Last Shakugan no Shana Light Novel this September

ASCII Media Works revealed in its latest Dengeki Bunko email newsletter that the Shakugan no Shana's 22nd light novel volume will be the final volume of the series. The said volume will be shipped on September 10.

But this would not be the last of Shana since Shakugan no Shana III FINAL anime series will premiere this fall which will continue where the second season left.

Source: Temple Knights via Anime News Network

ClariS Cameos on Oreimo Light Novel

The ninth light novel volume of Tsukasa Fushimi's Ore no Imouto ga Konnani Kawaii Wake ga Nai (Oreimo) will feature the cameo of sining duo, ClariS as a pair of middle school girls from Hokaido!

ClariS who previously provided the theme song for the anime with the song, "irony" will also provide the theme song for the light novel for their upcoming single which will be released on September 14. Oreimo's ninth volume will be released on September 10th.

Source: Dengeki Online via Anime News Network

Animate Shops to Sell New Haruhi Book at Midnight

The Animate chain of character goods stores announced that some of its stores will open at midnight on May 25 to sell Nagaru Tanigawa's Suzumiya Haruhi no Kyōgaku (The Surprise of Haruhi Suzumiya) light novel, as soon as possible. May 25 is the official date that the 513,000 sets of the two-volume novel go on sale.

Some Animate stores will also display reproductions of the original artwork from the franchise in the days leading up to the novel's release. As a way of counting down to launch, these stores will rotate the artwork on display every day between May 15 and May 25. In addition, the novel will "hijack" the signs at Animate's Akihabara branch so customers will feel like they entered the "world of Haruhi Suzumiya.

Source: Moe Ota-News Sokuhō via Anime News Network

Haruhi Vol. 10 Gets 513,000-Set 1st Printing!

Kadokawa Shoten confirmed on Thursday that Nagaru Tanigawa's next Haruhi Suzumiya light novel, The Surprise of Haruhi Suzumiya, will receive a first printing of 513,000 sets, setting a new record for light novel prints.

The novel will ship in two 300-page volumes on May 25, so Kadokawa is actually publishing over 1 million book volumes for the launch. In addition, the limited first edition of the set will bundle a special booklet containing Tanigawa's short "Rainy Day" story about the protagonist Kyon's time in middle school.

The regular editions of the two volumes will then be sold individually, without the booklet, on June 15.

According to Mantan Web, over 16.5 million copies of the Haruhi Suzumiya light novel series have been published in 15 countries, including 8 million in Japan.

Source: Mantan Web via Anime News Network

The Surprise of Haruhi Suzumiya Novel Promo!

Last week, Kadokawa started streaming the TV ad of the upcoming 10th Haruhi Suzumiya light novel, The Surprise of Haruhi Suzumiya (Suzumiya Haruhi no Kyōgaku)! The said novel will be released in May 25th in all 13 countries where the light novel is being currently published.

The light novel is 600 pages long, so it will be shipped in two parts. Along with it, Kyon's side story which is set during his middle school years called, Rainy Day will be part of the novel.

Haruhi Suzumiya Vol. 10 Light Novel Update!

Kadokawa Shoten has confirmed that the limited first edition of Nagaru Tanigawa's next Haruhi Suzumiya light novel, The Surprise of Haruhi Suzumiya (Suzumiya Haruhi no Kyōgaku), will ship on May 25 with a special booklet containing a short story by Tanigawa about Kyon's middle school life.

According final issue of The Sneaker, the booklet's short story is called Rainy Day, and it is set during the protagonist Kyon's time in middle school. Tanigawa had personally written the "Someday in the Rain" episode of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, which serves as the show's finale in the DVD and chronological order of the show.

In addition to the short story, the booklet's 64 color pages will feature illustration work by novel artist Noizi Ito, contributions by artists Gaku Tsugano (The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya manga) and Puyo (The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi-chan), and a behind-the-scenes account by the original editor of the light novel series.

Since The Surprise of Haruhi Suzumiya is 600 pages in length, it will ship in two volumes in Japan; the limited first edition will shrink-wrap both volumes along with the special booklet. Asides from that, this new light novel will receive a simultaneous worldwide release, but it is not shipping on May 25th (the day of its release) in all 13 countries that the said light novel series is in print but on select countries, namely: Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Korea.

Source: Moe Ota-News Sokuhō via Anime News Network

The Sneaker Magazine Cease Publication

Kadokawa Shoten's The Sneaker magazine, known for publishing Haruhi Suzumiya, R-15 and Rental Magica light novels will cease publication as of its April issue on Monday, February 28.

According to the Japanese Magazine Publishers Association, the magazine currently has a circulation run of about 20,000 copies.

The Sneaker Editor-in-Chief Kōichi Sakamoto said that his company will expand its bunko (pocket-sized paperback book) lineup even more, as well as broaden its use of the web and electronic books in response to its readers' needs.

Kadokawa Group Holdings has been offering a Book Walker app for the Apple iPad and iPhone since last December. It is also partnering with the Japanese social networking service Gree as one of the ways it is delving more into the field of electronic books.

Source: Mantan Web via Anime News Network

Matsu Tomohiro: Worried About the Current Light Novel Trend

Online magazine, Business Media Makoto released a report on a symposium Expanding Contents held on November 21st. At the symposium, Matsu Tomohiro, the author of Mayoi Neko Overrun! novel and the series composer of Queen's Blade anime, lectured about the problems of the current anime industry.

1. High speed consumption of light novels

Due to the increase in the number of anime aired late at night, light novels get anime adaptations soon after they acquire certain level of popularity. Anime producers prefer light novels to manga because even a single volume of novel provide sufficient amount of story and characters to produce an anime.  The Light novel industry is under pressure to supply large amount of works enough to maintain the programming blocks of the TV.

2. Low quality anime can terminate the original novel/manga

Light novel authors feel happy about the increased opportunity to have their work animated, but that's double-edged sword. Authors can gain money and popularity if the anime is successful, but failed anime adaptations deject them and could lead to the termination of the novel/manga. Even if the anime brings about a rise in the popularity, a short-term boom will also shorten the lifetime of the work. The worst thing is that the authors are often blamed for the failure of the anime. It's really hard to start a new series following an anime because of the pressure and anxiety.

3. Reproduction in reduced quality

The business model of novel/manga-derived anime relies on the expectation that some percentage of the novel/manga readers will purchase the DVD/Blu-ray of the anime. If we too much care about the core fans of the original works, the resultant anime will be a reduced reproduction. On the other hand, some young novel authors are affected by the anime because they are aware of possible anime adaptation. It could result in another reduced reproduction. Anime producers have to adapt novel and manga in a style suitable to anime and establish a reciprocal relationship with the original authors.

Source: MyAnimeList

Based on the points mentioned by Matsu Tomohiro, I kinda agree with the guy. I mean, considering the amount of light novel adaptations that increased in the past few years, he has every right to get worried regarding the industry considering that some light novel adaptations works felt a little lacking in some various points.