Shogakukan's Novelous light novel and manga app to use AI-assisted translations

Modified Jan 25, 2025 20:17 GMT

Thursday, January 23, 2025 saw publisher Shogakukan announce the launch of its “NOVELOUS” platform, a new iOS and Android app for the United States and Canada. The app was notably reported on by Nikkei newspaper in July 2024 for using AI-assisted translations for English releases, a fairly controversial topic amongst fans.

Alongside the announcement, Shogakukan has released a preview trailer for the NOVELOUS app. The layout and approach is fairly similar to Shueisha’s MANGA Plus platform overall. This includes the ability for comments to be added, as well as a homepage showing recent updates and featured/top-rated series. However, as a light novel app, there are some notably unique and intriguing features highlighted in the trailer video.

Shogakukan’s NOVELOUS app to feature 880+ titles at launch, including Kengan Ashura and more

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The most distinct feature of Shogakukan’s NOVELOUS app from Shueisha’s MANGA Plus platform is its light novel reading approach. While reading, narrative text will be displayed normally, but dialogue from characters will appear with an icon of the character next to each line in a chatroom-style layout. Clicking on these character icons will likewise bring up “instant profiles” for the characters in question.

The NOVELOUS app will feature over 80 titles at launch, some of the most notable including Witch and Hound and Kengan Ashura. Users can unlock long-term access to new chapters for a series via in-app purchases which provide coins. Short-term access can also be obtained via free coins, which will be offered in app via various methods. The app will feature vertical scrolling for its reading, and will feature a comments section as mentioned above.

Shogakukan also explained the thought process behind the icons of characters appearing next to their lines of dialogue. The company told Nikkei that it received feedback that the “Japanese names are hard to remember,” thus wanting to provide an easy means of remembering who is who in a story. The company also confirmed that it will include original light novels written in the West in the future, and an upcoming submission competition for a chance at being featured.

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It was previously reported by Nikkei that the app will cut translation costs in half while also increasing its localization output via the use of AI. Mantra’s AI-assisted translation system is specifically what the app will use, with the system already providing translations for mangaka Kore Yamazaki’s The Ancient Magus Bride and Ghost and Witch. Shogakukan invested in Mantra in June 2024.

The company’s aim is to release 400 works within two years, but it’s unclear as of this article’s writing if this means 400 different works or 400 novel volumes. The company’s goal is to have 1 million users of the app by the end of the 2027 fiscal year, with sales in several billions of yen.