[NEWS/RECAP] February 2026 New Series + Print Announcements
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I only picked up two series from the last batch. Can't wait to see what's in this one.
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It’s starting!!
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Hmm, Tanya at home, a villainess series, the LN of a manga I've been reading (mastermind) and unsung epics sound interesting. The mafia one could be interesting, as could the corpse king depending on the writing. The manga for the weapon master hasn't really impressed me so far.
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There a number of series I'm willing to try based on the descriptions, hoping the actual content won't be disappointing. Considering I was expecting at most one or two series to catch my eyes, it seems this round of licensing might be very positive.
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I may be interested in Proud to Be the Villainess and Sister Mafioso. Let‘s see…
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It's been since Tiny Witch and Long Story Short since a title has grabbed me enough to read it. Will be curious to see if anything in this batch manages to do break the drought.
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FYI for the impatient: the Series list already has the releases even though the post above hasn't been updated as of 6:30 Pacific.
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@karasutengu said in [NEW SERIES ANNOUNCEMENTS] Tune in on February 13, 2026 on our Youtube Channel!:
It's not a new series, but it's a fav of mine that's on JNC - The Eternal Fool's Words of Wisdom: A Pawsitively Fantastic Adventure (Manga), and it just released it's official announcement that an anime will be done on it as follows:
I have to admit that I've been hoping for the light novel to get licensed, and have been mildly disappointed that it hasn't popped up in one of these announcements.
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After watching the stream yesterday, I am pleased to have more series to check out (well once I get caught up with the stories I am currently reading). Here are the following I have chosen to read:
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The Ones I am Eager to Check OutSister Mafioso by Adachi with illustrations by Kyozip
This looks like something I would not mind reading.Unsung Epic of the Hero’s Journey by Hachigatsumori with illustration by Nat
The moment I saw both the cover and title to this story, I knew this was going to be the novel I would be most eager to check. It looks to be a High Fantasy story starring female protagonists. That immediately clicked with me.Miss Medic’s Diary at War by Tama Masaki with illustrations by Kureta
I have not read The Saga of Tanya the Evil, nor have I watched the anime adaptation of it, but I thought to give this a try. Judging by the synopsis this story looks to explore the hardships of war, as it contrasts the protagonist's previous life with enjoying first person shooter games that take place in war torn settings, which could be engaging.All Eyes on Nekoyashiki-kun! Notice Me, Not My Characters by Kazuki Minamoto
I don’t tend to read yaoi stories (I prefer yui stories instead), so I was going to skip this until it was mentioned that the novel goes into the matters of doujin spaces and conventions, I decided to give this a try since I do like learning about the otaku subculture. While I have only seen one episode of Genshiken years ago (which I do need to remedy one day), as well as never read the origins manga, I have watched the Comic Party anime adaptation (which got me interested in the otaku subculture to begin with as well as inspire me to want to create manga for a time) as well as read the Comic Party manga adaptation, and I have also seen 16bit Sensation: Another Layer. All of them touch on the otaku subculture.Fired? But I Maintain All the Software! By Yuki Kashirome with illustration by icchi
I am glad that the original novel is being translated so I can give this a try. Plus I missed out on giving the manga adaptation to this a try.Proud to Be the Villainess by Mary=Doe with illustrations by Kuga Huna
Well it’s not often I see a villainess story in which the protagonist is happy to be the villain. In fact up until now I don’t think I have come across a villainess story with this idea in mind.
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Unsure of But Willing to Check Out AnywayReborn to Reign: Imposing My Rules with My Mastery of Magic by Byakushi with illustrations by Falmaro
The only reason I am checking this out is because one of the women in the cover looks to be my type physically wise (the one with the red hair and tan complexion). I’m not sure if I would click with this story, but there is always the possibility it could surprise me.
....................................Oh! One more thing, congratulations on The Young Lady is the Substitute Goddess for getting a physical release. I think this is the first non-Japanese light novel to get physically publish by J-Novel Club, but I could be wrong. I am currently reading the story, and I am with the host in that it does have a nice story; however I feel like narrative has a tendency to over explain on matters concerning the protagonist which slows the pacing of it down.
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@Aquasakura said in [NEW SERIES ANNOUNCEMENTS] Tune in on February 13, 2026 on our Youtube Channel!:
Proud to Be the Villainess by Mary=Doe with illustrations by Kuga Huna
Well it’s not often I see a villainess story in which the protagonist is happy to be the villain. In fact up until now I don’t think I have come across a villainess story with this idea in mind.It sounds a little like JNC's Lady Albert and Hanashi's Observation Records, but in those cases the MC is too sweet and kind to be successful as a villainess.
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@hirei said in [NEW SERIES ANNOUNCEMENTS] Tune in on February 13, 2026 on our Youtube Channel!:
Note: This post will be updated with the recap once the announcements are finished!
Please do post the list of new acquisitions. I just realized that the "Our Latest Series" frame on your home page is incomplete -- it doesn't show "The Reincarnated Mastermind" for example. So I could easily miss something.
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@xdbx - the Series list is in order of addition to JNC by default (newest to oldest), so you can go there to see everything new.
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@HarmlessDave said in [NEWS/RECAP] February 2026 New Series + Print Announcements:
Hanashi's Observation Records
I see. I have been interested in giving the latter a try. Since I left this comment I had read volume 1 of Reforming an Icy Fina Boss: Getting Back at the Self-Proclaimed Villainess with the Power of Friendship by Takamedou and the antagonist of that story seems to actually enjoyed being the villainess (although I guess not for reasons the characters in the novels you mentioned do).
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@Aquasakura - Hanashi's Observation Records is a bit like Lady Albert: sweet girl trying to be a villainess because she thinks it's necessary. A big difference is it's written from the POV of the prince / capture target that's supposed to end up with the heroine not the MC.
The initial story wraps up in the first 2 volumes, then (also like Lady Albert) it continues on with new story arcs.
I had fun reading it.
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It feels like these were at least 3/4ths harem novels.... I'm not finding much on J-Novel that I'm interested in lately. I was hoping these would help, but sadly not.
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@radiantmemories said in [NEWS/RECAP] February 2026 New Series + Print Announcements:
It feels like these were at least 3/4ths harem novels....
A full half of them have female protagonists. I haven't read everything yet, but of the ones I've tried (5 of the 10) I've not encountered any harem elements. Totally fine to still bounce off them, but it doesn't seem to be harem itself doing so.
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@GeorgeMTO said in [NEWS/RECAP] February 2026 New Series + Print Announcements:
@radiantmemories said in [NEWS/RECAP] February 2026 New Series + Print Announcements:
It feels like these were at least 3/4ths harem novels....A full half of them have female protagonists. I haven't read everything yet, but of the ones I've tried (5 of the 10) I've not encountered any harem elements. Totally fine to still bounce off them, but it doesn't seem to be harem itself doing so.
Well, to be fair, Reborn to Reign certainly looks like one - though I didn't get far enough in to be sure. Miss Medic, Sister Mafioso, Proud to be the Villainess? Uh-uh. Path of an S-Rank Adventurer? Doesn't look likely at this point, but it's right on the edge of dropping so doubt I'll get far enough to be sure. Starting on Hard Mode? Yeah, probably - though it's teetering on drop for blandness instead of chunni, so also not sure if that's where it ends up. Unsung Epics? No way. Reincarnated Mastermind? Possible, I suppose, but still way too young to be sure. Corpse King? Seems pretty likely. Fired? Not at all.
So that's what, 3 out of 10?
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@Travis-Butler Yeah, but they said 3/4ths, aka three quarters, so 7 or 8 of the 10 licensed novels.
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@GeorgeMTO said in [NEWS/RECAP] February 2026 New Series + Print Announcements:
@Travis-Butler Yeah, but they said 3/4ths, aka three quarters, so 7 or 8 of the 10 licensed novels.
Right, exactly. The actual ratio is the opposite of what they thought.
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@Travis-Butler Ah, since you started with "to be fair", I thought you were on their side of the interpretation and had just read 3 or 4 instead. My mistake.
