Web Comics, Web Novels and Light Novels

[Keropi]

Today I started reading a web novel called "An Otome Game’s Burikko Villainess Turned into a Magic Otaku":
https://oniichanyamete.wordpress.com/in ... project-x/

It's another summoning/reincarnation/respawning storyline, but I've been enjoying it so far (eleven chapters translated). The story is about a girl that falls down the stairs and wakes up to find that she is a future female rival to the main character of an otome game.

The main character ends up changing the game's storyline just because her character is different from how the "rival girl" originally was like in the game (a "burikko" girl).

It reminds me of Mushouku Tensei in how it changes perspectives and shows the different character's points-of-view. It allso starts from when the main character is three years old and in the new fantasy world. The character's are pretty likeable so far. She is up to twelve years old in the latest chapter. I wonder what's going to happen when the main character of the game show's up?

Supposedly there are 128+ chapters of web novel already out.

[Keropi]

"An Otome Game’s Burikko Villainess Turned into a Magic Otaku" has gotten translated quite a bit recently. The story is still fun. There aren't many female protagonists in web novels or light novels.

"An Otome Game’s Burikko Villainess Turned into a Magic Otaku" feels more like a shounen female protagonist that's inhabiting an Otome game setting (shoujo).

There seems to be an actual shoujo web novel that's getting translated. I should have made a note on what the title of it was.

Spoilers for that web novel:

The female lead died and was reincarnated into a fantasy world. She uses her knowledge of the old world to help her new one. She seems to have a high magic potential like most "New Life/Reincarnated Main Characters so I guess she'll be fine there.

"An Otome Game’s Burikko Villainess Turned into a Magic Otaku" Recently translated spoilers and some future Spoilers:

It seems the female lead is not as overpowered magically as we first thought. She's pretty dense when it comes to romance (comedically dense). It looks like the Heroine of the Otome game is also a bodyswap person from our world. It looks like she will be the villain of the story. Since she's inhabiting the body of the game's Heroine, her magic potential is immense. She's already caused problems from her magic going out of control and harming others. So the game's villains are the Heroes and the game's Heroine is the villain. It's a switch.

"An Otome Game’s Burikko Villainess Turned into a Magic Otaku" got picked up to become a light novel. I look forward to seeing artwork of the characters in the future. I dont rremember ever seeing a pink haired, loli, tomboy with magic tattoos before. Pink haired girls are usually either cute characters or tsundere characters in anime, manga and games. So I look forward to seeing how she actually looks like. Her personality does not match her appearance.

[Keropi]

Web novels are an inexpensive way for writers can get their stories noticed these days. Some web novels are good and some are not. Sometimes they drag on too long and develop too slowly.

I seen a post on their highest rate voted Japanese novels and web novels and apparently Mushoku Tensei has held the top mark for the past two years. Too bad it's a difficult story to adapt into an anime because of it's length and detail. The manga is skipping over details and making the story feel too over-the-top comedically. Well, it could be worse I suppose.

There seem to be more web novels that have the main character changing genders when he gets to the fantasy world. Maybe that's the new trend. They don't seem to be very creative with the idea though.

At the moment, I'm trying to read seven web novel translations. Most of them aren't updated very often however. These are in no particular order:

1. Konjiki no Wordmaster:
https://yoraikun.wordpress.com/knw-chapters/
https://loliquent.wordpress.com/konjiki-no-word-master/

This was that story where the main character acts like a jerk a lot of the time. The web novel has already ended. The manga is in the early stages. Some people find this story boring. I found it boring for awhile, but I liked it more later. The web novel had a total of 691 chapters.

2. An Otome Game’s Burikko Villainess Turned into a Magic Otaku written by Sakura Ageha
https://oniichanyamete.wordpress.com/in ... project-x/

I've been enjoying this, but not quite as much as when it first began. It's pretty fun.

3. World Teacher
http://www.baka-tsuki.org/project/index ... ld_Teacher

This just about never gets updated anymore.

4. The New Gate:
http://shintranslations.com/the-new-gate-toc/

Been enjoying this.

5. Spirit Migration:
https://tensaitranslations.wordpress.co ... web-novel/

This rarely gets updated. It's okay I guess, if you don't mind the premise. It's just moving around between the different characters.

6. I’m Back in the Other World? by Money Bag
https://oniichanyamete.wordpress.com/in ... her-world/

I'm not so much into this one, but I'm wondering where it's going. It feels more like a food story than a fantasy story.

7. Magi Craft Meister:
https://natsutl.wordpress.com/projects/ ... t-meister/

I just started reading this. I was about to stop reading it when the event at the end of the chapter happened and I changed my mind. Magi Craft Meister is on the top novel list. It's more of a slice-of-life story than anything else. It's about a craftsman in a fantasy world.

A doujin side story (not much of a spoiler, but it's still a spoiler for the English translated chapters):

I wish I could read that doujin someone wrote about what would have happened in the main character had died and his automaton had survived. It was called "Reiko's War Against the World After Jin Died". Reiko was quoted as saying something like "A World Without Otou-sama is World that Shouldn't Exist". Now that would have been fun to read. Lol

The Top Twenty rated novels:
http://forums.animesuki.com/showthread. ... ost5502635

I'll have to create a web comic post someday. This post has already grown too long.

[Keropi]

This is an update post about what I'm currently reading (web novels and novels). Some translations have stalled because the translators and editors don't have the time and/or motivation to work on them anymore. These have been updated recently.

The New Gate:
This is about a guy that went from being involved in an online game into a fantasy world that was the similar to the game. He tries to meet up with his fellow support characters that he knew from earlier when it was still a game:
https://shintranslations.com/the-new-gate-toc/

Summoned Slaughter:
It's about a high schooler that gets transported to a fantasy world. He's the type kills others when he feels that he feels that they are trying to manipulate him:
http://trinityarchive.com/
https://kerambitnosakki.wordpress.com/

Magi's Grandson:
This fantasy story is more slice-of-life and laid back. It's about a guy that was reincarnated or transferred to a fantasy world. He uses what he knows from our world to create magic that is unknown and breaks the laws of common sense in their world.
http://japtem.com/projects/magis-grandson-toc/

To Deprive a Deprived Person (the very loosely translated title for it):
This is about an abused boy that was transported to a fantasy world. He gains the power to steal abilities from others. It gets pretty violent sometimes.
http://www.novelupdates.com/series/to-d ... ed-person/

Moon-led Journey Across Another World:
This is about a guy that gets pulled from our world by a god. The god grants him powers, but he falls into another world's wilderness. He becomes very powerful, but he tries to hide his power so he can try to live a normal life there.
https://isekailunatic.wordpress.com/tsu ... i-douchuu/

My Pet Is A Holy Maiden:
This is about a guy who is pulled from our world and is reunited with his pet bird. The pet bird is now a Holy Maiden of a great temple on the other world. It's been rather cute so far.
https://catinghampalace.wordpress.com/

Jikuu Mahou de Isekai to Chikyuu wo Ittarikitari:
The main character is summoned to a fantasy world and turns down the King's offer to be a Hero. He then "kidnaps" the princess to get her out of jail.
https://natsutl.wordpress.com/

Isekai ni kanaderu densetsu ~toki wo tomeru mono~:
Another main character that turns down the King's offer to be a Hero. This guy doesn't realize that a couple of his classmates like him.
https://ultimatearcane.wordpress.com/

Isekai Maou:
Guy transported to a fantasy world that is similar to the online game he was playing. This one has more harem tropes. He looks like his Demon Lord character from the game.
https://isekaicyborg.wordpress.com/

My Childhood Friend is a High School Girl and a Hero of Another World but It Looks Like That’s not All:
This is the story with the yandere main heroine. I thought it was pretty fun in that regards.
(Google it. The link contains symbols)

Spirit Migration:
This is about a spirit that has the power to possess animals. He moves from one animal to the next while meeting different people.
https://tensaitranslations.wordpress.co ... web-novel/

All the other novels I'm reading haven't updated from awhile.

As you can tell, I've only been reading reincarnation/summoned to a fantasy world novels.

I'm still waiting for the tenth volume of Overlord to come out so I can find out what happens next (someone's descriptions of the story I mean). I wouldn't be surprised The New Gate gets an anime adaption and then Yen Press licenses the novel. Some of these are already popular enough to have manga for them.

[Keropi]

The translation link website Baka Tsuki got another DMCA notice.

Novel translations are going through the same process that anime fansubs and manga scanlations went through.

Well...you couldn't expect all those translation sites to last long. Too many people were reading those stories. Some web novel authors are happy to hear that their stories are being foreign language translated, but the publishing companies are understandably less than pleased about it.

[Keropi]

I finally compiled a list of the web novels and light novels that I read at least some of.

I only rated these based off how much I enjoyed them. I didn't rate them by how well they were written.

Web Novels and Light Novels (may or may not be on MAL):
-----------------------------------------
Altina Sword Princess-------------------------------7.00
An Otome Game’s Burikko Villainess--------------7.20
Arifureta---------------------------------------------dropped
A Realist's Kingdom Reform Chronicle------------6.60
CtG—Zero Kara Sodateru Dennou Shoujo-------5.70 dropped
Death March Kara Hajimaru Isekai Kyu....-------dropped ---- I didn't care for the writing style
Din No Monshou-------------------------------------6.30
Dungeon+Harem+Master-------------------------6.30 (read ch1,3-5)
Eh? Heibon desu yo??------------------------------6.30
Elf Tensei--------------------------------------------6.20
Garudeina Oukoku Koukoku Ki--------------------6.00
Hachinan TTE----------------------------------------5.70 dropped
I Became a Living Cheat---------------------------5.75 dropped
I’m a NEET but when I went to Hello Work....----5.50 dropped
I'm Back in the Other World?-----------------------5.70 dropped
In a different world with a Smartphone-----------5.70 dropped
I Rose.........Gatcha With Luck!--------------------5.50 dropped
Isekai Maou to Shoukan Shoujo-------------------6.30
Jikuu Mahou------------------------------------------6.30
Knight's and Magic-----------------------------------5.80 dropped
Konjiki no Wordmaster------------------------------6.40
Kuro no Maou-----------------------------------------5.80 dropped
LV999 Villager----------------------------------------6.30
Magi craft Meister------------------------------------6.30
Magi's Grandson-------------------------------------6.10
Manuke FPS TOC------------------------------------6.10
Master of Monster-----------------------------------5.70
Musoku Tensei--------------------------------------9.00
My Childhood Friend......But That's Not All--------6.50
My Death Flags Show No Sign of Ending----------7.10
My Pet is a Holy Maiden----------------------------6.20
Nagai Koto-------------------------------------------6.00 (read ch1-2 only)
Neta Chara------------------------------------------6.20
1000 Homunculus Girls-----------------------------6.30
Oukoku e Tsudzuku Michi--------------------------6.40
Overlord---------------------------------------------7.80
Seirei Gensouki--------------------------------------6.00 dropped
Seiun wo Kakeru------------------------------------6.20
Skeleton Knight-------------------------------------7.00
Slave Harem-----------------------------------------5.60
Soshite Shoujo wa Akujo no Karada o Te...------6.30
Spirit Migration--------------------------------------6.20
Summoned Slaughter-------------------------------6.70
Rakuin no Monshou---------------------------------7.80
Takarakuji de 40 Oku Atattanda-------------------6.30
Tensei Oujo------------------------------------------7.20
The Amber Sword-----------------------------------6.20
The New Gate---------------------------------------7.00
"To Deprive a Deprived Person"-------------------6.80
Tsuki ga Michibiku Isekai Douchuu-----------------7.00
Uchinara----------------------------------------------6.30
Umi to Kaze no Oukoku-----------------------------dropped (read ch1-7 on 3-8-16)
Villainess Brother Reincarnation-------------------6.00
World Teacher---------------------------------------6.30 -- the beginning part I liked - the later parts go bad

I hope some of these will get adapted into anime. I don't think many of these would make good anime because their anime not will get enough time to display their good points. Anime adaptions of novels tend to make their stories feel very shallow and generic.

"Isekai Maou to Shoukan Shoujo" feels like something that would get adapted into an anime. The story is not as dependent as most novels on being lengthy. There is fanservice and there are two girls that would make good promotional characters for a anime - a busty elf and a panther girl.

[Keropi]

Another six months of reading has come and gone.

Lately I've been using Novelupdates to catch the latest Japanese/Chinese/Korean translated fantasy novel chapters. It comes in pretty handy:
http://www.novelupdates.com/
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
My all-time favorite translated novels are now:

Mushoku Tensei:
http://www.novelupdates.com/series/mushoku-tensei/

Altina the Sword Princess:
http://www.novelupdates.com/series/alti ... -princess/

A Realist's Kingdom Reform Chronicles:
http://www.novelupdates.com/series/genj ... ukaizouki/

Dungeon Defense - it's nasty, dark, pessimistic, psychopathic and lacking in warmth, but it's still fun in a strange way (rooting for the villains). I'm surprised the translator was even able to get the original author's approval to translate it:
http://www.novelupdates.com/series/dungeon-defense/

My Death Flags Show No Sign of Ending -- the beginning part was good, but right now it's in a less interesting part of the story:
http://www.novelupdates.com/series/my-d ... of-ending/

Overlord - this is licensed

Rakuin no Monshou:
http://www.novelupdates.com/series/rakuin-no-monshou/

Summoned Slaughter - an amoral Hero running amok
http://www.novelupdates.com/series/yobi ... uriku-sha/

The Amber Sword - I didn't like the part he was fighting bushes for a long time, but after that it improved:
http://www.novelupdates.com/series/the-amber-sword/

Tsuki ga Michibiku Isekai Douchuu -- yeah, it's kind of annoying when he's acting like a regular teenager, but I like the other parts. He does continue to mature:
http://www.novelupdates.com/series/tsuk ... i-douchuu/

Yuusha no Oshishou-sama -- I really like this childhood friend story:
http://www.novelupdates.com/series/yuus ... shou-sama/
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
These are the shoujo novels that I've been enjoying the most lately:

Albert Ke no Reijou wa Botsuraku wo go Shomou desu:
http://www.novelupdates.com/series/albe ... omou-desu/

Haunted Duke's Daughter:
http://www.novelupdates.com/series/haun ... -daughter/

I Said Make My Abilities Average!:
http://www.novelupdates.com/series/i-sa ... s-average/

Kenkyo, Kenjitsu o Motto ni Ikite Orimasu:
http://www.novelupdates.com/series/kenk ... e-orimasu/
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The stories that I'm enjoying the most that I started recently and are not listed above:

I am the Monarch:
http://www.novelupdates.com/series/i-am-the-monarch/

I Was a Sword When I Reincarnated -- the first ten chapters are boring, but I liked it after that:
http://www.novelupdates.com/series/i-wa ... ncarnated/

[Keropi]

It's been four and a half months. Some of my favorites I became tired of reading. Some novels have stopped being translated. I've started some new ones.

Out of what I'm reading or thinking about reading right now, my favorite web novel/light novel translations are:

Release That Witch -- this is my favorite. I like the build up of the nation building, technology and the characters. I'm a bit less interested in it lately, but I still check out the newest machine translated chapter or two each morning when I wake up:
http://www.novelupdates.com/series/release-that-witch/ <- English translation
http://lnmtl.com/novel/release-that-witch <-----Machine translations

A Realist's Kingdom Reform Chronicle -- this is licensed. It's another nation building fantasy story

Rakuin no Monshou -- one of these days I'll read the next chapter
http://www.novelupdates.com/series/rakuin-no-monshou/

The Amber Sword -- irregular updates
http://www.novelupdates.com/series/the-amber-sword/

Yuusha no Oshishou-sama
http://www.novelupdates.com/series/yuus ... shou-sama/

Ouroboros Record -- I just started this, but it seems fun so far. He's doing human alchemy experiments and turning his maid yandere
http://www.novelupdates.com/series/ouro ... -oubeniel/

Nidoume no Yuusha... -- I need to get back to reading this too. A few more chapters come out. The main character is getting revenge on the psycho, evil characters he was involved with the first time when he and his school class was summoned to a fantasy world. He does a time leap to the past and tries to kill those murderous characters off.
http://www.novelupdates.com/series/nidome-no-yuusha/

Revolution of the 8th Class Mage:
http://www.novelupdates.com/series/revo ... lass-mage/

There's a lot of shoujo, isekai, remember-your-previous-life/gaming/cancelled engagement stories out there:

Lady Rose Wants to be a Commoner
http://www.novelupdates.com/series/lady ... -commoner/

Wagamama Onna ni Tensei Shita yo -- a cute story of a young noble mother and her son
http://www.novelupdates.com/series/waga ... -shita-yo/

Watashi wa Teki ni Narimasen!
http://www.novelupdates.com/series/wata ... narimasen/

Otome Game Rokkushuume, Automode ga Kiremashita
http://www.novelupdates.com/series/otom ... remashita/

Beloved Villain Flips the Skies -- the main character seems to be doing the same thing as the main character from "Albert Ke no Reijou wa Botsuraku wo go Shomou desu". She is trying to act the role of the main villain girl from the game's story, but she's not doing a very good job of it:
http://www.novelupdates.com/series/belo ... the-skies/

[Keropi]

Sometimes in Japanese fantasy stories I get bothered by unassertive Japanese leads that are too nice, too forgiving and not ruthless enough. They take a lot of crap and still try to be nice and hide their achievements. The stories I read are frequently filled with a bunch of friendly side characters that like the main lead for little or no reason. Sometimes I wish the main character would be a little less humble.

On the other hand, sometimes in Chinese fantasy stories I get bothered by leads that are too difficult to work with, too angry and get into fights all the time. They take a lot of crap and also dish crap back to others. The stories I read are frequently filled with a bunch of hostile side characters that hate the main lead for little or no reason. Sometimes I wish the main character would be a little more mellow.

The Korean fantasy stories I read were between the two. I haven't read any Indonesian or Filipino fantasy novels yet.

I thought it was crazy when they came out with all of these isekai non-human things like turning into a slime or huge spider. It started getting weirder turning into inanimate objects like a sword and a vending machine. There were the crazy ways of leveling up like I Level Up By Eating. Main characters level up by sleeping, walking or digging holes. I seen an isekai novel today - "Using My God Skill “Breathing” to Level Up, I Will Challenge the Dungeon of the Gods".

How about leveling up by talking?

A Chinese isekai novel could be - "I Cultivate the Dao by Sitting Down". Maybe lying down or coughing would be better? I don't know. \o/