Book picks similar to
Katanagatari 1 by NisiOisiN


light-novels
light-novel
fantasy
historical-fiction

Shakugan no Shana: The Girl With Fire in Her Eyes


Yashichiro Takahashi - 2002
    Whoever possesses this profound power will control the very quintessence of reality. To the rescue comes an enigmatic young girl with fire in her eyes. She may be cute and petite, but she's endowed with enough preternatural strength to save the entire universe. Plus, she's got a really big sword!.

I Had That Same Dream Again


Yoru Sumino - 2016
    (And don't miss the manga adaptation, also available from Seven Seas.)An unhappy girl who engages in self-harm, a high schooler ostracized by her classmates, and an old woman looking to live out her twilight years in peace–what could three such different people have in common? That’s what grade schooler Nanoka Koyanagi is trying to find out. Assigned by her teacher to define what “happiness” means to her, Nanoka tries to find her place in the world by exploring her relationships with these three strangers, and through them, comes to know herself.

Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? Light Novels, Vol. 1


Fujino Omori - 2013
    Is it wrong to dream of playing hero to hapless maidens in Dungeon? Maybe not. After one misguided adventure, Bell quickly discovers that anything can happen in the labyrinth--even chance encounters with beautiful women. The only problem? He's the one who winds up the damsel in distress!

WorldEnd: What Do You Do at the End of the World? Are You Busy? Will You Save Us?, Vol. 1


Akira Kareno - 2014
    The last human, Willem, wakes up in a world where everyone he has ever known or cared about has been dead for centuries. With nothing to live for, he's done nothing but drift from place to place. But in his lonely wanderings, he's discovered the identity of the greatest weapons ever made for the unending war against the beasts-fairies, destined to fight with everything they have, then die.

ログ・ホライズン1 異世界のはじまり


Mamare Touno - 2011
    Severed from their everyday lives, they confront a new horizon filled with ravenous monsters, flavorless food, and the inability to die! Amid the chaos, veteran gamer Shiroe gathers his friends, the guardian Naotsugu and the assassin Akatsuki, and together they embark on an adventure to change the world as they know it!

Boogiepop Omnibus Vol. 1-3


Kouhei Kadono - 2018
    This “shinigami” has a name—Boogiepop. When female students start disappearing from Shinyo Academy, everyone assumes the girls have run away, but Kirima Nagi knows something sinister is afoot. Something that might just involve Boogiepop…and an entity even more malevolent.Told in a non-linear fashion that asks the reader to piece together the sequence of events to solve the mysteries alongside the characters, this special omnibus edition contains the first three volumes of the Boogiepop novel series, spanning the introduction of the shadowy Towa Organization, as well as Boogiepop’s epic battle against the creature known as the Imaginator.Contains the first three novels:– Boogiepop and Others -Boogiepop Returns: VS Imaginator Part 1 -Boogiepop Returns: VS Imaginator Part 2

The Case Study of Vanitas, Vol. 1


Jun Mochizuki - 2016
    Now, guided by the Book of Vanitas, the gears begun to turn, and the story of two men, Noe and Vanitas, takes shape...

So I'm a Spider, So What?, Vol. 1


Okina Baba - 2015
    I used to be a normal high school girl but in the blink of an eye, I woke up in a place I've never seen before and-and I was reborn as a spider?! How could something that's nothing more than a tiny spider (that's me) possibly survive in literally the worst dungeon ever? Are there no rules? There should be some rules! Who the hell is responsible for this? SHOW YOUR FACE!

A Certain Magical Index, Vol. 1


Kazuma Kamachi - 2004
    Toma Kamijo, an academically-challenged student in Academy City, wields the power of the Imagine Breaker in his right hand, which allows him to completely negate all supernatural powers - as well as his own luck. When he happens upon a mysterious nun named Index, whose mind has been implanted with the Index Librorum Prohibitorum - 103,000 ancient texts banned by the Church - Toma's luck is about to be pushed to its limits when he finds himself in the middle of a war he never expected!

The Violet Knight, Vol. 1


Yohna - 2016
    The day before her university entrance ceremony Yuki’s father tells her he’s from another world, before throwing her off their condo’s balcony on the 14th floor. The next thing she knows she’s rescued by the handsome Fourth Prince of Adolunde and forced into a contract with him. Yuki travels to the front lines of a war she knows nothing about to keep out of reach of the psychotic First Prince of Adolunde. He will go to any lengths to sacrifice her as the Legendary Witch she resembles. What will happen to Yuki? Will she revert to her true age and return home? Or will Adolunde’s first prince burn her at the stake? The Violet Knight is one of the first Josei Japanese Light Novel series officially in English!

Gosick


Kazuki Sakuraba - 2003
    Kazuya Kujo has been studying abroad at the prestigious Saint Marguerite Academy, where urban legends and horror stories are all the rage. Most Kazuya ignores--but the story of the Queen Berry, a mysterious ghost ship, really gets to him. Of course, his brainy friend Victorique is much more intrigued by true stories, and she uses her unrivaled logic to solve mysteries even the town's famous detective can't. Ironically, it's Victorique's inquisitive nature that leads the duo to board a ship that matches the Queen Berry's description to a tee, a ship that might just hold the key to solving a sinister mystery... Kazuki Sakuraba's modern twist on Holmes and Watson--pairing Victorique, a wizened young girl with doll-like looks and her eager-to-please sidekick Kazuya--make this international bestseller a must-read murder mystery.

Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit


Nahoko Uehashi - 1996
    Then she rescued a boy flung into a raging river -- and at that moment, her destiny changed. Now Balsa must protect the boy -- the Prince Chagum -- on his quest to deliver the great egg of the water spirit to its source in the sea. As they travel across the land of Yogo and discover the truth about the spirit, they find themselves hunted by two deadly enemies: the egg-eating monster Rarunga . . . and the prince's own father.

Sexiled: My Sexist Party Leader Kicked Me Out, So I Teamed Up With a Mythical Sorceress! Volume 1


Ameko Kaeruda - 2019
    So what's a girl to do? Go to the wasteland and blow stuff up of course! One small problem though: she inadvertently frees a mythical Sorceress named Laplace who was sealed away for the past 300 years...Surprise! Turns out this so-called "wicked" Sorceress is actually pretty cool. Laplace wants to start a party of her own, Tanya wants revenge, and the solution is obvious: team up. It's time to kick ass, kiss girls, and dismantle the patriarchy!

Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash: Volume 1


Ao Jyumonji - 2013
    Not knowing why was he here, or where "here" even was. With him were others who also remembered little more than their own names. What they found when they came out of the underground was a world that was "just like a game." In order to survive, Haruhiro forms a party with others in the same situation as him, learns skills, and takes his first steps forward into the world of Grimgar as a trainee volunteer soldier. Not knowing what awaits him... This is a tale of adventure born from the ashes.

A Certain Scientific Railgun, Vol. 1


Motoi Fuyukawa - 2007
    PART RAILGUN. ALL AWESOME.Welcome to a world where mysticism and science collide, and supernatural powers are derived from either science or religion. At the heart of this world is Academy City, an advanced metropolis whose population is comprised mostly of students. The majority of students are enrolled in the city's "Power Curriculum Program," where they must learn to master their latent psychic powers. Out of several million students, only seven are deemed powerful enough to have Level 5 status.Meet Mikoto Misaka, the third most powerful Level 5 esper in Academy City. Together with her best friend Kuroko Shirai and the other members of Judgment, a student-run law enforcement agency, Mikoto delves deep into the dark heart of the scientific sprawl she calls home, and uncovers secrets she wishes she hadn't!