Following on from the celebration of all things that continued throughout 2023, with the second and final blogpost, I’ll be looking back at all my favourite new light novel series that were released throughout the year.

10) If the Villainess and Villain Met and Fell in Love

With the light novel market quickly becoming saturated by the villainess and Otome genres, you’d expect a level of exhaustion or quality drop to come into play. Thankfully, 2023 still managed to keep the high level of quality we’ve come to expect from the genre ever since they started coming to the West.

Marking the first of many from the genre to make my top 10 list of 2023, If the Villainess and Villain Met and Fell in Love takes the genre back to basics with a love story between two originally ill-fated characters.

Whilst a series of this calibre wouldn’t normally make the list, I was surprised by the story’s overall solid writing and in-depth spirit system, placing it well above average and well worth a read.

9) Lovestruck Prince! I’ll Fight the Heroine for My Villainess Finacée

Continuing with the villainess theme, this next title, released at the start of 2023, saw the genre come full circle.

Managing to make it to ninth on the list, Cross Infinite Worlds’ Lovestruck Prince follows the misadventures of Prince Vincent as he fights anything and everything that gets in the way of the romance between him and his supposed villainess fiancée.

Besides the promise of a cute, fluffy rom-com, which is right up my alley, the series combines a fresh twist to the genre alongside some interesting mystery elements. These positives also continue into the novel’s sequel, which gives the villainess of the story the spotlight.

8) Villainess Level 99: I May Be the Hidden Boss but I’m Not the Demon Lord

Completing the list of villainess light novels, for now, Villainess Level 99 makes it to eighth place on the list and the first to have had an anime on the series air or airing.

The story follows the tumultuous tales of Yumiella. Born as an Otome game’s hidden boss, she’s determined to keep out of the main game’s events, but this turns out to be a harder task than expected after discovering she’s at level 99 – one of the strongest humans on the planet.

Unlike the two previous Otome entries on this list, Villainess Level 99’s strength is drawn from its comedy. This series is filled with hilarious, memorable moments as Yumiella is drawn into increasingly crazy events and situations. Moreover, this series also features a cute romantic subplot, which serves as a nice bit of icing on the cake to this villainess kerfuffle.

7) The Frontier Lord Begins with Zero Subjects

Approaching the list’s halfway point and the next entry marks a change of genre.

Written by Fuurou, The Frontier Lord Begins with Zero Subjects falls into the category of a cutesy, slice-of-life story. Taking place on seemingly barren plains, the story sees Dias, the protagonist, learn to adapt to life after the war and attempt to grow his newly acquired territory.

Being one of several fish-out-of-water fluffy episodic adventure series, The Frontier Lord manages to stand out from the crowd and earn a place on this list through strong writing with a comedic undertone, a natural-flowing family dynamic between the main cast, and a well-developed tribal setting.

6) I Guess This Dragon Who Lost Her Egg to Disaster is My Mom Now

Earning its place at sixth and just missing out on a top-five spot, the next series on the list features a unique family dynamic.

I Guess This Dragon Who Lost Her Egg is a heartfelt story filled with betrayal and mystery. Following Lushera’s recent reincarnation, the story depicts the protagonist’s new life of danger and discovery as she learns to grasp what it means to be the child of a dragon.

Whilst this series is filled with interesting scenes of action and mystery, its interactions between the human child and dragon mother earned it a place on this list. From their early moments filled with miscommunication as two different species come to terms with one another to their eventual understanding and mutual fight on the mountain, their relationship is depicted with wonderful clarity.

5) Finding Avalon: The Quest of a Chaosbringer

Making it to the top five is a late arrival on the scene. Released at the end of December, Finding Avalon marks the first alternative Japan title to make the list.

Mixing a plethora of dungeon-crawler and mystery aspects, the story follows an avid gamer as he’s reincarnated into the game’s most hated character, Piggy. Faced with a world filled with unfortunate game events and an all too real in-game conspiracy, he’ll have to level grind like never before if he’s to protect both himself and his family.

Of all the new series I’ve read this year, this one shocked me the most. On paper, this series would have me running for the hills, but I was pleasantly surprised at how all the aspects of the series came together. A detail-orientated author, complex character dynamics and motivations beyond the usual harem antics make for one of the most engaging reads of the year.

4) The Crown of Rutile Quartz

Just missing out on a spot in the top three, The Crown of Rutile Quartz represents another late arrival onto the 2023 light novel scene – also premiering in late December.

A real culture shock affair, it’s a novel that focuses on a bastard son’s journey from everyday commoner to a nation’s prince regent. Half political drama and half war story, the first instalment of the series details Slaine’s troubled ascendancy to the throne as he soon discovers the true depths necessary to become a successful royal.

What makes this series one of the year’s highlights and deserving of a place on this list is how clear the author’s vision for the series was right from the word go. It’s a masterclass of balancing the themes of love, war and politics with the end product, creating a story where all the characters feel naturally human.

3) The Ephemeral Scenes of Setsuna’s Journey

Reaching the top three, and finally, we’ve arrived at the brass tax section of the 2023 light novel celebration. Winning the bronze award is The Ephemeral Scenes of Setsuna’s Journey. A new title from Yen Press, it’s a story that mixes adventure alongside human drama.

Gaining a third chance in life, the story’s premise revolves around the newly summoned Setsuna. Having spent most of his life in a hospital bed, Setsuna is offered a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to experience the world after another hero offers up their lifeforce to him. What follows is a journey of self-discovery, of meeting new people, and experiencing new places.

What made this series worthy of a spot in the top three – the author’s innate talent for writing characters. Complex, flawed, and always engaging, they make the fantasy world of Setsuna’s Journey come to life as a vivid spectrum of lived experiences.

2) Butareba – The Story of a Man Turned Into a Pig

My silver award winner and series narrowly missing out on the top spot, Butareba, is one that many may dismiss simply through seeing its title.

What at first seems like another gimmicky, weird reincarnation story soon unfolds into an interesting mix of dark fantasy and mystery. Following the story of a man unfortunate enough to eat a raw pig’s liver, it sees him reincarnate into the body of a pig under the care of a Yethma named Jess. Any illusions that this may be a comfortable second life for him are soon shattered, however, when he discovers that this world is hiding a cornucopia of dark secrets. 

Beyond its slightly raunchy style of comedy, the series reveals an ever-twisting mystery that I couldn’t help but place high on the list. Dark, powerful and emotional, it fits alongside the developmental journey of Jess and Mister Pig completely, leaving you raw from the tragic decisions they must make by the volume’s end. It’s a series that perfectly encapsulates dark fantasy without making it too edgy.

1) Fake Saint of the Year: You Wanted a Perfect Saint? Too Bad!

Reaching the crème de la crème, the apex of the new series in 2023, and for me, there could only be one series that wins the coveted gold award – Fake Saint of the Year!

The general premise of the series follows the hijinks of a man reincarnated into the body of his least favourite character from an Otome game, the villainess Ellize. Given this unique opportunity, Niito decides to use this twist of fate to enact some of the wrongs of the game and enact a happy ending between his favourite characters, Verner and Eterna. Unfortunately, even as the strongest fake saint in history, he can’t predict the strange mysteries that lie within this fantasy world. 

Comedy, mystery, romance, tragedy; this series has it all. Honestly, this series has no business being as good as it is. Cooking up deep philosophical questions alongside raunchy comedy and deranged otaku fantasy creates a story of pure magic that all light novel enthusiasts should check out.