Yotsuba&! is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kiyohiko Azuma, the creator of Azumanga Daioh. It has been serialized since January 2003 in the monthly magazine Dengeki Daioh by ASCII Media Works, formerly MediaWorks, and has since been collected into 15 tankōbon volumes. It depicts the everyday adventures of a young girl named Yotsuba as she learns about the world around her, guided by her adoptive father, their neighbors, and their friends. Several characters in Yotsuba&! were previously featured in a one-shot manga by Azuma called "Try! Try! Try!" The phrase Yotsuba to means "Yotsuba and," a fact reflected in the chapter titles, most of which take the form "Yotsuba and [something]."
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.
VIZ Media, LLC is an American entertainment company headquartered in San Francisco, California, focused on publishing manga, and distribution and licensing Japanese anime, films, and television series.
Animax was a Latin American cable television channel, serving as the regional variant of the Japanese network of the same name. It was launched on 31 July 2005, replacing Locomotion, which was acquired by Sony on 18 January of the same year. Animax was divided into four feeds: three in Spanish and one in Portuguese (Brazil).
Maoyū: Maō Yūsha, also known as Maoyu, or Archenemy and Hero in English, is a Japanese light novel series by Mamare Touno that was initially posted in a play format on the textboard 2channel in 2009. Enterbrain published five main novels in the series, in addition to three side-story novels between 2010 and 2012, selling over 450,000 copies in total. It has received several manga adaptations. A 12-episode anime adaptation by Arms aired in Japan from January 5 to March 30, 2013. The series follows the exploits of a human hero and the queen of demons who join forces to bring peace and prosperity to their war-torn world.
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.
Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody is a Japanese light novel series written by Hiro Ainana. It began serialization online in 2013 on the user-generated novel publishing website Shōsetsuka ni Narō until it was acquired by Fujimi Shobo. The first volume of the Light Novel was published in March 2014. A manga adaptation by Ayamegumu ran in Age Premium until the magazine ceased publication, and was then transferred to Monthly Dragon Age. Both the light novels and the manga adaptation have been licensed for publication in North America by Yen Press. An anime television series adaptation by Silver Link and Connect aired from January 11 to March 29, 2018.
J-Novel Club is a publishing company specializing in the translation of Japanese light novels into English. It streams light novels and manga in regular installments before publishing finalized e-books. As of August 2021, J-Novel Club has licensed over 150 light novel and manga series and have published more than 800 e-books. It has licensed titles from many Japanese publishers, including Hobby Japan, Overlap, Kodansha, Drecom, Earth Star Entertainment, Kadokawa Corporation, Micro Magazine, Shufunotomo, and Softbank Creative. It was acquired by Kadokawa Corporation on April 28, 2021.
Isekai is a sub-genre of fiction. It includes novels, light novels, films, manga, anime, and video games that revolve around a displaced person or people who are transported to and have to survive in another world such as a fantasy world, game world, or parallel universe with or without the possibility of returning to their original world. Isekai is one of the most popular genres of anime, and isekai stories share many common tropes – for example, a powerful protagonist who is able to beat most people in the other world by fighting. This plot device typically allows the audience to learn about the new world at the same pace as the protagonist over the course of their quest or lifetime. If the main characters are transported to a game-like world, the genre can overlap with LitRPG.
Reborn as a Vending Machine, I Now Wander the Dungeon is a Japanese light novel series written by Hirukuma and illustrated by Itsuwa Kato and Yūki Hagure. The series was originally published in 2016 as a web novel by the author on the user-generated novel publishing website Shōsetsuka ni Narō. Later on the same year, it was acquired and then published by Kadokawa Shoten. A manga adaptation by Kunieda began serialization ASCII Media Works's shōnen manga magazine Dengeki Daioh in August 2021. Both the light novel and manga have been licensed in English by Yen Press. An anime television series adaptation by Studio Gokumi and AXsiZ aired from July to September 2023. A second season has been announced.
The World's Finest Assassin Gets Reincarnated in Another World as an Aristocrat, also known as The world's best assassin, To reincarnate in a different world aristocrat, is a Japanese light novel series written by Rui Tsukiyo and illustrated by Reia. It was serialized online from July 2018 to October 2021 on the user-generated novel publishing website Shōsetsuka ni Narō. It was later acquired by Kadokawa Shoten, who have published the series since February 2019 under their Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko imprint.
The Demon Sword Master of Excalibur Academy is a Japanese light novel series written by Yū Shimizu and illustrated by Asagi Tōsaka. Media Factory has published fifteen volumes since May 2019 under their MF Bunko J imprint. The light novel is licensed in North America by Yen Press. A manga adaptation with art by Asuka Keigen has been serialized in Kadokawa Shoten's shōnen manga magazine Monthly Shōnen Ace since November 2019. It has been collected in eight tankōbon volumes.
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.
Handyman Saitou in Another World is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kazutomo Ichitomo. It has been serialized online via Kadokawa Shoten's ComicWalker website since October 2018 and has been collected in eleven tankōbon volumes. An anime television series adaptation produced by C2C aired from January to March 2023.
Demon Lord 2099 is a Japanese light novel series written by Daigo Murasaki and illustrated by Kureta. The series began publication by Fujimi Shobo under their Fujimi Fantasia Bunko imprint in January 2021. The light novel series has been licensed in English by Yen Press. A manga adaptation by Kiiro Akashiro was serialized online on Kadokawa Shoten's Shōnen Ace Plus from November 2021 to June 2022. A second manga adaptation by Yutaka Sakurai began serialization on the same website in March 2023. An anime television series adaptation produced by J.C.Staff premiered in October 2024.
Manga Up! (マンガUP!) is a Japanese manga service. Originally launched in January 2017, the service hosts manga series published by Square Enix. The service also serializes original works, many of which are derived from other media. In July 2022, the website launched internationally in English.
