| Database of Manga scans with Mega download | | Link to Reading List edit (only 'Dynamic' sheet is editable) | | | | | | Live Google sheets version found here
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| Title | | Format | Furigana | Translated | Volumes | Difficulty | Difficulty Description | Description |
| はなひらっ！ | ふぐり屋＆ゆりんゆりん | Visual Novel | No | No | - | Easy | Easy vocabulary and fully voiced. Good to start with. | The story revolves around four girls who attend Saint Michael Girls’ School and highlights all their cute dokidoki yuriyuri love for one another during and after school. The story is quite lighthearted and follows the four girls at school, shopping, hanging around and coming together for a pajama party. |
| よつばと！ | あずまきよひこ | Manga | | Yes | 12 (publishing) | Easy | Homoerotic slang that might throw off brand new readers. | Yotsuba&! is centered on Yotsuba Koiwai, a five-year-old adopted girl who is energetic, cheerful, curious, odd, and quirky—so odd and quirky that even her own father calls her strange. She is also initially ignorant about many things a child her age would be expected to know, among them doorbells, escalators, air conditioners, and even playground swings. This naiveté is the premise of humorous stories where she learns about, and frequently misunderstands, everyday things. |
| 侵略！イカ娘 | 安部真弘 | Manga | Yes | Yes | 17 (Ongoing) | Easy | Has the occasional long sentence. | Cute squids doing cute squid things. |
| 惡の華 | 押見修造 | Manga | Yes | Yes | 11 (Completed) | Easy | Simple dialogue, which constantly relolves around the same topics (the plot). Lots of omnopoteia. | The story follows a middle school student named Takao Kasuga who's forced into a "contract" by fellow student Sawa Nakamura, after being caught stealing the gym clothes of his crush Nanako Saeki, and the series of events afterwards that follow these three characters. The title of the manga comes from Charles Baudelaire's Les Fleurs du Mal. |
| 徒然チルドレン | | Manga Website | No | No | - | Easy | The あとがき is long and difficult, but other than that it consists mainly of short and simple sentences. A bit more difficult than あいうら. | Short episodes about normal Japanese high school boys and girls, mostly about their struggle in love. ラブコメ genre. |
| マンガ家さんとアシスタントさんと | ヒロユキ | Manga | Yes | Yes | 10 | Basic | All kanji include furigana. Easy vocabulary. Good to start with. | Everyday life of a perverted manga artist. |
| とらぶる | 長谷見沙貴 | Manga (Finished) | Yes | Yes (poorly) | 18 | Basic | Everything has Furigana. Everything. A significant amount of words that are usually kanji, are represented with hiragana, making dictionary look ups especially easy. Most of the characters are moe high school girls, so the grammar never really departs from Tae Kim's guide. | The riveting tale of how Rito accumulates the greatest harem in any Japanese media. Lots of ecchi fanservice. It's wonderful. |
| 絶対☆霊域 | 吉辺あくろ | 4koma | Yes | No (Yes for ch.1 - 3) | 5 | Basic | Easy read, cute moments, funny moments, 4koma about a guy who moves into an apartment with a tsundere ghost loli bound there. | 4-koma. A guy moves in a haunted apartment. The ghost tried to scare him but doesn't succeed. The 4-koma follow their strange life now that they're living together. |
| のんのんびより | あっと | Manga | Yes | Partially | 9 | Easy | Easy transition after reading Yotsubato. Might have some puns that are hard to understand for beginners. | The latest blockbuster that's killing the anime industry (according to some people) |
| 地球の放課後 | 吉富昭仁 | Manga | Yes | Halfway there | 6 | Easy | It's an SoL with occasional plot. Which means that you get an interesting story which doesn't require a large vocabulary. | """This is the earth of unmanned story. Like a ""I am legend"".
1 boy, and 3 girls. Only they on the earth.
But they aren't pessimistic, enjoying life.
It is a serious story in Unowon enemy. but also Slow life story. """ |
| MOTHER 2 (Earthbound) | Ape, HAL Laboratory | Game - SNES | No | Yes | - | Beginner | Only a handful of Kanji appear in the intro and during one mid-game cutscene. This game is written almost entirely in kana. Known as Earthbound in the west, AKA, that horrendously overpriced SNES game that isn't even rare. You can snag a SFC copy for DIRT cheap, or you can emulate it. Vocabulary is a bit more advanced than most basic kana only games, but it's not too much of an issue for most beginners. | J-RPG. You play the role of Ness, a little boy whose fate suddenly changes when a meteorite crashed near his house. Upon visiting the location of the crash, an alien bee informs him that he only can save the Earth of an evil alien force name Giygas. Ness (and later on, his friends) will have to collect eight melodies to be able to battle and finally stop Giygas from destroying the Earth. Considered by many a timeless classic and one of the best JRPGs. |
| ナップルテール | | Game - DC | No | No | - | Basic | アクションRPG. Very basic game. At 3-4 months of studying I was able to play through it fairly well. Got to a crafting part though, and was a bit confused. Easy game. Great music (Yoko Kanno). | While enjoying the once-per-year Summer Festival, the heroine Poach Arsia is accidentally brought to Napple World due to a mistake made by Straynap, a novice Spirit Guide who leads souls into the afterlife. Napple World, known as the land of daydreams, lies between the Real World and the Deep Dream, where souls go to rest. The concept of time in Napple World is unlike the real world: the seasons of spring, summer, autumn and winter exist separately from each other as distinct locations. When Poach arrives in Napple World, six fairy-like beings called Petals leave her body and escape into the seasons, and she must retrieve them in order to go home again. To make up for his mistake, Straynap becomes Poach's guide and instructs her throughout the game, explaining the often contradictory nature of Napple World to her. |
| コロぱた | | Game - DS | Some | Yes | - | Basic | Easy to understand. Follows a little girl and her puzzles.Use the Japanese wiki if you have trouble and it'll double your learning! | Puzzle game for the DS. |
| イナズマイレブン | | Game - DS/3DS | Yes | Yes | - | Basic | Football RPG series. Made for children, so the language is simple and gameplay is fun. Each game in the series has a theme, which is helpful in building vocabulary. | Football RPG series. |
| Mario Story (Paper Mario) | Nintendo | Game - N64 | No | Yes | - | Basic | Almost everything is written in Kana, but some Kanji are used. (You should know stuff like Castle or Princess) Easy grammar and simple story. A masterpiece, but beware of the font used. (I have only seen the first few minutes of gameplay) | Paper Mario is set in the Mushroom Kingdom as the protagonist Mario tries to rescue Princess Peach from Bowser, who has imprisoned the seven "Star Spirits", lifted her castle into the sky and has successfully defeated his foe after stealing the Star Rod from Star Haven and making himself invulnerable to any attacks. To save Mushroom Kingdom, rescue Peach, get the castle back, and defeat Bowser, Mario must locate the Star Spirits, who can negate the effects of the stolen Star Rod, by defeating Bowser's minions guarding the star spirits. |
| Fortune Summoners (フォーチュンサモナーズ) | Lizsoft | Game - PC | Yes | | - | Basic | Cute platformer/RPG with furigana above all kanji, easy dialog, deluxe version has partial voiceacting. The Normal version is translated by Carpe Fulgur, the deluxe version is not translated. | "Elemental Stones: stones imbued with the power of an Elemental Spirit, which grant the wielder of one the ability to control that element via 'magic'.
In the country of Scotsholm, three centuries have passed since they were first created. Elemental stones are now mass-produced and widely used, making magic a personal, commonplace part of people's lives." |
| Super Mario RPG | Square | Game - SNES | No | Yes | - | Basic | Requires a handful of Kyoiku Kanji but nowhere near the full set. Unfamiliar Kanji can be difficult to read because of the low resolution. Make sure you know the Kanji for "castle" and "princess" - you'll be seeing those two repeated a lot. | The story focuses on Mario and his teammates as they seek to eliminate the game's main antagonist, Smithy. Smithy has stolen the seven star pieces of Star Road where all the world's inhabitants' wishes become Wish Stars, and Mario must return the pieces so these wishes may again be granted. |
| Animal Crossing (どうぶつの森) | Nintendo | Game - Various | | | - | Basic | | In all of the Animal Crossing games, the player assumes the role of a human character, who moves into a rural village populated with anthropomorphic animals and lives there indefinitely. Gameplay is open-ended: players have no defined objectives, but are instead encouraged to spend their time in the village performing any number of activities, which include collecting items, planting plants or other items, and socializing with the village's residents. All Animal Crossing games are played in real time, utilizing the system's internal clock and calendar. |
| Zelda: Skyward Sword | Nintendo | Game - Wii | Yes | Yes | - | Basic | Furigana text only appears when you use a 16:9 setting in your TV | Skyward Sword follows an incarnation of the series' chief protagonist, Link, who was raised in a society above the clouds known as Skyloft. After his closest childhood friend, Zelda, is swept into the land below the clouds by demonic forces, Link does whatever it takes to save her, traveling between Skyloft and the surface below while battling the dark forces of the self-proclaimed "Demon Lord", Ghirahim. |
| NHK News Web Easy | | Online Newspaper | Yes | No | - | Easy | | NHK news articles simplified and made easier to read for elementary schoolers (and language learners like you) |
| 民話 むかし話のパージ | | Website | | | - | Basic | Majority is hiragana, all with pictures, good for beginners. http://www33.ocn.ne.jp/~maty/top.htm | Six Japanese and Six Non-Japanese fairy tales. |
| キミのとなりで恋してる！ | Alcot Honey Comb | VN (PC) | No? | No | - | Fairly Easy? | In キミのとなり the friend character speaks in classic cool-dude accent which means a lot of slurring that through me off, but otherwise there's nothing tricky here except the running vocabulary which is actually quite small. | https://vndb.org/v15870 |
| イセカイ・ラヴァーズ！ ～巨乳の勇者達はちょろいん～ | Apricot | VN (PC) | No? | No | - | Fairly Easy? | I don't recall anyone having an accent but the MC uses guns and military weapons which are obviously quite uncommon vocabulary. | https://vndb.org/v15482 |
| MA☆KO HUNTER | Clock Up | VN (PC) | No? | No | - | Fairly Easy? | MAKO HUNTER has a pig friend character that speaks like a pig and thus is kind of hard to understand at times (mainly he says ブー a fuckton) - the main tricky things here is again all the tools the MC uses to hunt women as well as the women's weapons and whatnot. | https://vndb.org/v12797 |
| 星織ユメミライ | tone work's | VN (PC) | No? | No | - | Fairly Easy? | I don't recall anyone in 星織ユメミライ having an accent but the MC wants to be an architect and discussions on that subject can be heavy at times (moege heavy, nothing serious). | https://vndb.org/v14265 |
| 日常 | あらゐ けいいち | Manga | Yes | Yes | 9 (ongoing) | Easy/Intermediate, leaning towards easy | There are some longer sentences that can throw off a beginner, but the subjects are simple and the manga's episodic nature makes it very welcoming for beginners. | Nichijou follows the everyday lives of various people in the town of Tokisadame, mainly focusing on the energetic Yūko Aioi, the bright and cheerful Mio Naganohara, the quiet and deadpan Mai Minakami, the anxious robot Nano Shinonome, her eight-year-old creator the Professor, and a talking cat named Sakamoto, along with an ensemble cast of characters. Random and/or outlandish events regularly occur throughout the series, mainly through the mundane situations each character undergoes. |
| キノの旅 | 時雨沢恵一 | Light Novel | | Yes | 17 (publishing) | Easy-ish | I hope you like descriptions | Kino is a mild-mannered teenage girl who travels the world with her motorbike Hermes, visiting many different countries. Recommend reading after picking up some basic vocabulary. A pleasure to read. Violence level: medium |
| サツコイ～悠久なる恋の歌～ | Alcot Honey Comb | VN (PC) | No? | No | - | Easy/Intermediate? | Satsukoi is just hard because it has an actual plot and puts forth serious themes, asks hard questions, and so on. It also mentions genetics quite often. | https://vndb.org/v15143 |
| なないろリンカネーション | Silky's Plus Wasabi | VN (PC) | No? | No | - | Easy/Intermediate? | Nanairo, oh boy, yes this one has accents out the ass. The loli has a very old style of speaking, there are frequent infodumps about the quite heavy plot, the journals left by his grandfather are thick, there's magical chants. Nanairo definitely isn't a hard game overall but there's lots of tricky stuff throughout. | https://vndb.org/v15473 |
| キルミーベイベー | カヅホ | 4Koma Manga | For uncommon readings | Yes | 6 (ongoing) | Low intermediate | Lack of furigana is probably the greatest challenge if your vocab is low. Doesn't use a very large scope of vocabulary. | Sonya, an assassin and Yasuna, her friend attend high school. Lots of boke and tsukommi routine, cute as fuck. |
| くーねるまるた | 高尾じんぐ | Manga | For uncommon readings | No | 8 | Lower Intermediate | Quite simple grammar (it's an SoL manga). As for vocab... Now's your chance to brush up on all those cooking terms and fish names you put off learning. | A Portugese weaboo NEET's adventures in the land of the rising sun. Reminds you of the everlasting adage that you don't have to be rich to enjoy life. Also contains actual recipes corresponding to each chapter if you're into cooking. |
| 文学少女と死にたがりの道化 | 野村美月 | Light Novel | For uncommon readings | Yes | 16 | Early Intermediate | A nice entry point into mystery light novels. Very easy vocab which is partially because it's set in a high school setting. Nothing genre-defining but it has memorable moments and easy-to-understand prose. | |
| Flyable Heart -The future has already begun- | Unison Shift: Blossom | VN (PC) | No | No | - | Early Intermediate | Very simple vocabulary, though narration might take a while to get used to, for those who aren't used to reading VNs. There's a few infodumps that might be a little bit complicated, but nothing more than that. | One of the most popular VN on /DJT/. One day, an admission pamphlet to a famous academy arrived, containing an “all-you-can-eat” cafeteria pass. That alone was enough to lure our hero into visiting the super-prestigious Otori Ryouran College Community, home to students who excel in a variety of fields. Offbeat and unique students like a robot seem natural at Otori Ryouran. Organizing this odd student body is the responsibility of two groups ―― the Student Council and the Ryouran Society. |
| 妹ペット | | VN (PC) | | | - | Intermediate | | The protagonist transfers school to meet with his sisters that he hasn't seen since many years. But as he finally meet again, things have changed and an uncomfortable feeling starts to form in him. The sisters decide to be his 'pet-sisters' to close up the distance between them. |
| 穢翼のユースティア | August | VN (PC) | Few | Partially | - | Intermediate | Virus-ridden shareware, but pretty fun if you can disable the fake FBI-lock screen. | "After the surface of the world broke down, the city of Novus Aether floats in the sky, thanks to the prayers of the Holy Maiden. Years ago, when the Holy Maiden's prayer was interrupted, an incident known as the ""Gran Forte"" occurred, causing a portion of the land to fall and split the lower city into two, separated by a cliff.
In time, the lowest layer became the dwelling of all kinds of low-lives, people who lost much of their former lives during the ""Gran Forte"", becoming known as the ""Prison"". However, a contagious disease which causes people to grow wings has spread throughout the city, and a unit has been formed to deal with these people swiftly.
In this ""Prison"" resides Caim Astraea, a freelance ex-assassin who does odd jobs for his friends for money, refusing jobs that require him to kill people. During one request, Caim finds a girl who contracts the wing-disease, enveloped in a light that reminds Caim of the “Gran Forte” years ago..." |
| 巨乳JK催淫調教-キモ兄は妹をミルク飲み人形に | | VN (PC)Nukige | No | No | - | Intermediate | Fairly good I suppose. It was annoying to me how long it took to reach the hot sex in the story, as 80% of the game is simply horny teasing scenes with extremely gradual rising action. | Nukige - VNDB: http://vndb.org/v11019 |
| あずまんが大王 | あずまきよひこ | Manga | Yes | Yes | 4 | Intermediate | May contain Kansai-ben. | Popular 4-koma manga. Azumanga Daioh chronicles the everyday life in an unnamed Japanese high school of six girls and two of their teachers: child prodigy Chiyo Mihama and her struggle to fit in with girls five years older; reserved Sakaki and her obsession with the cute animals who seem to hate her; spacey Ayumu "Osaka" Kasuga with a skewed perspective on the world; Koyomi "Yomi" Mizuhara's aggravation at an annoying best friend; Tomo Takino, whose energy is rivaled only by her lack of sense; sporty Kagura and her one-sided athletics rivalry with Sakaki; their homeroom teacher Yukari Tanizaki; and her friend, physical education teacher Minamo "Nyamo" Kurosawa. |
| ベイビーステップス | 勝木光 | Manga | Yes | Partially | 38 | Intermediate | Tanks are readily available, and there's furigana on everything. However the author semi-frequently uses the furigana read a synonymous loan word rather than the reading. This is usually for sport related phrases, and I found to never be really egregious. I don't really know about which level the kanji fall under, but it is predominately what I feel to be Basic to Low-Intermediate. | Eiichirō Maruo, a first year honor student, one day decides he is unhappy with the way things are and lacks exercise. He finds a flyer for the Tennis Club and decides to check it out. He is instantly captivated by it. With no prior experience and poor physical conditioning, he embarks on a tennis journey using his smarts, dedication and work ethic. He uses his inherent studious nature to develop an extremely strategic approach to tennis, taking notes on the habits and tendencies of his opponents thus allowing him to predict their shots before they make them. |
| フェアリーテイル | 真島ヒロ | Manga | Some | Partially | 56 | Intermediate | Uses mostly basic kanji with the exception of a few harder ones here and there. Contains fairly basic grammar as well. | Very popular shounen manga. The fictional world of Earth-land is populated by wizards who coalesce into guilds to hone their magical abilities and apply them to paid job requests. Seventeen-year-old wizard Lucy Heartfilia runs away from home to join Fairy Tail, a wizards' guild famous for its members' overly destructive antics. She is invited into the guild by Natsu Dragneel, a wizard with dragon-like abilities who travels the kingdom of Fiore in search of his missing foster father, the dragon Igneel. |
| GREEN BLOOD | 林達永 ＆ 金光鉉 | Manga | No | Partially | -- | Intermediate | | Unclear - |
| ひだまりスケッチ | 蒼樹うめ | Manga | No | Yes | ８ | Intermediate | | Hidamari Sketch centers around a young girl named Yuno who finally is able to get accepted into Yamabuki Art High School, which she has longed for. To attend the school, Yuno moves and starts to live in a small apartment building named the Hidamari Apartments located across the street from the school. Once there, she quickly becomes friends with three other occupants at the apartments, including her classmate Miyako and two second-year students: Hiro and Sae. The events of the characters' everyday lives are shown as they attend the school together and get to know each other better. |
| マギ | 大高忍 | Manga | Yes | Yes | ２８ | Intermediate | Shounen in a somewhat Arabian setting. Easy grammar and you will never forget the word for "desert" again. | After being secluded for his entire life, a boy called Aladdin travels the world until he meets Alibaba Saluja, a young man aiming to one day explore the nearby dungeon Amon and claim its treasures. Aladdin and Alibaba eventually become friends, and conquer Amon together, despite facing the opposition of the ruthless Jamil and his slave warriors, with only Alibaba, Aladdin and Morgiana, the lone survivor of Jamil's party, escaping with their lives. For some reason, Aladdin ends up teleported to a distant land, far away from the others, where he learns that he is a Magi. Having no news of his friend, Alibaba uses the treasure he obtained in Amon to free all slaves in the city, including Morgiana and returns to Balbadd, his homeland. |
| Ratman | 犬威赤彦 | Manga | Yes | Partially | １２ | Intermediate | Shounen Manga with probably the funniest "evil lackeys" ever. Good mix of humour, action and character development. Uses mostly basic Vocabulary with some advanced words here and there. | "Taking place in the day and age of heroes, technological advancements in recent years has allowed corporations to design all sorts of heroes, igniting widespread public interest. The corporate appeal of these mascots led to the arrival of these so-called ""commercial heroes"".
Shuto Katsuragi a short 15-year-old who has caught the "" hero fever"", has forever dreamed of becoming a hero. Nonetheless he is outspoken and a righteous young individual. His wish does come true, but not quite in the way he expects." |
| 放浪息子 | | Manga | Some | Yes | １５ | Intermediate | Can be quite challenging to understand, as the dialogue tends to be colloquial and abbreviated. | The story depicts a young student named Shuichi Nitori, described by the author as a boy who wants to be a girl, and Shuichi's friend Yoshino Takatsuki, described as a girl who wants to be a boy. The series deals with issues such as transsexualism, gender identity, and the beginning of puberty. |
| ハイスクールD×D | 石踏一榮 ＆ みやま零 | Light Novel | Yes | Yes | 20 - (11/03/2016) | Intermediate | When I read it, it felt it made ample use of Furigana, even for Kanji from the Kyouiku set. Grammar is rather simple, main narrative style is recitation and "thought prose" from the main character's point of view. Uses a lot of terms from spoken Japanese. | Kuoh Academy is a former all-girls school that has recently turned co-ed, but it has a secret. Unknown to normal humans, angels, fallen angels and devils comprise part of the student population. One of these students, Issei Hyodo, is a lecherous second-year human student who lives a peaceful life. After an ordinary school day, Issei is suddenly asked out on a date by a girl named Yuma Amano. After their date, Yuma brings Issei to a local park and makes a startling request. She reveals herself as Raynare, a fallen angel, and she tries to kill him. Using her summoning card, Rias Gremory, a buxom third-year student at Kuoh Academy, revives him. Issei wakes up the next morning, thinking that the events that occurred were all just a dream. |
| 砂糖菓子の弾丸は撃ちぬけない | 桜庭一樹 | Youth Novel | Yes | Yes | 2 (finished) | Intermediate | | Yamada Nagisa is a junior high school girl living in the countryside who wants to become an adult quickly. One day, on her way to school, she meets with a girl who calls herself 'mermaid'. The girl just transfered in her school from Tokyo. As their friendship deepens, Nagisa learns more about her friend and her secret. Despite that, the moment of their separation approache quickly. |
| Hyouka | 米澤 穂信 (Yonezawa Honobu) | Novel | No | Yes | ５ | Intermediate | Probably around 14000-15000 kanji, so it's about beginner level. | At the request of his older sister, student Hōtarō Oreki joins Kamiyama High School's Classic Literature Club to stop it from being abolished, joined by fellow members Eru Chitanda, Satoshi Fukube and Mayaka Ibara. This novel is a crossover between the mystery and SoL genre and an anime adaptation aired in 2012. |
| 半七捕物帳 | 岡本綺堂(おかもと・きどう) | Novel | | Partially/Probably | - | Intermediate | | The Memoirs of an Edo Detective. Solves crimes. |
| THE iDOLM@STER 2 (アイドルマスター2) | Bandai Namco Games | Game - 360/PS3 | No | No | - | Intermediate | The difficulty of the language varies with the idol you produce because each one has a very different manner of speaking, but in general there's nothing particularly difficult about parsing the dialogue. The hardest person to understand is actually your boss, President Takagi, because of the technical language he uses when giving you tutorials, debriefings, etc. (Hibiki does speak in an Okinawan dialect, but it's not a thick one and she's still mostly understandable if you haven't gone out of your way to study it.) Overall the game probably requires about 1200-odd kanji to read comfortably (very rough estimate based on personal experience), and many words that would normally be written in Jouyou kanji will typically be written in kana instead. However, you will need to know the names of the prefectures of Japan to deal with the geography quizzes. | The Idolmaster 2 is a raising simulation game in which the player assumes the role of a producer who works at 765 Production (765 Pro), a talent agency that represents twelve pop idols who made their debuts half a year before the beginning of the story. At the beginning of the game, the player meets Junjirō Takagi, 765 Pro's president, and is tasked with creating a unit of three idols—a leader and two members—from nine of the agency's members:Haruka Amami, Miki Hoshii, Chihaya Kisaragi, Yukiho Hagiwara, Yayoi Takatsuki, Makoto Kikuchi, Mami Futami, Hibiki Ganaha, and Takane Shijou. The player and the selected idols are also tasked by Takagi to become nominated to the Idol Academy music awards festival and win awards within 52 weeks; the prerequisite of receiving an invitation from the academy is to attain a ranking of 20th or above in the singles sales chart by the 36th week of the year. |
| Super Robot Taisen OG: Endless Frontier EXCEED | Banpresto, Monolith Soft | Game - DS | No | No | - | Intermediate | The Sequel to the NDS Game Endless Frontier that never got translated. Some few rare Kanji, intermediate grammar, lots of weird speech patterns that deviate from standard Japanese though. Fun, and long JRPG with very good action-based battle mechanics. Lots of dialogue. | J-RPG. Endless Frontier features multiple worlds with combat taking place on foot. Aside from the playable characters in the game, mecha, many of them similar to the ones from the Original Generation games, are controllable by the player's actions and issuing of commands. |
| メタルサガ鋼の季節 | | Game - DS | No | No | - | Intermediate | Excellent music (well the battle music sucks but most is A+), good story (for the 50 minutes I've played so far). Fairly easy reading. Probably one of the better RPGs on the DS. | Post-Apocalyptic RPG. The story is a sequel to its predecessor and features the world after the humanity has been wiped out by a supercomputer named Noah. |
| 放課後少年 | | Game - DS | | No | - | Intermediate | Good game for beginners. Lots of dialogue. Geared towards grade school. | Not a lot of information on this game, not even in Japanese, except that it's set in the Showa Era. |
| Recettear: An Item Shop's Tale | EasyGameStation | Game - PC | No | Yes | - | Intermediate | If you bought a Steam copy, you can play the game in Japanese by right-clicking it and going to Properties > Language tab > Japanese. (Note: This will re-download the game.) Sticks to Kyoiku and common Jouyou with relatively simple grammar. It is partially an RPG so expect some weird item/weapon names and such. | Recettear is the story of an item shop, the girl who lives in it, and the fairy who turned her life upside down. Recette Lemongrass finds herself in charge of an item shop built into her house, in order to pay back a loan her father took and then skipped out on - and Tear, her newfound fairy "companion", won't take no for an answer! |
| ぼくのなつやすみ | | Game - PS1 | | No | - | Intermediate | A lot to look at and read. Some VA with captions. Cute game. Guessing that it is Intermediate. | The game revolves around Boku, a 9 year old boy sent to his aunt and uncle in Japan's wooded countryside and the daily adventures he encounters there. Boku is there because his Mother is in her final month of pregnancy. The player controls him for the 31 days of August 1975. |
| ロックマンDash | Capcom | Game - PS1/N64 | No | Yes | - | Intermediate | Also known as Mega Man Legends / Mega Man 64. Some VA. Lower intermediate level. | The player controls MegaMan Volnutt, a teenage digger and archaeologist of sorts who searches underground ruins mainly for Quantum Refractors, which are the civilization's primary source of energy. |
| THE iDOLM@STER: One For All (アイドルマスター ワンフォーオール) | Bandai Namco Games | Game - PS3 | No | No | - | Intermediate | One For All's reading difficulty is around the same level as iDOLM@STER 2. In fact, it's actually a little easier since you don't have to do geography quizzes anymore. No need to have memorized the prefecture names for this one. Note that unlike iDOLM@STER 2, One For All is a PS3 exclusive and cannot be played on 360. | That's the same kind of game than iDOLM@STER 2. Basically a raising simulation game where you train idols (only one at first). You have objectives to satisfy. As you progress into the game, you unlock new songs and can train more idols. |
| Pop'n Music Portable | Konami - Bemani | Game - PSP | No | No | - | Intermediate | Rhythm game with a story mode to unlock new songs. 2nd game has a lot more text. Variety of characters with varying ways of speaking. | Simple rhythm game with a story mode. |
| Chrono Trigger (クロノトリガー) | Square | Game - SNES | No | Yes | - | Intermediate | (Note: This is based off the first 20 minutes of the game) A fair amount of Kanji in the text, but it's mostly grade-school Kanji with a spattering of Jouyou here and there (for example, 娘). Combat menus are mostly in Kana. Script, with translation is available at http://www.chronocompendium.com/Term/Retranslation.html | One of the most popular and overall most successful J-RPG of all times. Chrono Trigger takes place in a world familiar to Earth, with eras such as the prehistoric age, in which primitive humans and dinosaurs share the earth; the Middle Ages, replete with knights, monsters, and magic; and the post-apocalyptic future, where destitute humans and sentient robots struggle to survive. The characters frequently travel through time to obtain allies, gather equipment, and learn information to help them in their quest. The party also gains access to the End of Time (represented as year ∞), which serves as a hub to travel back to other time periods. Notice that the three designers for the game were the creator of Dragon Quest, the creator of Final Fantasy, and the mangaka that draw Dragon Ball, Akira Toriyama. |
| ロックマンX | | Game - Various | no | Yes | - | Intermediate | X4 onwards will make sure you memorize the Kanji for Batlle(戦).Since the first the games use no kanji,it might be hard for a beginner to read conversations correctly. | Rockman X is a new type of robot that has the ability to think and feel like a human being.The games follow him while he works for a Police-like force hunting "Irregulars",Robots who break the law,be it by their own will,or by malfunctioning.From X to X3,the games use only Hirgana and Katakana.From X4 onwards,they use a few Kanji. |
| Summon Night series | Felistella | Game - Various | No | No | - | Intermediate | 1-2 are on the PS1, 3-4 are on the PS2 and PSP, while 5 is PSP exclusive. Except for the main character, everyone is fully voiced. Has a few spinoffs that aren't fully voiced, including Summon Night: Craft Sword Monogatari 3, which you may be learning the language for. | RPG. All of the Summon Night games take place in Lyndbaum, a world similar to medieval Europe with the inclusion of modern factories and railroads, placing Summon Night in a steampunk setting. Lyndbaum is surrounded by four other worlds: Loreilal, the land from where mechanical creatures come; Silturn, the land of yokai; Sapureth, where angels and demons live; and Maetropa, from where half-humans, magical beasts, fairies and other mythical creatures hail. Besides those four there are also countless other worlds, including our world (the "real" world) where the main characters of the first game are transported from. |
| Aku no Hana | 押見 修造 (Osimi Shūzō) | Film/Movie | Yes | Yes | - | Intermediate | | The story follows a middle school student named Takao Kasuga who's forced into a "contract" by fellow student Sawa Nakamura, after being caught stealing the gym clothes of his crush Nanako Saeki, and the series of events afterwards that follow these three characters. The title of the manga comes from Charles Baudelaire's Les Fleurs du Mal. |
| 岡山の民話 | | Website | No | | - | Intermediate | | Website with different stories to read from. |
| 真・蟻地獄 | | VN (PC)Nukige | Names on introduction, and rarely some uncommon words. | No | - | Intermediate+ | http://vndb.org/v10083 Uses more difficult words, and writing styles than other nukige. I'd give it an 8/7 of 10, 10 being muramasa. If only because I've gotta atleast lookup a word just about every other non-grunting-or-sex-vocab-filled-sentence. | Visual Novel - Nukige |
| 涼宮ハルヒの憂鬱 | 谷川流 | LN | For uncommon readings | Yes | 11 | Early Advanced | The sentences all tend to run on for very long. Contains some sci-fi jargon too but you like that don't you you little nerd? | S3 never. The story follows the narrator and male protagonist Kyon, a cynical and incredulous student of North High School in Nishinomiya. He is dragged along by his classmate, the eponymous female protagonist Haruhi Suzumiya, an eccentric girl seeking supernatural phenomena and figures such as aliens, time travelers, and espers. With Kyon's reluctant help, Haruhi establishes a club called the "SOS Brigade", short for "Spreading Excitement all Over the World with Haruhi Suzumiya Brigade" (世界を大いに盛り上げるための涼宮ハルヒの団), to investigate mysterious events. Haruhi later recruits three additional members: the laconic bibliophile Yuki Nagato, the shy and timid Mikuru Asahina, and the extremely friendly transfer student Itsuki Koizumi. These members soon reveal themselves (to Kyon) to be the types of extraordinary characters that Haruhi is seeking. |
| Baldr Sky Dive1/2 | Giga - Team Baldr Head | VN (PC) | Few | No | - | Advanced | Pretty easy for a scenario game. There's a few infodumps that might be hard, but most of the language is relatively simple. | The story of Baldr Sky revolves around the male protagonist Kou Kadokura and is told through two timelines, the present and the past through flashbacks. At the beginning of the story, Kou is suffering from memory loss so much of the back story about the past is told through flashbacks while Kou is recalling his memories with the aid of medical nanomachines. In the present, Kou and his subordinate, Rain Kirishima, are after a group of scientists who had inadvertently triggered a hazard due to a developing nanomachine. |
| Phantom of Inferno (ファントム) | Nitro+ | VN (PC) | No | Yes* | - | Advanced | *The translated version does exist, but is of a particularly obscure format that requires significant troubles to play correctly on the user end. The 360 port has updated graphics and voice acting based on the anime. H scenes have been removed (Though are still strongly implied). There is a lot of gun-based terminology, which can be somewhat ignored if you like, but it occurs almost every time an assassination mission is started in the story. | Phantom of Inferno details the life of a 15-year-old Japanese boy who is kidnapped after witnessing the killing of a reporter. The memories of his past life are erased, and he is given the choice to join 'Inferno' or die. After joining the organization he is given the name 'Zwei' (German for number 'two') and will study under 'Ein' (From the German word "Eins" for 'one'). Ein is also known as 'Phantom', the title given to the organization's top assassin. |
| グリザイアの果実 | Front Wing | VN (PC) | No | Yes | - | Advanced | Lots of monologues and trivia full of obscure vocab, but conversations are relatively simple. 6/10 | Yūji Kazami transfers to Mihama Academy, a school with only five female students and prison-like features. Every student in the school has their own "circumstances" for being there, but Yūji is not required to do anything about their situation as he asked for a normal student life. |
| 塵骸魔京 | Nitro+ | VN (PC) | Few | No | - | Advanced | Contains a lot of advanced Kana which require near fluency in Japanese to understand. | The main character is a Japanese college student, who lost his parents in an accident and since then has been cared for by his landlady. He has a strange set of eyes, with one green eye and one red eye. His little sister Megumi, goes to boarding school in England, but still comes back to visit him from time to time. His best friend Ryou has always been supportive of the main character and has stuck by him through thick and thin. Still the main character is an unusual person for he has strange dreams in his sleep, seeing visions of a beautiful black haired maiden with a black umbrella, who speaks to him in his dreams. This begins to become more prevalent when he starts seeing her in the waking world, and does not understand what is happening to him. This leads him on a path to discovering the existence of the Narazaru and playing a vital role that will either save the world or lead it on the path of destruction. |
| 未来のキミと、すべての歌に | | VN (PC) | No | Yes | - | Advanced | Although it uses jouyou kanji, the writing style is consistent and easy to follow, and about half of it is conversation. Slice of Life type of vocabulary, very little technical terms. I will rate this 4/10 in difficulty. Has quite a few spoken phrases that you may not have encountered, but most of them are used often and this is a good way to get exposed to them. | VN about vocaloids (Miku). |
| 沙耶の唄 | Nitro+ | VN (PC) | No | Yes | - | Advanced | A lot of vocabulary that you don't see often. A lot of difficult kanji. Obscure ones will have furigana. Advanced grammar and writing style. Took about 15 hours to finish. It's quite difficult (I will rate it 8/10 in difficulty). Recommend to people who have a strong grasp of the language already. | "Fuminori Sakisaka has a traffic accident which kills his parents and leaves him heavily injured. When he has a brain surgery to save his life, his perception of the world changes: everything he sees becomes blood and guts, people's looks and voices seem like monsters, and food that normally appeals to him tastes disgusting.
As he contemplates suicide in the hospital, Fuminori meets a beautiful girl among the flesh-covered walls. She introduces herself as Saya, and is apparently looking for her father. Fuminori does not want to be separated from Saya, and asks her to live with him. She agrees." |
| 車輪の国、向日葵の少女 | | VN (PC) | No | Yes | - | Advanced | Ages 18+ eroge. Half is conversation, and half of that is voiced (everything except the first person). This makes it easier on the kanji readings, and the tone of the voice helps with the meaning. There are a little bit of technical political vocabulary, but easy to get used to. I will rate this 5/10 in difficulty. Long but worth it. | "In the near future. In a not so distant place. There exists a society where law is based upon deterrence and criminals are assigned ""obligations"" fitting for their crimes. Within this society, a man named Morita Kenichi aspires to the position of Special High Class Individual, one who holds authority over said criminals.
For the purpose of fulfilling his ambition, Kenichi returns to the town he once called home. There he will encounter three girls bearing ""obligations"" and there he will encounter the past he left behind." |
| 辻堂さんの純愛ロード | | VN (PC) | No | No | - | Advanced | | Hiroshi was a student at Inamura Academy in Kanagawa Shounan and became interested in his delinquent classmate Tsujidou-san after seeing her help a kitty in the rain. But everyone around her are also delinquents, including her rivals Maki and Renna. The life of an ordinary guy like him just got a lot more troubled! |
| 鈴が歌う、未来の音色 | | VN (PC) | No | Yes | - | Advanced | | Sequel to 未来のキミと、すべての歌に. Refer to that row. |
| 鬼哭街 | Nitro+ | VN (PC) | No | Yes | - | Advanced | Tons of martial arts terminology, obscure kanji, and weird chinese references. Probably one of the harder VNs out there. | A tale of revenge set in future Shanghai, where crime syndicates and cyber-warriors rule the city. |
| きっと、澄みわたる朝色よりも、 | Propeller | VN (PC) | Yes | No | - | Advanced | Compared to your typical moege, the sentences are denser, and often containing a considerable amount of information. Huge amount of nigger jokes, purposely hidden implications that require a solid grasp of the context, occasional NVL segments with little to not visual aid, which are often vague and a single misunderstanding may harm your comprehension of the plot, etc. This is a VN you don't want to read very early, since it isn't really only about getting the "gist" of what's happening, but also being able to understand properly the situations and dialogues which directly relate to the overall thematic. Once in a while the descriptions may prolong for quite some time, and the random 豆知識 might be rather overwhelming. Very often certain sentences receive additional emphasis through 傍点, and fully grasping them is very important. Some parts are specially remarkable because of the writing, and a broken comprehension might ruin the whole thing for you. There's also a considerable amount of unhookable text, and the last segment of the epilogue may be hookable but it's basically on auto-read and it goes on for a few minutes so enjoy that. Also there's a certain infodump close to the end which might prove to be a challenge for many. Basically you can read through this as an intermediate reader but you'll probably enjoy it more when you're more experienced with the language. | "We were always together. Irreplaceable friends. There was a strong tie between us even we got separated. Several years later, we have a chance to meet again at school. There are only four classmates, but that's enough. Only us. However...
""Stop acting like before.""
Our relationship gets cold and distant. It's only me who believed in our eternal friendship. What made us like this...? ""Saishokusai Festival"" Each person was given their own color.
""Red"" I make up my mind to establish our good-old relationship again..." |
| おやすみプンプン | 浅野いにお | Manga | No | Yes | 13 - Finished | Advanced | A good balance of polite/formal (narrator, certain characters) and casual speech. I've encountered dozens of non jouyou kanji spread throughout, but they aren't too heavily used. | Goodnight Punpun follows the life and experiences of Onodera Punpun, a young boy living in Japan, as well as a few of his friends. The manga follows Punpun as he grows up, splitting the book into around 4 stages of his life: Elementary school, Middle school, High school, and his early 20s. The story follows him as he copes with his dysfunctional family and friends, his love interest, his oncoming adolescence and his hyperactive mind. |
| 「アクセル・ワールド」 「ソードアート・オンライン」 「ソードアート・オンライン・ ザ・デイ・ビフォア」 | 川原礫 | Light Novel | Few | | 19 | Hard | Like most sci-fi Accel World uses a lot of technical words. (no furigana) | "Haruyuki ""Haru"" Arita is a short, overweight boy who is frequently ridiculed by delinquents at the Umesato Junior High School. Using his Neuro Linker to escape the torment of real life, he logs onto the school's Local Network cyberspace where he always plays virtual squash alone, and his innate video game skills bring him to the attention of Kuroyukihime (literally meaning ""Black Snow Princess, the school's popular and attractive female Student Council Vice-President.
After helping him against the delinquents, Kuroyukihime introduces Haruyuki to Brain Burst, a secret program that is able to accelerate the human cognitive process to the point at which time appears to stop. Haruyuki soon learns that Brain Burst is more than just a program, but an Augmented Reality Massively Multiplayer Online (ARMMO) Fighting Game where people fight each other in fierce duels in order to obtain Burst Points which can be spent for acceleration abilities in the real world." |
| 神様のメモ帳 | 杉井光 | Light Novel | Yes | Partially | 9 | Advanced | baka-tsuki: 7/10 | The story centers around Narumi Fujishima, the main protagonist. He is a high school student who is not very involved in his school whatsoever to the point where he does not know most of his classmate's names. However, in a chain of events, he is pulled into participating in his school's "Gardening Committee" whose members consist of himself and Ayaka Shinozaki, Narumi's classmate. He also gets dragged in as a member of NEET, an amateur detective agency filled with unemployed slack-offs who take on and solve cases on their own whims. The NEET agency is led by "Alice", who is a childish, anti-social, extreme shut-in. Throughout the course of the story, Narumi, accompanied by the other members of NEET, solve crimes and murders using their limited resources and Alice's genius intellect. |
| Kampfer | 筑地俊彦 (Tukiji Tosihiko) | Novel | | Yes | 15 | Advanced | | The plot revolves around Natsuru Senō, a normal high school boy with blue hair. One day he wakes up and found himself turned into a girl. A stuffed tiger "Harakiri Tora" comes to life and tells him that he has been chosen as one of the "Kämpfer", a female fighter. The Kämpfer are destined to fight with other Kämpfer. The story starts when he is attacked by an unknown girl who happens to also be a Kämpfer. |
| 人間失格 | 太宰治(Dasai Osamu) | (Classic) Novel | | Yes | - | Advanced | | No Longer Human (人間失格 Ningen Shikkaku) is a Japanese novel by Osamu Dazai. Published after Run Melos and The Setting Sun, No Longer Human is considered Dazai's masterpiece and ranks as the second-best selling novel in Japan, behind Natsume Sōseki's Kokoro. No Longer Human is told in the form of notebooks left by one Ōba Yōzō (大庭葉蔵), a troubled man incapable of revealing his true self to others, and who is instead forced to uphold a facade of hollow jocularity. The novel is composed of three chapters, or "memoranda", which chronicle the life of Ōba from early childhood to late twenties. |
| Seikai no Monshou (Crest of the Stars) | 森岡 浩之 (Morioka Hiroyuki) | Novel | Few | No | 3 | Advanced | Very little actual furigana, most of the furigana is for the Abh language that the author made up. Tons of non-joyou, and non-jinmeiyou kanji without any furigana. Slightly tougher than Shin Sekai Yori. | "Crest of the Stars and Banner of the Stars (series I and II) follow Jinto Lynn, a young count whose world is taken over by the space-dwelling race of the Abh. When Jinto was a young boy, his father, Rock Lynn, under threat of invasion, handed over their world, Martine, to the Abh in exchange for a position within Abh society. Young Jinto is sent off to school to learn the ways of Abh nobility and the story of Crest of the Stars picks up as he meets the young Abh princess, Lafiel as they are about to travel to military school for Jinto's further training.
However, in the midst of their travels, Lafiel and Jinto (along with the Abh ship Gothlauth, aka Gosroth) find themselves at the very beginnings of a war between the Abh Empire and the Four Nations Alliance of humankind—an anti-Abh alliance of the democratic nations of the United Mankind, the Federation of Hania, the Republic of Greater Alcont, and the People's Sovereign Union of Planets." |
| Shinsekai Yori | 貴志 祐介 (Kisi Yūsuke) | Novel | Few | No | 3 | Advanced | Plenty of non-jouyou kanji and uncommon readings (eg. 橇 = かんじき when it's normally そり） | "Following a sudden outbreak of psychokinesis in 0.1% of the population, a rapid transformation swept the world. The godlike ability to manipulate matter remotely turned many power wielders to violence, inciting a long period of upheaval. Finally, after a chaotic era shaped by the rise and fall of oppressive regimes, the psychic humans were able to achieve a fragile peace by isolating their society, creating a new world bound by complex rules.
In the town of Kamisu 66, 12-year-old Saki Watanabe has just awakened to her powers and is relieved to rejoin her friends—the mischievous Satoru Asahina, the shy Mamoru Itou, the cheerful Maria Akizuki, and Shun Aonuma, a mysterious boy whom Saki admires—at Sage Academy, a special school for psychics. However, unease looms as Saki begins to question the fate of those unable to awaken to their powers, and the children begin to get involved with secretive matters such as the rumored Tainted Cats said to abduct children." |
| 我輩は猫である | | Novel | Some | Yes | - | Advanced | Very famous novel by 夏目漱石. Lot's of uncommon words and kanji but shouldn't be difficult to understand if you pay attention. http://www.aozora.gr.jp/cards/000148/files/789_14547.html | One of the classics of the Japanese literature. |
| 金閣寺 | 三島由紀夫(みしま・ゆきお) | Novel | Names and uncommon words | Yes | - | Advanced | | Considered one of Yukio Mishima's best works. Based on a real incident of arson committed in the 50's. The main character is a stuttering acolyte at the temple, and falls into a deep and consuming obsession with it. |
| バトル・ロワイアル | 高見広春 | Novel | No | Yes | - | Advanced | | Battle Royale takes place in a fictional police state version of Japan known as the Republic of Greater East Asia. From time to time, fifty randomly selected classes of secondary school students are forced to take arms against one another until only one student in each class remains. The program was created, supposedly, as a form of military research, with the outcome of each battle publicized on local television. A character discovers that the program is not an experiment at all, but a means of terrorizing the population. In theory, after seeing such atrocities, the people will become paranoid and divided, preventing another rebellion. |
| 帝都物語 | 荒俣宏 | Novel | For uncommon readings | No | 10+2 gaiden sequels | Advanced | Text itself is written in modern language (not bungo) but extensively uses prewar kanji forms for historical flavor; Chinese/Korean/turn-of-the-century Japanese character names, invented magic jargon, abbreviated/outdated geography/science vocabulary, real (but obscure) Buddhist/Shinto/Onmyōdō/Feng Shui/Qimen Dunjia terminology, etc include many non-jōyō/non-jinmeiyō kanji and make a better dictionary than EDICT a must. Light use of historical spoken language grammar forms. Furigana occasionally used to provide idiosyncratic readings. Reading with Google at hand recommended to catch numerous historical/literary references. | An all-star tag-team of Japan's greatest scholars, scientists, magicians, and the odd novelist or three square off against Imperial Japanese Army officer/evil wizard Yasunori Katō as he seeks repeatedly to destroy Tokyo, the titular Imperial Capital, and lay to rest the vengeful spirit of 10th century warlord Taira no Masakado. Their epic combat spans 90 years of fictionalized history over 12 volumes, and pulls in cameo appearances from pretty much everyone you've heard of (and more you probably haven't) from a 20th century Japanese history class. The movie adaptation, in its day one of the most expensive Japanese movies put to film, is a lickety-split adaptation of the first several volumes and a minor schlock tokusatsu masterpiece in its own right; its version of Katō is the primary inspiration for M. Bison from Street Fighter. Extremely nerdy and highly recommended. |
| ふわふわの泉 | 野尻 抱介 | Novel | For uncommon readings | Nope | 1 | Advanced | Expect lots and lots of physics, construction and chemistry terms. There's a appendix at the back of the book which explains some of the harder chemistry and physics concepts, but you're not going to get by without a high school level chemistry vocabulary. Since this is a sci-fi work there's tons of narration as well with the author painstakingly describing the details of objects, how they work, mechanical concepts and more. | At first glance, it might look like your typical brainless light novel especially with that name, but it's actually a reference to Arthur C. Clarke's The Fountains of Paradise. In reality, the novel is more of a "What if x happened?" with constant progression rather than drama and shenanigans. Think Contact by Carl Sagan but with less emphasis on religion and politics. That said, the story is still very grounded in reality and each concept is thoroughly explained -- it's hard sci-fi after all. Nojiri Housuke has been writing SF stories since 1992, and he clearly knows his shit. Highly recommended one-shot novel especially for sci-fi lovers, and even if you don't particularly like sci-fi, it's still an extremely entertaining and well-researched novel that had me reading for hours on end. |
| DS文学全集 | | Game - DS | Yes | | - | Advanced | Possibly the most valuable single resource on this list. A collection of classic Japanese literature in a Nintendo DS game. Given that it is a collection of stories, the difficulty level is variable. See: https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/DS%E6%96%87%E5%AD%A6%E5%85%A8%E9%9B%86 for a list of stories. | As said previously, a collection of classic Japanese literature in a Nintendo DS game. |
| Cleavage | | Game - PC | Few | No | - | Advanced | Older VN from Empress. Tame stuff, unlike Starless. Pretty short, and rather easy grammar-wise. Will boost your sex-terminology vocabulary. | Cleavage features fantastic art from Sei Shoujo, the creator of the popular Bible Black and Discipline, and takes the protagonist on an adventure of courtship by two assertive women - his stepsister and his teacher. The player must choose how to withstand the onslaught of their affections in this erotic love sim. |
| 朝日新聞 | 朝日新聞 | Newspaper | No | No | - | Advanced | Readable online at: http://asahi.com/ Pretty much reads exactly how you'd expect a newspaper to read - very dry, and loaded with political and economic jargon. This is one of the official newspapers of Japan, so do not expect to be able to read this without full Jouyou Kanji mastery and a very solid vocabulary base. | Free newspapers. |
| 神様の御用人 | 夏淺葉 | LN | For certain words | Nope | ５ | Advanced | Lots of descriptive paragraphs and shinto/onyoudou (fuck do you expect me to know what that is in english) specific vocabulary which means you're going to have a bad time if you're the type who never skips words you don't understand 100%. Also, this is aimed at adults so expect every single grammar structure to be thrown at you. A bit of archaic language too but honestly you shouldn't have any problem with it at this stage. Oh and any ancient practices and shit that are so old that modern readers won't understand them are explained properly, so there's that. | "Very entertaining read with tons of likeable characters! Doesn't take itself too seriously and stays humorous throughout. Fun way to learn about Japanese gods.
Description from amazon:
神様たちの御用を聞いて回る人間──“御用人”。ある日突然、フリーターの良彦は、狐神からその役目を命じられた。膝を壊して野球の道を諦め、おまけに就職先まで失った良彦は、古事記やら民話やらに登場する神々に振り回されることになり……!? 特殊能力もない、不思議な道具も持ってない、ごく普通の“人間”が神様にできること。それは果たして、助っ人なのかパシリなのか。けれどそこには、確かに神々の「秘めたる願い」があった。
inb4 ""I can't read the description put it in english"" then you shouldn't be reading this, chucklefuck" |
| 太陽の塔 | 森美登美彦 | Novel | Few and far between | Nope | 1 | Advanced | This was a hard one. Without a doubt, one of the hardest novels I've ever read. The entire book is narrated as a soliloquy from our young 文学青年 university student who has a really, really large vocabulary and has tendencies to rant on certain topics suddenly. Yes, the vocabulary used in this novel is extremely wide and varied. It is, after all literature written for adults so idioms, proverbs and wordplay are thrown in your face mercilessly. You're not going to enjoy this if you haven't already read at least two 'Advanced' books. But ultimately, the author's quirky writing style isn't just for show, it lends great personality to each and every one of the characters, not just the MC. | "A fourth year university student descends into madness after being dumped by his girlfriend and begins stalking her. But it doesn't just end there. Tomihiko draws on his own rich experiences of campus life and lends a touch of realism to the cast as absurd as they might seem. And while the main character, Watashi, is presented as an overly arrogant prick, he is self-aware of it and jokes about himself semi-seriously throughout the entire novel.
As it was Tomohiko's debut work, the book isn't anywhere as good as Tatami Galaxy (I'm sure you've watched the anime) was and doesn't even really have an overarching plot. The book almost reads like a stream-of-consciousness autobiography until you realise it's fiction! But even without a clear ending in sight, the prose is fantastic and the characters will keep you laughing on every page. I definitely recommend this as one of the funniest and most sincere books I've ever read which doesn't take itself seriously at all." |
| 信天翁航海録 | raiL-soft | VN (PC) | Few | No | - | Expert | Noted for its queerness and funny atmosphere. Quite a lot of rare kanji and is quite difficult to read despite its carefree atmosphere. Most of the dififculty comes from the unusually long and descriptive sentences. The writing closely resembles an early 20th century novel. Contains a heavy amount of naval vocabulary. raiL-soft | Aboard the Albatross is an odd captain and an equally crazy crew. With no map in hand, they sail to unknown islands, meet ghost ships and cross paths with giant monster fish. No one knows where they are heading… including the captain. But they still all stay together since there’s no other place for them. |
| Full Metal Daemon Muramasa | Nitro+ | VN (PC) | Few | No | - | Expert | Lots of unusual kanji, words, jargon (real and unreal), and old, literary language is frequently used. Nitro+ | "A Tsurugi is a living soul forged into a set of armor. They are among the most powerful weapons the world has to offer. All those who don them are known as Musha - warriors who are thus granted the power to soar the skies and wield blades that can rend even steel.
Within the island nation of Yamato, governed by the Rokuhara Shogunate, rumors of a Musha clad in silver armor, only known as The Silver Star, are afloat: a ruthless silver tyrant that leaves nothing but destruction in its wake, massacring everything in its path without distinction.
Unknown to the public eye, there exists only one Musha who would stand against the silver demon. A lone man, donning the crimson Tsurugi known as Muramasa, chases after his long-time nemesis, the Silver Star, cutting down both serial killers and agents of the Shogunate that stand in his way." |
| 物語シリーズ | 西尾維新 | Light Novel | Sometimes | Something | 17 (publishing) | >Harder than steel | Does "Nisioisin" ring a bell? Be ready to find complex grammatical syntax and shit like this. | "The Monogatari series revolves around Koyomi Araragi, a third-year high school student who is almost human again after briefly becoming a vampire. One day, a classmate of his, the reclusive Hitagi Senjōgahara, falls down the stairs into Koyomi's arms. He discovers that Hitagi weighs nothing, in defiance of physics. Despite being threatened by her to keep away, Koyomi offers his help and introduces her to Meme Oshino, a strange middle-aged man living in an abandoned building, who cured him of being a vampire.
As the series progresses, Koyomi finds himself involved with other girls, each afflicted by different ""oddities""." |
| 2ch's Top 20 eroge chart for years 1999 to 2015 | N/A | VN | N/A | N/A | N/A | Various | https://a.pomf.cat/dybjbc.jpg | |
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| Freezing | | Manga | No | | 28 - Ongoing | | | Set in a slightly futuristic world where Earth has been invaded and is at war with aliens from another dimension called the Nova, the story follows the adventures of a Japanese boy named Kazuya Aoi who enrolls for training at a special school for genetically modified girls called Pandoras who battle the aliens, and their male partners, called Limiters, who use a special power called "freezing" to limit their opponent's mobility. The protagonist makes the acquaintance of an unusual older girl named Bridgette L. Satellizer who appears to be the most powerful Pandora in her class, but has not yet chosen a male partner to be her Limiter, and in spite of the warnings of all his friends, he decides to be her Limiter. From Baka-Updates: Beings from a different dimension have started a war with mankind. To counter this threat, an academy called "Genetics" that trains female warriors called "Pandora," who can wield special weaponry and armor, was formed. Kazuya Aoi decided to enroll in this school because of a promise with his sister, an outstanding alumnus who died in battle. There he meets second year Bridgette L. Satellizer, nicknamed "The Untouchable Queen" due to her solitary demeanor but also top of her class whose battle simulation streak is undefeated, until he came... and slowly changed her. |
| Gunka no Baltzar | | Manga | No | Partially | 7 (partial) - Ongoing | | This short story was morally reprehensible, but left me wanting more. | Glory being won over the roar of cannon fire. Peace exists simply as a time to prepare for the next battle. In a military advanced nation Balzer advanced quickly up in rank. However, his career takes a sudden turn when he is reassigned a military advisor in a neighboring allied nation with little military power and the lack of civilian support of firearms. Will Major Balzer be able to win over the hearts of the soldiers and civilians? |
| まりあ†ほりっく | 遠藤海成 | Manga | Yes | | 14 | | | Maria Holic revolves around a high school girl named Kanako Miyamae, who is scared of boys and breaks out in hives if a boy touches her. During her second year of high school, she enrolls in an all-girls school hoping to find a female romantic partner. However, her ideal candidate, Mariya Shidō, turns out to be a sadistic cross-dressing boy. |
| まよチキ！ | あさのハジメ ＆ にぃと | Manga | Yes | | 12 | | | The story revolves around Kinjirō Sakamachi, a 17-year-old high school boy who suffers from gynophobia. The gynophobia makes his nose bleed every time he has physical contact with a female. While using the men's washroom he accidentally discovers that the popular and handsome butler Subaru Konoe is in fact a girl. Now that Kinjirō knows about Subaru's secret, he must work together with Subaru and her sadistic mistress, Kanade Suzutsuki, to protect Subaru's secret from being discovered. |
| めだかボックス | 西尾維新 | Manga | Yes | Yes | 22 | | | "Medaka Kurokami is, in the truest sense of the word, perfect. Beautiful, intelligent, and athletic, Medaka's dream is to make others happy. So when she runs for Student Council President of the prestigious Hakoniwa Academy, winning the election with 98% of the votes is only to be expected.
The very first thing the boisterous new president does is set up the ""Medaka Box,"" a suggestion box allowing students to submit any kind of request for assistance. Together with the cynical Zenkichi Hitoyoshi, her childhood friend who has been strong-armed into helping, Medaka fulfills these requests at a ridiculous rate. For every job completed, she adds flowers to the student council room, with the aim of filling the entire school. However, the two are about to find out that helping others may be a lot harder than they think as they begin to uncover a devastating plan centering on the academy and even Medaka herself!" |
| Sankarea | | Manga | Yes | | 11 - Finished | | | Chihiro Furuya is a male high school student with a keen interest in zombies, collecting zombie-related videogames, film and manga, and even to the point of desiring to "kiss a zombie girl". Following the death of his pet cat, Babu, he attempts to revive it using an old manuscript, which describes the process of creating a potion for resurrection. At this time, he encounters a girl named Rea Sanka, who has run away from home. In an attempt to commit suicide, she drinks a sample of the "resurrection" potion which is created from the poisonous Hydrangea macrophylla flower, although this fails to kill her. Following an argument with her father, she falls from a cliff by accident and dies. However, as a result of the potion, she becomes a zombie who eats hydrangea leaves to survive. The story follows the life of Chihiro and his new 'zombie girlfriend'. |
| Sengoku Gaiden Okehazama Senki | | Manga | Names and uncommon words | | 5 - Ongoing | | | A short overview of the life of Oda Nobunaga, as told from the perspective of a ninja fighting other time-travelling ninjas. |
| みつどもえ | みつどもえ | Manga | Yes | Partially | 11 | | Furigana for all kanji in speech bubbles. | "The 11-year-old Marui triplets could not be any more different. The oldest one, Mitsuba, is sadistic and kind of mature for her age. The middle one, Futaba, is perverted and very athletic and has the strength of a full-grown man. The youngest one, Hitoha, is generally very quiet and gentle but when push comes to shove, she might just be the strongest, the most perverted and the most sadistic out of the three.
The three are all in the same class, led by the newly graduated teacher Yabe Satoshi. He usually gets pushed around by the girls and, on occasion, abused but the triplets also try to lead him and the new school nurse, the clumsy Kuriyama Aiko, together. However, Yabe had no intention of dating Aiko and the methods the triplets use to accomplish their goal are highly unorthodox..." |
| 人類は衰退しました ようせい、しますか？ | 田中ロミオ ＆ 戸部淑 ＆ 吉祥寺笑 | Manga | | | 9+3 shorts | | Only one chapter of the manga has been translated as of this writing (April 11, 2013). Said translation was released on November 11, 2012. Don't expect to read this in English anytime soon. 2014/5/26 update: A second chapter was translated on May 24, 2013, and a third chapter was translated on January 28, 2014. | 人類は衰退しました ようせい、しますか？ is set in a post-apocalyptic world where the human civilization has regressed and humanity keeps decreasing in numbers. The story follows an unnamed girl who acts as a mediator between humanity and the "fairies" who are small elf-like creatures attracted by sweets and happy things, but also have the habit to cause trouble to her with their powers in their endless search for amusement. |
| あいうら | | 4Koma Manga | Yes | Yes | 7 (finished) | | | Revolves around three girls and their daily lives at school, easy to follow plot wise, and entertaining |
| ゼロの使い魔 | | Light Novel | | | 21 | | baka-tsuki: 5/10 | Louise is a noble girl who is terrible at magic, as her attempts usually result in an explosion. She is nicknamed "Zero Louise" by her classmates, due to the inability to use any of the four magic elements. Early in the school year at the Tristain Academy of Magic, the second year students perform a special ritual where they summon their familiar, which serves as their eternal protector and partner, and is usually some sort of magical creature. But Louise summons Saito Hiraga, an ordinary teenage boy from Japan, leaving her totally humiliated. |
| いつか天魔の黒ウサギ | 鏡貴也 | Light Novel | | | 13 | | baka-tsuki: 1/10 | Kurogane Taito is a freshman in Miyasaka High. Ever since an injury to his leg (a snapped tendon) that prevented him from practicing karate, which he had excelled in since elementary school, he has always believed that he was an ordinary, regular guy. However, due to a promise exchanged with a beautiful Vampire (Most Ancient Sorcerer) Saitohimea nine years ago which he has forgotten about, he is in fact no longer ordinary. Nine years ago, Saitohimea injected him with a poison, which prevents him from dying as long as he doesn't die seven times within fifteen minutes. |
| 伝説の勇者の伝説 | 鏡貴也 | Light Novel | | | 23 | | baka-tsuki: 10/10 | Ryner Lute is a lazy student of the Roland Empire Royal Magician's Academy. One day, the Roland Empire goes to war against their neighboring country Estabul, and Ryner loses his classmates in the war. After the war, Ryner sets out on a journey to search the relics of a "Legendary Hero" at King Sion Astal's command and finds out that a deadly curse is spreading throughout the continent. |
| 戯言シリーズ | 西尾維新 | Light Novel | | | 9 | | baka-tsuki: 10/10 | The story revolves around a narrator whose name is never mentioned and the mysteries he encounters, but after the second book, the series comes with more and more fighting and action. The narrator tends to try in vain to keep out of the story, but instead of being the bystander he wants to be, he always gets dragged into the center of everything. Though it seems the narrator does a lot in the story, he always finds out at the end that whatever he did was meaningless. |
| えむえむっ! | 松野秋鳴 ＆ QP:flapper | Light Novel | | | 12 | | baka-tsuki: 2/10 | Taro Sado is a masochist and goes to a high school with his male friend Tatsukichi Hayama. Taro falls in love for the first time with a girl and wants to be cured of his masochism so that he can confess his love to her, unaware at the time that she is actually his cross-dressing male friend Tatsukichi, so he goes to the Second Voluntary Club to get help. There he meets Mio Isurugi, a self-proclaimed god, and Arashiko Yuno, the girl who made him a masochist in the first place, however, she has androphobia. The club adviser is the school nurse, Michiru Onigawara. |
| 新生徒会の一存 | 葵せきな | Light Novel | | | 10 | | baka-tsuki: 2/10 Not as hard as it looks; some difficulty from the puns. The number of references is beyond astronomical. | "The student council members of Hekiyou Academy in Hokkaidō are selected by a popularity contest. As a result, the members are usually a group of pretty girls. The sole male member is Ken Sugisaki, who entered the student council by becoming the top-scoring student in the level which he had to cram to achieve.
The series revolves around the meetings inside the student council room in Private High School Hekiyou Academy." |
| バカとテストと召喚獣 | 井上堅二 | Light Novel | | | 18 - Published | | baka-tsuki: 2/10 The main difficulty over here is to research on the questions at times, and occasional references to other people. Language is extremely simple, even for a light novel, but that's because Akihisa's an idiot. | The story centers around a boy named Akihisa Yoshii, the titular baka (idiot) of the story. He attends Fumizuki Academy in Japan, a school where the staff rigidly divides the students based on the results of their academic scores. At the start of the school, students are academically sorted by entrance exam test grades. The higher the grades, the higher the class, and the better the benefits. In this case, Class A is filled with the highest-scoring students; therefore, their classroom is filled with many prestigious items (air conditioners, fancy seats, laptops, a free snack bar, etc.), while the state of Class F is the complete opposite of that, representing the "bottom of the barrel" amenities, such as mats and low wooden tables. |
| 俺の彼女と幼なじみが修羅場すぎる | 裕時悠示 | Light Novel | | | 10 | | The greatest light novel I've ever had the opportunity to read. I'm not an emotionally expressive man, but I'm not ashamed to say that the ending brought me to tears. For some perspective, you should know that I didn't even shed a tear when my parents died in a car crash last year or when my older sister commited suicide two months later. | Eita Kidō enters high school with the goal of graduating with marks high enough that he can earn a scholarship to medical school. With this goal in mind and the fact that his parents divorced, found other lovers and left him in the care of a relative, he shuns anything to do with romance or love. One day, the school beauty, Masuzu Natsukawa, invites him to walk home with her but he refuses. After several days he gives in and walks home with her. It turns out that Masuzu is tired of being the centre of attention and receiving confessions on a nearly-everyday basis, so she suggests that she and Eita become a fake couple. Although Eita tries to refuse, Masuzu blackmails him into becoming her boyfriend in name only. News of the new couple rapidly spreads throughout the school and Eita's childhood friend, Chiwa Harusaki, who likes him, begins to vie with Masuzu for Eita's affections. |
| インフィニット・ストラトス | 弓弦イズル | Light Novel | | | 10 | | baka-tsuki: 3/10 Other than the technical jargon used to describe things, there isn't too much difficulty. This is a pretty dialog heavy novel, which would make it slightly easier. | "In the near future, a Japanese scientist engineers a powered exoskeleton called ""Infinite Stratos"" (IS). Possessing technology and combat capabilities surpassing those of any other arms system, the IS threatens to destabilize the world. Faced with such an overpowered weapon, the nations of the world enact the ""Alaska Treaty"", which states that IS shall never be used for militant combat, and that existing IS technology must be equally distributed to all nations, to prevent any one nation from dominating the others. The introduction of the IS does, however, have a major effect on society. As IS can only be operated by women, there is a shift in the power balance between men and women, where women now dominate society over men.
Ten years after the IS was initially introduced, the world has entered a new age of peace. The peace is shattered, however, by Ichika Orimura, a 15-year-old Japanese boy. In a coincidental run-in with a hibernating IS suit, it is revealed that he possesses the innate ability to operate an IS. Realizing the potential, the Japanese government forces the bewildered young man to attend the prestigious Infinite Stratos Academy, a multicultural academy where IS pilots from all over the world are trained. Thus, he starts a busy high school life surrounded by girls training to pilot IS." |
| 僕は友達が少ない | 平坂読 | Light Novel | Few | | 11 - Finished | | baka-tsuki: 4/10 | "Warning: The ending is considered by many to be really, and I mean really, shitty.
Kodaka Hasegawa, a transfer student to St. Chronica's Academy, has found it difficult to make friends because of his mix of brown-blond hair (inherited from his deceased English mother) and fierce-looking eyes that make him look like a delinquent. One day, he accidentally comes across the equally solitary and very abrasive Yozora Mikazuki as she converses with ""Tomo"", her ""air"" friend (in the same sense as an ""air"" guitar). Realizing that they lack social lives and skills, they decide that the best way to improve their situation is to form the Neighbors Club, an after-school club for people with no friends like themselves. Other students with various backgrounds join the club." |
| 緋弾のアリア | 赤松中学 | Light Novel | | | 21 | | baka-tsuki: 4/10 | The setting of the story features "Butei", a national qualification established to counter worsening crime conditions around the world. The Butei holders were trained in various specialized fields, and were permitted to possess various weapons and capture criminals. Kinji Tōyama is a student at Tokyo Butei High, a universal educational facility for the training of Butei. At this school, students with an aptitude for the work undertake special training in order to learn the path of the Butei. Shortly after Kinji decides to quit the Academy due to personal reasons, he is attacked by the Butei Killer, a criminal notorious for eliminating Butei—a case of the hunters becoming the hunted. The elite Butei Assault prodigy Aria H. Kanzaki comes to his rescue and from that moment on, Kinji's future as a Butei changes drastically. |
| 乃木坂春香の秘密 | | Light Novel | | | 16 | | baka-tsuki: 4/10 The sentence structures can be a little complicated at times, and knowledge of classical music is required. | Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu is set at the private high school Hakujō Academy in Japan and centers around the male protagonist Yūto Ayase and his classmate Haruka Nogizaka. While Yūto is rather ordinary, Haruka is very attractive, intelligent, and rich. Due to this, she is the school's most unattainable girl and is so idolized that her classmates give her the French nicknames Nuit Étoile (The Night Star) and Lumière du Clavier (The Piano's Light). One day, Yūto's good friend Nobunaga Asakura asks him to return a book to the school library, and when he goes to return it, Yūto stumbles across Haruka and her darkest secret—she is a diehard fan of anime, manga, and the otaku culture. Yūto promises to keep her secret hidden and the two become close friends. Yūto does his best to help Haruka with her secret hobby while developing his relationship with her. |
| 俺の妹がこんなに可愛いわけがない | 伏見つかさ | Light Novel | Names and uncommon words | Yes | 12 - Finished | | baka-tsuki: 4/10 Uses a lot of young-speak, slangs, and colloquialism, so it will pose some difficulty to those who learn Japanese through the academic route. | Kyosuke Kosaka, a normal 17-year-old high school student living in Chiba,[3] has not gotten along with his younger sister Kirino in years. For longer than he can remember, Kirino has ignored his comings and goings and looked at him with spurning eyes. It seemed as if the relationship between Kyōsuke and his sister, now fourteen, would continue this way forever. One day however, Kyosuke finds a DVD case of a magical girl anime which had fallen in his house's entrance way. To Kyosuke's surprise, he finds a hidden eroge inside the case and he soon learns that both the DVD and the game belong to Kirino. That night, Kirino brings Kyosuke to her room and reveals herself to be an otaku with an extensive collection of moe anime and younger sister-themed eroge she has been collecting in secret. Kyosuke quickly becomes Kirino's confidant for her secret hobby. The series then follows Kyosuke's efforts to help his sister to reconcile her personal life with her secret hobbies, while restoring their broken relationship and coming to terms with their true feelings for each other. |
| GENESISシリーズ：境界線上のホライゾン | 川上稔 | Light Novel | | | 21 + 2 extras | | baka-tsuki: 5/10 | "In the distant future, Earth has been devastated and its inhabitants seek a new home in the heavens. However, constant warfare forces humans to return to Earth, which has turned into an uninhabitable planet except for a certain area called the Divine States.
The Divine States are too small to accommodate all the humans, so they duplicated the area and created the Harmonic Divine States. In order to retrace their steps and rediscover their journey to the heavens, the returned humans began to reproduce history from the year 10,000 BC, using a mysterious history book called Testament.
History reproduction proceeds smoothly until A.D. 1413, when a war broke out in the Divine States. This causes the Harmonic Divine States to crash onto the original world. The humans living in the Harmonic Divine States lose their land and invade the original world. The people of the Divine States surrender and they are divided by the invaders from the Harmonic Divine States. They try to resume the reproduction of history from A.D.1457, but the update of history terminates in A.D.1648. A rumor of apocalypse begins to spread around the world. " |
| 風のスティグマ (Kaze no Stigma) | | Light Novel | | | 12 | | baka-tsuki: 5/10 | Kazuma Kannagi was the eldest son of the Kannagi family and presumed heir. However, due to his inability to use "Enjutsu", the power to control flames, he was considered to be useless within his family. Despite his inability to wield fire, his father insisted on him competing for the right to wield "Enraiha", a powerful heirloom sword traditionally wielded by the family heir. The 18-year-old Kazuma was soundly defeated by 14-year-old Ayano Kannagi, his second cousin, and his father banished him from the family. Four years later, he returns as a master of "Fūjutsu", the power to control wind, and with a new name: Kazuma Yagami. Soon after his return, several Kannagi family members are killed by someone using Fūjutsu and Kazuma is presumed to have committed the murders in revenge for his banishment. Though innocent of the murders, he is confronted by various members of his former family who wish to fight him. |
| 0 | アサウラ (Asaura) | Light Novel | | | -- | | baka-tsuki: 6/10 | Unclear - |
| カンピオーネ！ | 丈月城 | Light Novel | | | 18 | | baka-tsuki: 6/10 | "Kusanagi Godou, a 16 year old boy who played in the senior league as catcher and fourth hitter—that is, the cleanup—when he was in Junior High. However, an injury put an end to baseball.
Though that was not the end for him. During the spring break of his third and last year in Junior High, he got involved in an adventure and ended up slaying one of the Heretic Gods, Verethragna. Thus, he became the youngest—and seventh—Campione.
Now that he is a Campione, a godslayer, the young Godou must defeat the troublemaking gods, with the help of his followers! " |
| とある魔術の禁書目録 | 鎌池和馬 ＆ 冬川基 | Light Novel | | | 24 - Finished | | baka-tsuki: 6/10 Not much background information is really required except for occasional research on the magic/religion side. Not a straightforward piece of work, but still workable. | "A Certain Magical Index is set in a world where supernatural abilities are a reality. Individuals who possess special powers acquired via science are called Espers. They possess their powers from birth, but most only awaken them during the Power Curriculum Program. Those Espers who awaken their abilities without the aid of special scientific instruments, whether at birth or through meditation, are referred to as Gemstones. Others, known as Magicians, gain their powers upon mastering the power of magic, either from obtaining knowledge from special books known as Grimoires or by using mystical artifacts, though the existence of magicians is a secret to the public. While Magicians align themselves with ancient religions, Espers are aligned with scientific institutions. This leads to a power struggle between the magic and science factions for control of the world.
The story is set in Academy City, a technologically advanced city located in western Tokyo that is known for its educational and research institutions. Tōma Kamijō is a student in Academy City whose right hand, the Imagine Breaker, has the ability to negate any supernatural power, but also negates his own luck, much to his chagrin. One day, Tōma meets a young English girl named Index - a nun from Necessarius, a secret magic branch of the Church of England, whose mind has been implanted with the Index Librorum Prohibitorum - 103,000 forbidden magical books that the Church has removed from circulation. His encounter with her leads him to meet others from the secret worlds of science and magic. Tōma's unusual power places him at the center of conflicts between the Magicians and Espers in Academy City who try to unravel the secrets behind Academy City, Index, and Tōma's own special power." |
| 鋼殻のレギオス | 雨木シュウスケ ＆ 深遊 | Light Novel | | | 25 - Finished | | baka-tsuki: 8/10 | In an alternate reality earth overrun with mutated nano-machine-beasts called Filth Monsters (Contaminoids in Funimation's translation), humanity is forced to live in large mobile cities called Regios and learn to use weapons called DITE (pronounced Di-Te) and harnessing the power of Kei to defend themselves. The truth is that these are people lost in an alternative reality caught between struggling as pawns of the founders of this space and those trying to destroy it. Only upon its destruction can everything revert to the real world. However, many generations have passed since the creation of the world and naturally the citizens who inhabit it fight for their lives. In the Academic City of Zuellni, Layfon Alseif is hoping to start a new life without Martial/Military arts and forget his past. However, his past has caught the attention of Kalian Loss, the Student Council President and Nina Antalk, a Military Arts student and Captain of the 17th Platoon, who instantly recognizes his abilities and decides he's the perfect candidate to join her group. The series follow Layfon's life in Zuellni and occasionally has flashbacks of his life in Glenden as a Heaven's Blade. |
| 灼眼のシャナ | 高橋 弥七郎 | Light Novel | Names only | Yes | 22+4 shorts - Finished | | baka-tsuki: 8/10 Terminologies and language are the killers here. The language here is rather heavy as compared to those of the hard difficulty, and terminologies like 'Sonzai no Chikara' (Power of existence) are prevalent here since they form the crux of the story. | "The world has become a slaughtering ground for the Crimson Denizens, mysterious beings from a parallel universe who thrive on the life energy of humans. These merciless murderers only leave behind scant remainders of souls called ""Torches,"" which are mere residues that will eventually be destroyed, along with the very fact of the victims' existence from the minds of the living. In an ambitious endeavor to put an end to this invisible, hungry massacre, warriors called Flame Hazes relentlessly fight these monsters.
One fateful day, Yuuji Sakai ceases to be a regular high schooler—he becomes trapped in a crevice of time and is suddenly attacked by a Denizen. Coming to his rescue just in the nick of time is a nameless hunter who seems no different from an ordinary young girl except for her blazing eyes and burning crimson hair. However, before Yuuji can learn anything more about his situation, he discovers that he has already been reduced to a Torch—merely a scrap of memory waiting to be extinguished." |
| プリクラ Pocket | Atlus | Game - GB | No | No | - | None | Great for low level. | Game where the random encounters are multiple choice questions all in text. |
| Phantasy Star 1 | Sega | Game - SMS | No | Yes | - | None | Everything is written in Kanji only. | "Phantasy Star is set in Algol, a solar system consisting of three planets. There is the lush and green Palma, the arid and barren Motavia, and finally, the icy and desolate Dezoris. As the story begins, Algol is ruled by King Lassic, who while originally benevolent, becomes a cruel dictator after converting to a new religion. After a string of harsh political changes, small pockets of rebellion emerge, but are mostly ineffective against Lassic's iron rule.
When Nero Landale, the leader of one such rebellion, is killed by Lassic's robot-cops, his sister Alis swears revenge. As she travels and witnesses the many victims of Lassic's oppression, Alis' objective becomes less about revenge and more about liberation for the people of Algol" |
| Final Fantasy IV | Square | Game - SNES | No | Yes | - | None | Like most older RPGs, the text is entirely in kana separated by spaces. Very story driven and linear game, a decent introduction to the Final Fantasy series if you have not played any. Also has a script available online, original JP (with kanji included!) alongside the US translation: http://notserious.info/ff4/script/index.html | Released in 1991, it is the fourth main installment of the Final Fantasy series. The game's story follows Cecil, a dark knight, as he tries to prevent the sorcerer Golbez from seizing powerful crystals and destroying the world. He is joined on this quest by a frequently changing group of allies. |
| Keroro RPG | Bandai Namco Games | Game - DS | Yes | No | - | Gay | Plays like the Tales of Series. Important Scenes are voiced. If you like Keroro Gunsou it's a fun side story. | Keroro Gunso is a series about a group of aliens led by Sergeant Keroro that is tasked by the army of Planet Keron to prepare Earth for their invasion. However, the platoon of five ends up being friends with humans in Inner Tokyo, and their plans of invasion stuck up indefinitely. The game is based on that series. |
| コンタクト | Grasshopper Manufacture | Game - DS | | Yes | - | | Contact for the Xbox One. Play it. It's good. | The story begins as a scientist, known as the Professor, flees through space from a mysterious enemy known only as the "CosmoNOTs" (Cosmic Nihilist Organization for Terror). He crash lands on a strange planet, losing the "cells" that power his ship. Without power, he is stranded. He enlists the help of Terry, a young boy. Terry agrees to help the Professor by exploring the planet and locating the cells. Helping the Professor is the only way that Terry will be able to get home, but the Klaxon Army are tracking them down, the cells are hidden in some dangerous areas and, as the game progresses, the Professor's intentions are slowly thrown deeper and deeper into question. |
| 光の４戦士 -ファイナルファンタジー外伝- | Matrix Software, Square Enix | Game - DS | No | Yes | - | | Very easy to understand and read for beginners (most of it). No VA. No Furigana. Known in the U.S. as Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light. | In the city of Horne, a 14-year-old boy named Brandt must present himself to the king as a custom of entering manhood. Upon arriving, Brandt finds the King distraught and is told to go find Princess Aire and save her from the Witch of the North, Louhi. On the way, Brandt is joined by his friend Jusqua and the princess's bodyguard Yunita, who help him rescue Princess Aire and slay Louhi. However, when they return to town, everyone's been turned to stone by the witch's curse and the king is nowhere to be found. |
| ダンボール戦機 | | RPG Games | Yes | No (official translation for the first game with westernized names in progress) | - | | Full voice acting for story scenes and furigana on all kanji. Prepare to hear 父さん a lot in the first game. | "AD 2046, technology has grown all over the world and innovation is leading the way. The way of delivery methods has changed since the creation of the super strong cardboard, which can resist every impact and keeping its contents intact. As the popularity of the material grew, so did its purposes. The super strong cardboard was used as material for special battlefields for LBX's, specialized miniature robots made by Tiny Orbit that were once banned due to their destructive purposes. Their popularity has again risen due to the specialized battlefield, and special models of LBX were made.
Four years after the creation of the super strong cardboard, in AD 2050, Ban Yamano (Van Yamano in the English dub), a male middle school student has been entrusted with the LBX ""AX-00"" by a mysterious woman, containing a Platinum Capsule. Van learned from the woman that his father is still alive and knew about a secret conspiracy in the government. Van himself must protect the LBX and the Platinum Capsule, as its contents could change the world forever." |
| 七人の侍 | 黒澤明(くろさわ あきら) | Film/Movie | No | Yes | - | None | | |
| 切腹 | 小林 正樹(こばやし まさき) | Film/Movie | No | Yes | - | None | | A Japanese jidaigeki (period-drama) film directed by Masaki Kobayashi. The story takes place between 1619 and 1630 during the Edo period and the reign of the Tokugawa shogunate. It tells the story of Hanshirō Tsugumo, a rōnin or warrior without a lord. On May 16, 1630, Tsugumo Hanshirō (津雲半四郎) arrives at the estate of the Ii clan (井伊家), looking for a suitable place to perform seppuku. After the Tokugawa shogunate took over, there were many roaming samurai without a master to serve. Some of these desperate rōnin would request or threat to commit seppuku in hopes of receiving alms from the lord of the house. To deter him Saitō Kageyu (Rentarō Mikuni), counselor of the clan, tells Hanshirō a warning story wherein another rōnin, Chijiiwa Motome – formerly of the same clan as Hanshirō – had made the same request and the samurai retainers of the house forced him to complete the ceremony and kill himself. Hanshiro is not detered, but the story plays a major role in the plot of the movie. |
| 座頭市物語 | 勝新太郎 (かつ しんたろう) | Film/Movie | No | Yes | - | None | | A film about a wandering blind swordsman and his involvement in a conflict between two rivaling Yakuza gangs. However people look down upon him, it is made clear on several occasions that he is not someone to be taken advantage of. |
| 福娘童話集 きょうの日本民話 | | Website | | | - | | | A collection of Japanese good-luck fairy tales. |