It’s February and (for some of us) love is in the air. Traditionally, RJL has celebrated with some pretty unromantic topics like sexlessness and misogyny in Japanese fiction. But this year, RJL pre…
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The Opportunity Cost of Romance in Fiction
[The following post contains spoilers for both Nurse Love Syndrome and Nurse Love Addiction] Do you ever stop to think about the runner-ups in romance? I do often.…


Episode 21: Sexlessness in Japanese Fiction
Check out Episode 21 of the Read Literature podcast. Transcript available. This episode is marked mature. Today we’ll explore two trends in contemporary Japanese fiction: Protagonists who don…


Transcript of Episode 21: Sexlessness in Japanese Fiction
Find out more about episode 21 of the Read Literature podcast on the episode page. Link to listen Notes and sources Ways to support the podcast This is…
2022 Upcoming Japanese Fiction Releases
2022 translated Japanese novels


Japanese Apocalyptic and Dystopian Fiction
Support RJL. Check out our Bookshop.org page. Learn more about Japanese apocalyptic fiction with the RJL podcast. (Coming soon.) — • 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami (translated by Jay…


2023 Upcoming Japanese Fiction Releases
“Woman Reading a Letter” by Utamaro (c. 1750-1806) Listed released dates listed are tentative. Descriptions are excerpted from book sellers’ or publishers’ websites. Transla…


SF! A Booklist of Japanese Science Fiction in Translation
Support RJL. Check out our Bookshop.org page. Anthologies The Best Japanese Science Fiction Stories ed. John Apostolou and Martin Greenberg The Future is Japanese: Science Fiction Futures and…


Episode 24: SF! Japanese Science Fiction
Check out Episode 24 of the Read Literature podcast. Transcript available. In this episode, we’re talking about Japanese science fiction. The history of the genre. SF in Japan.…


2024 New and Upcoming Japanese Fiction Releases
“The Courtesan Hanazome of the Ogiya Reading a Letter and Grinding Ink” by Kikukawa Eizan (c. 1810-1815) Titles from Japan translated into English for publication in 2024. Does…


2025 New and Upcoming Japanese Fiction Releases
*Updated as of December 1, 2024 This is a list of titles from Japan translated into English for publication in 2025. It does not include most manga, light…


Transcript of Episode 24: SF! Japanese Science Fiction
Find out more about Episode 24 of the Read Literature podcast on the episode page. Link to listen Notes and sources Ways to support the podcast Hi. This…


Drowning in fiction and fantasy
Fair warning, a lot of personal stuff here. I try to separate this out from the regular fare. I even considered not posting this since I wrote it…
Science Fiction Art in Anime
After the paperback and magazine covers, comic books, bubblegum cards and sci-fi films and TV shows I was exposed to in the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s, all of…


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Here are the list of the Top Student-Teacher Romance Japanese Dramas.
ID: INVADED and Serial Killers in Fiction
It took me a while to finally get around to watching ID: INVADED. Psychological crime thrillers are some of my favourite stories so expectations were high.


Confessions of a Fujoshi: Realism in fiction.
NB: Fujoshi (腐女子, lit. “rotten girl”) refers to female fans of manga and novels that feature romantic relationships between men. I wasn’t always a fujoshi. Somewhere down the…


Confessions of a Fujoshi: Realism in fiction.
NB: Fujoshi (腐女子, lit. “rotten girl”) refers to female fans of manga and novels that feature romantic relationships between men. I wasn’t always a fujoshi. Somewhere down the…


The WORST Romance in Anime
Shonen Jump has featured many iconic anime romances, and Bakuman is no different. But is Ohba and Obata's manga iconic for being a great romcom? Oh, it most…


The Worst Trope in Romance
In this video, I talk about The Worst Trope in Romance Have you ever felt like something was missing after finishing a romance anime? Well, you’re not alone. In…
Newest ‘Story Of Seasons’ Game Includes Same-Gender Romance as “Best Friend Ceremonies” in Japanese
The newest Story of Seasons game, Pioneers of Oliver Town, will include same-gender marriage mechanics. Players will be able to romance the game’s characters regardless of their avatar’s gender.…


Sports and Romance in Blue Box
Koji Miura’s hit manga does not disappoint.


Romance in Shounen: A Measured Response
Disclaimer: This is more of an opinion piece then my typical analysis so as such I won’t use as many sources as a usually do but if you…


What's "Plain Japanese" in Japanese? #learnjapanese
Learn Japanese with Me - https://bit.ly/4drmyU2


Ikémen Villains: Wrapped in Wicked Romance in English!
The game is free to download, but you can expect microtransactions as a way to progress through the game.


Madoka Penguindrum: Conflating reality into fiction, conflating fiction into reality.
As an unrelated note, I’m sad to say the notes for Last Exile S2 were left in California, so I’ll be unable to do either of the posts…


Parentheses in Japanese
() - what parentheses mean in Japanese: a thought, an emote, furigana, age, gender, weekday, optional text, among other uses.
In/Spectre – 05/06 [Monster of Imagination/Logical Fiction]
These past pair of episodes for In/Spectre (I like the English name better for once) have moved our main plotline along, given some more insight into Kuro, and…


Episode 22: Fukushima Fiction
Check out Episode 22 of the Read Literature podcast. Transcript available. On March 11, 2011, at 2:46pm, one tectonic plate forced its way on top of another 45…
Episode 433, "Pan Fiction"
On this week's live-recorded episode of The One Piece Podcast we go through One Piece Chapter 837, "Luffy vs. Cracker The General" and a double Anime Recap for…
Episode 433, "Pan Fiction"
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How Japanese Kids Learn Japanese in School
Learn Japanese with Yuta: https://bit.ly/3jlXLJU Support me on Patreon: https://goo.gl/aiWNd5 Twitter: https://twitter.com/ThatYuta Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thatyuta/ Facebook: https://bit.ly/381qpHS Blog: http://www.yutaaoki.com/blog/


You Know What I Mean? On Translating Japanese Fiction (Allison Markin Powell Part 2)
On this episode of the Japan Station podcast, translator Allison Markin Powell talks about translating Japanese fiction.


Romance Manhua: Find Me in the Dark
Hi All~ Today I’m going to recommend a manhua for the first time. It’s hard to find a good recommendation for romance manhua since I feel the FL…


Christmas in Japanese Literature
Christmas originated as a Christian holiday, but it’s still celebrated in Japan—a country where somewhere between one and two percent of the country is Christian. So maybe it…


Comfort Reading in Japanese
I was in the middle of reading 「熱源」, which won the most recent Naoki Prize, when the coronavirus began spreading, and suddenly reading a book in which the…


Making Reservations in Japanese
Failsafe ways to book accommodations, tickets and dinners out in Japan.


What’s that romance game? // From the perspective of Japanese female targeted games
Just like how history repeats itself, the same things keep coming up in fandoms. The hill that I will absolutely die on is the one which is the…


“An Inner Revolution Of The Japanese Women”: The Rose of Versailles As Feminist Historical Fiction
The Rose of Versailles makes the argument that women’s lives and the romance genre can be radical and revolutionary—and, in fact, they were always central to revolutionary movements.
Burning Sky Short Fiction #1
The time has finally come for the first foray into the world of Burning Sky. Welcome to Gaea – a world in which conflict between the ten human Creeds…


Facts of Fiction: Demon Slayer
Exploring Demon Slayer's creation, production, and legacy with some trivia facts


The “Baccano” of Pulp Fiction
“Hey, Isaac?” “What’s that, Miria my dear?” “What do you suppose they call the Quarter Pounder with Cheese in Paris?” “Hmm…well, Miria, I believe they’d call it a…


Vinland Saga: Historical Viking Fiction
Vinland Saga is a mid to late 2019 anime based off of an ongoing manga that began publication in early 2005. The manga was created by Yukimura Makoto…


One Piece – Not Peak Fiction
Hey guys what is up welcome back to my blog I’m so thankful that you guys took the time out of your day to read my blog post.…


Romance Anime.
Romance Anime. This video is about romance anime, an analysis on what I like. A anime review perhaps. I talk about new romance anime, and…
In/Spectre – 07/08 [Preparing to Conquer Steel Lady/Fiction Spinner]
When I came to write about these past two episode of In/Spectre (Kyokō Suiri for you purists), I was afraid that I had actually missed 3 weeks of…


YONDER, Wattpad WEBTOON’s serial fiction app, set to shutter in July
Wattpad WEBTOON’s Yonder app will shut down on July 31, 2025. Readers can use remaining coins until then and enjoy stories until the closure.


Webcomic Wednesday: Current Trends in Fantasy Romance Webcomics
Admittedly, I’ve spent a lot of time and money these last couple weeks on webcomics read on a couple different apps. I found myself sucked into the world…


15 Royal Romance Anime About Royalty in Love
Even if our appreciation for monarchies in reality has waned significantly, royalty will always be the beloved stuff of fairy tales and a royal romance anime
Bibliophile Princess, Endo and Kobayashi Live! The Latest on Tsundere Villainess Lieselotte, How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom, Juliet, Snow White with the Red Hair