Mentioned below are some famous Japanese novels which were later turned into Japanese movies or animes or mangas.
1. Kanojo Ga Sukina Mono Wa Homo DeAtte Boku De Wa Nai
Naoto Asahara's novel Kanojo ga Suki na Mono wa Homo de Atte Boku de Wa Nai is illustrated by Yjir Arai. From October 12 to October 28, 2016, the chapters were serialized on the Kakuyomu website before being released in print by Kadokawa. Jun Ando, a homosexual high school student, befriends Sae Miura, a fujoshi who helps him come to terms with his sexual identity in the story. Fujoshi, Ukkari Gay ni Kokuru, a live-action television drama that aired on NHK in 2019 and received the Galaxy Award Monthly Prize and the Confidence Award Drama Prize for Best Script. A manga adaptation was serialized on Comic Walker from February 1, 2019, to March 3, 2020, to coincide with the television drama. Kanojo ga Sukina Mono wa, a live-action film planned for release in 2021, will be released in theatres in the fourth quarter of that year.
2. I Want To Eat Your Pancreas
I Want to Eat Your Pancreas, also known as Let Me Eat Your Pancreas is a light novel by Japanese author Yoru Sumino. In 2014, the book was serialized as a web novel on Shsetsuka ni Nar, a user-generated site, before being published in print by Futabasha in 2015. From 2016 to 2017, there was a manga adaptation. Let Me Eat Your Pancreas, a live-action film was released in 2017, and I Want to Eat Your Pancreas, an anime film adaption, was released on September 1, 2018.
3. Garasu No Usagi
Toshiko Takagi wrote Garasu no Usagi, a Japanese autobiography, after losing her mother and sister in the Great Tokyo Air Raid and witnessing her father being murdered in front of her eyes by a P-51 Mustang at Ninomiya Station when she was 13 years old. The original novel has sold over 2.4 million copies in Japan as of 2018. It has been translated into several languages, including German, Spanish, and Hungarian. In 1979, a live-action film was released, followed by a Japanese television drama series in 1980 and an animation film in 2005.
4. Kawa No Hikari
Kawa no Hikari is a Japanese children's adventure story written by Hisaki Matsuura and illustrated by Kazuko Shimazu that was published in 2007. Between July 25, 2006, and April 23, 2007, it was serialized in the newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun. Studio Gallop turned the book into an animated TV special, which was broadcasted on NHK General TV on June 20, 2009, as part of the network's "Save the Future" roster, which also included other environmentally aware programs.
5. Journey Under The Midnight Sun
From January 1997 through January 1999, Keigo Higashino's mystery novel Journey Under the Midnight Sun was published in Shueisha's monthly novel magazine Subaru. In August 1999, the entire book was released, and it rapidly became a best-seller. The novel was initially created as a series of short tales that represented chronological snapshots of the overarching story thread throughout serialization. Before releasing it as a single book, Higashino changed the framework to make it a single continuous tale. The book has sold 550,000 copies as of November 2005. However, once the first episode of the adapted TV series aired, sales rose sharply. By January 2006, it had sold over a million copies. In December 2010, sales surpassed 2 million. A stage play was produced in 2005, a Japanese TV series was made in 2006, a Korean motion film was released in 2009, and a Japanese motion picture was released in 2010.
6. Out
Out is a Japanese crime fiction authored by Natsuo Kirino in 1997 that was translated into English in 2004. The novel was named Best Novel at the 51st Mystery Writers of Japan Awards. It is her first novel that has been published in English. Vintage, a Random House imprint, is now publishing the book in the United Kingdom, and Stephen Snyder has translated it into English. The English translation received an Edgar Award nomination for Best Novel in 2004.
7. No Game No Life
No Game No Life is a Japanese light novel series written by Y Kamiya. The plot follows a group of human players who seek to usurp the god of the game’s throne by beating him in a series of board games. Ten volumes were released between April 25, 2012, and January 25, 2018, under the MF Bunko J label. Mashiro Hiiragi, the author's wife, turned the novels into a manga series for Monthly Comic Alive in 2013. Later that year, Madhouse announced an anime adaptation of No Game No Life.
8. Naoko
Keigo Higashino wrote the book, Naoko. Himitsu is the original title. The work was named Best Novel at the 52nd Mystery Writers of Japan Award. The plot revolves around a man whose wife and daughter are killed in a car accident; the woman perishes, but when the daughter awakens, he discovers his wife's mind within. Himitsu, directed by Yjir Takita, was turned into a Japanese film in 1999. The Secret, a 2007 film, is based on a Japanese movie.
9. A Man Called Pirate
Naoki Hyakuta's A Man Called Pirate is a best-selling Japanese historical book. It won the Japan Booksellers Award in April 2013. Souichi Sumoto turned it into a ten-volume manga series, which was serialized in Evening and released by Kodansha in 2014. Takashi Yamazaki directed a cinematic adaptation of it in 2016.
10. Sailor Suit And Machine Gun
Jir Akagawa, a renowned Japanese novelist, released a book in 1978. It was well-received, and in 1981, it was turned into a comedy/action film of the same name. In 1982 and 2006, it was turned into a television series. Kanna Hashimoto starred as Izumi Hoshi in the 2016 film Sailor Suit and Machine Gun: Graduation.
