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BookWalker Announces Next Big Light Novels Poll Results For 2019

Kadokawa's e-book vendor BookWalker announced the winners of its yearly "next big light novel hit" contest on Monday. The results were selected from light novels that first debuted between April 2018 and March 2019, and which still have less than five volumes published in e-book form. Similarly to the Kono Light Novel ga Sugoi! (This Light Novel Is Amazing!) rankings, the results were sorted into two categories: bunkobon (smaller A6-sized books) and larger-sized "books" or "new literature."

The results are listed below:

BookWalker's "Next Big Light Novel Hit" 2019: Bunkobon

1. Shin no Nakama janai to Yūsha no Party o Oidasareta node, Henkyō de Slow Life Suru Koto ni Shimashita (Banished From the Brave Man’s Group, I Decided to Lead a Slow Life in the Back Country) by Zappon (author) and Yasumo (illustration)
2. Nishino: Gakunai Caste Saikai ni Shite Inō Sekai Saikyō no Shōnen (Nishino: the Boy at the Bottom of the School Caste and Also at the Top of the Underground) by Buncololi (author) and Matanonki (illustration)
3. The Genius Prince's Guide to Raising a Nation Out of Debt by Tōru Toba (author) and Falmaro (illustration), available from Yen Press
4. Sekai Saikō no Assassin, Isekai Kizoku ni Tensei Suru (The World's Best Assassin, to Reincarnate in a Different World Aristocrat) by Rui Tsukiyo (author) and Reia (illustration)
5. Kimijo Denka no Kateikyōshi (Tutor of His Imperial Highness Princess) by Riku Nanano (author) and cura (illustration)
6. Nanatsu no Maken ga Shihai Suru by Bokuto Uno (author) and Ruriya Miyuki (illustration)
7. Tenseisaki ga Shōjo Manga no Shirobuta Reijō datta by Ageha Sakura (author) and Risa Hanano (illustration)
8. Mamahaha no Tsurego ga moto kanodatta by Kashiro Sakai (author) and Takayaki (artist)
9. Hazure Waku no "Jōtai Ijō Skill" de Saikyō ni Natta Ore ga Subete wo Jūrin Suru made by Kaoru Shinozaki (author) and KWKM (illustration)
10. Rettōgan no Tensei Majutsushi, Rettōme no Tensei Majutsushi: Shiitage Rareta Moto Yūsha wa Mirai no Sekai o Yoyū de Ikinuku (The Reincarnation Magician of the Inferior Eyes) by Yusura Kankitsu (author) and Miyukiruria (illustration)

BookWalker's "Next Big Light Novel Hit" 2019: Books

1. The Eminence in Shadow by Daisuke Aizawa (author) and Tōzai (illustration), available from Yen Press
2. Nageki no Bōrei wa Intai Shitai: Saijiyaku Hanta ni Yoru Saikiyō Patei Ikusei Jutsu by Tsukikage (author) and Chiiko (illustration)
3. Otome Gee Sekai wa Mob ni Kibishii Sekai desu (The World of Otome Games is Tough for Mobs) by Yomu Mishima (author) and Meng Da (illustration)
4. World of Leadale by Ceez (author) and Tenmaso (illustration)
5. Isekai teni, Jirai-tsuki. by Mizaho Itsuki (author) and Neko Nekobyō (illustration)
6. Kōchūgun Shikan, Bōkensha ni naru by Tatsuhiko Itō (author) and himesuz (illustration)
7. Deokure Tamer no Sono Higurashi by Yuu Tanaka (author) and Nardack (illustration)
8. Atarashii Game Hajimemashita: Shimei mo Nainoni Saikyō desu? by Jaga Bataa (author) and Ririnra (illustration)
9. Bōkensha License wo Hakudatsusareta Ossan Dakedo, Manamusume ga Dekita no de Nonbiri Jinsei o Ōkasuru by Manimani Ononata (author) and Choco Fuji (illustration)
10. Unnamed Memory by Komiyakuji (author) and chibi (illustration)

Of the winners, both The Genius Prince's Guide to Raising a Nation Out of Debt and The Eminence in Shadow are licensed in English by Yen Press. The first volume of The Genius Prince's Guide to Raising a Nation Out of Debt will go on sale on September 3. Yen Press described the story:

The prince of this small and weak kingdom strives for only one thing: selling out his country and living a quiet life in leisure! Sadly, the greatest obstacle he will ever face is his own genius...! As he achieves ever greater accomplishments, he earns more and more favor with the people of his kingdom...which makes fulfilling his own dreams all the harder!!!

Yen Press will release the first volume of The Eminence in Shadow on November 12. Yen Press described the story:

Shadowbrokers are those who go unnoticed, posing as unremarkable people when in truth, they control everything from behind the scenes. Sid wants to be some just like that more than anything, and something as insignificant as boring reality isn't going to get in his way! He trains in secret every single night, preparing for his eventual rise to power-only to denied his destiny by a run of the mill yet deadly traffic accident. But when he wakes up in a another world and suddenly finds himself at the head of an actual secret organization doing battle with evil in the shadows, he'll finally get a chance to act out all of his delusional fantasies!

Last year's poll picked Rui Tsukiyo's Kaifuku Jutsushi no Yarinaoshi: Sokushi Mahou to Skill Copy no Choetsu Heal as the next big hit. Tsukiyo's Sekai Saikō no Assassin, Isekai Kizoku ni Tensei Suru is #4 on this year's list. The 2018 list also included Combatants Will Be Dispatched! (licensed by Yen Press), Our Last Crusade or the Rise of a New World (licensed by Yen Press), and Maō-sama, Retry! (licensed by J-Novel Club and currently an anime series).

Source: Bookwalker