Book Girl
A light novel series about a yōkai who eats stories.
Book Girl (文学少女, Bungaku Shōjo; literally "Literature Girl") is a Japanese light novel series written by Mizuki Nomura and illustrated by Miho Takeoka. The story follows Konoha Inoue, a high school sophomore who is one of just two members of his school's literature club. The club's president, Tohko Amano, is a third-year student and a yōkai who literally eats stories by chewing up the paper they're printed on; she often asks Konoha to write her short stories as snacks. The series consists of 16 volumes in total: eight make up the main storyline, four are collections of short stories, and four belong to a side story. These were released by Enterbrain under their Famitsu Bunko imprint between April 2006 and April 2011. Yen Press licensed the series for English publication in North America, starting in July 2010.
Four separate manga adaptations have been produced. The first, *Book Girl and the Suicidal Mime*, was illustrated by Rito Kōsaka and ran in Square Enix's *Gangan Powered* before moving to *Gangan Joker*, where it concluded in 2010. Kōsaka also illustrated a second adaptation, *Book Girl and the Famished Spirit*, which serialized in *Gangan Joker* from 2011 to 2013. The third manga, *Book Girl and the Delicious Recipe*, was drawn by Akira Hiyoshimaru and appeared in Kadokawa Shoten's *Beans Ace* and later *Monthly Asuka* before finishing in 2010. Hiyoshimaru also handled *Book Girl and the Lovesick Poet*, which ran in *Monthly Asuka* from 2010 to 2011. An anime film adaptation, produced by Production I.G, was released in Japanese theaters on May 1, 2010.
- type
- Light novel series
- author
- Mizuki Nomura
- illustrator
- Miho Takeoka
- volumes
- 16
- original_run
- April 2006 – April 2011
- publisher
- Enterbrain (Famitsu Bunko)
- english_publisher
- Yen Press (from July 2010)
Lore & Background
The Book Girl series follows Konoha Inoue, a second-year high school student who once won a romance novel competition under a female pseudonym, keeping his identity secret. He joins the literature club, where he meets Tohko Amano, a third-year girl and club president who is a yōkai that consumes the pages of stories as snacks. Tohko often asks Konoha to write short stories for her to eat. The series includes eight original novels published between April 28, 2006, and August 30, 2008; four short story collections published between December 26, 2008, and December 25, 2010; and four side story novels published between April 30, 2009, and April 30, 2011.
Reader's Guide
Book Girl is significant as a multimedia franchise that expanded from light novels into manga, anime, drama CDs, and art books. Four manga adaptations were serialized in Square Enix's Gangan Powered and Gangan Joker, and Kadokawa Shoten's Beans Ace and Monthly Asuka. An anime film adaptation produced by Production I.G was released in Japanese theaters on May 1, 2010, with three OVA shorts and a bonus OVA bundled with a side story novel. Six drama CDs were produced by Lantis, and an Internet radio show aired 52 episodes. The series also inspired multiple art books and guide books, including Book Girl's Art Gallery and Book Girl Fantasy Art Book. Its legacy lies in its unique premise of a story-eating yōkai and its integration of literary references, though the source article does not provide critical reception or sales data.
Did You Know?
- Tohko Amano, the literature club president, is a yōkai who eats the pages of stories as snacks.
- The series includes 16 volumes: eight original novels, four short story collections, and four side story novels.
- An anime film adaptation by Production I.G was released in Japanese theaters on May 1, 2010.
- The voice of Tohko Amano, Kana Hanazawa, also hosted the Internet radio show Radio Book Girl: The Literary Club at Midnight.
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