57 Japanese serial novels

Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day is a 2011 Japanese anime television series created by Super Peace Busters , an artist collective consisting of director Tatsuyuki Nagai, screenwriter Mari Okada, and character designer Masayoshi Tanaka. The anime was produced by A-1 Pictures and aired in Fuji TV's noitamina block between April and June 2011. It is currently licensed in North America by Aniplex of America.

Another is a Japanese mystery horror novel by Yukito Ayatsuji, published on October 29, 2009 by Kadokawa Shoten. The story focuses on a boy named Kōichi Sakakibara who, upon transferring into Yomiyama Middle School and meeting the curious Mei Misaki, finds himself in a mystery revolving around students and people related to his class falling victim to gruesome, senseless deaths.

The Beast Player is a Japanese novel series written by Nahoko Uehashi and published by Kodansha between 2006 and 2009. It focuses on a girl who can control the greatest of beasts as she gets involved in a war between two territories of one kingdom.

Beatless is a Japanese science fiction serial novel written by Satoshi Hase and illustrated by Redjuice. The series has inspired three spin-off manga series and a 24-episode anime television series by Diomedéa, which aired from January to September 2018 in the Animeism programming block on MBS.

Blade of the Immortal is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hiroaki Samura. The series is set in Japan during the mid-Tokugawa Shogunate period and follows the cursed samurai Manji, who has to kill 1,000 evil men in order to regain his mortality. The manga was originally published in Kodansha's Monthly Afternoon from June 1993 to December 2012 and compiled into thirty tankōbon volumes.

Brave Story is a Japanese fantasy novel written by Miyuki Miyabe. It was serialized in various regional newspapers between November 11, 1999 and February 13, 2001, before being published in two hardcover volumes by Kadokawa Shoten in March 2003. The story of the novel follows 5th Grade student Wataru Mitani as he stumbles upon "Vision", a fantasy world, after his parents divorce and his mother attempts suicide. The novel is available in the English language by Viz Media.

The Cuckoo , or Nami-ko, is a Japanese novel first published by author Kenjirō Tokutomi in serialized form between 1898 and 1899. The story relates tragedies befalling a newly married couple, depicting some events of the First Sino-Japanese War and presenting a critique of Japanese feudal values. It was republished as a book in 1900 and became a broadly popular bestseller. Beginning in 1904, it was also widely translated and read in the United States and Europe. The novel is an example of the Meiji period genre of katei shōsetsu, or "domestic fiction".

Dirty Pair is a series of Japanese light novels written by Haruka Takachiho and illustrated by Yoshikazu Yasuhiko that was later adapted into anime and manga versions. The first stories that make up the first volume were first published on the S-F Magazine. The franchise has been published in multiple formats, and adapted into various other media, resulting in eight novels and several shorter stories, a television series, two OVA series, two OVA features, a feature film, a number of graphic novels, and two short Japanese radio series. The 1985 television series won the Animage Anime Grand Prix prize for that year.

Dorei-ku: Boku to 23-nin no Dorei or simply Doreiku, is a Japanese novel series written by Shinichi Okada. A manga adaptation illustrated by Hiroto Ōishi ran for 10 volumes starting in 2012. A live action film was released under the title Tokyo Slaves in 2014, and an anime television series adaptation of the manga animated by Zero-G and TNK aired from April 13 to June 29, 2018.

Fractale is an 11-episode Japanese anime television series created by Mandelbrot Engine, an artist collective consisting of critic and novelist Hiroki Azuma, screenwriter Mari Okada, and director Yutaka Yamamoto. The anime aired in Japan between January and March 2011 on Fuji TV's Noitamina programming block. A manga illustrated by Mutsumi Akasaki was serialized in Square Enix's Gangan Online between September 2010 and November 2011.

Gaia Gear is a series of novels created and written by Yoshiyuki Tomino. Part of the Gundam metaseries, but not part of the canonical Gundam. The novel was later adapted into a 26-episode radio drama.

The Garden of Words is a 2013 Japanese anime drama film written, directed and edited by Makoto Shinkai, animated by CoMix Wave Films and distributed by Toho. It stars Miyu Irino and Kana Hanazawa, and features music by Daisuke Kashiwa instead of Tenmon, who had composed the music for many of Shinkai's previous films. The theme song, "Rain", was originally written and performed by Senri Oe in 1988, but was remade for the film and was sung by Motohiro Hata. The film was made into a manga, with illustrations by Midori Motohashi, and later novelized by Shinkai, both in the same year as the film.

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time is a science fiction novel by Yasutaka Tsutsui. Originally serialized from 1965 to 1966, it tells the story of a high-school girl who accidentally acquires the ability to time travel, which leads to a time loop where she repeatedly relives the same day.

Girlish Number is a Japanese multimedia project. It launched in the March 2016 issue of ASCII Media Works' Dengeki G's Magazine as a serial novel written by Wataru Watari, with illustrations by QP:flapper and Yamcha. A manga series drawn by Yūki Dōmoto is serialized in Dengeki G's Comic, and a 12-episode anime television series by Diomedéa aired from October to December 2016.

Gosick is a Japanese light novel series written by Kazuki Sakuraba, with illustrations by Hinata Takeda. The series includes 13 novels published by Fujimi Shobo between December 2003 with and July 2011. Set in a fictional European country in 1924, a Japanese exchange student meets a mysterious, brilliant girl who only leaves the library to sleep. Her brother, a detective, relies on her exceptional mind to solve difficult mysteries. Tokyopop released the first two novels in English in North America. A manga adaptation drawn by Sakuya Amano was serialized in Fujimi Shobo's Monthly Dragon Age magazine. A 24-episode anime adaptation by Bones aired between January and July 2011. A collection of side stories titled GosickS was published between 2005 and 2011, while a sequel novel series named Gosick New Continent was released in between 2013 and 2016.

Gundam Sentinel is a novel set in the Universal Century timeline of the Gundam universe, originally serialized in Model Graphix magazine between September 1987 and August 1988. Gundam Sentinel became a cult hit, due to its super-detailed mechanical designs and an intricate story by veteran writer Masaya Takahashi. Set between the final phase of Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam and the early stages of Gundam ZZ in UC 0088, the story shows the Earth Federation's efforts to stop an insurrection of elite Federation officers.

Haruchika (ハルチカ), also called Haruta & Chika, is a Japanese mystery novel series by Sei Hatsuno. Kadokawa Shoten has published five novels since October 2008. A manga adaptation published by Kadokawa Shoten in Monthly Shōnen Ace began serialization in December 2015. An anime television series adaptation titled Haruchika: Haruta & Chika by P.A.Works premiered on January 7, 2016. A live-action film adaptation of the same name was released on March 4, 2017.

Holmes of Kyoto is a Japanese mystery novel series written by Mai Mochizuki and illustrated by Shizu Yamauchi. Futabasha have published fourteen volumes since April 2015. A manga adaptation with art by Ichiha Akizuki has been serialized in Futabasha's seinen manga magazine Monthly Action since December 2017. It has been collected in five tankōbon volumes. An anime television series adaptation by Seven aired from July 9 to September 24, 2018 on TV Tokyo.

I Want to Eat Your Pancreas , also known as Let Me Eat Your Pancreas, is a novel by the Japanese writer Yoru Sumino. Initially serialized as a web novel in the user-generated site Shōsetsuka ni Narō in 2014, the book was published in print in 2015 by Futabasha. A manga adaptation ran from 2016 to 2017. A live-action film titled Let Me Eat Your Pancreas premiered in 2017, and an anime film adaptation titled I Want to Eat Your Pancreas on September 1, 2018.

Ikebukuro West Gate Park (池袋ウエストゲートパーク), usually referred to by its initials IWGP, is a series of urban mystery novels by Ira Ishida. It was adapted into a drama television series directed by Tsutsumi Yukihiko. The television drama then got a manga adaptation. An anime television series adaptation of the original novel by Doga Kobo aired from October to December 2020.

The Jiken series are Japanese mystery novels by Kouhei Kadono. Kadono began his career writing light novels, but this series came from a mainstream publishing label, Kodansha Novels. In 2008 Del Rey Manga announced that they would be publishing the first novel in the series in English, but did not release any.

Just Because! is a 2017 Japanese anime television series by Hajime Kamoshida, the author of The Pet Girl of Sakurasou and Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai, and Kiseki Himura, the author of Getsuyōbi no Tawawa. The 12-episode anime, produced by Pine Jam, aired between October and December 2017.

Kokoro is a novel by the Japanese author Natsume Sōseki. It was first published in 1914 in serial form in the Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun. The title, translated literally means "heart". The word contains shades of meaning, and can be translated as "the heart of things" or "feeling". During the novel's initial serial run, from April 20 to August 11, 1914, it was printed under the title Kokoro: Sensei no Isho . When later published in novel form by Iwanami Shoten, its title was shortened to Kokoro; the rendering of the word "kokoro" itself was also changed from kanji (心) to hiragana (こころ).

A Lost Paradise is 1997 Japanese novel by author Junichi Watanabe. It tells the story of a 54-year-old married former magazine editor, his affair with a 37-year-old married typesetter and their double-suicide. The couple, Kūki and Rinko, are modeled after the famous case of Sada Abe.

Mardock Scramble is a Japanese novel series written by Tow Ubukata. The first novel was published in Japan in May 2003, with the final novel published in July 2003. They were later adapted into a manga series and an anime film trilogy. The story is about a girl named Rune Balot who was taken in by a man named Shell who later tried to kill her and left her for dead. She is saved and turned into a cyborg. It is up to her to stop Shell and his evil gang.

The House of the Lost on the Cape is a Japanese novel written by Sachiko Kashiwaba. It was initially serialized in the Iwate Nippo daily newspaper from May 10, 2014 to July 4, 2015. Kodansha later published the novel in print with cover art by Yukiko Saito on September 11, 2015. An anime film adaptation by David Production premiered in Japan on August 27, 2020. The anime is part of the "Zutto Ōen Project 2011 + 10...", commemorating the 9th anniversary of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.

Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn is a novel by popular Japanese author Harutoshi Fukui. The novel takes place in Gundam's Universal Century timeline. Character and mechanical designs are provided by Yoshikazu Yasuhiko and Hajime Katoki, respectively.

Mobile Suit Gundam Wing, also known in Japan as New Mobile Report Gundam Wing , is a 1995 Japanese mecha anime series directed by Masashi Ikeda and written by Katsuyuki Sumizawa. It is the sixth installment in the Gundam franchise, taking place in the "After Colony" timeline. As with the original series, the plot of Gundam Wing centers on a war in the future between Earth and its orbital colonies in the Earth-Moon system.

The Moribito series is a Japanese fantasy novel series written by Nahoko Uehashi. The first novel in the series, Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit, has been adapted into numerous media, including a radio drama, manga series, an anime adaption, and a live-action series.

Musashi is a Japanese epic novel written by Eiji Yoshikawa, about the life and deeds of legendary Japanese swordsman Miyamoto Musashi.

Nansō Satomi Hakkenden is a Japanese epic novel (yomihon) in 106 volumes by Kyokutei Bakin. The volumes were written and published over a period of nearly thirty years (1814–42). Bakin had gone blind before finishing the tale, and he dictated the final parts to his daughter-in-law Michi. The title has been translated as The Eight Dog Chronicles, Tale of Eight Dogs, or Biographies of Eight Dogs.

Naomi is a novel by Japanese author Jun'ichirō Tanizaki (1886–1965). Writing of the novel began in 1924, and from March to June, Osaka's Morning News published the first several chapters of the serial. Four months later, the periodical Female started to publish the remaining chapters. The novel was first published in book form, by Kaizosha, in 1925.

New Fist of the North Star is a three-episode original video animation (OVA) series based on the Fist of the North Star franchise, directed by Takashi Watanabe and produced by OB Planning. The story was adapted from Jubaku no Machi , a 1996 Hokuto no Ken novel written by Buronson and Tetsuo Hara set sometime after the conclusion of the original manga. An English dubbed version of the OVA was produced by ADV Films in 2004.

New Mobile Report Gundam Wing: Frozen Teardrop is a serial novel created by Katsuyuki Sumisawa based on the New Mobile Report Gundam Wing anime series. It was serialized in Gundam Ace between August 2010 and November 2015 and was collected in thirteen volumes. It follows the story decades after Endless Waltz.

No. 6 is a Japanese novel series written by Atsuko Asano and published by Kodansha in nine volumes between October 2003 and June 2011. A manga adaptation drawn by Hinoki Kino was serialized in Kodansha's Aria magazine from January 2011 to November 2013. An 11-episode anime television series adaptation by Bones was broadcast on Fuji TV's Noitamina programming block from July to September 2011.

Okko's Inn is a series of Japanese children's novels, written by Hiroko Reijō and illustrated by Asami. Kodansha released twenty volumes between 2003 and 2013 under the imprint of Aoi Tori Bunko. A manga adaptation with art by Eiko Ōuchi was serialized in Kodansha's shōjo manga Nakayoshi and collected in seven tankōbon volumes. The 2018 anime film was nominated for an Annie Award for Best Animated Feature - Independent.

On'yado Kawasemi or On-yado Kawasemi is a Japanese series of novels written by Yumie Hiraiwa and dramas and a play based on it. It is set in "Kawasemi", an inn in Ōkawabata, Edo. It was serialised in a magazine Shosetsu Sunday Mainichi from 1973 but was interrupted because of the discontinuance of the magazine. Later, it was serialised in All Yomimono from 1982 to 2005.

Onmyōji (陰陽師) is a series of historical fantasy short stories and novels written by Japanese author Baku Yumemakura. It follows the story of a fictionalized version of the Heian period onmyōji Abe no Seimei, a master in onmyōdō, a traditional Japanese cosmology.

Paprika is a 1993 techno-thriller novel written by Yasutaka Tsutsui. It first appeared in Marie Claire magazine in four parts, each appearing chronologically in the January 1991, March 1992, August 1992, and June 1993 issues. A manga adaption of the novel was created by Reiji Hagiwara in 1995 but was not published until 2003. The novel was adapted as an animated film in 2006, which was itself adapted into a second manga the following year by Eri Sakai. The novel was translated into English by Andrew Driver, was published by Alma Books in April 2009.

Princess Minerva is a role-playing video game developed and published by Riverhillsoft for the NEC PC-9801 in 1994 in Japan only. An original video animation by Group TAC was originally released by Toho in May 1995 in Japan; it was later released also in the United States. The extended franchise also includes a manga series, an illustrated serial novel, and other media.

Release the Spyce is a Japanese anime television series created by Sorasaki F., Takahiro, and Namori, produced by ASCII Media Works and animated by Lay-duce. The series aired in Japan between October and December 2018. A manga and a serial novel are being published by ASCII Media Works.

Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Swordsman Romantic Story is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Nobuhiro Watsuki. The story begins during the 11th year of the Meiji period in Japan (1878) and follows a former assassin from the Bakumatsu, known as Hitokiri Battosai. After his work against the bakufu, Hitokiri Battosai disappears to become Himura Kenshin: a wandering swordsman who protects the people of Japan with a vow never to take another life. Watsuki wrote the series upon his desire to make a shōnen manga different from the other ones that were published at the time, with Kenshin being a former assassin and the story taking a more serious tone as it continued. The manga revolves around themes of atonement, peace, and romance.

Fragments of the Stars is a series of books collecting short stories by Hiroyuki Morioka, set in the same universe and involving characters from his novels Crest of the Stars and Banner of the Stars, with many of them originally published in the S-F Magazine. The word Dansho refers to a passage from a written work, but there is currently no consensus on how the title should be translated. One story later included in the 2005 compilation Seikai no Dansho I, "Birth", was made into an anime OVA in 2000, four years after it was published in the S-F Magazine and 5 years before the consolidation of that story into the 2005 edition.

Shin Honkaku Mahō Shōjo Risuka , also known as Magical Girl Risuka , is a Japanese light novel series written by Japanese novelist Nisio Isin, and illustrated by Kinu Nishimura. It was published in Faust magazine, running from October 2003 to August 2008, and was serialized into three light novel volumes published by Kodansha from 2004 to 2007, with one chapter unreleased. A short story version was also featured in the English anthology of Faust magazine. A new serialization started on 2019, in Mephisto vol. 3, republishing chapters 1 and 10. On 2020, in Mephisto vol. 1 and vol. 2, chapters 11 and 12 were published, respectively. The fourth and final volume was released on December 2020. A manga adaptation started serialization in the May issue of the Bessatsu Shōnen Magazine in 2021.

Spice and Wolf is a Japanese light novel series written by Isuna Hasekura, with illustrations by Jū Ayakura. ASCII Media Works has published 22 novels since February 2006 under their Dengeki Bunko imprint. ASCII Media Works reported that as of October 2008, over 2.2 million copies of the first nine novels have been sold in Japan. The series has been called a "unique fantasy" by Mainichi Shimbun due to the plot focusing on economics, trade, and peddling rather than the typical staples of fantasy such as swords and magic. Yen Press licensed the light novels and is releasing them in English in North America. ASCII Media Works has published five volumes of a spin-off light novel series titled Wolf and Parchment since September 2016.

Takizawa Bakin , a.k.a. Kyokutei Bakin , was a Japanese novelist of the Edo period. He was known as a gesaku author best known for works such as Nansō Satomi Hakkenden and Chinsetsu Yumiharizuki. Both are outstanding examples of nineteenth-century yomihon, or "books for reading". Bakin published more than 200 works in his life, the longest of which was the Nansō Satomi Hakkenden consisting of 106 books.

Tantei Team KZ Jiken Note is a Japanese children's novel series written by Hitomi Fujimoto and Ryō Sumitaki, and illustrated by Komagata. Kodansha has published twenty volumes since 2011 until the last chapter on February 2016 issue of Nakayoshi magazine. An anime television series adaptation by Signal.MD began airing from October 7, 2015 to January 27, 2016.

Tōkaidōchū Hizakurige (東海道中膝栗毛), abbreviated as Hizakurige and known in translation as Shank's Mare, is a comic picaresque novel (kokkeibon) written by Jippensha Ikku about the misadventures of two travelers on the Tōkaidō, the main road between Kyoto and Edo during the Edo period. The book was published in twelve parts between 1802 and 1822.

Toradora! is a Japanese light novel series by Yuyuko Takemiya, with illustrations by Yasu. The series includes ten novels released between March 10, 2006 and March 10, 2009, published by ASCII Media Works under their Dengeki Bunko imprint. Three volumes of a spin-off light novel series were also created, aptly titled Toradora Spin-off!. A manga adaptation by Zekkyō started serialization in the September 2007 issue of the shōnen manga magazine Dengeki Comic Gao!, published by MediaWorks. The manga ended serialization in Dengeki Comic Gao! with the March 2008 issue, but continued serialization in ASCII Media Works' manga magazine Dengeki Daioh with the May 2008 issue.

UtsunoMiko (宇宙皇子), also written Utsu no Miko, is a Japanese historical fantasy light novel series written by Keisuke Fujikawa (藤川桂介) and illustrated by Mutsumi Inomata, which was later adapted into an anime of the same title. The story is set in the late Asuka Period to the Nara Period, and follows the trials of the title character Utsunomiko, the offspring of the kami of the north star. There are 52 Utsunomiko novels, the first published in 1984, and the last published in 1998. The Utsunomiko anime film premiered in 1989, followed by a second anime film and a 13-episode OVA starting in 1990.

Vampire Hunter D is a series of Japanese novels written by Hideyuki Kikuchi and illustrated by Yoshitaka Amano since 1983.

Vampire Hunter D: Throng of Heretics is a Japanese novel by Hideyuki Kikuchi. It was first published in Japan in 2007.

The Weathering Continent is a Japanese fantasy light novel series written by Sei Takekawa and illustrated by Mutsumi Inomata. The Weathering Continent centers on three travelers – the delicately beautiful sorcerer Tieh, the burly and reticent warrior Bois, and the spritely young Lakshi – as they trek through the shattered wastelands of the ancient continent of Atlantis.

Wicked City is a series of novels written by Hideyuki Kikuchi and published by Tokuma Shoten. Between 2009 and 2010, the first three books in the series were published by Tor/Seven Seas in English. The first book served as the basis for an anime film and live-action film of the same name.

Mori Ōgai's classical novel, The Wild Geese or The Wild Goose, was first published in serial form in Japan, and tells the story of unfulfilled love set against a background of social change and Westernization. The story is set in 1880 Tokyo. The novel contains commentary on the changing situation between the Edo and Meiji periods. The characters of the novel are diverse, including not only students preparing for a privileged intellectual life and commoners who provide services to them, but also a pair of highly developed female characters. Mori sympathetically portrays the dilemmas and frustrations faced by women in this early period of Japan's modernization.

Yakushiji Ryōko no Kaiki Jikenbo is a Japanese media franchise that consists of an anime television series, manga and light novels created by Yoshiki Tanaka and illustrated by Narumi Kakinouchi. Two Drama CDs had also been released prior to the anime adaptation with different voice actors from the CD and the TV version.

Zaregoto is a Japanese light novel series written by Nisio Isin and illustrated by Take. The series was published in Japan between February 2002 and November 2005 by Kodansha Books. It was followed by a spin-off series also published by Kodansha Books, the Ningen series, focusing on the Zerozaki clan. A second spin-off series focused on Jun Aikawa titled Saikyō series was serialized in the Mephisto magazine, and was collected by Kodansha in 5 volumes. Zaregoto was initially released in North America by Del Rey Manga, but has since been republished by Vertical. An eight-episode original video animation series adaptation by Shaft was released between October 2016 and September 2017.