A big question when you're itching to read a light novel or manga in Japanese is where you can order it from. If you live in Japan, you can just walk to the closest bookshop and get whatever you want. But not all of us are so lucky. Personally I live in Europe, and while there are local stores that sell literature in Japanese, they don't have much to offer, and what there is can be quite expensive.
This is the second half of the glorious resurrection of the light novel section, started a couple of days ago. Maybe it's more of a last gasp. Anyway, on to the books!
I've been postponing this way too long, and the longer I wait, the more books keep piling up. In any case, it's finally time to deal with the light novels I've read since I last posted some five months ago. I'll try to keep it brief, partly because the reason I didn't post about them in the first place was that I couldn't work up enough excitement to write a full-length review. And partly because I'm lazy, obviously.
Despite bravely trudging through the following books, my to-read list has actually grown to an insurmountable 122 titles, reaffirming that I have some sort of sickness that compels me to buy books at a ridiculous rate.
Full title: Seitokai no Ichizon - Hekiyou Gakuen Seitokai Gijiroku 1Author: Aoi SekinaIllustrator: Inugami KiraLabel: Fujimi Fantasia BunkoYear of publication: 2008Pages: 270I hated this book. I hated this book. I hated this book. I hated this book. I hated this book. I hated this book. I hated this book. I hated this book. I hated this book. I hated this book. I hated this book. I hated this book. I hated this book. I hated this book. I hated this book. I hated this book. I hated this book. I hated this book. I hated this book. I hated this book.
Full title: Kizumonogatari
Author: Nishio Ishin
Illustrator: VOFAN
Label: Kodansha Box
Year of publication: 2008
Pages: 357
After taking a little break from the Bakemonogatari series, reading a few books by other authors, I finally dug into Kizumonogatari, which is the third novel about Araragi Koyomi. It took no more than two sentences to get back into the groove.
Full title: Aru Hi, Bakudan ga Ochitekite
Author: Furuhashi Hideyuki
Illustrator: Higa Yukari
Label: Dengeki Bunko
Year of publication: 2005
Pages: 253
Importing books is expensive, so in order to keep shipping costs down I always try to buy at least ten books at a time. However, finding ten interesting titles can be a difficult task, and sometimes I end up throwing dubious novels on the pile just to pad the numbers. One of these was Aru Hi, Bakudan ga Ochitekite, a name I only vaguely remembered having seen somewhere, but its meaning — One day, a bomb came falling down — got my imagination going, pondering what kind of missile it could be, and how the victims of this explosion would be affected. It was nothing like I imagined.
Full title: Mimizuku to Yoru no Ou
Author: Kougyoku Izuki
Illustrator: Isono Hiroo
Label: Dengeki Bunko
Year of publication: 2007
Pages: 267
What constitutes a light novel? It's a question you have to ask yourself when reading Mimizuku to Yoru no Ou, because there's no hint of manga style on the cover, and the inside of the book has no illustrations at all. It is, however, published by a light novel label, and Wikipedia has it classified as such, so who am I to argue? Either way, the novel is a wonderful literary work, light or not.
Full title: GOSICKs - Haru Kitaru Shinigami
Author: Sakuraba Kazuki
Illustrator: Takeda Hinata
Label: Fujimi Mystery Bunko
Year of publication: 2005
Pages: 349
If there's a "Dumbest Title" award, this one has a great shot at taking home the prize. It's probably a pun on "gothic", but as a Westerner, it just feels wrong to me. Go sick? What? At least this particular volume's wacky name is mellowed by the poor little 's' that follows it, indicating that it's not a part of the series proper, but rather a collection of short stories that take place here and there on the time line.
Full title: Bakemonogatari 1
Author: Nishio Ishin
Illustrator: VOFAN
Label: Kodansha Box
Year of publication: 2006
Pages: 445
Full title: Bakemonogatari 2
Author: Nishio Ishin
Illustrator: VOFAN
Label: Kodansha Box
Year of publication: 2006
Pages: 401
It's been so long since I last posted that I barely remember what button you submit with. The reason for the delay is partly because Bakemonogatari is an exceptionally thick light novel at nearly 450 pages, which in addition are split-page format that allows for 50% more text, so it's almost three times the length of regular volumes. Mostly, however, it's because after reading the first, I couldn't figure out what the series was actually about. Thus I dove straight into the second novel and spent another ten days turning pages. It didn't really help.
Chances are you've already spoiled yourself by reading Omni's preview, or visited the official website and seen what a stunning cast this show has. I, however, had not done so prior to watching the episode. Above is a clip of the show's intro, and these were my reactions: "Hey, it's Noto Mamiko!" ... "No, wait, it must be Hayami Saori." ... "Yep." ... "I am so sure now, cos I watched Eden a few days ago." ... "WHAT THE FUCK? ARE THESE CREDITS CORRECT?!"
