J-Novel Club made 22 total title announcements at their Anime NYC 2022 panel at the Jacob Javits Center on Saturday:

  • 9 of their catalog light novels to be produced as audiobooks.
  • 4 of their catalog titles that will be released in print.
  • 6 new digital light novel titles.
  • 3 new digital manga titles.

At their Anime NYC panel they also announced they’ve entered partnerships with new Japanese Publisher DRECOM Media; audiobook publishers RBMedia and Podium Audio; and Yen Press, who will provide print publication of J-Novel Club’s digital offerings. Here’s the entire list of licenses and announcements at their panel:

DRECOM Media
Kumo Kagyu & so-bin's Blade & Bastard

Kumo Kagyu & so-bin’s Blade & Bastard: J-Novel Club will be simultaneously publishing the eBook in English at the same time as the Japanese release. A special pre-release preview (Part 1) is slated to be posted on J-Novel Club’s site a few hours after the conclusion of the panel. Kagyu is the creator of the Goblin Slayer series; so-bin is the illustrator for the Overlord series.

UPDATE: Here’s a synopsis of Blade & Bastard:

Deep in the unexplored reaches of the dungeon, a corpse is discovered—one that shouldn’t exist. After Iarumas is resurrected, his memories of life before death are gone, and he spends his days delving into the dungeon to retrieve the bodies of dead adventurers. Can they be revived as well? Or will God reduce them to piles of ash on the altar? Either way, Iarumas collects his finder’s fee. And though his skills earn him some grudging respect, he’s also scorned for this cold, utilitarian attitude. The living keep their distance—Iarumas consorts primarily with the dead. That is, until he meets Garbage, a feral young swordswoman who’s the sole survivor of a massacred party. With Garbage by his side, Iarumas ventures deeper, scouring the dungeon for clues to his past, avoiding monsters, traps, and the inevitability of a permanent ashen demise.

Audiobook Publisher RBMedia
Roy's By the Grace of the Gods, Hayaken's Reborn to Master the Blade: From Hero-King to Extraordinary Squire, Doufu Mayoi's Black Summoner, Dojyomaru's How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom, Kanata Yanagino's The Faraway Paladin, Hamuo's Hell Mode, MOJIKAKIYA's My Daughter Left the Nest and Returned an S-Rank Adventurer

J-Novel Club will be releasing the following seven titles in conjunction with Audiobook Publisher RBMedia:

Roy’s By the Grace of the Gods:

Under the protection of the gods, a relaxed life with slimes in another world begins!

One day, the life of middle-aged Japanese businessman Ryoma Takebayashi came to a rather sudden and disappointing end. Ryoma had never had a blessed life, but after his death, three great gods sought his cooperation and reincarnated him as a child in another world with swords and magic!

Receiving a most cordial and divine welcome from the gods, Ryoma decides to live leisurely on his own in the forest for the time being. Working diligently at magic and hunting, Ryoma’s greatest passion comes to be researching his tamed slimes?! Training a variety of slimes (some newly discovered), the curtain rises on this easygoing life fantasy celebrating a second life with kind people in another world!

Hayaken’s Reborn to Master the Blade: From Hero-King to Extraordinary Squire:

From his deathbed, Hero-King Inglis, the divine knight and master of all he surveys, gazes down on the empire he built with his mighty hand. Having devoted his life to statecraft and his subjects’ well-being, his one unfulfilled wish is to live again, for himself this time: a warrior’s life he’d devoted himself to before his rise to power.

His patron goddess, Alistia, hears his plea and smiles upon him, flinging his soul into the far future. Goddesses work in mysterious ways—not only is Inglis now the daughter of a minor noble family, but at her first coming-of-age ceremony at 6, she’s found ineligible to begin her knighthood!

However, for a lady of Inglis’s ambition, this is less a setback and more the challenge she was (re)born to overcome. “It’s not the blood that runs through your veins that makes a knight; it’s the blood you shed on the battlefield!” The curtain rises on the legend of an extraordinary lady squire reborn to master the blade!

Doufu Mayoi’s Black Summoner:

Waking up in a strange new place with no memory of his past life, Kelvin learns that he’s bartered away those very memories in exchange for powerful new abilities during his recent transmigration. Heading out into a whole new world as a Summoner — with his first Follower being the very goddess who brought him over! — Kelvin begins his new life as an adventurer, and it isn’t long before he discovers his hidden disposition as a battle junkie. From the Black Knight of the Ancient Castle of Evil Spirits to the demon within the Hidden Cave of the Sage, he revels in the fight against one formidable foe after another. Join this OP adventurer in an exhilarating and epic saga as he and his allies carve their way into the annals of history!

Dojyomaru’s How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom:

“O, Hero!”

With that cliched line, Kazuya Souma found himself summoned to another world and his adventure—did not begin.

After he presents his plan to strengthen the country economically and militarily, the king cedes the throne to him and Souma finds himself saddled with ruling the nation! What’s more, he’s betrothed to the king’s daughter now…?! In order to get the country back on its feet, Souma calls the wise, the talented, and the gifted to his side. Five people gather before the newly crowned Souma. Just what are the many talents and abilities they possess…?! What path will his outlook as a realist take Souma and the people of his country down? A revolutionary transferred-to-another-world administrative fantasy series starts here!

Kanata Yanagino’s The Faraway Paladin:

In a city of the dead, long since ruined and far from human civilization, lives a single human child. His name is Will, and he’s being raised by three undead: the hearty skeletal warrior, Blood; the graceful mummified priestess, Mary; and the crotchety spectral sorcerer, Gus. The three pour love into the boy, and teach him all they know. But one day, Will starts to wonder: “Who am I?”

Will must unravel the mysteries of this faraway dead man’s land, and unearth the secret pasts of the undead. He must learn the love and mercy of the good gods, and the bigotry and madness of the bad. And when he knows it all, the boy will take his first step on the path to becoming a Paladin.

“I promised you. It’s gonna take a while, but I’ll tell you everything. This is the story of the deaths of many heroes. It’s the story of how we died, and it’s the reason you grew up here.”

Hamuo’s Hell Mode:

“‘Level up even while offline’?! That’s not a game on ‘easy mode’—that’s just an AFK game!”

The online game Yamada Kenichi had been playing religiously is shutting down its servers, leaving him with a void in his heart. He looks for a new game to fill it, but everything he finds is way too easy. The kind of game he likes—the kind punishing enough to make players want to spend thousands of hours on it—just isn’t around anymore.

“What’s this? ‘You are invited to a game that will never end.’”

Kenichi stumbles upon an untitled game, one promising incomparable challenge with unprecedented potential. Without hesitation, he selects the “Hell Mode” difficulty. Lo and behold, he finds himself reincarnated in another world as a serf!

Now called Allen, he sets out to unlock the secrets his mystery-laden Summoner class; without the convenience of walkthroughs, game guides, or online forums, he must grope his way to the top of his new world!

MOJIKAKIYA’s My Daughter Left the Nest and Returned an S-Rank Adventurer:

The life of an adventurer isn’t always a glamorous one.

Belgrieve finds this out the hard way when a deadly encounter robs him of his leg and the ability to pursue his dreams not long after setting off for fame and fortune. But fate isn’t finished with this retired adventurer! While gathering herbs in the wilderness, he discovers an abandoned baby girl and names her Angeline after deciding to raise her as his own.

Angeline grows up to become a top-tier adventurer in her own right, yet after venturing out into the world and making a name for herself, fame, fortune, and power hold no allure for the accomplished S-rank adventurer: her heartfelt wish is for nothing more than to see her father again.

Audiobook Publisher Podium Audio
Patora Fuyuhara's In Another World With My Smartphone & Schuld's Min-Maxing My TRPG Build in Another World

J-Novel Club will release the following two titles in conjunction with Audiobook Publisher Podium Audio:

Patora Fuyuhara’s In Another World With My Smartphone:

After a freak accident involving some lightning winds up zapping him dead, 15-year-old Mochizuki Touya wakes up to find himself face-to-face with God. “I am afraid to say that I have made a bit of a blunder…” laments the old coot. But all is not lost! God says that he can reincarnate Touya into a world of fantasy, and as a bonus, he gets to bring his smartphone along with! So begins Touya’s adventure in a new, anachronistic pseudo-medieval world.
Friends! Laughs! Tears! Inexplicable Deus ex Machina! He sets off on a journey full of wonder as he absentmindedly travels from place to place, following whatever goal catches his fancy. The curtains lift on an epic tale of swords, sorcery, and smartphone apps!

Schuld’s Min-Maxing My TRPG Build in Another World:

Commissioned in death to save a world in peril, a tabletop RPG fanatic is reborn as a humble farm boy with the rulebook for the universe at his fingertips! Young Erich’s quest for an invincible character build will require more than his decades as a number-crunching munchkin, though. Even with power-leveled skills, feudal life is no cakewalk—especially when you keep drawing more attention than you can handle…

Can Erich adapt to his strange new world before his worst impulses take the campaign of a lifetime completely off the rails? Let the dice fall where they may!

Yen Press Print Partnership

The following four titles are slated for a Spring 2023 print debut:

Hamuo & Mo’s Hell Mode:

“‘Level up even while offline’?! That’s not a game on ‘easy mode’—that’s just an AFK game!”

The online game Yamada Kenichi had been playing religiously is shutting down its servers, leaving him with a void in his heart. He looks for a new game to fill it, but everything he finds is way too easy. The kind of game he likes—the kind punishing enough to make players want to spend thousands of hours on it—just isn’t around anymore.

“What’s this? ‘You are invited to a game that will never end.’”

Kenichi stumbles upon an untitled game, one promising incomparable challenge with unprecedented potential. Without hesitation, he selects the “Hell Mode” difficulty. Lo and behold, he finds himself reincarnated in another world as a serf!

Now called Allen, he sets out to unlock the secrets his mystery-laden Summoner class; without the convenience of walkthroughs, game guides, or online forums, he must grope his way to the top of his new world!

SHU & Shizumayoshinori’s The Misfit of Demon King Academy:

Tired of ceaseless war destroying humans, spirits, and demons alike, the Demon King
of Tyranny, Anos Voldigoad, reincarnates to restore peace. Two thousand years have
passed…but who could have known that his descendants’ complacency would cause
magic to regress so much? After receiving an invitation to the illustrious Demon King
Academy, a school tasked with locating the reincarnated founding ancestor, Anos
resolves to enroll, only to discover that his magic is off the charts—literally! With
power too great to be measured, the former Demon King is branded a misfit. How will
he convince demonkind that the school’s founder stands before them? Thus begins a misfit’s
climb to the top of the demon hierarchy!

Tsuyoshi Fujitaka, Chisato Naruse, and Hanamaru Nanto’s My Instant Death Ability Is So Overpowered, No One in This Other World Stands a Chance Against Me! (and —AΩ—):

Awaking to absolute chaos and carnage while on a school trip, Yogiri Takatou discovers that everyone in his class has been transported to another world! He had somehow managed to sleep through the entire ordeal himself, missing out on the Gift — powers bestowed upon the others by a mysterious Sage who appeared to transport them. Even worse, he and another classmate were ruthlessly abandoned by their friends, left as bait to distract a nearby dragon. Although not terribly bothered by the thought of dying, he reluctantly decides to protect his lone companion. After all, a lowly Level 1000 monster doesn’t stand a chance against his secret power to invoke Instant Death with a single thought! If he can stay awake long enough to bother using it, that is…

J-Novel Club’s 8 new series announcements
Tsukikage & Chyko's Let This Grieving Soul Retire!, Kawausoutan & Murakami Yuichi's Grand Sumo Villainess, rarutori & ciavis' Enough with This Slow Life! I Was Reincarnated as a High Elf and Now I’m Bored, Sarasa Nagase & Hatipisuwan's The Disowned Queen’s Consulting Detective Agency, Nabeshiki & Kawaguchi's I Parry Everything: What Do You Mean I’m the Strongest? I’m Not Even an Adventurer Yet!, Hiiro Shimotsuki, Shizuku Akechi, & Takashi Iwasaki's Peddler in Another World: I Can Go Back to My World Whenever I Want!, MiraijinA, Esora Amaichi, & Dai Uemukai's I’m Capped at Level 1?! Thus Begins My Journey to Become the World’s Strongest Badass!, Eito Terry, D.P, & bun150's Karate Master Isekai

Tsukikage & Chyko’s Let This Grieving Soul Retire!:

It’s the golden age for treasure hunters—those who risk their lives in treasure vaults the world over, hungry for glory. Krai and his friends swore to become the greatest of them all, but there’s just one problem: this grieving soul wants to retire!.

Kawausoutan & Murakami Yuichi’s Grand Sumo Villainess:

When Floortje is reincarnated into the world of an otome game, things immediately go wrong. Her fiancé breaks off their engagement, and the supposed protagonist makes Floortje out to be the villainess. Little do they know, however, that Floortje was a sumo wrestler in her past life—and she won’t let these weaklings stand in her way!

With the spirit of sumo—her most trustworthy ally—to guide her, she’s ready for a smackdown! But why was she reincarnated into an otome game, and how did its protagonist turn evil in the first place?

rarutori & ciavis’ Enough with This Slow Life! I Was Reincarnated as a High Elf and Now I’m Bored:

Life in the Great Pulha Woodlands is the very definition of stillness and tranquility—and Acer’s had enough of it! He remembers living a past life as a human in another world…meaning he’s got a taste for meat, adventure, and plenty of other un-elven things! He’s also bored out of his skull after 120 years of the peace and quiet of their serene sylvan lifestyle. So Acer leaves the monotony of the forest behind to seek a new life, one that’s more his pace.

Sarasa Nagase & Hatipisuwan’s The Disowned Queen’s Consulting Detective Agency (J-Novel Heart title):

When it comes to light that Octavia de Reine isn’t a legitimate member of the noble House of Reine, she swiftly finds herself disowned. At first she takes this in stride…until her power hungry father and ex-suitor start vying for the house full of mysterious heirlooms that her doting grandmother left her. Little does her family know that she’s destined to inherit an even greater legacy. Olivia hopes to follow in Granny’s footsteps and become a famous detective, after all!

She’ll face off against young noblemen, phantom thieves, and magical items corrupted by demonic forces. Oh, and one vengeful angel queen. Moreover, who’s this suspiciously young marquis that seems so smitten with her…?

Nabeshiki & Kawaguchi’s I Parry Everything: What Do You Mean I’m the Strongest? I’m Not Even an Adventurer Yet!:

The Kingdom of Clays faces a conflict that will shape the face of the continent for centuries to come…but Noor doesn’t have a clue about any of that! Having freshly arrived at the royal capital after over a decade of rigorous, isolated training at his mountain home, he’s dead set on achieving his childhood dream of becoming an adventurer, even if the only skills he possesses are useless ones. Sure, he can [Parry] thousands of swords in the span of a single breath, but everybody knows you need more than that if you want to be an adventurer! Our hero’s road to making his dream come true will be long(?) and arduous(?)—but if there’s one thing Noor’s not afraid of, it’s some good ol’ fashioned hard work!

Hiiro Shimotsuki, Shizuku Akechi, & Takashi Iwasaki’s Peddler in Another World: I Can Go Back to My World Whenever I Want! manga:

After quitting his job at a toxic company, Shiro Amata moves into the house his grandmother left him in her will. There, he soon makes two life-changing discoveries: one, his grandmother was really a witch from another world, and two, said other world is just on the other side of her closet door! Thanks to a book she left for Shiro, he also manages to obtain an all-powerful skill called “Equivalent Exchange,” which allows him to turn money from his world into otherworldly currency and vice versa.

With this, Shiro decides to set up shop and sell convenient items like matches to the colorful inhabitants of the other world. His plan: Become so rich that he never needs another job ever again!

MiraijinA, Esora Amaichi, & Dai Uemukai’s I’m Capped at Level 1?! Thus Begins My Journey to Become the World’s Strongest Badass!:

I’m Tetsuya Takahashi. I was transported to a different world while trying to save a girl from some thugs. In this world, I’m “defective,” and they tossed me out—all because my level caps at 1! Luckily, I’ve got an ability called Corpse Absorb, which lets me grab stat boosts and abilities off of any dead body I can get my hands on. With the help of an energetic cat-sith and a stuffed bear, my journey to make it to the top awaits! I’ll prove to everyone that I’m not defective—I’m a badass!

Eito Terry, D.P, & bun150’s Karate Master Isekai:

After losing a fight with a runaway truck, a karateka is transmigrated to another world, one full of swords and sorcery straight out of fantasy books. The goddess who sent him there offers him a superpowered cheat skill to assist him in his upcoming heroics—but naturally, he turns her down. After all, he already possesses the only technique he needs: karate! No matter what manner of otherworldly foe he may face, be they a minotaur, a gigantic steelclad knight, or a wicked sorcerer, none of them will discourage him from walking his own path in the way of the empty hand!

All titles except Let This Grieving Soul Retire! are slated to launch on J-Novel Club’s site a few hours after the conclusion of the panel.

UPDATE #2: J-Novel Club also announced at their Anime NYC Panel that they will release Ichiro Sakaki & Yuugen’s Outbreak Company: Gaiden.