I think it can be agreed that "Book Girl and The Suicidal Mime" makes for an awkward title.
However, I do think that whoever wrote "Are they trying to destroy the light novel industry?" has no clue for what he is discussing.
What we are witnessing here is the long awaited resurrection of the industry.
Remember, it was TokyoPop who first (I believe) decided that light novels would be the next big thing. But they jumped the gun, licensed a boat load of series, and began releasing with expectations of grandeur.
They didn't market correctly and ultimately, a large part failed.
Seven Sea's and even Viz jumped in to attempt it. But they too failed.
Then we had the period where we were hearing the publishers say "It's impossible. Light novels won't sell. Their too culturally different. Their a failure. Were sorry."
Finally, Yen Press showed up on the scene with the license of Haruhi. That made a few waves. Could this be the book needed for a resurrection?
Soon after, we heard from them that they had licensed Spice and Wolf. BOOM. People went ecstatic. We knew then that once again, another publisher believed that Light Novels could succeed. But this time, they could study from past mistakes and learn. Then they also licensed "Kieli", although it was less publicized. It still showed they had a goal.
So did it pay off?
According to an interview on an ANN podcast, yes. YenPress reports that Haruhi and Spice and Wolf are selling much better than they expected. A look at the rankings on say B&N shows that Haruhi was selling in the range Manga normally do (the good selling manga), and Spice and Wolf was in the range of average selling manga. Tremendous sale results for light novels, not seen before. Kieli because of not being a part of a known franchise and not receiving much publicity, while selling good, basically just met average. But that's probably all they expected it to.
Point is, Yen Press regardless of their title translation or book covers, is succeeding. And that is great. It means that they can keep licensing specific titles wisely and actually make a profit off of it. This is inspiring publishers like TokyoPop to continue, who recently released Trinity Blood ROM #3, GOSICK #2, and will be releasing Trinity Blood RAM #4 this July, as well as plans to release FMP Book 4 this coming February (not to mention they also are still releasing .//hack LN's). Seven Seas plans to release Kanokon eventually, as well as hopes for Zero no Tsukaima perhaps.
The biggest evidence of change in the LN Industry is the fact that at my local B&N store, Spice and Wolf is in plain view, stacked cover showing, in the "NEW FANTASY" aisle for everyone to see.
Time's be a changing.
If there's one thing important, its this. Buy the official releases. Do NOT. I repeat, Do NOT say "Well, if the title isn't just right or the cover isn't just right, I won't buy it." That's just stupid and you know it. What counts is the text inside the book. As long as the translation itself is decent, fans should buy the book to support it's English edition.
My biggest concern for this novel, which I haven't read yet, is that the cover should be good. I bought the Japanese book before I knew it was licensed, and I really like the cover. I'm hoping YenPress does it justice. But even if they don't, I'll of course still buy it.
I'm pretty pleased with the translations for Spice and Wolf and Haruhi. I haven't read Kieli yet, although I have it. lol
(By the way, anyone else noticed how were getting 3 mystery novels this year? lol Gosick 2, Zaregoto 2, and now Bungaku Shoujo. 2010: Year of Mystery)
