Otaku USA Magazine
Light Novels to Catch up on Before Their Anime Debut

Lots of light novels are getting anime adaptations - and you can start reading them now!

The light novel to anime pipeline is practically a straight line these days. Lots of series, from Re:ZERO to that one about the guy who gets reincarnated as a vending machine, got their start as books. And over the past few weekends, we got wind of several more. Two major publishers dropped plans for series for this year, next year, and beyond.

Fortunately, there are lots of publishers out there making sure these titles get English releases! Here are three series that are about to get the anime treatment—and that you can read in advance.

 

Sasaki and Peeps

Sasaki and Peeps

A burned out businessman dives headfirst into a magical lifestyle, all because he decided to get a pet sparrow. Sasaki and Peeps combines all sorts of tropes from light novels: alternate worlds, magic, sword and sorcery, and hacking the multidimensional system for profit. Sasaki is just a normal dude. But Peeps is actually a wizard from another world. And together, they plan to make a nice chunk of change for themselves.

But things get messy back home in Japan. How messy? You’ll have to pick up the light novel to find out! Yen Press is four volumes deep, with the fifth coming out in October. Alternately, you can wait ’til the anime debuts in 2024.

 

Days with My Stepsister

Days with my Stepsister

Not all light novels are action-packed fantasy. Some are quiet rom-coms. Days with My Stepsister, for example, does exactly what it says on the tin. High school student Yuta’s dad remarries, and Yuta finds that he’s now stepsiblings with school beauty Saki. Awkwardness turns to friendship… and possibly more?

The anime adaptation has just dropped its first trailer, and is due for release sometime next year. But if you want to jump in sooner, you only have to wait ’til October. That’s when Yen Press will be printing the first volume in English.

 

I May Be a Guild Receptionist, but I’ll Solo Any Boss to Clock Out on Time

I May Be a Guild Receptionist, but I’ll Solo Any Boss to Clock Out on Time

Okay. Not all light novels are fantasy. But lots of them are. I May Be a Guild Receptionist, but I’ll Solo Any Boss to Clock Out on Time is another of those long-title series that tells you exactly what it’s about. Alina Clover is the “I” of the title: a cute, competent guild receptionist. But she hates paperwork. She hates it so much that she’ll go into dungeons and mop up after adventurers if it means going home on time.

The first volume of the light novel will be coming out from Yen Press in September. So while it’s still a couple of months away, it’s still plenty of time to get to know the characters!

Your summer (and autumn) reading is sorted—and you’ll be all ready for the next year of anime when you’re done, too!

Kara Dennison

Kara Dennison is a writer, editor, and presenter with bylines at Crunchyroll, Sci-Fi Magazine, Sartorial Geek, and many others. She is a contributor to the celebrated Black Archive line, with many other books, short stories, and critical works to her name.

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