When everything seems to be going wrong, falling apart, or barely hanging on, sometimes the only thing that can help pick a person up is comedy. The gags can soothe the soul or at least provide a break from the grind. For anime fans, some of the most popular comedy series have been adapted from light novels, such as KonoSuba, ToraDora, and OreGaIru.
But while those light novels managed to leap into animation, others didn't get an anime. For some, it may be a matter of time before an animation studio picks them up and puts them on screen. But there’s always a chance these light novels will remain as novels.
8 The White Cat’s Revenge As Plotted from the Dragon King’s Lap
Kureha and Aki’s story is still being published in both its light novel and manga forms via Arian Rose and Flos Comic, respectively. While light novel titles have gotten particularly long and unwieldy, they do illustrate their point clearly. Ruri Morikawa and Asahi Shinomiya used to be the best of friends, but as Asahi got more popular, Ruri got shoved more out of the limelight.
Even when the two end up in another world, Asahi charms the locals while Ruri is banished from town. While in the woods, she finds a magical bracelet that turns its wearer into a cat, a conveniently safe form to have when she enters the realm of Jade the Dragon King. From the dragon’s lap, she may be able to avenge herself over Asahi and turn the world upside down. Provided she doesn’t accidentally reveal that there's a human behind her kitty form.
7 Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian
Created by SunSunSun and illustrated by Momoco, the light novel originally debuted in 2 parts on Shōsetsuka ni Narō (‘Become a Novelist’), which is basically Wattpad's Japanese predecessor. It’s since been printed in Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko and by Yen Press in English. Known as Roshidere for short, it’s about a young girl called Alisa ‘Alya’ Mikhailovna Kujō, the prettiest girl at Seirei Gakuen.
She’s way out of the league of slacker student Masachika Kuze, and she often reprimands him for his slovenly behavior. It’s enough to make her curse in Russian… or so it sounds to her classmates. She’s actually quite fond of the boy and hides her true feelings in her native tongue so no one else can understand her. Except Masachika is actually fluent in the language and knows everything she’s saying. He’s left torn between letting her know and keeping it a secret to avoid embarrassing her.
6 The Snow Country Hunting Life of the Northern Nobleman and the Raptor Wife
Or ‘Hokuō Kizoku to Mōkinzuma no Yukiguni Karigurashi’ if readers want to give their speaking skills a test. Mashimesa Emoto’s story also started off in Shōsetsuka ni Narō from 2014-2016. Then it was spruced up with new art by Shikayo Shirakaba for its manga adaptation in Comic PASH! It’s another rom-com as a noblewoman learns to rough it in the wilderness.
The Lord of Levantret, Ritzhardt ‘Ritz’ Salonen Levantret, is a nobleman who rules a harsh land of ice and snow. The rest of high society looks down on him as the ‘Yeti of the Borderlands.’ But it doesn’t dissuade him from proposing to Sieglinde ‘Sieg’ von Wettin, a knight of the realm. She agrees to a one-year ‘trial marriage,’ eager to see what being a ‘wife’ is like. But handling life in the tundra may be more difficult than she thinks.
5 There’s No Freaking Way I’ll Be Your Lover! Unless…
These hetero romances are nice enough. But is there something for the LGBTQ+ community? Well, there is Teren Mikami and Eku Takeshima’s yuri comedy of errors. There’s also a manga version with art by Mushu, but both are available in English via Seven Seas Entertainment. It follows Renako Amaori as she’s determined to make a fresh start in high school. No more awkwardness or solitude.
She’s going to have an ordinary school life and make ordinary school friends. She gets off to a good start when she befriends Mai Ōzuka, a flashy fashion model. But then Mai spoils it all by revealing she wants to be Renako's lover. Now Renako has to prove to Mai that being friends is better than being girlfriends, while Mai will be trying to prove the reverse. As dating suddenly becomes a contest, who will win this game of love?
4 I Was Caught Up in a Hero Summons, But The Other World Was At Peace
It’s always convenient in isekai that its protagonist will somehow be at the center of its conflict. They’re either the big hero destined to change the world, or they end up becoming that anyway with their modern knowledge or tech. What would happen if that world didn't need a hero? Or didn't have an evil empire or disaster on the horizon?
They’d get Tōdai and Ochau’s light novel about a young man called Kaito who accidentally gets sucked into the land of Trinia with his friends. There hasn’t been a war there for 800 years. The Demon Lord is just a storybook villain, and the monsters aren’t a problem. As such, there’s no rush to head back to Earth. Kaito and his friends can just explore Trinia to their heart’s content. But nothing’s ever as it seems.
3 Milady Just Wants to Relax
Just because a story ends doesn't mean it's over. That’s the moral behind Beni Mitsuki and RAHWIA’s story about a villainess who finds peace after her downfall. Inspired by My Next Life as a Villainess, the story follows an office lady who passes away from exhaustion shortly after finishing her favorite visual novel. It ended with the Baroness Misano defeating Ronia Gavisera for the heart of the nobleman Schneider.
Just her luck, the office lady gets reborn as Ronia and, despite her efforts to keep things peaceful, she ends up losing everything, as per the novel. However, she’s now free from her office job and the novel’s plot. She follows her dream and opens a café in the woods serving some beast-kin. They bond as fellow outcasts, but some furries are more charming than others.
2 I’m in Love with the Villainess
If readers can’t decide between starting with Milady or There’s No Freaking Way I’ll Be Your Lover, why not go for one that combines the two? I'm in Love with the Villainess was created by Inori and Hanagata and began on Shōsetsuka ni Narō before getting published as a full light novel, converted into a manga for Comic Yuri Hime, and published in English by Seven Seas Entertainment.
Like Milady, Rei Ōhashi was an office worker who died from exhaustion and got reborn into her favorite otome game. She’s now Rae Taylor and has to choose between the three Bauer Brothers to keep the kingdom going. The problem is that Rae is gay, and she’d rather charm the game’s villain Claire François. Since Rae knows the game inside and out, she tries to twist its narrative to allow her and Claire to be together, despite the revolution brewing around them.
1 Prison Life is Easy for a Villainess
The final My Next Life as a Villainess twist comes from Hibiki Yamazaki and Tetsuhiro Nabeshima’s story of a villainess who actually ends up liking the jailbird lifestyle. Prince Elliot was engaged to Rachel, the daughter of Duke Ferguson. But when he sets his sights on someone else, the Prince has Rachel thrown in prison on trumped-up charges, breaking off their engagement.
Unfortunately for him, she knew all about his plans and changed things to get the finest prison cell in the land. With no more functions to attend, lessons to study for, or servants fussing over her, she feels more liberated in prison than out of it. Plus, she gets to torment her former fiancée as much as she likes. Not that she doesn’t have a revenge plan in mind for when she gets out.