Major Japanese publisher Shogakukan has launched NOVELUS, a new manga and light novel app that plans to publish light novels. The app will employ artificial intelligence, which will reduce the cost of translation by half and increase the number of works. Shogakukan has already translated hundreds of digital content, primarily aimed at a North American market. They have apps for iOS and Android.
Not all manga and light novels will use AI; previously translated content will be immune to it, and older content will also not use it. Only the simul-pubbed English chapter release from the Japanese publisher will use AI.
Novelus‘ initial line-up will feature titles such as Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End spinoff, Too Many Losing Heroines!, Shiotaiou No Satou-san Ga Ore Ni Dake Amai, with the publisher planning to increase the app’s library to 400 works within two years.
“Many Western fans discover their favorite stories through anime, but are less familiar with the original manga or light novels those anime are based on,” says Yuki Wada, NOVELOUS’ producer. “Light novels, in particular, are not well known in the West, so we wanted to share the incredible work of these authors with a global audience.”
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.