Here are my nominees. That includes:
- ドアD (Door D) [physiological thriller]
- ナナブンノイチ (One in Seven) [idk]
- バトル・ロワイアル (Battle Royale) [Death game]
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ペンギン・ハイウェイ(Penguin Highway)[coming of age]
Title: ドアD (Door D)
Japanese Level: ☆☆
Synopsis: Yuna and her 7 university tennis club friends were kidnapped and woke up in an unknown room. With only one locked door, and water filling into the room fast, they must figure out a way to escape before they all drown.
There’s a lever that opens the door. But it only holds the door open while pulled. One person will have to remain.
And this is just the start. Through a series of death trap rooms, and chances of survival slim, each other’s humanity will be tested. Will the group make it out alive? Will anyone make it out alive? And what awaits upon getting through the final door?
First Page
Why it might be a good choice:
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It sounds interesting, it’s a psychological Thriller. What more you can ask for, am I right?
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It has a Kindle version
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And apparently easy Japanese
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絶望
Why it might not be a good choice:
“A lot of 山田悠介 (Yamada Yuusuke)’s works get highly criticized online because his ideas can seem a bit outrageous and his writing is way too simple. The fact that his works sell so much despite this negative criticism just fuels even stronger criticism” - the guy who wrote the article describing the book
Source
Title: ナナブンノイチ (One in Seven)
Japanese Level: Similar to Autumn Prison
Synopsis: Seems to be a tale about a band of fraudsters / con artists planning an operation - with some double crossing intrigue going on between the members. Don’t know for sure about this book, but in general the author is known for having a comic style to his writing.
Why it would be a good choice:
-I’ve read a couple of this guy’s books already and they’re both easy and fun to read
-Standalone book with paperback and kindle editions available
-Best reviewed work in a popular looking franchise (main criticism of his books by natives appears to be that the writing is too simplistic - which should be music to our ears!)
-Departure from previous books
-…has a cool cover?
Why it might not be a good choice:
-Difficulty - dependent on how people find Autumn Prison
-His other books - while nowhere close to gritty - do feature a fair amount of sex and violence, and this looks like being no exception
Title: バトル・ロワイアル (Battle Royale)
Japanese Level: ??( apparently the movie is rated ☆☆ on Japanese levelup)
Genre: Death game
Synopsis: a class of junior high school students is taken to a deserted island where, as part of a ruthless authoritarian program, they are provided arms and forced to kill one another until only one survivor is left standing.
Why it might be a good choice:
- It’s a classic in the killing game genre, so it should be pretty interesting and engaging.
Why it might not be a good choice:
ペンギン・ハイウェイ
Japanese Level: Comfortable (imo)
Synopsis: ぼくはまだ小学校の四年生だが、もう大人に負けないほどいろいろなことを知っている。毎日きちんとノートを取るし、たくさん本を読むからだ。ある日、ぼくが住む郊外の街に、突然ペンギンたちが現れた。このおかしな事件に歯科医院のお姉さんの不思議な力が関わっていることを知ったぼくは、その謎を研究することにした──。少年が目にする世界は、毎日無限に広がっていく。第31回日本SF大賞受賞作。
The novel centers around a fourth-grader, Aoyama-kun, investigating the mysterious reason behind the suddenly appearance of penguins in his village, which is somehow related to a power from a lady working at a dental clinic.
First page: