War, Humanity, and Letters「ヴァイオレット・エヴァーガーデン」(Violet Evergarden)
ヴァイオレット・エヴァーガーデン (Violet Evergarden) by 暁 佳奈 (Kana Akatsuki) There are two main novels in this series with a spin-off (外伝) and an after story, a total of four novels. This…
Japanese Novel Review
Japanese Short Stories「5分シリーズ」(5 Minute Series)
5分シリーズ (5 Minute Series) Author: Various (published by エブリスタ) Genre: short stories, moving Great for: Intermediate (JLPT N2) Length: Around 210 pages Amazon Japan: 5分シリーズ（5分後に涙のラスト） (will need to search for…
Light Novel Comedy「はめふら」(Bakarina)
乙女ゲームの破滅フラグしかない悪役令嬢に転生してしまった… is a Japanese light novel from 2015 which also has a manga release and just got an anime (which is airing Spring 2020). First off, let me clarify the…
Fantasy, Mystery「かがみの孤城」(Kagami no Kojou)
かがみの孤城 （かがみのこじょう） by 辻村 深月（つじむら みずき） Author: Mizuki Tsujimura Genre: coming of age, drama, (light) fantasy, novel, award winning Great for: Intermediate (JLPT N2) Length: 554 pages Amazon Japan: かがみの孤城 Japanese…
Feminist Fantasy「女だから」(Sexiled)
女だから、とパーティを追放されたので 伝説の魔女と最強タッグを組みました （Sexiled: My Sexist Party Leader Kicked Me Out, So I Teamed Up With a Mythical Sorceress!） by 蛙田あめこ (Kaeruda Ameko) Genre: fantasy, light novel, feminist Great for: Intermediate…
School Romance Novel 放課後美術室 (After School Art Room)
放課後美術室 (After School Art Room) by 麻沢 奏 (Asazawa Kana) Genre: fiction, romance, coming of age Great for: Lower-Intermediate and above (JLPT N3+) Length: 309 pages Amazon Japan: 放課後美術室（麻沢 奏）…
Lose Yourself in Japanese: “I Want to Eat Your Pancreas” 「君の膵臓を食べたい」
Last year I picked up a book from Kinokuniya called 「君の膵臓を食べたい」(Kimi no Suizou wo Tabetai). I didn’t realize at the time was a great book it was. To the point…
Improve Japanese Reading [2 Week Challenge]
Learning vocabulary, kanji and (to a point) grammar, can be easy to do by yourself. But reading, speaking, listening and writing can be more of a challenge. I recently asked…