Welcome to another article in our ongoing coverage of Kono Light Novel ga Sugoi 2021!
These are the Top 10 Tankobon books as ranked in the newest edition. Interestingly, the top spot goes to a new title. However, last year’s top 2 books still remain in the top 3.
This list has far more fantasy/isekai titles than the Bunkobon list. Half the list is already licensed for English release.
Also, I had to rely a little more on Google Translate for some of the book blurbs. I apologize in advance if they sound a little…off.
1
Ishura / 異修羅
Written by: Keiso / Illustrated by: Kureta
In a world after the defeat of the Demon Lord. All that are left are the Asura who have even slain the Demon Lord. A master fencer who can see the way to carve up his enemy with one glance, a lancer so fast he leaves sound behind, a raven-black adventurer who handles a legendary in each three arms, a spellbinder that can materialize his words into reality, a cruel angel that bestows instant death… The Asura of any and every conceivable race and species standing at the pinnacle of strength seeks an even stronger enemy, in order to receive the honor of being the “true hero”. All of them are the strongest, all of them a hero, but only one is worthy. The battle to determine the “True One” starts now.
Source: Anime-Planet
2
Honzuki no Gekokujou / Ascendance of a Bookworm / 本好きの下剋上 ～司書になるためには手段を選んでいられません～
Written by: Miya Kazuki / Illustrated by: You Shiina
A certain college girl who’s loved books ever since she was a little girl dies in an accident and is reborn in another world she knows nothing about. She is now Myne, the sickly five-year-old daughter of a poor soldier. To make things worse, the world she’s been reborn in has a very low literacy rate and books mostly don’t exist. She’d have to pay an enormous amount of money to buy one. Myne resolves herself: If there aren’t any books, she’ll just have to make them! Her goal is to become a librarian. This story begins with her quest to make books so she can live surrounded by them! Dive into this biblio-fantasy written for book lovers and bookworms!
Source: J-Novel Club
The series is licensed for English release by J-Novel Club
3
Unnamed Memory
Written by: Kuji Furumiya / Illustrated by: Chibi
Love can bloom in the strangest places…and people! A cursed king and the world’s strongest witch are about to cross paths, forever changing their future and the fate of the world!
Source: Yen On
The series is licensed for English release by Yen On
4
Rebuild World / リビルドワールド
Written by: Nafuse / Illustrated by: Gin
The civilization of the past, now called “Old World”, has produced many “Relics” with its advanced technology. Many rubble of unknown material, high-rise buildings floating in the air, strange medications and a group of weapons that are too powerful to be used by people. After the collapse of science and civilization, people gathered these “Relics”, and over time they were rebuilding human society. In this way the “Hunters” were created, the warriors who face the various dangers of the Old World. Akira, a new hunter boy who wants to go up from the slums, entering the ruins of the Old World he meets a mysterious girl who can only be seen by him as a ghost, in a world where hunters are trying to overcome the legacy of the old civilization.
Source: Anime-Planet
5
Babel
Written by: Kuji Furumiya / Illustrated by: Haruyuki Morisawa
Shizuku Minase, a female college student who suddenly got lost in a different world from modern Japan. She is at a loss when her sword and magic land on the frontier of the world of common sense, but she happens to meet a strange magician, Erik, who studies magic characters. “-Please, please help me.” “Okay, but I have one request instead. Please tell me the character of your country.” To find a way to return to Japan, the magical power of Pharsal Two people who go on a journey aiming for. The journey is full of absurd and mysterious mysteries. -Then, fate began to turn. This is a story about words. A story of hope and change in the world, which has just begun to move as a result of their departure.
Source: Amazon.co.jp with Google Translation
*Note* This was released several years ago, but with the popularity of Unnamed Memory received a new Tankobon release this year.
6
Tearmoon Teikoku Monogatari / Tearmoon Empire /
Written by: Nozomu Mochitsuki / Illustrated by: Gilse
Surrounded by the hate-filled gazes of her people, the selfish princess of the fallen Tearmoon Empire, Mia, takes one last look at the bleeding sun before the guillotine blade falls… Only to wake back up as a twelve-year-old! With time rewound and a second chance at life dropped into her lap, she sets out to right the countless wrongs that plague the ailing Empire. Corrupt governance? Check. Border troubles? Check. Natural calamities and economic strife? Check. My, seems like a lot of work. Hard work and Mia don’t mix, so she seeks out the aid of others, starting with her loyal maid, Anne, and the brilliant minister, Ludwig. Together, they strive day and night to restore the Empire. Little by little, their tireless efforts begin to change the course of history, pushing the whole of the continent toward a new future. And why did the selfish princess have a change of heart, you ask? Simple—she didn’t. She’s just terrified of the guillotine. They hurt like hell, and Mia hates pain more than work.
Source: J-Novel Club
The series is licensed for English release by J-Novel Club
7
Nageki no Bourei wa Intai Shitai / Let This Grieving Soul Retire! Woe is the Weakling Who Leads the Strongest Party
Written By: Tsukikage / Illustrations by: Chyko
The golden age has dawned for treasure hunters, who raid treasure vaults all over the world in search of glory, despite the dangers. Immeasurable wealth, fame, and power await those who prevail.
“Let’s be treasure hunters!”
This promise between Krai Andrey and his friends came to a sad conclusion when young Krai realized he didn’t have a treasure-hunting bone in his body. Yet for some reason, people’s expectations of Krai continued to grow—as did the danger to his life. While his friends became greater, greedier beasts, Krai mastered the art of begging and pleading!
Witness the weal and woe of a man who just wants to retire.
Source: Sol Press
The series is licensed for English release by Sol Press
8
Afumi no Umi: Minamo ga Yureru Toki / 淡海乃海 水面が揺れる時
Written by: Israfil / Illustrated by: Foo Midori
1550 years. The historic year when the Ashikaga Shogunate was banished by the Miyoshi clan and the Muromachi Shogunate began to collapse. There was a boy who became the head of the family at the age of only two in Kuchiki, a small territory in Omi. Its name is Kutsuki Mototsuna. In fact, the rebirth of modern Japanese who love history. In front of him, who has a feeling for Tenkafubu, many trials such as financial difficulties, shortage of human resources, and cunning strategies of other territories are attacked. However, the foundation for knowing history does not yield. With overwhelming knowledge, bargaining skills, and boldness, he ran through a turbulent world. A rare tactician buried in historical facts rewrites Japanese history! A big river drama that boldly depicts the life of the only Sengoku warlord, Mototsuna Kuchiki, who saved Nobunaga, Hideyoshi, and Ieyasu’s Sanei-Ketsu!
Source: Amazon.co.jp with Google Translate
9
Madougushi Dahliya wa Utsumukania / Dahliya Wilts No More / 魔導具師ダリヤはうつむかない
Written by: Amagishi Hisaya / Illustrated by: Kei
“I’m sorry, Dahlia. I want to break off our engagement.”
That was what Dahlia’s fiance said in front of her.
In Dahlia’s former life, she endured hard work, and she died from heart attack as she hung her head down.
In this new world, when she wanted to be a good wife and quietly hang her head down, her engagement was cancelled.
Dahlia swore she will stop hanging her head down.
Work hard, go where you want to go, eat what you want to eat, drink what you want to drink.
Live as I want to live as much as possible.
Such a Dahlia met a knight from the demon subjugation unit. Dahlia who liked magical tools and Wolf who liked magic swords.
Everyday they were involved in drinking and eating while passionately making magical devices and magic swords.
If it was for a convenient life, the magical devices craftswoman who wouldn’t hesitate no matter the difficulty was, and the fearless knight of the demon subjugation unit who single mindedly cut his way forward.
The two people who wanted to turn their back from love, will they one day fall in love?
Source: Novel Updates
10
Majo no Tabitabi / Wandering Witch: The Journey of Elaina / 魔女の旅々
Written by: Jougi Shiraishi / Illustrated by: Azure
What’s your favorite story? Does it have a hero who slays a dragon and saves a princess? Or a child of prophecy destined for greatness? Well, my favorite story is a little different. It’s the tale of a witch who travels the world, seeking nothing in particular. With no quest of her own, she’s free to wander wherever the wind takes her, adding a few pages to the story of whomever she meets before setting off on her next adventure. At the end of her travels, the witch takes on an apprentice who will one day begin her own journey. And so the cycle continues, or so the story goes. Now, the witch who starts the story anew…who could she be?
Source: Yen On
Licensed for release in English by Yen On.