I actually just read about the licensing of Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei light novel by Yen Press. I was mentally exclaiming ‘Good news!’ and ‘Whew!’ at the same time. Good news in that should I have sufficient extra cash I would be able to buy it. ‘Whew!’ in the sense that I just had finished marathon-reading all the online translations (including summaries) just a few days ago. I went crazy and read whatever and whenever I could. I spent a good part of a day just figuring out how to install the stuff that would automatically generate a PDF (not knowing there were already ready-made files available somewhere else.) So I got to know what happens after the anime ended. Reading the light novel also introduced me to details that were not shown in the anime. That explained a lot of things and was quite helpful. On an additional note, the manga Mahouka Koukou no Yuutosei also got licensed. It also has some details especially from Miyuki’s point of view. However I think the novels are a better buy because the artwork in the manga lacks quality.
On the extreme end, it was too late with me for No Game No Life. I was late to the anime party and imagine my disappointment when I found out the translations were no more. Not that I’m against licensing but well, I just wanted to know how the original novel went.
I think that Yen Press needs to be commended on these licenses they’ve acquired. Looking at the press releases, aside from the 2 shows above they also licensed Log Horizon, Sword Art Online, Accel World. There are other titles too but these 3 are notable in that I’ve also read some translations and they’re quite decent titles. Of the 3 quality-wise Log Horizon is on the upper level, but as entertainment both SAO and Accel World are still worth the money. If money and space were not an issue I’d be looking at buying these 5 titles.
Of course I have my own ‘wants’ that I would really buy and the foremost title in mind is Maria-sama ga Miteru. The anime already has the English-subbed DVDs but I actually prefer to have the light novels. Another title on my mind is Seikai no Senki. It’s also quite old and currently the chances of both titles being licensed are almost nil. Of course the problem could have been solved long ago if I just continued on with my Japanese studies and became fluent enough to read the novels. Alas, my skills are only up to reading manga with furigana–I could get the gist but not the details. So for me reading light novels is still light-years away from being a possibility. I can only dream until either of these scenarios come true. 🙂
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