance and imbalance in existence; in the process, he befriends a fighter for the balancing force and names her "Shana". The series also incorporates fantasy and slice of life elements.
Virtua Fighter is a series of fighting games created by Sega AM2 and designer Yu Suzuki. The original Virtua Fighter was released in December 1993 and has received four main sequels and several spin-offs. The highly influential first Virtua Fighter game is widely recognized as the first 3D fighting game released.
A Certain Magical Index is a Japanese light novel series written by Kazuma Kamachi and illustrated by Kiyotaka Haimura, which has been published by ASCII Media Works under their Dengeki Bunko imprint since April 2004 in a total of three separate series. The first ran from April 2004 to October 2010, the second from March 2011 to July 2019, and the third from February 2020 to present.
ASCII Media Works, formerly ASCII Media Works, Inc., is a Japanese publisher and brand company of Kadokawa Future Publishing headquartered in Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan. It originally formed on April 1, 2008, as a result of a merger between ASCII Corporation and MediaWorks where MediaWorks legally absorbed ASCII. Despite this, the former president and CEO of ASCII, Kiyoshi Takano, became the first president and CEO of ASCII Media Works. It became an internal division of Kadokawa Corporation on October 1, 2013.
Dengeki Gakuen RPG: Cross of Venus is a Japanese action role-playing video game developed by Pegasus Japan and published by ASCII Media Works for the Nintendo DS handheld video game console, and was first released in Japan on March 19, 2009, in limited and regular editions. An enhanced remake was released on the Nintendo DS in February 2011, titled Dengeki Gakuen RPG: Cross of Venus Special. The game was produced in commemoration of the fifteenth anniversary of ASCII Media Works' light novel imprint Dengeki Bunko. The player assumes the role of an unnamed protagonist attending Dengeki Academy who stumbles into a fight between heroines from Dengeki Bunko novel worlds and the evil organization Zetsumu. The reality-based world of Dengeki Academy and the novel worlds have become connected and the player is able to help the Dengeki Bunko heroines fight the Zetsumu by going between the worlds. Eight heroines are presented including Shana from Shakugan no Shana, Kino from Kino's Journey, and Kana Iriya from Iriya no Sora, UFO no Natsu. Each heroine fights with her own unique style of weapon, combos, and special attacks. The protagonist is designed by Kouhaku Kuroboshi, and his childhood friend Kizuna Kasugai is designed by Noizi Ito.
MediaWorks, Inc. was a Japanese publishing company in the Kadokawa Group known for their Dengeki brand magazines and book labels. These included such well-known magazines as Dengeki Daioh, and Dengeki G's Magazine, along with MediaWorks' main light novel publishing imprint Dengeki Bunko. The company was merged with ASCII on April 1, 2008, and became ASCII Media Works. They mainly catered to the Japanese male otaku crowd, covering such topics as anime, light novels, manga, plastic modelling, and visual novels. However, MediaWorks had published three magazines targeted towards females—Comic Sylph, Dengeki Girl's Style, and Character Parfait—but each one was a special edition version of another magazine. MediaWorks ran yearly contests for original novel and manga submissions, such as the light novel Dengeki Novel Prize contest.
Durarara!! (デュラララ!!), shortened to DRRR!! in some official materials, is a Japanese light novel series written by Ryohgo Narita, with illustrations by Suzuhito Yasuda. Durarara!! tells the story of a dullahan working as an underworld courier in Ikebukuro, an internet-based anonymous gang called the Dollars, and the chaos that unfolds around the most dangerous people in Ikebukuro. The series ran for thirteen volumes, published by ASCII Media Works under their Dengeki Bunko imprint. A sequel series, titled Durarara!! SH set two years after the events of the original series, started in 2014.
Kazuma Kamachi is the pen name of a Japanese author who has published over 100 light novel volumes. He is best known for the creation of the A Certain Magical Index franchise which, as of 2019, has sold over 30 million copies worldwide and has been licensed in North America by Yen Press with the first novel being released in Q4 2014.
Hyperdimension Neptunia is a series of role-playing video games produced by Compile Heart and Idea Factory, which revolves around and parodies the real-life video gaming industry and other forms of Japanese culture. The series has also branched off into a manga, light novel and anime media franchise series.
Kino's Journey —the Beautiful World—, shortened to Kino's Journey, is a Japanese light novel series written by Keiichi Sigsawa, with illustrations by Kouhaku Kuroboshi. The series follows a traveler named Kino and her talking motorcycle named Hermes, as they explore countries with unique customs and people around a mysterious world, only spending three days at each location. The series originally started serialization in volume five of MediaWorks' now-defunct light novel magazine Dengeki hp on March 17, 2000. The first volume of the series was published on July 10, 2000 by ASCII Media Works under their Dengeki Bunko publishing imprint. As of November 2020, 23 volumes have been published.
Sword Art Online is a Japanese light novel series written by Reki Kawahara and illustrated by abec. The series takes place in the 2020s and focuses on protagonists Kazuto "Kirito" Kirigaya and Asuna Yuuki as they play through various virtual reality MMORPG worlds, and later their involvement in the matters of a simulated civilization. Kawahara originally wrote the series as a web novel on his website from 2002 to 2008. The light novels began publication on ASCII Media Works' Dengeki Bunko imprint from April 10, 2009, with a spin-off series launching in October 2012. The series has spawned twelve manga adaptations published by ASCII Media Works and Kadokawa. The novels and the manga adaptations have been licensed for release in North America by Yen Press.
Accel World is a Japanese light novel series written by Reki Kawahara and illustrated by HIMA. It has been published by ASCII Media Works under its Dengeki Bunko imprint since February 2009. The series has spawned three manga series; Accel World by Hiroyuki Aigamo, published in Dengeki Bunko Magazine from April 2010 to June 2017; Acchel World by Ryuryū Akari, published in the same magazine from April 2010 to June 2016; and Accel World / Dural: Magisa Garden by Ayato Sasakura, published in Monthly Comic Dengeki Daioh from January 2012 to June 2017. The light novel series and its manga adaptation of the same name have been licensed for English release in North America by Yen Press.
BlazBlue: Chrono Phantasma, released in Japan as BlazBlue: Chronophantasma, is a 2-D fighting game developed by Arc System Works. It is the third game of the Blazblue series, set after the events of BlazBlue: Continuum Shift. The game was originally to be released first as an arcade game in the early fourth quarter of 2012, which was later pushed forward to November, 2012. A PlayStation 3 version of the game was released in Japan on October 24, 2013, while it was released in the North America on March 25, 2014. Due to limited hardware and disc space the game was not released on the Xbox 360.
Black Bullet is a Japanese light novel series written by Shiden Kanzaki and illustrated by Saki Ukai, published under ASCII Media Works's Dengeki Bunko imprint. The story takes place during a parasitic epidemic, and follows Rentarō Satomi and Enju Aihara, two Civil Security workers who take missions to protect the Tokyo Area from destruction.
Hyperdevotion Noire: Goddess Black Heart is a 2014 tactical role-playing game developed by Compile Heart and Sting Entertainment. The game is a spin-off title of the Hyperdimension Neptunia game series featuring Noire as the main character. The game was released in Japan on May 29, 2014, and in North America and Europe in February 2015. It was originally a PlayStation Vita exclusive. A port for Microsoft Windows was released on April 26, 2016. A Nintendo Switch port is scheduled to be released in Japan on February 13, 2025.
Sega Hard Girls is a Japanese multimedia project produced as a collaboration between ASCII Media Works' Dengeki Bunko imprint and video game company Sega. The project re-imagines various Sega video game consoles as anthropomorphized goddesses who appear all over modern Japan. The project has inspired a light novel series written by Tōru Shiwasu with illustrations by Kei, which was serialized in ASCII Media Works' Dengeki Bunko Magazine between 2013 and 2014, and an anime television series adaptation titled Hi-sCoool! SeHa Girls by TMS Entertainment, which aired in Japan between October and December 2014. A crossover video game with Idea Factory's Hyperdimension Neptunia franchise, Superdimension Neptune VS Sega Hard Girls, was released for the PlayStation Vita in Japan in November 2015, and in North America and Europe in October 2016.
And You Thought There Is Never a Girl Online? is a Japanese light novel series, written by Shibai Kineko and illustrated by Hisasi. ASCII Media Works has published twenty-three volumes since 2013 under their Dengeki Bunko imprint. A manga adaptation with art by Kazui Ishigami was serialized in ASCII Media Works' seinen manga magazine Dengeki G's Comic from August 30, 2014, to September 29, 2018, and has been collected in eight tankōbon volumes. An anime television series adaptation by Project No.9 aired from April 7, 2016, to June 23, 2016.
Eromanga Sensei is a Japanese light novel series written by Tsukasa Fushimi and illustrated by Hiro Kanzaki. ASCII Media Works has published thirteen volumes in the series under its Dengeki Bunko imprint from December 2013 to August 2022. A manga adaptation illustrated by Rin has been serialized in Dengeki Daioh from May 2014 to May 2021. An anime adaptation produced by A-1 Pictures aired from April to June 2017.
Kakeru Kobashiri is a Japanese novelist and game scenario writer. She is from Tokyo, Japan and graduated from the Open University of Japan. In 2013, she won the 20th Dengeki Novel Prize for the Grimoire of Zero.
