A light novel(ライトノベル) is a style of Japanese novel primarily targeting junior high and high school students (young adult demographic). The term "light novel" is a wasei-eigo, or a Japanese term formed from words in the English language. Light novels are often called ranobe(ラノベ) or rainobe(ライノベ) for short. They are typically not more than 40,000–50,000 words long (the shorter ones being equivalent to a novella in US publishing terms), rarely exceed 200 pages, are usually published in bunkobon size, and are often illustrated. The text is often serialized in anthology magazines prior to collection in book form.
A visual novel is an interactive fiction game featuring mostly static graphics, usually with anime-style art, or occasionally live-action stills or video footage. As the name might suggest, they resemble mixed-media novels or tableau vivant stage plays. In Japanese terminology, a distinction is often made between visual novels proper (abbreviated NVL), which are predominantly narrative and have very little interactive elements, and adventure games (abbreviated AVG or ADV), which typically incorporate problem-solving and other gameplay elements. This distinction is normally lost in the West, where both NVLs and ADVs are commonly referred to as "visual novels" by Western fans. Visual novels and ADVs are especially prevalent in Japan, where they made up nearly 70% of the PC game titles released in 2006. Visual novels are rarely produced for video game consoles, but the more popular games are sometimes ported to systems such as the Dreamcast or the PlayStation...
The Princess Waltz...A dance of whirling blades held to find the princess worthy of becoming queen of Seven Central in the fantasy world of Eldelant.Hopeful candidates travel from all the kingdoms of Eldelant to take part in the waltz,but only one princess will reign supreme... Princess Waltz Publisher : Pulltop English Publisher : Peach PrincessRelease Date : 18 March 2006 (JP) 12 February 2008 (EN)Length : Medium (10 - 30 hours)Genre : Visual Novel, ErogeRating : Ranked #18 (vndb.org) Scored 78.5 (KirikoPoll)Platform : PC .: Story Fukamori Arata, know nothing of princesses or waltzes. In fact, his daily life in modern Japan couldn't be any more ordinary - he live with his mother and sister, being woken daily by his childhood friend to go to school, and live a generally full but normal life surrounded by a gang of rowdy classmates. When rumors start circulating about a transfer student to...
Soul Link ソウルリンク Developer : Interchannel & Navel English Publisher : MangaGamerRelease Date : 17 December 2004 (Jp) 28 December 2009 (En)Length : Medium (10 - 30 hours)Genre : Visual Novel, ErogeRating : Ranked #60 (vndb.org) Scored 74.0 (KirikoPoll) .: Story Fall, 2045C.E. Aizawa Shuuhei, a second year cadet enrolled in Central Military Academy’s main division, is dispatched to the orbital space station Aries on a training mission. There he reunites with his younger brother, Ryouta, and his childhood friend, Nao, both of whom resided there as cadets enrolled in the preparatory division. Then suddenly, an unidentified space ship under the control of Jararacas, a radical terrorist organization, attacks the Aries and seizes control of the main control room. With all communication lines cut off, Shuuhei and the others have no way to escape; they’re trapped. Trapped in space, 250 miles above the Earth with nowhere to run. In...
Shuffle! シャッフル! Developer : Navel English Publisher : MangaGamerRelease Date : 15 August 2009 (En)Length : Long (30 - 50 hours)Genre : Visual Novel, ErogeRating : Ranked #23 (vndb.org) Scored 81.0 (KirikoPoll).: Story Ten years ago, the door connecting the Human World, the Devil World, and the God World opened. As a result, Gods and Devils now reside among humans in everyday life. Surprisingly, they all seem to accept and get along with each other. It’s much different from what you’d expect, and it’s highly unrealistic, but after some getting used to, I came to accept it. You play as Rin, the main character and male lead of the game. Rin has been living with his childhood friend Kaede for many years. Both of Rin’s parents and Kaede’s mother died in a fatal accident when they were young, and they have been living toegther with Kaede’s dad ever...
The island of Hatsune, where cherry blossoms are in bloom all year long. There are people who study such mysterious cherry blossoms, and also there are people who lead normal everyday lives. Even if the cherry blossoms never stop blooming, there is no difference in people’s lives. A girl came back as if she was guided by the scent of those cherry blossoms. Kazami Academy is located in the middle of such a normal world. There was a boy with the mysterious power to produce Japanese sweets out of nowhere and to experience other people’s dreams. Far from being ordinary, yet far from being extraordinary. —- The dream that her favorite wizard dreams about —- The school idol who loves Japanese sweets, the demanding, yet clingy sister, the spaced-out friend, the old friends in the dreams, and the friend who is called “a puppy dog”. – The beginning...
Legend says there is a flower that blooms here in the depth of winter... The Wintery Sakura,Yukizakura. As the twilight deepens and a snowflake melts in the palm of my hand, I stand with a beautiful girl by my side. Will we be able to uncover its mystery in this fleeting moment?Yukizakura雪桜 Publisher : D.O. - G-Collections Writer: Kitagawa Samui Release Date : 23 December 2003 (Jap)Length : Medium (10 - 30 hours)Genre : Visual Novel, ErogeRating : Ranked #25 (vndb.org) Scored 86.2 (KirikoPoll) .: Story My name is Tachibana Yuuji, a regular student with no particular plans for the future - until my parents left for Hawaii on a business trip last fall, leaving me in the care of my uncle in the wintry countryside of Hokkaido. Small-town life on Japan's northern island didn't have time to get dull, as from the moment I got there I was reunited with...
New Year Festival (正月, Shōgatsu), is one of the most important annual festivals, with its own unique customs, and has been celebrated for centuries. Due to the importance of the holiday and the preparations required, the preceding days are quite busy, particularly the day before, known as Ōmisoka. Although Shogatsu means January, it is celebrated for the first 3 days or the first week of January. These days are considered the most important holidays for the Japanese. One could equate it with the celebration of Christmas in the west. During this time business and schools close for one to two weeks. It is also a time for people to return to their families which leads to the inevitable backlog of travelers. The Japanese decorate their houses, but before the decorations start to be put up a general house cleaning is done. On New Year's eve (December 31), bells (joya...
A visual novel is an interactive fiction game featuring mostly static graphics, usually with anime-style art, or occasionally live-action stills or video footage. As the name might suggest, they resemble mixed-media novels or tableau vivant stage plays. In Japanese terminology, a distinction is often made between visual novels proper (abbreviated NVL), which are predominantly narrative and have very little interactive elements, and adventure games (abbreviated AVG or ADV), which typically incorporate problem-solving and other gameplay elements. This distinction is normally lost in the West, where both NVLs and ADVs are commonly referred to as "visual novels" by Western fans. Visual novels and ADVs are especially prevalent in Japan, where they made up nearly 70% of the PC game titles released in 2006. Visual novels are rarely produced for video game consoles, but the more popular games are sometimes ported to systems such as the Dreamcast or the PlayStation...
The Princess Waltz...A dance of whirling blades held to find the princess worthy of becoming queen of Seven Central in the fantasy world of Eldelant.Hopeful candidates travel from all the kingdoms of Eldelant to take part in the waltz,but only one princess will reign supreme... Princess Waltz Publisher : Pulltop English Publisher : Peach PrincessRelease Date : 18 March 2006 (JP) 12 February 2008 (EN)Length : Medium (10 - 30 hours)Genre : Visual Novel, ErogeRating : Ranked #18 (vndb.org) Scored 78.5 (KirikoPoll)Platform : PC .: Story Fukamori Arata, know nothing of princesses or waltzes. In fact, his daily life in modern Japan couldn't be any more ordinary - he live with his mother and sister, being woken daily by his childhood friend to go to school, and live a generally full but normal life surrounded by a gang of rowdy classmates. When rumors start circulating about a transfer student to...
Soul Link ソウルリンク Developer : Interchannel & Navel English Publisher : MangaGamerRelease Date : 17 December 2004 (Jp) 28 December 2009 (En)Length : Medium (10 - 30 hours)Genre : Visual Novel, ErogeRating : Ranked #60 (vndb.org) Scored 74.0 (KirikoPoll) .: Story Fall, 2045C.E. Aizawa Shuuhei, a second year cadet enrolled in Central Military Academy’s main division, is dispatched to the orbital space station Aries on a training mission. There he reunites with his younger brother, Ryouta, and his childhood friend, Nao, both of whom resided there as cadets enrolled in the preparatory division. Then suddenly, an unidentified space ship under the control of Jararacas, a radical terrorist organization, attacks the Aries and seizes control of the main control room. With all communication lines cut off, Shuuhei and the others have no way to escape; they’re trapped. Trapped in space, 250 miles above the Earth with nowhere to run. In...
Shuffle! シャッフル! Developer : Navel English Publisher : MangaGamerRelease Date : 15 August 2009 (En)Length : Long (30 - 50 hours)Genre : Visual Novel, ErogeRating : Ranked #23 (vndb.org) Scored 81.0 (KirikoPoll).: Story Ten years ago, the door connecting the Human World, the Devil World, and the God World opened. As a result, Gods and Devils now reside among humans in everyday life. Surprisingly, they all seem to accept and get along with each other. It’s much different from what you’d expect, and it’s highly unrealistic, but after some getting used to, I came to accept it. You play as Rin, the main character and male lead of the game. Rin has been living with his childhood friend Kaede for many years. Both of Rin’s parents and Kaede’s mother died in a fatal accident when they were young, and they have been living toegther with Kaede’s dad ever...
The island of Hatsune, where cherry blossoms are in bloom all year long. There are people who study such mysterious cherry blossoms, and also there are people who lead normal everyday lives. Even if the cherry blossoms never stop blooming, there is no difference in people’s lives. A girl came back as if she was guided by the scent of those cherry blossoms. Kazami Academy is located in the middle of such a normal world. There was a boy with the mysterious power to produce Japanese sweets out of nowhere and to experience other people’s dreams. Far from being ordinary, yet far from being extraordinary. —- The dream that her favorite wizard dreams about —- The school idol who loves Japanese sweets, the demanding, yet clingy sister, the spaced-out friend, the old friends in the dreams, and the friend who is called “a puppy dog”. – The beginning...
Legend says there is a flower that blooms here in the depth of winter... The Wintery Sakura,Yukizakura. As the twilight deepens and a snowflake melts in the palm of my hand, I stand with a beautiful girl by my side. Will we be able to uncover its mystery in this fleeting moment?Yukizakura雪桜 Publisher : D.O. - G-Collections Writer: Kitagawa Samui Release Date : 23 December 2003 (Jap)Length : Medium (10 - 30 hours)Genre : Visual Novel, ErogeRating : Ranked #25 (vndb.org) Scored 86.2 (KirikoPoll) .: Story My name is Tachibana Yuuji, a regular student with no particular plans for the future - until my parents left for Hawaii on a business trip last fall, leaving me in the care of my uncle in the wintry countryside of Hokkaido. Small-town life on Japan's northern island didn't have time to get dull, as from the moment I got there I was reunited with...
New Year Festival (正月, Shōgatsu), is one of the most important annual festivals, with its own unique customs, and has been celebrated for centuries. Due to the importance of the holiday and the preparations required, the preceding days are quite busy, particularly the day before, known as Ōmisoka. Although Shogatsu means January, it is celebrated for the first 3 days or the first week of January. These days are considered the most important holidays for the Japanese. One could equate it with the celebration of Christmas in the west. During this time business and schools close for one to two weeks. It is also a time for people to return to their families which leads to the inevitable backlog of travelers. The Japanese decorate their houses, but before the decorations start to be put up a general house cleaning is done. On New Year's eve (December 31), bells (joya...
