Watched the anime? Read the Manga? NOW read the novel!
Did you know that some of your favorite manga and anime series began as novels? And did you also know some of those favorite series spun-off or shared amazing side-stories through the novel format? Oh you didn’t know? Glad you asked somebody! This month we at Kodansha USA Publishing wanted to share some outstanding literary works that expand and give you a deeper look at fan-favorite series like Attack on Titan, The Seven Deadly Sins and Your Lie in April. Check out some of our favorites spotlighted below and a full list of other novels that will let you dive even deeper into some of your favorite manga stories!
Most of these books are in both print/digital and can be purchased online from our retail partners including: Barnes & Noble, Books A Million, Bookshop.org, Hudson Booksellers, IndieBound, Powell’s, Target, Walmart, Amazon.
Attack on Titan: The Harsh Mistress of the City, Part 1
By Ryo Kawakami, Created by Hajime Isayama
An Attack on Titan side story in light-novel form—detailing in two volumes the fate of the Quinta District after Wall Maria is breached.
With Wall Maria breeched, communities within the Quinta district have been cut off from each other creating famine and chaos. A young field commander named Rita is tasked with a mission to reconnect transit across the massive district while putting her troops and residence right in the vanguard as Titans descend on her town.
BAKEMONOGATARI : Monster Tale, Part 1
By NISIOISIN
There’s a girl at their school who is always ill. She routinely arrives late, leaves early, or doesn’t show up at all, and skips gym as a matter of course. She’s pretty, and the boys take to whispering that she’s a cloistered princess. As the self-described worst loser in her class soon finds out, they just don’t know what a monster she is.
So begins a tale of mysterious maladies that are supernatural in origin yet deeply revealing of the human psyche, a set of case files as given to unexpected feeling as it is to irreverent humor. So begins the legendary novel that kicked off the MONOGATARI series, whose anime adaptations have enjoyed international popularity and critical acclaim.
This first of three parts introduces Senjogahara and Hachikuji, and fans of the blockbuster prequel KIZUMONOGATARI will be delighted to meet their favorite crazies again: the weirdly reliable narrator Araragi, class president among class presidents Hanekawa, shady problem-solver Oshino, and a certain pale, blonde former vampire.
The Seven Deadly Sins: Seven Scars They Left Behind
By Shuka Matsuda, Created by Nakaba Suzuki
The Seven Deadly Sins—a legendary order that once served the Kingdom of Liones as the mightiest of its Holy Knights—stand accused of treason and have fled the realm. Princess Margaret and young Gilthunder, the slain commander Zaratras’ son, know the terrible truth about the betrayal but dare not speak of it, not even to each other.
The aftermath of the event that shook Britannia comes to life in seven prose chapters that provide a superb introduction to the rich world of the original comic and satisfy longtime fans’ craving for more. Illustrated in a classic, warm style by the creator himself, Seven Scars They Left Behind walks the royal road of fantasy.
Voices of a Distant Star : Words of Love/ Across the Stars
Story By Makoto Shinkai, Adapted by Arata Kanoh
Award-winning director and author Makoto Shinkai offers a romantic sci-fi tale about young love and space adventure, based on his animated film. This new novel gives readers more insight into Mikako and Noboru’s relationship. Fans of the original series will again be immersed in the beautiful world of Shinkai.
It’s the year 2046. Mikako Nagamine and Noboru Terao are middle school classmates, tentatively sharing an unspoken first love—but unbeknownst to him, Mikako has been recruited into the UN Space Force, and instead of going on to high school, will join the spacecraft Lysithea to search for alien Tarsians. As she travels further and further to the outer reaches of the solar system, the time it takes for a text message to reach the Earth grows longer and longer. Back on Earth, time passes normally for Noboru, but as the years pass he still can’t forget the voice on the other side of the cell phone…
Steeped in nostalgia and memory, Arata Kanoh brings to the page the award-winning OVA by acclaimed filmmaker Makoto Shinkai, director of Garden of Words, 5 Centimeters per Second, and the highest-grossing anime film of all time, Your Name. Arata Kanoh is a writer who has produced novelizations of Makoto Shinkai’s other works, including 5 Centimeters Per Second (also available from Vertical).
Your Lie in April : A Six-Person Etude
By Yui Tokiumi, Created by Naoshi Arakawa
THE POPULAR MANGA AND ANIME DRAMA COMES TO LIFE IN WORDS!
There’s not a competition that piano prodigy Arima hasn’t won since he started playing. His renditions are matchless in their precision. When he’s only eleven, however, his peerless fingers fall silent—right up there on stage.
Exploring the shock of the incident and its aftermath from his friends and rivals’ perspectives, A Six-Person Etude accompanies the boy’s halting efforts to pick himself up as an adolescent. Based on the hit series, these prose chapters expand on the original but form a coherent and hard-hitting tale of its own.
Need even more novels to add to your read pile, check out these other Kodansha Comics and VERTICAL novelizations!
5 Centimeter Per Second: one more side
Attack on Titan: Before the Fall (Novel)
Attack on Titan: End of the World
Attack on Titan: Kuklo Unbound
Attack on Titan: Lost Girls
Attack on Titan: The Harsh Mistress of the City, Part 1
Attack on Titan: The Harsh Mistress of the City, Part 2
BAKEMONOGATARI : Monster Tale, Part 1
BAKEMONOGATARI : Monster Tale, Part 2
BAKEMONOGATARI : Monster Tale, Part 3
HANAMONOGATARI : Flower Tale
KABUKIMONOGATARI : Dandy Tale
KIZUMONOGATARI : Wound Tale
KOYOMIMONOGATARI : Calendar Tale, Part 1
KOYOMIMONOGATARI : Calendar Tale, Part 2
KOIMONOGATARI : Love Tale
NEKOMONOGATARI (WHITE) : Cat Tale
NEKOMONOGATARI (BLACK) : Cat Tale
NISEMONOGATARI : Fake Tale, Part 1
NISEMONOGATARI : Fake Tale, Part 2
OTORIMONOGATARI : Decoy Tale
ONIMONOGATARI : Demon Tale
OWARIMONOGATARI, Part 1
OWARIMONOGATARI, Part 2
TSUKIMONOGATARI : Possession Tale
Seraph of the End: Guren Ichinose, Resurrection at Nineteen, 1
Seraph of the End: Guren Ichinose, Resurrection at Nineteen, 2
The Seven Deadly Sins: Seven Scars They Left Behind
The Seven Deadly Sins: Seven-Colored Recollections
Voices of a Distant Star : Words of Love/ Across the Stars
Your Lie in April: A six-person etude
