With so many successful anime titles being made from the light novel genre, it's no surprise that the west has seen a boom in translations. While light novels still haven't caught up to manga in popularity, it won't be long until both are on equal footing.
Fans looking for something new will be happy to learn that there are a ton of new series set to be released in 2021, many of which already have quite the following in Japan. These series, like most high-popularity ones, also have a decent chance of being made into an anime in the next few years.
10 The Undead King's Reign of Peace Proves That Looks Aren't Everything
The Undead King's Reign of Peace by Sakuma Sasaki and Eishi Hayama moves away from the normal fantasy trope to create a heartwarming romance. In the book, a girl named Mira is saved by the Undead King, and the two plan to live a peaceful life together.
The friction comes from the world around them that views the Undead King as an evil entity, despite the fact that he has never once caused the living world any type of trouble.
9 Spy Classroom Mixes Anime Tropes and Spy Thrillers
Spy Classroom by Takemachi and Tomari is as ridiculous as it sounds and focuses on seven highschool girls with little to no experience in top-secret missions. To top that off, the world they are in mostly revolves around espionage which can be quite stressful.
Led by a Spy with an impossibly high success rate, these girls will take on missions with little chance of survival and learn how to be top-ranking spies themselves.
8 If the RPG World Had Social Media Brings Ton of Electronic Drama
If The RPG World Had Social Media by Yusuke Nitta, Sato Kamegoya, LOL, and Yukinatu Amekaze, brings all the drama associated with bad texting and internet ideals. In fact, this world is so dependent on technology that the hero is declaring war by sending a text message.
The novel takes a lot of inspiration from the current climate of the internet to turn it into a fun mix of private chats, bad social etiquette, and digital age crushes that only lead to trouble.
7 I Have a Secret Reveals The Pains of Coming of Age
I Have a Secret by oru Sumino is a novel for fans of slice-of-life coming-of-age stories. The book focuses on a group of five friends as they begin to open up to each other about their feelings and delve into the realm of acceptance and rejection.
The book doesn't shy away from reality, and the teenagers learn that not everything in life is going to go their way, especially when it begins to cross the line between friendship and love.
6 The Miracles of the Namiya General Store Leads Three Robbers to a Change of Heart
The Miracles of the Namiya General Store by Keigo Higashino is quite different from the other light novels on this list. The book begins with three men who have recently committed a robbery and fled to a closed convenience store in an attempt to avoid the cops.
The store previously had a history of helping anonymous citizens with the struggles of life, and the robbers become entwined in this forgotten tradition when someone drops a letter asking for help in the shop's shutters.
5 The Detective is Already Dead Mixes Reincarnation With Detective Work
Kimizuka is a normal high schooler who was once a great detective in The Detective is Already Dead by Nigoju. After his partner died, Kimizuka shrunk back into the shadows and began to live life as an everyday student.
Things begin to come undone when he meets a young girl bearing a hauntingly similar resemblance to the detective he previously worked with, and now he is plunged back into the world of crime.
4 A Second Chance at a Boring Life is Given in I Swear I Won't Bother You Again!
I Swear I Won't Bother You Again by Reina Soratani and Haru Harukawa is a light novel that shows just how easily jealousy can ruin someone's life. Violette is imprisoned due to her jealousy getting the best of her but gets a second chance at life when she is reincarnated into her younger self.
Now freed from her miserable prison sentence, Violette is determined to live a quiet life where she can be happy. Violette's biggest problem is that fate seems to be trying to send her back to jail.
3 A Sci-fi Video Game Comes to Life in Reborn as a Space Mercenary: I Woke Up Piloting the Strongest Starship!
I Woke up Pilting the Strongest Starship by Ryuto and Tetsuhiro Nabeshima is an isekai perfect for fans of sci-fi games and anime. Instead of being thrust into another fantasy world, Sato wakes up in a spaceship from a sci-fi game he regularly played.
Freed from boring office work, Sato can now live out a life of adventure. The ship he's in is incredibly powerful, and it even comes fully stocked with a crew to help him along the way.
2 Drugstore in Another World The Slow Life of a Cheat Pharmacist Mixes Modern Medicine Into a Fantasy World
Drugstore in Another World by Kennoji and Matsuuni begins by following the classic isekai formula; Reiji, an office worker, is killed and then wakes up in a fantasy world. Instead of trying to be a hero, though, he focuses on making potions and eventually opens a pharmacy.
By using a mix of modern medicine and the new fantasy worlds techniques, he creates a pharmacy that makes him rich.
1 The King of the Dead at the Dark Palace Shows off Isekai Necromancy
The King of the Dead by Tsukikage and Merontomari and doesn't really have the main character reincarnated. Instead, they are resurrected into a fantasy world by a necromancer who has complete control over every single thing that the new Undead King does.
To win back his freedom, the Undead King must follow the necromancer's orders and bide his time until he is able to break free from her grasp.
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