A light novel, often refered to as a ranobe (ラノベ), is a short collection of text with no more than 40,000 – 50,000 words, though this strongly depends on popularity and sales. In the late 1970s, the Japanese magazine industry witnessed a change in preference from its readers, which led to a drastic adjustment of the layout used by the publishers. Illustrations and longer pieces of text started to grace the pages of several highly regarded publications; this resulted in the reality which we face today, where companies search far and wide for the newest author to introduce to the industry.
Here are the Oricon chart toppers from the week of February 17
According to the April issue of “Smart” magazine, the third and final film in the new series of Puella Magi Madoka Magica movies is set to debut in Japanese theatres this summer.
People overseas have the tendency of associating Japanese music with insane, off-the-wall music videos, though the vast majority of performances put on in Japan are either not too different from Western aesthetics or else go a little further in amping up the cuteness to allow for the uniqueness of idol culture. However, some artists do tend to feature crazy situations in their videos to maximize the oddities of their style and characters. So whenever you hear of a ‘crazy Japanese music video,’ more often than not these particular performances are what led to the stereotype.
Valentine’s Day has come again, and it’s time to pay homage to love, chocolate, and confessing to that very special person in your life. And if you’re not quite sure what to say to convey your feelings to the people you love, why not borrow a few words from the lovey-dovey themes of romance anime? Here are five romantic themes to get the inspiration flowing!
New details on the upcoming Library War (Toshokan Sensou)live-action movie have been announced through its official website. The movie is based off of the light novel series by the same name by Hiro Arikawa, and has since been adapted into a 10 volume manga series, a 12 episode anime series, an OVA, and an anime film.
Last time, I described some of my favorite Spanish manga I found in 2010. Of course, I didn’t love everything I found, usually because it either didn’t suit my tastes or they were just plain terrible. Before I get to the worst ones, I want to start with the titles that I think other manga lovers may enjoy.
Kodansha has just announced that the release of the second volume of Kentaro Yasui’s light novel Ark IXwill be accompanied by a limited edition Blu-ray original animation adaptation. Kodansha, Ark
After the success of last year’s Thermae Romae live-action film starring Hiroshi Abe, which I thoroughly enjoyed, it is with great pleasure that I bring you news of the second film, set to debut next year in Japanese cinemas during the Golden Week period.
What’s in a name? It’s the title everyone you interact with knows you by and is a unique way to identify yourself, but the issue with names is that you rarely get to choose them for yourself. Parents do their best to pick something fitting, and even when their choice doesn’t pan out, there’s always nicknames to fall back on.
Many Japanese artists release English-language tracks, but the opposite is not quite so common. Though Western music is popular in Japan, the artists themselves are often challenged to retranslate their works into another language, instead choosing to repackage the albums as special releases rather than with new Japanese-language tracks.
