The original SAO LN in Japan is way past the anime. (A good 2 seasons or so.) In English, it's been published up to the end of the first season with the first arc of the second season coming out on the 15th. (Phantom Bullet) The anime adapts through to volume 8.

The SAO: Progressive series is a re-write of the first arc and hasn't been adapted beyond a single chapter. It's a really good read for those that are interested in what SAO should originally have been. The manga version of it is a silly adaption where it tells the story from another character's perspective while focusing on comedy.

Not sure about other kinds of LNs he might like considering it's hard to get an accurate sense of taste just from the series listed. Going based off the genres, Danmachi is a really enjoyable growth adventure action series I consistently look forward to the next volume of.

A Certain Magical Index is a series I love as the story is always becoming more and more exciting with some of the best writing from an author out of many light novels. The English publication isn't past the anime yet but the anime does butcher some of the arcs so it's worth it to start from the beginning. A companion to this series would be the A Certain Scientific Railgun manga which is also very action orientated.

Tate no Yuusha is an LN series without an anime adaption that got licensed in English. It's a pretty good adventure series that he might like. It's a safe bet for something he's probably not experienced yet I think. Only 2 volumes published in English so far.

The Crafter by Outspan Foster. I haven't read this one yet, but I'm pretty pumped. Ordered the paperback. Set in a non-vr world.

Dante's Immortality. Highly recommended on this sub. Book 2 probably won't happen. Probably once a week asks about book 2. Still, so good that it's worth reading book 1 of an unfinished series. I think that's pretty high praise for it.

Sufficiently Advanced Magic. Another sub favorite. People argue whether or not it's LitRPG, most important thing is: it's dope.

Adventures on Brad. Nice slice of life in a non-vr fantasy world with game mechanics. Fun stuff.

A few others:

Adventurer Academy andIs It Wrong to Try and Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon.

Enjoy!

When you wish upon a star...

I'd have to say Beauty and the Beast because I always related to her when I was little because she liked to read and she had brown hair. I love that she sees the good in people.

I think my favorite song would be You'll Be in my Heart, it's just too sweet :)

Thanks for the contest!

A new book :)

Mushishi is wonderful. But it is very episodic. Its best not to binge the show. Once I got half way through the first season (this was before the second season was even a twinkle in the anime studio's eye) I actually saved the rest for "rainy" day type situations. It took me almost 6 months to finish a handful of episodes, but I really enjoyed watching it that way.

Also, how in the heck can you give Lain an 8 when its like 100x slower than Habaine Renmei?! No, but I do partially agree with you. I love HR a lot, but the first half really drags. Also, I would like to mention that it is very loosely based on a book called Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World by Haruki Murakami. Its a very bizarre but fun read if you are ever looking for a new book to get into.

I don't know if I can say I have a favourite book, but I shall recommend one that I enjoyed very much and haven't seen anyone read before.

The Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino. I used to watch a lot of Japanese dramas, and I noticed a fair few that I loved were based off this author's works. As my Japanese sucks, you can bet I was all over this book when I found it had been translated (one of three, soon to be four of his novels translated to English).

And it is awesome. It's a murder mystery, though the focus is more on the what and how than the who. It was a lot... quieter? more thoughtful perhaps, than a lot of western works I've read. Which made for a very nice change of pace. The characters were interesting and likeable, and I was sad when it ended.

I don't usually keep up with book releases, but I'm excited as hell for May when Byakuyakou/Journey Under the Midnight Sun comes out. It's not one of the Detective Galileo series like Devotion of Suspect X is (I really hope they do release more of those though), but I watched the drama based on it and I'm dying to see if the book is as heartbreaking as the series. Also, for some reason the paperback isn't available on .Com, but is on Co.Uk. How odd. Not that I'm complaining.

Dune by Frank Herbert.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series by Douglas Adams. You have probably read it, but if you haven't, it's superbly funny sci-fi comedy.

The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco. A book that I re-read once every few years, and every time I find something new in it.

Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets by David Simon. A gripping, heartbreaking non-fiction book about police detectives. It inspired the acclaimed TV series "Homicide: Life on the Street." Simon would go on to create "The Wire."

The Big Nowhere by James Ellroy. Noir-ish procedural crime fiction. If you enjoy "Homicide," you may well like this.

The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera, "a philosophical novel about two men, two women, a dog and their lives in the Prague Spring of the Czechoslovak Communist period in 1968," according to Wikipedia. One of my favorite books.

Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World by Haruki Murakami. Detective novel meets sci-fi in one mind-bending existential work. If you watch "Fringe," well, this book is Fringe-y... and more.

To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis. Time travel. Victorian England. A tea cozy mystery of sorts.

Graphic novels! Asterios Polyp by David Mazzucchelli. Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi. Maus: A Survivor's Tale by Art Spiegelman. Love And Rockets by The Hernandez brothers. The Sandman by Neil Gaiman. Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind by Hayao Miyazaki. Elektra: Assassin by Frank Miller and Bill Sienkiewicz. And of course, Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons. To discover yet more great comic books, check out the Comics College series.

>i dont want to buy it

Sorry but there are no other way as the fan TLer has been taken down.

Volume 1:

iTunes (digital)

Google Play (digital)

Google Play US (digital)

Amazon (physical and digital)

Book Depository (physical)

Rightstuf (physical)

Volume 2:

iTunes (digital)

Google Play (digital)

Google Play US (digital)

Amazon (physical and digital)

Book Depository (physical)

Rightstuf (physical)

Volume 3:

iTunes (digital)

Google Play (digital)

Google Play US (digital)

Amazon (physical and digital)

Book Depository (physical)

Rightstuf (physical)

Volume 4:

iTunes (digital)

Google Play (digital)

Google Play US (digital)

Amazon (physical and digital)

Book Depository (physical)

Rightstuf (physical)

Volume 5:

iTunes (digital)

Google Play (digital)

Google Play US (digital)

Amazon (physical and digital)

Book Depository (physical)

Rightstuf (physical)

Preorder Volume 6:

iTunes (digital)

Google Play (digital)

Google Play US (digital)

Amazon (physical and digital)

Book Depository (physical)

Rightstuf (physical)

For beginners?

Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World-- Time, Duality, Left Brain/Right Brain Dillema

Norwegian Wood-- Memory, death (and therefore life), music

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle-- Surrealism, Defilement, Water (if you didn't like Kafka, you might not like this. It's like two steps back on the weirdness scale but twice as long).

He is easily one of my favorite authors of all time and I personally think every single one of his books is fantastic. Granted, Kafka was the last one I read, and I had read so many others before it that I wasn't phased by all the weird shit that goes down.

In my opinion, Murakami is the type of author that everyone will find at least one of his books enjoyable. It might be Norweigian Wood for some, 1Q84 for others, and maybe even A Wild Sheep Chase or Dance, Dance, Dance for a someone else.

I think there are certain works of his that are basically you either "get" them or you don't. This isn't an intellegence/educational thing, it's more like you're in a different place emotionally. That's okay, though, because his body of work is so large, complex, and thought provoking that it touches upon a lot of variable subjects.

I just looked it up (I was in bed last night when I posted the previous message) and it seems Birthday Girl is in the Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman collection. So if you want more short fiction that's probably the best route to go.

If you're interested in jumping right into a novel, The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle is one of his most generally well received novels and a good place to start for some of the signature Murakami weirdness. Kafka on the Shore would be a great choice as well, and Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World is many Murakami readers' favorite novel of his, but I haven't read either of those yet so I'm more hesitant to recommend them.

I'd suggest reading the blurb of each and picking the story that sounds like it'd appeal to you most.

If you want to jump into well-recognized contemporary works of fantasy, I highly suggest you have a go at Haruki Murakami's Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World. This book earned him praise all over the world from those highbrows you speak of.

It's not technically "low fantasy", and it's more like one (thick) book than a series, which could be described as a mix of cyberpunk and high fantasy.

So yeah. Probably not what you're looking for. A pretty damn fine book nonetheless (the rest of his work is also awesome btw)

I definitely want to recommend one I just finished: Hard-Boiled Wonderland and The End of The World. Without spoiling anything, think along the lines of Inception. Absolutely one of the best books I've ever read.

If you enjoyed The Hunger Games, you'll probably like The Bartimaeus Trilogy (this links to book 1). Has a more Harry Potter feeling to it but the humor is so well done. Really fun read.

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami.

Had to stop myself in multiple parts for different reasons. Either “I feel odd” or “that was oddly uncomfortable” or at one specific part “I might vomit holy shit” (but in a good way).

Haruki Murakami is like the Stephen King of being surreal as fuck. If you have never read one of his books I would recommend reading another one before you read The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle. It's easily the most surreal thing I have ever read.

I recommend starting with either
Hard-Boiled Wonderland and The End of The World
or
A Wild Sheep Chase

then follow with The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle


They are all very surreal and weird and fun to read.

It's been licensed for both physical and digital release in English. Keep track of licensed release dates with the subreddit wiki in the sidebar.

Volume 1:

iTunes (digital)

Google Play (digital)

Google Play US (digital)

Amazon (physical and digital)

Book Depository (physical)

Rightstuf (physical)

Volume 2:

iTunes (digital)

Google Play (digital)

Google Play US (digital)

Amazon (physical and digital)

Book Depository (physical)

Rightstuf (physical)

Volume 3:

iTunes (digital)

Google Play (digital)

Google Play US (digital)

Amazon (physical and digital)

Book Depository (physical)

Rightstuf (physical)

Volume 4:

iTunes (digital)

Google Play (digital)

Google Play US (digital)

Amazon (physical and digital)

Book Depository (physical)

Rightstuf (physical)

Volume 5 (preorder):

iTunes (digital)

Google Play US (digital)

Google Play (digital)

Amazon (physical and digital)

Book Depository (physical)

Rightstuf (physical)

Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?

Volume 1:

iTunes (digital)

Google Play (digital)

Google Play US (digital)

Amazon (physical and digital)

Book Depository (physical)

Rightstuf (physical)

Volume 2:

iTunes (digital)

Google Play (digital)

Google Play US (digital)

Amazon (physical and digital)

Book Depository (physical)

Rightstuf (physical)

Volume 3:

iTunes (digital)

Google Play (digital)

Google Play US (digital)

Amazon (physical and digital)

Book Depository (physical)

Rightstuf (physical)

Volume 4:

iTunes (digital)

Google Play (digital)

Google Play US (digital)

Amazon (physical and digital)

Book Depository (physical)

Rightstuf (physical)

Volume 5:

iTunes (digital)

Google Play (digital)

Google Play US (digital)

Amazon (physical and digital)

Book Depository (physical)

Rightstuf (physical)

Preorder Volume 6:

iTunes (digital)

Google Play (digital)

Google Play US (digital)

Amazon (physical and digital)

Book Depository (physical)

Rightstuf (physical)

[AUDIOBOOK]

[Legend of the Galactic Heroes, Vol. 1: Dawn]
(https://www.amazon.com/Dawn-Legend-Galactic-Heroes-Vol/dp/B01BPHH9NW)

[Legend of the Galactic Heroes, Vol. 2: Ambition]
(https://www.amazon.com/Legend-Galactic-Heroes-Vol-Ambition/dp/1421584956)

[Legend of the Galactic Heroes, Vol. 3: Endurance]
(https://www.amazon.com/Legend-Galactic-Heroes-Vol-Endurance/dp/1421584964)

It's not really "rational" at all, but I enjoyed the hell out of DanMachi. Very fun power fantasy Light Novel in an RPGMechanicsVerse. Was also adapted into an anime. I can send you the EPUBs if you have any interest.

Why its cheap, you should support novels you like that are translated into your language so that you can give support and possibly more incentive for other companies to translate

Hardboiled Wonderland and the End of the World. It's a strange one, but I enjoy strange books. Wonderfully vivid characters, too.

Here are all the local Amazon links I could find:


amazon.com

amazon.co.uk

amazon.ca

amazon.com.au

amazon.in

amazon.com.mx

amazon.de

amazon.it

amazon.es

amazon.com.br

amazon.nl

amazon.co.jp

amazon.fr

Beep bloop. I'm a bot to convert Amazon ebook links to local Amazon sites.
I currently look here: amazon.com, amazon.co.uk, amazon.ca, amazon.com.au, amazon.in, amazon.com.mx, amazon.de, amazon.it, amazon.es, amazon.com.br, amazon.nl, amazon.co.jp, amazon.fr, if you would like your local version of Amazon adding please contact my creator.

for a book that i thought was strage but also a pretty good read

Hard Boiled Wondeland and the End of the World

http://www.amazon.ca/Hard-Boiled-Wonderland-World-Haruki-Murakami/dp/0679743464/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top/186-4979195-8807216

I'm currently reading 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami (which comes close to fulfilling the "more than 500 pages" challenge twice over), but I'm not far enough in to really recommend it yet.

However, I've previously read Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World by Haruki Murakami and do highly recommend this one.

Haibane Renmei is also one of my favorites. In a similar vein I really enjoyed

• Shin Sekai Yori
  
  
• Kino no Tabi
  
  
• Kaiba
  
  Also, have you read the novel on which Haibane Renmei is loosely based? It's good.

[Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World] (http://www.amazon.com/Hard-Boiled-Wonderland-End-World-International/dp/0679743464/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1372998994&sr=8-1&keywords=hard+boiled+wonderland+and+the+end+of+the+world) is probably his most sci-fi, as well a great starting point.

There are a lot of bilingual readers available as well on Amazon.

Japanese Stories for Language Learners: Bilingual Stories in Japanese and English (MP3 Audio disc included) https://www.amazon.com/dp/4805314680/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_YhEyCbZJE56CT

That are cheap and have vocab etc. I have this one and it's good for basic reading comprehension. Manga can only take you so far before you plateau.

Nope it's most definitely the light novel kindle version.

What country are you in?

Pretty sure I ordered this in January, and Vol. 12 at the beginning of March. Vol.12 http://www.amazon.com/Spice-Wolf-Vol-Isuna-Hasekura/dp/0316324329/

Heh. Let me link my description of LitRPG from my group on Royal Road. http://forum.royalroadl.com/showthread.php?tid=88435

Some of the first LitRPG I got into was 'Girls in a Dungeon. https://www.amazon.com/Wrong-Pick-Girls-Dungeon-Vol-ebook/dp/B00LZYBVJ4/

This series is set in another world where gods and goddesses on the planet can invest some power in adventurers. This allows them to literally level up by accruing experience via fighting monsters. There is a leveled dungeon system that the MC delves to make his fortune.

It's a light novel series so it's not a literary masterpiece, but I thought it was fun.

Below includes links to the amazon page, which has identification numbers you can use for other sites, but since many of these titles share comic/manga names, it can be confusing telling the difference. Also, I think everything but Another and Baccano have a good fan translation done as of now, and he may have already read it (at least first volumes) and is not interested in a physical copy of them, so I would ask.

If he likes the idea of a game esque world (very popular right now for some reason), I would recomend Rising of the Shield Hero, Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon, and Log Horizon.

For more typical fantasy styled light novels, Spice and Wolf, Another, A certain Magical Index, No Game, No Life, The Devil Is A Part-Timer, and soon to be release Baccano.

Yes there is a manga, however the story originally comes from light novels. If still want to read the manga for a slightly different perspective it can be found on MangaReader.net or many other sites. Edit: the name of the manga is found under this name. Dungeon ni Deai wo Motomeru no wa Machigatte Iru Darou ka Gaiden 

But here is the link on Amazon to the first light novel.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0316339156/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_UHY4Bb753SB79

I read his first book translated to English, Six Four (amazing cover on that book, it's why I bought it in the first place) and fell in love with this dude's writing. He's got such an eye for mood and tone and detail that it's honestly infuriating to me as a writer.

Hard-boiled Wonderland and the End of the World. It's excellent.

back to the beginning

---

Current Selection#####

• Echopraxia by Peter Watts [Echopraxia]. Began September 3rd.
  
  
  ---
  

  Past Selections#####
  

  
  

  2014######
  

  
  

• The Songs of Distant Earth by Arthur C. Clarke [Songs]. Began August 6th.
  
  
• 2312 by Kim Stanley Robinson [2312]. Began July 7th.
  
  
• The Crystal World by J. G. Ballard [crystal]. Began June 4th.
  
  
• The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon [Lot49]. Began May 7th.
  
  
• The Lilith's Brood Trilogy by Octavia Butler [lilith]. Began April 7th.
  
  
• Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie [Justice]. Began March 6th.
  
  
• [Invisible Cities] (http://www.amazon.com/Invisible-Cities-Italo-Calvino/dp/0156453800) by Italo Calvino [Invisible]. Began February 5th.
  
  
• Machine Man by Max Barry [Machine]. Began January 1st.
  
  

  2013######
  

  
  

• House of Suns by Alastair Reynolds [suns]. Began December 5th.
  
  
• Singularity Sky by Charles Stross [singularity]. Began November 4th.
  
  
• Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood [Oryx and Crake]. Began October 7th.
  
  
• The Gone-Away World by Nick Harkaway [gone-away]. Began September 3rd.
  
  
• The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin [dispossessed]. Began August 2nd.
  
  
• The Hydrogen Sonata by Iain M. Banks [sonata]. Began July 3rd.
  
  
• Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clark [rama]. Began June 3rd.
  
  
• Jack Glass by Adam Roberts [glass]. Began May 3rd.
  
  
• Of Men and Monsters by William Tenn [monsters]. Began April 3rd.
  
  
• Solaris by Stanisław Lem [solaris]. Began March 3rd.
  
  
• Altered Carbon by Richard K. Morgan [carbon]. Began February 1.
  
  
• The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson [diamond]. Began January 4th.
  
  

  2012######
  

  
  

• Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke [childhood]. Began December 1st.
  
  
• Ship of Fools by Richard Paul Russo (aka Unto Leviathan) [fools]. Began November 3rd.
  
  
• Dying Inside by Robert Silverberg [dying]. Began October 4th.
  
  
• China Mountain Zhang by Maureen F. McHugh [china]. Began September 4th.
  
  
• Labyrinths by Jorge Luis Borges [labyrinths]. Began August 4th.
  
  
• The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury [martian]. Began July 2nd.
  
  
• The Mote in God's Eye by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle [mote]. Began June 1st.
  
  
• Roadside Picnic by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky [picnic]. Began May 2nd.
  
  
• The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester [Destination]. Began April 2nd.
  
  
• Diaspora by Greg Egan [diaspora]. Began March 5th.
  
  
• Stories by Ted Chiang [Chiang]. Began February 3rd.
  
  
• Grass by Sheri S. Tepper [grass]. Began January 2nd.
  
  

  2011######
  

  
  

• Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny [lord]. Began December 5th.
  
  
• Zones of Thought Trilogy by Vernor Vinge [zones], [fire], [deepness], [children]. Began October 28th.
  
  
• Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World by Haruki Murakami [Wonderland]. Began October 3rd.
  
  
• Ready Player One by Ernest Cline [rp1]. Began September 1st.
  
  
• Rule 34 by Charles Stross [Rule 34]. Began August 2nd.
  
  
• The Quantum Thief by Hannu Rajaniemi [quantum]. Began July 1st.
  
  
• Embassytown by China Miéville [Embassytown]. Began June 1st.
  
  
• The Dervish House by Ian McDonald [dervish]. Began May 2nd.
  
  
• The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. LeGuin [LHoD]. Began April 5th.
  
  
• A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller Jr. [canticle]. Began March 1st.
  
  
• Inverted World by Christopher Priest [inverted world]. Began February 1st.
  
  
• The City & the City by China Miéville [the city]. Began January 1st.
  
  

  2010######
  

  
  

• Surface Detail by Iain M. Banks [surface]. Began December 3rd.
  
  
• Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell [cloud atlas]. Began November 3rd.
  
  
• Anathem by Neal Stephenson [anathem]. Began October 1st.
  
  
• Blindsight by Peter Watts [blindsight]. Began September 1st.
  
  
• The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi [windup]. Began August 1st.
  
  
• The Metamorphosis of Prime Intellect by Roger Williams [MoPI]. Began July 15th.

1. Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World - by Haruki Murakami
   
2. 9/10
   
3. Surrealism novel, [science] fiction
   
4. It's absurd, introspective, and, at times, quite humorous. I really enjoy the vivid imagery and liberal use of bizarre, but nonetheless appropriate, metaphors, as in many of Murakami's earlier novels.
   
5. Good Reads / Amazon

Season 3 isn't happening but you can always buy the light novels in English!

English version Amazon links(keep in mind that the anime covers books 1,2,3 and 5):

• Book 1
  
• Book 2
  
• Book 3
  
• Book 4
  
• Book 5
  
• Book 6
  
• Book 7
  
• Book 8
  
• Book 9(Rightstuf)
  
• Book 10
  
• Book 11
  
• Book 12
  
• Book 13
  
• Book 14
  
• Book 15
  
• Book 16- December 2015
  
• Book 17- April 2016
  

The novel has been officially released in English by YenPress which is why it's been removed everywhere. Here are links for where to buy volume 1.

iTunes (digital)

Google Play (digital)

Amazon (physical and digital)

Book Depository (physical)

Rightstuf (physical)

Volume 2 will be out in April (Look at side bar) and so forth every 4 months.

I don't know if sci-fi is the best word for it, but I'd be remiss not to mention Hard-Boiled Wonderland.

• Volume 1: https://www.amazon.com/Wrong-Girls-Dungeon-light-novel-ebook/dp/B00LZYBVJ4
  
• Volume 2: https://www.amazon.com/Wrong-Girls-Dungeon-light-novel-ebook/dp/B00MEMMSJI
  
• Volume 3: https://www.amazon.com/Wrong-Girls-Dungeon-light-novel-ebook/dp/B00QQQL7XG
  
• Volume 4: https://www.amazon.com/Wrong-Girls-Dungeon-light-novel-ebook/dp/B00W22IKWO
  
• Volume 5: https://www.amazon.com/Wrong-Girls-Dungeon-light-novel-ebook/dp/B0176TC08W
  
• Volume 6: https://www.amazon.com/Wrong-Girls-Dungeon-light-novel-ebook/dp/B01922I13Y
  
• Volume 7: https://www.amazon.com/Wrong-Girls-Dungeon-light-novel-ebook/dp/B01DSTTQX6
  
• Volume 8: https://www.amazon.com/Wrong-Girls-Dungeon-light-novel-ebook/dp/B01LWP1QCP
  
• Volume 9: https://www.amazon.com/Wrong-Girls-Dungeon-light-novel-ebook/dp/B06Y5DM665
  
• Volume 10: https://www.amazon.com/Wrong-Girls-Dungeon-light-novel-ebook/dp/B0721JYR82
  
• Volume 11: https://www.amazon.com/Wrong-Girls-Dungeon-light-novel-ebook/dp/B0763MTHMK
  
  Volume 11 is coming out in June. You can also find all the above on other stores like Kobo, iBooks, etc.

Here is my suggestion: Take it slow. Look up every word you dont know, even words you think you might know in the dictionary, and try to get a real good feeling for what's going on in the book. I'd recommend the HP series, or maybe Lord of the Rings, even if you've seen the movies. Maybe 1984 or Brave New World.

Also based off what you like I think you might really like Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World.


Btw I say look up words not because I think you're stupid or anything, but because a lot of times an author might use a word that you just not be as familiar with as you think. Sometimes just skipping them, at least for me, will leave me confused as to what is happening in the story at that moment.

In the past, ZUN has mentioned Lafcadio Hearn (a.k.a. Yakumo Koizumi) when asked about the relationship between Yakumo Yukari and Maribel Hearn. Hearn was a real person who lived in Japan during the Meiji era and wrote a number of authoritative books on Japanese folklore and culture. A few of his books that you may wish to look into are:

• Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things
  
• In Ghostly Japan
  
• Glimpses of Unfamiliar Japan

"The Devotion of Suspect X" is a MUST!!! The plot is quite similar to Death Note as two geniuses try to outwit each other. Plus the story is an original Japanese novel.

https://www.amazon.com/Devotion-Suspect-Detective-Galileo-Novel/dp/1250002699

I'm in the same situation. I saw a few days ago notebooks specifically for writing kanji, but not sure how helpful they are.

They look like this one.

https://www.amazon.com/Genkouyoushi-Practice-Composition-Journal-Notebook/dp/1975773187

Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon was price matched by Amazon so it is also currently $7 there. So glad I ended up not buying it last week.

Everything else hasn't been price matched :(.

I bought it on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0345802934/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_UflxDbQ0X91SN

Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World by Haruki Murakami.

what about this?

Murakami - Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World

Another book that kind of deals with this concept from a slightly different approach is Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World by Haruki Murakami.

Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World by Haruki Murakami

Nope and it will never be explained in the manga, because it was explained in a novel which will never be released in the U.S. so we will never know what happens ever.

here is Volume 1
Volumne 2
Volume 3
Volumne 4
Volume 5
Volume 6
Volume 7
and Volume 8

the digital kindle copy is only 6USD compared to the physical version.

Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World

Hard Boiled Wonderland and The End of The World is precisely what you're looking for.

[$12.27!]
(http://www.amazon.com/Hard-Boiled-Wonderland-End-World-International/dp/0679743464/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=2XBW2TOZ0JUYA&coliid=I7BX3FBP4GVFR)

You can buy it here. The site is in Japanese though, but at least it's there!

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0316553379/

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0316339156/

Yang Wen-li did not state that democracy is defended by a nation.

From the novel Ambition:

> “What’s riding on this is at most the life or death of the state. Compared to individual rights and liberty, the state is just not worth all that much. Well then, everyone, shall we begin?”

From the novel Stratagem:

> “Constitutional government goes against autocracy, progressive democracy against intolerant authoritarianism. We advocate these ideologies as if they were natural choices and put them into practice. But if all things Rudolf are to be denied and buried at the hands of Duke von Lohengramm, I see no reason for the alliance to go on as such.”

> Julian was silent.

> “Look, Julian. No matter how unrealistic the man may be, he doesn’t sincerely believe in immortality—and yet, don’t you think it’s strange that so many idiots out there delude themselves into thinking their nations are indestructible?”

> Without answering, Julian, with the dark-brown eyes that even his foster parent had, looked at the young admiral. Yang’s thoughts often developed beyond space and time and made use of an extreme frankness of expression, much to the exhilaration not only of Julian, but also of Frederica.

> “Julian, nations are nothing more than basic tools. Never forget that, and maybe you’ll hold on to who you are.”

The statement most similar to what you have described is by Admiral Bucock in episode 41. This is the translation from the novel Stratagem:

> “I think it’s right for democratic nations to limit military power and authority. Soldiers shouldn’t be able to exercise those privileges anywhere but in the battlespace. Also, no democratic government can be of sound body when its military grows obese by ignoring the criticisms of its own society, effectively becoming a nation within a nation.”

> The old admiral’s words seemed like the work of one revalidating his own value system.

> “It’s not the democratic government system that’s wrong. The problem is that the system has become dissociated from the very spirit that holds it up. For now, the existence of our public facade barely forestalls the degeneration of its true intentions. I wonder how long we’ll hold out.”

Another similar statement is by Admiral Bucock in episode 53. This is the translation from the novel Mobilization:

> “The point is, the alliance’s days are numbered. Its politicians play with power. Its soldiers, as seen at Amritsar, are absorbed in speculative enterprise. They preach democracy yet make no efforts to protect it. Even its people have relinquished politics to fewer and fewer hands and have stopped trying to shape the state altogether. The collapse of a despotic government is the sin of its rulers and senior statesmen, but the collapse of a democracy rests on the shoulders of every citizen. Although you’ve had any number of chances to run from your seats of power legitimately, you’ve chosen to abandon your authority and responsibility by selling yourselves over to a rotten politician.”

Aching God sounds like it's for you.

Edit* If you are into anime/games then I hesitantly suggest this japanese light novel. I don't really think it's going to be what you're looking for though.

Worth the Candle seems sort of like half story and half critique of dnd storytelling. My experience was that it's interesting but also frustrating for that same reason.

Spice & Wolf - Love story between a merchant and a wolf deity in a medieval setting.

DanMachi - Hodgepodge of gods from various mythologies acting as catalysts for adventures in a fantasy world.

Goblin Slayer - Edgy but unconventional story of a man who simply kills goblins.

Danmachi


No game no Life