10 Novels from Japan that Need an Anime Adaptation

African, British, American, French, Russian, and more literature are renowned because of their extraordinary contribution to literature. Well, Japanese literature is not left behind, but in this article, we are going to talk about 10 novels from Japan that need an anime adaptation – because we all know how popular anime is in Japan and how widespread it is in the world.

The Woman in the Dunes

The Woman in the Dunes is the most popular novel by famed writer Kobo Abe. The story revolves around an amateur entomologist from Tokyo going on board on a journey to a remote Japanese village. In the village, the man gets trapped by the locals and was compelled to give a shack buried in a sandpit with a local woman, whose life resembles a steady cycle of unburying her dwelling from proceeding dunes.

Kafka on the Shore

There is probably anyone who is into Japanese literature or literature in general and has not heard of Murakami. Most of his works can be altered into unconventional and vibrant anime. The bizarre but touching book interchanges between the tales of a 15-year-old boy named Kafka from an abusive household and an illiterate old man named Nakata who can talk to cats.

The Memory Police

Yoko Ogawa’s The Memory Police are set on an unknown nameless island where people and things vanish without any cause. Once it disappears without a trace, it is soon forgotten by all other than the Memory Police.

Lonely Castle in the Mirror

Lonely Castle in the Mirror is written by Mizuki Tsujimura. It blends diverse genres and it steps over the edges of YA fiction with brilliant skills. The protagonist of the book becomes the victim of bullying which compels her to avoid school. One day, she finds a portal in her mirror which leads to a creepy and strange castle. In the castle, she has to connect with six other teenagers and find the key to escape from it within six months.

Musashi

The 1939 novel Musashi is written by popular Japanese historian Eiji Yoshikawa. It explores the wealthy and versatile life of the most renowned Japanese swordsman of the 17th century named Miyamoto Musashi, diving into every facet of his astonishing life.

Snow Country

Yasunari Kawabata’s Snow Country is set during the period of a major shift from traditionalism to modernization. It is not like other romances, it is a detested love affair that thrives between a rich, married ballet critic and a provincial onsen geisha. The book introduces the readers to a melancholic and touching relationship that is destined to crumble as it.

Dragon Sword and Wind Child

This book by Noriko Ogiwara follows the thrilling adventures of a young maiden named Saya. Saya learns herself to be a re-embodiment of the rumored Water Maiden and gets pulled out of her common everyday rural life into the fascinating universe of monsters and demons.

In The Miso Soup

Ryu Murakami’s In The Miso Soup follows a Japanese nightlife guide for foreigners, Kenji, and his three-night tour with a troubling tourist Frank, who must be concealing some threatening secrets beneath his not dangerous exterior.

The Box Man

The Box Man is a satirical masterpiece by Kobo Abe. The book transfers the readers to the strange head of a Japanese man who abandons the rules of contemporary lifestyle and builds his little universe inside a cardboard box that he wears on his back.

Kokoro

Soseki Natsume’s Kokoro is a depressing and dark fiction that focuses on themes such as human perception of time, isolation, and loneliness. The book chronicles the transformation between the Meiji era and modern Japan through the bond of friendship the hero builds with an older gentleman named Sensei.

Also Read: 10 Best Books Where Lovers Don’t End Up Together