Seven Seas Entertainment is an American publishing company located in Los Angeles, California. It was originally dedicated to the publication of original English-language manga, but now publishes licensed manga and light novels from Japan, as well as select webcomics. The company is headed by Jason DeAngelis, who coined the term "world manga" with the October 2004 launch of the company's website.
A light novel is a type of popular literature novel native to Japan, usually classified as young adult fiction targeting teens to twenties. The definition is very vague, and wide-ranging.
Yen Press is an American manga, graphic novel and light novel publisher co-owned by Kadokawa Corporation and Hachette Book Group. It published Yen Plus, a monthly comic anthology, between 2008 and 2013. In addition to translated material, Yen Press has published original series, most notably Svetlana Chmakova's Nightschool and a manga adaptation of James Patterson's Maximum Ride.
Overlord is a Japanese light novel series written by Kugane Maruyama and illustrated by so-bin. It began serialization online in 2010, before being acquired by Enterbrain. Sixteen volumes have been published since July 2012. A manga adaptation by Satoshi Ōshio, with art by Hugin Miyama, began serialization in Kadokawa Shoten's manga magazine Comp Ace from November 26, 2014. Both the light novels and the manga are licensed in North America by Yen Press since 2016.
KonoSuba: God's Blessing on This Wonderful World!, often referred to simply as KonoSuba, is a Japanese light novel series written by Natsume Akatsuki and illustrated by Kurone Mishima. The series follows Kazuma Satou, a boy who is sent to a fantasy world with MMORPG elements following his death, where he forms a dysfunctional adventuring party with a goddess, an archmage, and a crusader. Originally serialized as a web novel on Shōsetsuka ni Narō between December 2012 and October 2013, KonoSuba was published as a printed light novel series by Kadokawa Shoten under the company's Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko imprint from October 2013 to May 2020. The light novel series features a divergent plot.
Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash is a Japanese light novel series written by Ao Jūmonji and illustrated by Eiri Shirai. The story follows a group of people who suddenly find themselves in a fantasy world with no memories from before their arrival, and chronicles their struggles to survive and make a life for themselves as volunteer soldiers.
BookWalker (ブックウォーカー), stylized as Book☆Walker and BOOK☆WALKER, is a Japanese e-book store that sells manga, light novels, and magazines from various publishers, as well as a few published by themselves. It is based in Chiyoda, Tokyo and was created by Kadokawa Corporation. The company was founded in 2005 before launching their store in Japan in 2010 and internationally in 2014, in which year a webtoon-focused mobile application counterpart, ComicWalker, was also launched.
Shōsetsuka ni Narō is a Japanese novel self-publishing website created by Yusuke Umezaki. It was launched on April 2, 2004. Users can upload their novels free of charge and the novels are also free to read. As of December 2022, the site hosts close to 1,000,000 novels, has over 2,300,000 registered users and it receives over 1 billion page views per month.
Cross Infinite World is a California-based language localization company specializing in Japanese to English translation and publication of Japanese media such as light novels and manga.
In Another World with My Smartphone, also known as IseSuma (異世スマ) for short, is a Japanese light novel series written by Patora Fuyuhara and illustrated by Eiji Usatsuka. It began serialization online in 2013 on the user-generated novel publishing website Shōsetsuka ni Narō until it was acquired by Hobby Japan for publishing the print edition as a light novel. J-Novel Club has licensed the series for an English release, releasing each novel in six weekly parts since February 2017. A manga adaptation by Soto began its serialization in Kadokawa Shoten's Comp Ace in November 2016. The manga is licensed in English by Yen Press. An anime television series adaptation by Production Reed aired from July to September 2017. A second season by J.C.Staff aired from April to June 2023.
[New Life+] Young Again in Another World is a Japanese light novel series written by MINE and illustrated by Kabocha. The series is licensed in English by J-Novel Club. A manga adaptation by Satoru Abou was serialized from 2016 to 2021, and an anime television series adaptation by Seven Arcs Pictures was scheduled to premiere in October 2018, before it was cancelled on June 6, 2018. Following the announcement of the anime adaptation, the series and its author began to face criticism for controversial material in the novels and in Twitter posts that MINE had made between 2012 and 2015.
My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!, also known as HameFura (はめふら) for short, is a Japanese light novel series written by Satoru Yamaguchi and illustrated by Nami Hidaka. It began serialization online in July 2014 on the user-generated novel publishing website Shōsetsuka ni Narō. It was acquired by Ichijinsha, who published the first light novel volume in August 2015 under their Ichijinsha Bunko Iris imprint. Thirteen volumes have been released as of September 2023. The light novel has been licensed in North America by J-Novel Club.
If It's for My Daughter, I'd Even Defeat a Demon Lord is a Japanese light novel series written by Chirolu and initially illustrated by Truffle until volume 2 where Kei assumed the illustration of the series. It began serialization online in August 2014 on the user-generated novel publishing website Shōsetsuka ni Narō. It was later acquired by Hobby Japan, who have published nine volumes since February 2015 under their HJ Novels imprint. The series is published in English by J-Novel Club.
I'm in Love with the Villainess is a Japanese light novel series written by Inori and illustrated by Hanagata. It was serialized online between January 2018 and February 2021 on the Japanese novel self-publishing website Shōsetsuka ni Narō. It was acquired by Aichu Publishing, who published the first light novel volume digitally in February 2019 under their GL Bunko imprint.
Sexiled: My Sexist Party Leader Kicked Me Out, So I Teamed Up With a Mythical Sorceress!, is a Japanese yuri light novel series, written by Kaeruda Ameko and illustrated by Miya Kazutomo. It was serialized online between August 2018 and April 2019 on the user-generated novel publishing website Shōsetsuka ni Narō. It was acquired by Overlap, who published both volumes of the light novel in 2019 under their Overlap Novels imprint. It is licensed in North America by J-Novel Club. A manga adaptation by Seto Ririura began serialization on Shogakukan's Sunday Webry manga website on April 12, 2021.
I'm the Villainess, So I'm Taming the Final Boss is a Japanese light novel series written by Sarasa Nagase and illustrated by Mai Murasaki. It began serialization online in May 2017 on the user-generated novel publishing website Shōsetsuka ni Narō. It was later acquired by Kadokawa Shoten, who have published ten volumes since September 2017 under their Kadokawa Beans Bunko imprint. A manga adaptation with art by Anko Yuzu was serialized in Kadokawa Shoten's seinen manga magazine Comp Ace from June 2018 to August 2019. It was collected in three tankōbon volumes. Both the light novel and manga are licensed in North America by Yen Press. An anime television series adaptation produced by Maho Film aired from October to December 2022.
I'm Quitting Heroing: Next Gig Is at the Demon Queen's Castle is a Japanese fantasy light novel series written by Quantum and illustrated by Hana Amano. It was serialized online from January to February 2017 on Kadokawa's user-generated novel publishing website Kakuyomu. It was later published by Fujimi Shobo with three volumes from December 2017 to October 2018 under their Kadokawa Books imprint. A manga adaptation with art by Nori Kazato has been serialized online via Kadokawa Shoten's Young Ace Up website since May 2018 and has been collected in eight tankōbon volumes. Both the light novel and manga are licensed in North America by Kadokawa, with Yen Press handling the manga's physical release. An anime television series adaptation produced by EMT Squared aired from April to June 2022.
Endo and Kobayashi Live! The Latest on Tsundere Villainess Lieselotte, also known as Tsunlise (ツンリゼ) for short, is a Japanese fantasy light novel series written by Suzu Enoshima and illustrated by Eihi. It was serialized online between August and November 2018 on the user-generated novel publishing website Shōsetsuka ni Narō, and all 47 chapters were later released on the Kakuyomu website in December 2019. It was later acquired by Fujimi Shobo, who have published two volumes between April and August 2019 under their Kadokawa Books imprint. The light novel is licensed in North America by J-Novel Club. A manga adaptation with art by Rumiwo Sakaki has been serialized in Enterbrain's josei manga magazine B's Log Comic since June 2019. It has been collected in six tankōbon volumes. An anime television series adaptation by Tezuka Productions aired from January to March 2023.
