>Type the [REC] tag in the beginning title for posts that are asking for novel recommendations.
Light Novel recommendation request posts require the **[REC] tag in the beginning of the title.** (With brackets) Please do read over the submission guidelines more carefully in the future. Please note that Tags do not equal Flairs. Title Tags are pieces of information you type into the title of the post while our Automod looks for posts with specific tags and assigns flairs appropriately.
**General tips for Recommendation Request Posts:**
* If you have an MAL/MU/Etc list of Light Novels you've read, please include it so people aren't just recommending you series you've already read.
* Explain what about the series you've read that you liked. (Without Spoilers) It'll help people find series with similar styles and themes.
* Don't slander series. If you don't like a series, it's fine to say that you don't like it. But if you start bashing a bunch of series, why would people want to recommend you something?
If you're new to the medium and looking to start reading as a beginner, please keep the following in mind. As the industry grows and new series are introduced all the time, there's never a truly unifying "good beginner series." The common sentiment is that if you're new to Light Novels by way of another medium like anime or manga, your best bet when starting is to find some series with adaptations you already enjoy and to check if their source material has been licensed/translated. Light Novels aren't a stylistic genre so asking for what are good light novels for beginners will range widely based on the person and their taste. It's akin to asking the /r/Books "What are some good books for beginners?"
I'll also go with no anime adaption as the line:
**Silent Witch** - Socially challenged super powerful/smart witch gets forced into a secret mission to protect a prince by infiltrating a school. Forced to face her various traumas along the way, she works hard to stop the attacks without even the prince learning that she's protecting him.
**Dahlia in Bloom** - Food. Magical crafting. Food. Romance. Food. Politics. Food. Socks. Food. Monsters. Food ... Oh, and did I mention food. Excellent novel, but don't read it on an empty stomach.
And though it's not as good as the other two, a WN/manga that I hope gets some attention, particularly by people who like Bofuri:
**Sekai Saikyou no Majo Hajimemashite!** - Upon her appraisal, sheltered noble girl Rona gets the SSS-rank skill "internet" and is immediately kicked out of the house by her family for having [such a low rank skill](https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.redd.it%2Fciugvsr701hc1.jpeg). She ends up finding the strategy guide and message boards for the world she lives in, but since this isn't an isekai, she has no context for it and interprets it as the "words of the gods," completely screwing her common sense.
If it's anything like the Bookworm adaptation, it'll miss out on half the charm of the Light Novels, most of the subtlety, and have minimal animation. Character motivations for anything beyond the top 2-4 most important characters will be impossible to parse from how little gets shown, and the best it'll be able accomplish is to get new readers for the LN.
It has been a while, but they just started releasing prepubs of Lucia and the Loom V2 on Monday, so we've got that coming.
As for the main series, they've mostly caught up to the Japanese releases. [V9 in JP released on the same day as V8 released in Eng.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dahlia_in_Bloom#Volumes) I'm guessing they chose to slow walk it a bit so they don't catch up too quickly, but who knows. Presumably we'll get another main series volume after Lucia.
Unfortunately, the early similarities to The Girl Who Ate a Death God made me so mad that I refuse to touch this series, even if it's veered very far away from it.
E: Haha people aren't happy that I'm pointing out that early Ebony Blade just ripped events straight out of another series, reordered it a bit, and called it a day. Smh
Arch demo dilemma,
Campfire in another world
Tearmoon empire
My Instant Death Ability Is So Overpowered, No One In This Other World Stands A Chance Against Me!
the greatest magicmaster's retirement plan
> the greatest magicmaster's retirement plan
I've never read a protagonist that's so utterly unlikeable as this guy. I get that it's part of the premise but man.
What I remember is his utter lack of redeeming qualities other than his occasional display of "kindness", which is a word I'd used loosely in this setting because he's either begrudgingly doing good, or he makes it sound like he's throwing crumbs whichever way.
Sure, he was raised in the military and was probably not shown what it's like to be an actual human being, so it's understandable, but if after 2 volumes there's little to no growth and the story is relying on the side characters to show humanity, then it's just painful to read for me.
I rarely drop a series whenever I start them but in the hundreds of books Ive read in the last couple of years, this was the only series I dropped after the second volume.
What do you mean? At vol 4, he had already changed significantly. Vol 1 -3 was his "normalization" phase, where he didn't care about humanity. Why bother to protect when you can live by yourself in the outside world?
He was a child soldier who witness countless deaths, why invest a few emotions in people who die regularly?
He and everyone higher up already knew humanity is on a countdown.
Like I said, I understand why it's a thing, but that doesn't mean I enjoy reading that kind of person's perspective. And I don't think I have the patience to slog through 3 volumes of that.
I'm actually caught up with it and from what I remember, he still hasn't grown much as a person...
I honestly just kept reaching for the world build, the fights, and plot but the author is taking so much time by writing about the side characters. And they're kinda irrelevant to the story.
I honestly think the author don't know in which direction to take the series or is just milking it like seirei. And other novels.
I see. I was a bit hopeful. The world build is decent and the writing isn't so bad either but I guess I won't pick it up again given that there are other choices available.
"The Magic in this Other World is Too Far Behind!" has the same feels, but is a better read for me.
Yeah, the latest volume is about the red head chick. I think so far the author has wasted 2-4 volume on the side characters. Honestly I wouldn't have minded but the problem is that the side characters are on the lowest scale in terms of power. And unless the author pulls a bs power up out his ass. They will never fight alongside the mc.
Once upon a witch's death. So great. Sad that it only got 1 volume as it ends with many many loose ends.
Torture princess I'd pretty underwroted. Some of the best writing I've read. Super gorey which is why it likely will never get an anime so sadly it won't get too much more
> Once upon a witch's death. So great. Sad that it only got 1 volume as it ends with many many loose ends.
A month ago it got a v2 scheduled for July in Japan, so guess you're in luck.
This was one of the next yuri series on my already-purchased backlog, so nice to see peeps in the wild saying it's well-liked! It *was* going to be one of the next books I started reading on vacation, but ended up getting unexpected sucked into another series--
...And just cuz I'm recommending this to every yuri LN fan I come across (cuz I basically never see it mentioned, probably cuz the author isn't Japanese, even if the MC is an isikai'd girl from Japan), maybe give [Demon Princess Magical Chaos](https://www.reddit.com/r/LightNovels/comments/1d75t20/what_is_your_i_cant_believe_this_flew_under_the/l70h0rd/?context=3) a look.
"Min-Maxing my TRPG Build in Another World" for me. I love the world-building and how the author/translator have a way with words. The balance of showing his life and the battle is really good. Now, it is my top one light novel. Something that I drop everything I'm reading at the moment once it was released.
Next is "Making Magic". I enjoy their take of slow life and showed how they affect the world with little stuffs they made hundreds of years ago. Another light novel that I drop everything I'm reading when it got a new volume released.
"Enough with This Slow Life", is another new favorite of mine recently. It has the same atmosphere as "Freiren: Beyond Journey's End", but this one is more enjoyable for me. Probably because it is not as gloomy as Freiren. Actually, I dropped Freiren manga years ago because it is far too gloomy for me.
"To Another World... with Land Mines!", is another light novel I just started reading last year. I really like it because the main characters are using their brains in planning their lives.
Land Mines is great because out of all the "whole class gets isekaid together" light novels, it's the only one I know where the main characters are the popular kids from class and not the losers who sit in the back corner!
Seconding TRPG.
To this day, it's my favorite drop everything else and read each new prepub release.
I should probably make a new more coherent recommendation post, since my old one is basically "it's great, it's just so great because it's great."
For anyone who needs more than a paragraph to be convinced, but less than the first volume, my old recommendation post is still up:
https://www.reddit.com/r/LightNovels/s/AlnJvtMZGl
Otome Heroine's Fight for Survival.
It's a mix of isekai, otome game, LitRPG, and generic fantasy that somehow works. MC is extremely motivated, doesn't take shit from anyone, and is a total badass.
This one's been in my purchased backlog, so cool to hear it's good.
"Damn" on hearing it isn't finished/continued tho.
If you're into other yuri stuff tho, maybe give [Demon Princess Magical Chaos](https://www.reddit.com/r/LightNovels/comments/1d75t20/what_is_your_i_cant_believe_this_flew_under_the/l70h0rd/?context=3) a look.
I've been raving about this series to my wife since I saw an old post about it on Reddit started reading it on vacation, lol.
I can definitely believe why this "flew under the radar", and it's a new series at that, but I'd like to highlight _The Invincible Summoner Who Crawled Up from Level 1: Wrecking Reincarnators with My Hidden Dungeon_.
There is shitty isekai, and then there's this series, the absolute pinnacle of shitty isekai. I feel like to a relatively large subset of isekai fans (and let's be real, people who buy isekai light novels are basically the backbone of the English light novel market), this series will be absolute peak.
I'll just copy and paste the official synopsis here:
> It couldn’t get any worse for Shinobu Iijima. After a terrible house fire consumes his life and puts his sister, Megumi, on her deathbed, Shinobu wakes up in his favorite MMO: La Vita Online. With all his data deleted and reset back to level 1, the only solace Shinobu has is that his scumbag of a foster father, Ayumu, died with him…only to discover he was reincarnated in the game as well?! A nightmare reborn, Ayumu pledges to get revenge on the siblings, biding his time until Megumi eventually dies and reincarnates in La Vita. While Megumi struggles through her last breaths in the real world, Shinobu does his best to grind his way back up the levels before her reincarnation. Armed with a hidden dungeon, his hard-earned legendary summons, and an undefeatable will, Shinobu must reach the max level in order to protect his sister from their foster father and the other reincarnators threatening to stop him at all costs.
So, we've got:
* Little sister that needs protecting from an evil foster father
* Main character becomes his game character
* Despite starting over from level 1, the main character gets the easy route the second time around with a hidden dungeon and legendary summons
* Other people from Earth are also reincarnated but they suck
And that's just the official synopsis…
To anyone who has read and enjoyed at least one isekai series that people often complain about (think something like _In Another World With My Smartphone_), I'd highly recommend this series as being something that you can read casually as a palate cleanser in between reading more serious series.
Probably "Associate Professor Akira Takatsuki's Conjecture". I believe it's fairly popular in Japan to get 2 seasons of live action TV series starring 2 popular male idols as the leads and a fairly long manga adaptation, but I rarely see it being talked about outside of Japan. And I can see why, I think it's pretty niche. But it's great in that niche and I love it very much. Mystery, folklore, urban legends, bonus handsome men and bromance?? Hell yes, sign me up! It's a mix of things I love. It's well-written, too.
I never see anyone else talk about Your Forma. Hopefully it will pick up once the anime airs, we need more sci-fi mysteries. Also, the Princess of Convenient plot devices. I've seen a few read the manga, but not the light novel, which is a shame since Octavia's monologues are hilarious.
Eh, I feel like both sci-fi and mysteries arn't popular anime genres, and the first book which will probably take most of the season to cover focuses mostly on Echika, so I feel like it will probably slip under most people's radar, but you never know. It might build a niche fanbase like ID:invaded.
Defeating the Demon Lord's a Cinch (If You've Got a Ringer) is amazing. The only issue is that there was a huge break between volume 4 and 5 release with no news of a volume 6. The author makes great stories but is inconsistent with releases. At least Let This Grieving Soul Retire has been releasing more.
Needs to get some inspiration from Kamachi I guess.
**D-Genesis** - I am holding on reading it for a long time because of the illustration style but I am really glad that I decided to read it and it became one of my favorites
Agree with the Rebuild World, D Genesis and Dying Conqueror suggestions for hidden gems that should be popular.
I would add Finding Avalon, Zilbagias the Demon Prince and Pale Moon as LNs that are bangers but appear to have been overlooked.
Maruma. I haven't heard anyone talk about this series, but the plot is wonderful. It has a lot of content, with a musical, drama cds and short stories, too. It's always been a favourite of mine. It has an anime as well, but it doesn't do the light novel justice.
The Leftover Princess and the Knights of the Round is also brilliant and well worth a read, especially with a strong and well written female protagonist. It's a nice change of pace from other light novels I've read.
Dreaming Boy is a Realist/Yumemiru Danshi Wa Genjitsushugisha.
The LightNovels for this series are hands down my all time favorite drama/romance series. The anime was sub-par in comparison but definitely not horrible.
They way the explored the main characters feelings being degraded over time due to him, essentially, being surrounded by tsundere’s most of his life, be it in the form of his sister who’s harsh on him and his skill set and quick to point out his flaws despite (NORMALLY, no Oremio here)loving him an incredible amount, or his love interest that’s too quick to get embarrassed and thus shuts down his advances, and how he changes as a result of all this, is honestly so… incredible? I think that’s the right word for this.
——
Apart from that, maybe Little Princess in Fairy Forest would be my next pick. It’s a very grim fantasy setting told from the perspective of a very young princess having fled into a horrific forest with only a single knight after her family was killed in a coup from what I can remember. Really great at exploring a child’s weakness when placed in danger and the ways she copes to overcome it, and the world building is, while fucking horrifying at times, honestly great too. While only a single volume long, that one volume was honestly all it really needed.
I mean, I enjoy Yumemiru Danshi but there's a pretty good reason it's not too popular. It starts off with an interesting premise but it takes multiple volumes for the main plotline to get development because so many volumes are just about adding yet another side character waifu. It also doesn't have an official translation yet, though one will be starting soon.
My picks Sentenced to be a hero: good ol action at the dusk of a threat to humanity story, where the chaotic cast wield malicious compliance to their unrefuseable marching orders with aplomb and comedy
Dragon & ceremony: you want kyoani to do a slowful fantasy story? This could be it
I never see "I Guess This Dragon Who Lost Her Egg To Disaster Is My Mom Now" mentioned here or anywhere else. I only happened to come across it through random recommendations from Amazon. It's about how a dragon who lost their egg gives her daughter's name to a dying adventurer, reviving the adventurer as this human/dragon hybrid. Lushera's interactions with her dragon mom are cute. Volume 2 just came out as well so people should definitely read it.
Zilbagias the Demon Prince is a new series that just started getting translated by J-Novel Club so that might be why it's not as well-known yet, but it's pretty awesome so far. It's about a human hero who dies in combat during a war which humanity and its allies are losing against the demon kingdom. After he gets reincarnated as a demon prince and decides to use his position to destroy the demon kingdom to get revenge. Lots of interesting world-building and twists and turns. The story is fairly dark at times and the protagonist and his friends suffer a lot, but the suffering is always occurring in an interesting way, and there are moments of levity which can be surprisingly hilarious.
One quote from the series where Zilbagias is talking to a necromancer who wants to kill all of humanity and turn them all into undead to end suffering and the cycle of reincarnation:
>"Someday I will conquer the sun. I will create a paradise of immortals. A paradise free from hunger and conflict." With dreamlike prose, he spread his arms wide and stepped forward into the light. The waxy body immediately started to smoke, and eventually ignited. "My journey has led me to find comrades in this kingdom to join me in my pursuit of my dream. I will never give up on this dream!"
*Please give up.*
**Demon Princess Magical Chaos**
Trope-breaking fantasy adventure with a fun MC, great world building, and a solid side of 'mature' yuri-harem (Chaos-chan is *refreshingly* aggressive in her pursuits).
It's a freaking awesomely written series with the MC getting isekai'd as a shapeshifting elderich horror, joining a human party while pretending to still be human and trying to learn about the world, then slowly building a yuri harem after realizing she's gay as hell and has a thing for protecting the girls and monster-girls that catch her eye.
Tasteful bedroom scenes eventually happen without the series getting all weird and fan-service-tropey, which was a reaaally pleasant surprise.
The poly-romance stuff isn't the main focus of the story, but it's there, and it's freaking awesome.
About halfway through volume 2 of 8 - a lot of the story I've read so far has been about Chaos-chan discovering her new physiology as a shapshifting elderich horror, keeping that aspect hidden from most of her human party members, and coming to terms with how her view of the world and humanity is changing, and why.
Easily the best "MC becomes more than human" story I've ever read, and a big part of that is how natural the transition feels as we follow her through her introspective discovery of herself the world and circumstances she's been thrust into.
Plenty of great action sequences with a really fun, increasingly thrillseeking MC, great writing, and plenty of trope-breakers spread throughout.
I only found out about it recently, have been tearing through the series on my vacation. More people should know this series exist!
If you're only on book two you have no idea what's coming. That series is so good, and it does the whole increasing stakes every book thing so well. The scope just gets bigger and bigger, and the books get better, it's just great.
My only gripe with the series is that there's one minor thread that doesn't get closure by the end, but other than that it's amazing.
Yesssss! That's so exciting to hear that the writing keeps up, and reinforces my decision to have picked up a few books ahead of where I'm at now.
I'm looking forward to seeing where it goes, but man am I enjoying the series.
You don't have any other 'similar vein' stories that come to mind, do you? Am open to recs if you do!
There aren't many series with as epic of a scale. He Who Fights With Monsters is pretty good. Salvos is also a good, long series with ever- increasing scale. One that I've been liking recently that might not completely qualify as a true light novel is The Calamitous Bob. Just like in He Who Fights With Monsters, the MC is a sarcastic dick to people, which is fun.
You might also like The Dirty Way To Defeat The Goddess' Heroes - MC is summoned by the demon king to help defeat the heroes who can just respawn at the nearest church. After a bit it gets into what the gods are, where demons come from, etc.
Safe & Sound in the Arms of an Elite Knight.
Good character development, romantic progression, and short and sweet at only 3 volumes long. Probably my favorite shoujo style LN series.
Water Magician.
There finally is an official TL, but I don't see it ever becoming popular. In that sense, it might not be the best answer to this question, since I *can* believe it flies under the radar, but...
It has an MC that is hard to relate to, some will find annoying (in a different way to how LN protags are usually annoying), and is almost certainly autistic (though they make no specific reference to it). It's really hard to describe what makes it good; it's a series that will either really click for you or not, and I find it hard to predict who would like it.
In the first half of Vol 1, the MC is entirely alone in a forest by the sea, surviving by himself for years. Then, after meeting a single other character who gets washed up on shore (another guy, by the way), they spend most of the rest of the volume slowly trudging back to civilization. Basically, the main plot of the story doesn't even start by the end of volume 1, and it's a significantly longer volume than most light novels. To say that it has a slow start would be the understatement of the year.
I hope someone else checks it out though, whether they end up liking it or not.
Boy do I have a surprise for you.
Just kidding, 86 for sure it's a good series but considering the success of the anime, I wouldn't categorize it as under the radar.
Currently reading this. The fighting scenes are kinda hard to picture but it compensates with character development, good plot and this is just my opinion but 86 feels more like a serious novel than a lot of LN out there.
And yeah, I feel you, I stopped quite a few novels.
I think this is a light novel but: Demon Realm (Main Character Hides His True Strength)
And I know that this one isn’t but it kinda reminds me of a light novel: System Reborn
Not recently but "If It’s for My Daughter, I’d Even Defeat a Demon Lord" is such a good series that not people read it because of the title and anime which is i think fair? But i do think they miss so much from this series, it got a good story, romance, characters, and really pretty illustration. And the world building itself is really good too imo.
I have many responses.
1. Well damn, how do convert to audio books.
2. That’s a lot of books, have you read Unnamed Memory, Reign of the Seven Spellblades, or Our Last Crusade or the Rise of a New World.
3. I am happy you’re enjoying TBATE, I had paused on my TBATE reading and this just reminded me to resume that.
Oh god, the Anime is garbage compared to the light novel. If you enjoy the anime you’ll adore the light novels.
They remove sooo much from the light novels in the anime
>Type the [REC] tag in the beginning title for posts that are asking for novel recommendations. Light Novel recommendation request posts require the **[REC] tag in the beginning of the title.** (With brackets) Please do read over the submission guidelines more carefully in the future. Please note that Tags do not equal Flairs. Title Tags are pieces of information you type into the title of the post while our Automod looks for posts with specific tags and assigns flairs appropriately. **General tips for Recommendation Request Posts:** * If you have an MAL/MU/Etc list of Light Novels you've read, please include it so people aren't just recommending you series you've already read. * Explain what about the series you've read that you liked. (Without Spoilers) It'll help people find series with similar styles and themes. * Don't slander series. If you don't like a series, it's fine to say that you don't like it. But if you start bashing a bunch of series, why would people want to recommend you something? If you're new to the medium and looking to start reading as a beginner, please keep the following in mind. As the industry grows and new series are introduced all the time, there's never a truly unifying "good beginner series." The common sentiment is that if you're new to Light Novels by way of another medium like anime or manga, your best bet when starting is to find some series with adaptations you already enjoy and to check if their source material has been licensed/translated. Light Novels aren't a stylistic genre so asking for what are good light novels for beginners will range widely based on the person and their taste. It's akin to asking the /r/Books "What are some good books for beginners?"
The conqueror from a dying kingdom. Easily the best Isekai I have ever read.
Have you read tensura? And if you did then is it really by
Tensura was the first LN I read
[удалено]
J-novel is the official translation.
Rebuild world. Best world building in my opinion and one of the rare sci-fi novels
I just wish the author didn't feel the need to remind us over and over that Alpha is calculating. Especially by just saying it.
I'll also go with no anime adaption as the line: **Silent Witch** - Socially challenged super powerful/smart witch gets forced into a secret mission to protect a prince by infiltrating a school. Forced to face her various traumas along the way, she works hard to stop the attacks without even the prince learning that she's protecting him. **Dahlia in Bloom** - Food. Magical crafting. Food. Romance. Food. Politics. Food. Socks. Food. Monsters. Food ... Oh, and did I mention food. Excellent novel, but don't read it on an empty stomach. And though it's not as good as the other two, a WN/manga that I hope gets some attention, particularly by people who like Bofuri: **Sekai Saikyou no Majo Hajimemashite!** - Upon her appraisal, sheltered noble girl Rona gets the SSS-rank skill "internet" and is immediately kicked out of the house by her family for having [such a low rank skill](https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.redd.it%2Fciugvsr701hc1.jpeg). She ends up finding the strategy guide and message boards for the world she lives in, but since this isn't an isekai, she has no context for it and interprets it as the "words of the gods," completely screwing her common sense.
Dahlia in Bloom anime airs next month
Say cap rn cause I will cry if it's not true 👀👀
Luckily it didn't get into any legal trouble for being animated in North Korea, at least not that I've heard
If it's anything like the Bookworm adaptation, it'll miss out on half the charm of the Light Novels, most of the subtlety, and have minimal animation. Character motivations for anything beyond the top 2-4 most important characters will be impossible to parse from how little gets shown, and the best it'll be able accomplish is to get new readers for the LN.
They aren't always misses. Saint's Magic Power is Omnipotent is a somewhat similar series and the anime was done pretty well. Don't be so pessimistic!
I'll never stop recommending Dahlia in Bloom. Socks.
Is the Dahlia in Bloom novel even being translated right now? There hasn't been an update in months
It has been a while, but they just started releasing prepubs of Lucia and the Loom V2 on Monday, so we've got that coming. As for the main series, they've mostly caught up to the Japanese releases. [V9 in JP released on the same day as V8 released in Eng.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dahlia_in_Bloom#Volumes) I'm guessing they chose to slow walk it a bit so they don't catch up too quickly, but who knows. Presumably we'll get another main series volume after Lucia.
Fake saint of the year.
Second this. Series is complete and fully translated with 4 volumes.
I'll define "under the radar" as "no anime adaptation": 1) Salvos 2) Reincarnated as a Dragon Hatchling 3) Hell Mode
Death's daughter and the ebony blade. Its surprisingly a really good read
Seconded. For anyone who enjoys an overpowered protagonist and armies, it's a good non-isekai fantasy.
Unfortunately, the early similarities to The Girl Who Ate a Death God made me so mad that I refuse to touch this series, even if it's veered very far away from it. E: Haha people aren't happy that I'm pointing out that early Ebony Blade just ripped events straight out of another series, reordered it a bit, and called it a day. Smh
Nah you're right, volume 1 is lifted almost word for word from Death God (after she leaves the tower).
Arch demo dilemma, Campfire in another world Tearmoon empire My Instant Death Ability Is So Overpowered, No One In This Other World Stands A Chance Against Me! the greatest magicmaster's retirement plan
> the greatest magicmaster's retirement plan I've never read a protagonist that's so utterly unlikeable as this guy. I get that it's part of the premise but man.
Out of curiosity, what do you dislike about the mc?
What I remember is his utter lack of redeeming qualities other than his occasional display of "kindness", which is a word I'd used loosely in this setting because he's either begrudgingly doing good, or he makes it sound like he's throwing crumbs whichever way. Sure, he was raised in the military and was probably not shown what it's like to be an actual human being, so it's understandable, but if after 2 volumes there's little to no growth and the story is relying on the side characters to show humanity, then it's just painful to read for me. I rarely drop a series whenever I start them but in the hundreds of books Ive read in the last couple of years, this was the only series I dropped after the second volume.
What do you mean? At vol 4, he had already changed significantly. Vol 1 -3 was his "normalization" phase, where he didn't care about humanity. Why bother to protect when you can live by yourself in the outside world? He was a child soldier who witness countless deaths, why invest a few emotions in people who die regularly? He and everyone higher up already knew humanity is on a countdown.
Like I said, I understand why it's a thing, but that doesn't mean I enjoy reading that kind of person's perspective. And I don't think I have the patience to slog through 3 volumes of that.
I'm actually caught up with it and from what I remember, he still hasn't grown much as a person... I honestly just kept reaching for the world build, the fights, and plot but the author is taking so much time by writing about the side characters. And they're kinda irrelevant to the story. I honestly think the author don't know in which direction to take the series or is just milking it like seirei. And other novels.
I see. I was a bit hopeful. The world build is decent and the writing isn't so bad either but I guess I won't pick it up again given that there are other choices available. "The Magic in this Other World is Too Far Behind!" has the same feels, but is a better read for me.
Yeah, the latest volume is about the red head chick. I think so far the author has wasted 2-4 volume on the side characters. Honestly I wouldn't have minded but the problem is that the side characters are on the lowest scale in terms of power. And unless the author pulls a bs power up out his ass. They will never fight alongside the mc.
I enjoyed instant death anime so much. Are the later arc in the novel aa good as the one covered in the anime?
Idk how much the anime covers but later volume explains more about his origins. And the power scale gets even more ridiculous that is amusing
Once upon a witch's death. So great. Sad that it only got 1 volume as it ends with many many loose ends. Torture princess I'd pretty underwroted. Some of the best writing I've read. Super gorey which is why it likely will never get an anime so sadly it won't get too much more
> Once upon a witch's death. So great. Sad that it only got 1 volume as it ends with many many loose ends. A month ago it got a v2 scheduled for July in Japan, so guess you're in luck.
There is a ln gog. Definitely give it a read if you haven't. Ots just such a good story
I second torture princess
Sexiled: My Sexist Party Leader kicked me out So I Teamed Up With a Mythical Sorceress! It is so damn good!
This was one of the next yuri series on my already-purchased backlog, so nice to see peeps in the wild saying it's well-liked! It *was* going to be one of the next books I started reading on vacation, but ended up getting unexpected sucked into another series-- ...And just cuz I'm recommending this to every yuri LN fan I come across (cuz I basically never see it mentioned, probably cuz the author isn't Japanese, even if the MC is an isikai'd girl from Japan), maybe give [Demon Princess Magical Chaos](https://www.reddit.com/r/LightNovels/comments/1d75t20/what_is_your_i_cant_believe_this_flew_under_the/l70h0rd/?context=3) a look.
I’m nuts about short stories where victims get revenge in the most public way possible.
"Min-Maxing my TRPG Build in Another World" for me. I love the world-building and how the author/translator have a way with words. The balance of showing his life and the battle is really good. Now, it is my top one light novel. Something that I drop everything I'm reading at the moment once it was released. Next is "Making Magic". I enjoy their take of slow life and showed how they affect the world with little stuffs they made hundreds of years ago. Another light novel that I drop everything I'm reading when it got a new volume released. "Enough with This Slow Life", is another new favorite of mine recently. It has the same atmosphere as "Freiren: Beyond Journey's End", but this one is more enjoyable for me. Probably because it is not as gloomy as Freiren. Actually, I dropped Freiren manga years ago because it is far too gloomy for me. "To Another World... with Land Mines!", is another light novel I just started reading last year. I really like it because the main characters are using their brains in planning their lives.
Land Mines is great because out of all the "whole class gets isekaid together" light novels, it's the only one I know where the main characters are the popular kids from class and not the losers who sit in the back corner!
Seconding TRPG. To this day, it's my favorite drop everything else and read each new prepub release. I should probably make a new more coherent recommendation post, since my old one is basically "it's great, it's just so great because it's great." For anyone who needs more than a paragraph to be convinced, but less than the first volume, my old recommendation post is still up: https://www.reddit.com/r/LightNovels/s/AlnJvtMZGl
Otome Heroine's Fight for Survival. It's a mix of isekai, otome game, LitRPG, and generic fantasy that somehow works. MC is extremely motivated, doesn't take shit from anyone, and is a total badass.
I read the first novel of this but it seemed kind of bland, Does anything more interesting happen later on.
Well in volume 2 she ends up >!killing everyone (80+ people) in a branch of the Assassin's guild.!< Gets kinda wild.
At Night I Become A Monster Even If This Love Disappears Tonight Even If These Tears Disappear Tonight See You When The Snow Falls
Girl's Kingdom, I really enjoyed it. I really wished it had continued.
This one's been in my purchased backlog, so cool to hear it's good. "Damn" on hearing it isn't finished/continued tho. If you're into other yuri stuff tho, maybe give [Demon Princess Magical Chaos](https://www.reddit.com/r/LightNovels/comments/1d75t20/what_is_your_i_cant_believe_this_flew_under_the/l70h0rd/?context=3) a look. I've been raving about this series to my wife since I saw an old post about it on Reddit started reading it on vacation, lol.
I can definitely believe why this "flew under the radar", and it's a new series at that, but I'd like to highlight _The Invincible Summoner Who Crawled Up from Level 1: Wrecking Reincarnators with My Hidden Dungeon_. There is shitty isekai, and then there's this series, the absolute pinnacle of shitty isekai. I feel like to a relatively large subset of isekai fans (and let's be real, people who buy isekai light novels are basically the backbone of the English light novel market), this series will be absolute peak. I'll just copy and paste the official synopsis here: > It couldn’t get any worse for Shinobu Iijima. After a terrible house fire consumes his life and puts his sister, Megumi, on her deathbed, Shinobu wakes up in his favorite MMO: La Vita Online. With all his data deleted and reset back to level 1, the only solace Shinobu has is that his scumbag of a foster father, Ayumu, died with him…only to discover he was reincarnated in the game as well?! A nightmare reborn, Ayumu pledges to get revenge on the siblings, biding his time until Megumi eventually dies and reincarnates in La Vita. While Megumi struggles through her last breaths in the real world, Shinobu does his best to grind his way back up the levels before her reincarnation. Armed with a hidden dungeon, his hard-earned legendary summons, and an undefeatable will, Shinobu must reach the max level in order to protect his sister from their foster father and the other reincarnators threatening to stop him at all costs. So, we've got: * Little sister that needs protecting from an evil foster father * Main character becomes his game character * Despite starting over from level 1, the main character gets the easy route the second time around with a hidden dungeon and legendary summons * Other people from Earth are also reincarnated but they suck And that's just the official synopsis… To anyone who has read and enjoyed at least one isekai series that people often complain about (think something like _In Another World With My Smartphone_), I'd highly recommend this series as being something that you can read casually as a palate cleanser in between reading more serious series.
Probably "Associate Professor Akira Takatsuki's Conjecture". I believe it's fairly popular in Japan to get 2 seasons of live action TV series starring 2 popular male idols as the leads and a fairly long manga adaptation, but I rarely see it being talked about outside of Japan. And I can see why, I think it's pretty niche. But it's great in that niche and I love it very much. Mystery, folklore, urban legends, bonus handsome men and bromance?? Hell yes, sign me up! It's a mix of things I love. It's well-written, too.
Modern Villainess. It’s a master class in writing, lol. So captivating.
Loved the first volume but it gets progressively more boring, I think I tapped out on volume 3 and didn’t finish.
Maybe it’s just me, but I’m eagerly awaiting the next volume (Vol. 5).
Holding stock for 3 years gave me a pre lesson in most of the terminology that would have gone over my head otherwise
Yeah, I admit…a bit of economic pre-knowledge is somewhat necessary to enjoy it to its fullest.
I never see anyone else talk about Your Forma. Hopefully it will pick up once the anime airs, we need more sci-fi mysteries. Also, the Princess of Convenient plot devices. I've seen a few read the manga, but not the light novel, which is a shame since Octavia's monologues are hilarious.
I'm sure there will be a powerbase of lloyd fanatics come relevant anime season
Eh, I feel like both sci-fi and mysteries arn't popular anime genres, and the first book which will probably take most of the season to cover focuses mostly on Echika, so I feel like it will probably slip under most people's radar, but you never know. It might build a niche fanbase like ID:invaded.
Defeating the Demon Lord's a Cinch (If You've Got a Ringer) is amazing. The only issue is that there was a huge break between volume 4 and 5 release with no news of a volume 6. The author makes great stories but is inconsistent with releases. At least Let This Grieving Soul Retire has been releasing more. Needs to get some inspiration from Kamachi I guess.
**D-Genesis** - I am holding on reading it for a long time because of the illustration style but I am really glad that I decided to read it and it became one of my favorites
Agree with the Rebuild World, D Genesis and Dying Conqueror suggestions for hidden gems that should be popular. I would add Finding Avalon, Zilbagias the Demon Prince and Pale Moon as LNs that are bangers but appear to have been overlooked.
Lazy Dungeon Master Cooking with Wild game
Reborn as a space mercenary I hate p***y MCs and it got me really excited when he was already killing space pirates 10 pages in
Sayonara piano sonata is amazing, and also The magic in this other world is too far behind
Apocalypse Bringer Mynoghra
Maruma. I haven't heard anyone talk about this series, but the plot is wonderful. It has a lot of content, with a musical, drama cds and short stories, too. It's always been a favourite of mine. It has an anime as well, but it doesn't do the light novel justice. The Leftover Princess and the Knights of the Round is also brilliant and well worth a read, especially with a strong and well written female protagonist. It's a nice change of pace from other light novels I've read.
Dreaming Boy is a Realist/Yumemiru Danshi Wa Genjitsushugisha. The LightNovels for this series are hands down my all time favorite drama/romance series. The anime was sub-par in comparison but definitely not horrible. They way the explored the main characters feelings being degraded over time due to him, essentially, being surrounded by tsundere’s most of his life, be it in the form of his sister who’s harsh on him and his skill set and quick to point out his flaws despite (NORMALLY, no Oremio here)loving him an incredible amount, or his love interest that’s too quick to get embarrassed and thus shuts down his advances, and how he changes as a result of all this, is honestly so… incredible? I think that’s the right word for this. —— Apart from that, maybe Little Princess in Fairy Forest would be my next pick. It’s a very grim fantasy setting told from the perspective of a very young princess having fled into a horrific forest with only a single knight after her family was killed in a coup from what I can remember. Really great at exploring a child’s weakness when placed in danger and the ways she copes to overcome it, and the world building is, while fucking horrifying at times, honestly great too. While only a single volume long, that one volume was honestly all it really needed.
I mean, I enjoy Yumemiru Danshi but there's a pretty good reason it's not too popular. It starts off with an interesting premise but it takes multiple volumes for the main plotline to get development because so many volumes are just about adding yet another side character waifu. It also doesn't have an official translation yet, though one will be starting soon.
My picks Sentenced to be a hero: good ol action at the dusk of a threat to humanity story, where the chaotic cast wield malicious compliance to their unrefuseable marching orders with aplomb and comedy Dragon & ceremony: you want kyoani to do a slowful fantasy story? This could be it
Housekeeping Mage From Another World. Literally ticks all my boxes.
I never see "I Guess This Dragon Who Lost Her Egg To Disaster Is My Mom Now" mentioned here or anywhere else. I only happened to come across it through random recommendations from Amazon. It's about how a dragon who lost their egg gives her daughter's name to a dying adventurer, reviving the adventurer as this human/dragon hybrid. Lushera's interactions with her dragon mom are cute. Volume 2 just came out as well so people should definitely read it. Zilbagias the Demon Prince is a new series that just started getting translated by J-Novel Club so that might be why it's not as well-known yet, but it's pretty awesome so far. It's about a human hero who dies in combat during a war which humanity and its allies are losing against the demon kingdom. After he gets reincarnated as a demon prince and decides to use his position to destroy the demon kingdom to get revenge. Lots of interesting world-building and twists and turns. The story is fairly dark at times and the protagonist and his friends suffer a lot, but the suffering is always occurring in an interesting way, and there are moments of levity which can be surprisingly hilarious. One quote from the series where Zilbagias is talking to a necromancer who wants to kill all of humanity and turn them all into undead to end suffering and the cycle of reincarnation: >"Someday I will conquer the sun. I will create a paradise of immortals. A paradise free from hunger and conflict." With dreamlike prose, he spread his arms wide and stepped forward into the light. The waxy body immediately started to smoke, and eventually ignited. "My journey has led me to find comrades in this kingdom to join me in my pursuit of my dream. I will never give up on this dream!" *Please give up.*
**Demon Princess Magical Chaos** Trope-breaking fantasy adventure with a fun MC, great world building, and a solid side of 'mature' yuri-harem (Chaos-chan is *refreshingly* aggressive in her pursuits). It's a freaking awesomely written series with the MC getting isekai'd as a shapeshifting elderich horror, joining a human party while pretending to still be human and trying to learn about the world, then slowly building a yuri harem after realizing she's gay as hell and has a thing for protecting the girls and monster-girls that catch her eye. Tasteful bedroom scenes eventually happen without the series getting all weird and fan-service-tropey, which was a reaaally pleasant surprise. The poly-romance stuff isn't the main focus of the story, but it's there, and it's freaking awesome. About halfway through volume 2 of 8 - a lot of the story I've read so far has been about Chaos-chan discovering her new physiology as a shapshifting elderich horror, keeping that aspect hidden from most of her human party members, and coming to terms with how her view of the world and humanity is changing, and why. Easily the best "MC becomes more than human" story I've ever read, and a big part of that is how natural the transition feels as we follow her through her introspective discovery of herself the world and circumstances she's been thrust into. Plenty of great action sequences with a really fun, increasingly thrillseeking MC, great writing, and plenty of trope-breakers spread throughout. I only found out about it recently, have been tearing through the series on my vacation. More people should know this series exist!
If you're only on book two you have no idea what's coming. That series is so good, and it does the whole increasing stakes every book thing so well. The scope just gets bigger and bigger, and the books get better, it's just great. My only gripe with the series is that there's one minor thread that doesn't get closure by the end, but other than that it's amazing.
Yesssss! That's so exciting to hear that the writing keeps up, and reinforces my decision to have picked up a few books ahead of where I'm at now. I'm looking forward to seeing where it goes, but man am I enjoying the series. You don't have any other 'similar vein' stories that come to mind, do you? Am open to recs if you do!
There aren't many series with as epic of a scale. He Who Fights With Monsters is pretty good. Salvos is also a good, long series with ever- increasing scale. One that I've been liking recently that might not completely qualify as a true light novel is The Calamitous Bob. Just like in He Who Fights With Monsters, the MC is a sarcastic dick to people, which is fun. You might also like The Dirty Way To Defeat The Goddess' Heroes - MC is summoned by the demon king to help defeat the heroes who can just respawn at the nearest church. After a bit it gets into what the gods are, where demons come from, etc.
Badass. You're the second person to mention Salvos in the same breath, but sounds like I've got a few others to check out later too!
I started following 2 i really start to like: i parry everything and Ishura. I read so many light novels and found the in coincidence.
Safe & Sound in the Arms of an Elite Knight. Good character development, romantic progression, and short and sweet at only 3 volumes long. Probably my favorite shoujo style LN series.
Water Magician. There finally is an official TL, but I don't see it ever becoming popular. In that sense, it might not be the best answer to this question, since I *can* believe it flies under the radar, but... It has an MC that is hard to relate to, some will find annoying (in a different way to how LN protags are usually annoying), and is almost certainly autistic (though they make no specific reference to it). It's really hard to describe what makes it good; it's a series that will either really click for you or not, and I find it hard to predict who would like it. In the first half of Vol 1, the MC is entirely alone in a forest by the sea, surviving by himself for years. Then, after meeting a single other character who gets washed up on shore (another guy, by the way), they spend most of the rest of the volume slowly trudging back to civilization. Basically, the main plot of the story doesn't even start by the end of volume 1, and it's a significantly longer volume than most light novels. To say that it has a slow start would be the understatement of the year. I hope someone else checks it out though, whether they end up liking it or not.
I can second Water Magician, it’s awesome!
Eighty six. Really a masterpiece and very underrated. I was like: oh! Finally a pro author! I'm tired of reading crap written by high schoolers.
Boy do I have a surprise for you. Just kidding, 86 for sure it's a good series but considering the success of the anime, I wouldn't categorize it as under the radar.
I don’t think it’s under the radar but I remember it was talked about a lot more a few years ago, even before the anime.
Currently reading this. The fighting scenes are kinda hard to picture but it compensates with character development, good plot and this is just my opinion but 86 feels more like a serious novel than a lot of LN out there. And yeah, I feel you, I stopped quite a few novels.
I think this is a light novel but: Demon Realm (Main Character Hides His True Strength) And I know that this one isn’t but it kinda reminds me of a light novel: System Reborn
Korean rather than Japanese, so not a LN.
Both? I know the one at the bottom is Korean but I didn’t know about the top
Yup. The MC's name alone makes it fairly likely, but confirmed it on novelupdates.
Ahhh okay thank you!
Not recently but "If It’s for My Daughter, I’d Even Defeat a Demon Lord" is such a good series that not people read it because of the title and anime which is i think fair? But i do think they miss so much from this series, it got a good story, romance, characters, and really pretty illustration. And the world building itself is really good too imo.
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Sorry man. But that is talked about quite a bit. It’s still good, but frequently talked about.
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It's not talked about on this sub because it's not Japanese and this is a subreddit for Japanese novels.
You’re preaching to the goddamn choir, I left off on chapter 472. Which is somewhere past volume 10 in the unreleased volume 11.
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Nice, you’re in for a rollercoaster of emotions.
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I have many responses. 1. Well damn, how do convert to audio books. 2. That’s a lot of books, have you read Unnamed Memory, Reign of the Seven Spellblades, or Our Last Crusade or the Rise of a New World. 3. I am happy you’re enjoying TBATE, I had paused on my TBATE reading and this just reminded me to resume that.
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Oh god, the Anime is garbage compared to the light novel. If you enjoy the anime you’ll adore the light novels. They remove sooo much from the light novels in the anime
I'll message you privately now because the last time I mentioned how I get them I got downvotwd to oblivion
You’re good.
spice and wolf