A near future, where humans have been defeated by the viral parasites named Gastrea. They have been exiled into a small territory and live in despair, side by side with terror.... more>>

In this world trapped in darkness—

Rentaro, a boy living near Tokyo and member of the "Civil Security" – an organization specializing in fighting against the Gastrea – is used to accomplishing dangerous tasks. His partner is Enju, a precocious young girl. They fight thanks to their peculiar powers until one day, when they receive a special assignment from the government. This top secret mission is to prevent the destruction of Tokyo...

Set in a near future, this thrilling heroic-action story... starts now! <<less

In the spring of 1998, Kouichi Sakakibara transfers to Yomiyama North Middle School. In class, he develops a sense of unease as he notices that... more>> the people around him act like they’re walking on eggshells, and students and teachers alike seem frightened. As a chain of horrific deaths begin to unfold around him, he comes to discover that he has been placed in the cursed Class 3 in which the student body head count is always one more than expected. Class 3 is haunted by a vengeful spirit responsible for gruesome deaths in an effort to satisfy its spite. To stop the vicious cycle gripping his new school, Kouichi decides to get to the bottom of the curse, but is he prepared for the horror that lies ahead…? <<less

On the outskirts of the Pleasure City of Midas lies the Ceres special autonomous area, commonly known as the slums. Gang leader Riki, looking for an easy pocket to pick in the nightlife districts, gets caught red-handed…by none other than one of the highest-ranking, golden-haired android elites ruling from the capital Tanagura: the “Blondy” Iason Mink!
By all rights, a Blondy standing at the pinnacle of aristocracy and a slummer should have never crossed paths—their chance encounter marks the beginning of a love twisted by obsession, soon spiraling into a karmic chain of events...... more>>

⬇️ //// About the Japanese novel and anime adaptations ////
⬇️ //// About the English translation ////
⬇️ //// Current translation status ////
⬇️ //// Drama CDs, prequel and side stories ////

//// About the Japanese novel and anime adaptations ////

Originally serialized in the bimonthly magazine Shosetsu June (小説ジュネ) spanning six chapters from December 1986 to October 1987, the novel was released with minor revisions into a hardcover edition in 1990.
This first version of the story received a two-episode/OVA anime adaptation in 1992 and 1994.

Between the years 2001 and 2007, the original story was greatly expanded upon and released in six paperback volumes. After a change of Japanese publisher, two more volumes were released between 2009 and 2010, completing the series (the six aforementioned volumes were released as volumes 1-4 in the newest Japanese edition).
This second version of the story was meant to be adapted into a twelve-episode OVA anime—initially planned to release in 2010—but was postponed to 2012, only to be discontinued after the fourth episode’s release.

//// About the English translation ////

The English paperback expanded edition is made up of eight volumes: the six first volumes (Seibido/Crystal edition) + the two later volumes (#7 and #8 in English, but #5 and #6 in the newest Tokuma/Chara edition).
The change in Japanese publisher led to a change in translator for the English edition between vol1 to 6 and vol7 to 8: it is highly recommended to read the fan translations of #7 and #8 as opposed to reading the licensed edition, due to the massive loss in translation (expect a 50% word count difference between the two).

//// Current translation status of the different editions of the novel (as of April 20th, 2024) ////

. Shosetsu June edition, unlicensed: 2/6 chapters, ongoing fan translation.
. 1990 hardcover edition, unlicensed: 2/6 chapters, ongoing fan translation. An older fan translation had 4/6 chapters translated but the project was dropped.
. 2000’s expanded edition, English licensed: fully translated, complete.

//// Drama CDs, prequel and side stories ////

– The Shosetsu June story was adapted into a drama cassette and a drama CD (Dark Erogenous).
– The expanded story was adapted into three drama CDs (Destiny, Nightmare, Resonance)
– A prequel called Midnight Illusion was serialized in Shosetsu June between December 1992 and April 1993, and released as a hardcover in 1996. 3/6 chapters have been fan-translated into English.
– The 5 side stories have all been fan-translated into English (Kizu/Wound, File-0, Cal’s Sighs, Musk, Illusion Night) and are based on the expanded version of the novel.

Look up online “Ai no Kusabi Master List LiveJournal” to find the links to all the material listed above and more.

[This page was updated as per an anon’s request, all credit goes to the AnK community where credit is due.] <<less

Fujishima’s wound he suffered from protecting Tooru has healed and he’s finally been released from the hospital. Their life together starts again once more. Tooru... more>> wants them to live together as lovers, but Fujishima refuses, saying “I have no intentions of loving you.” Is Fujishima afraid of Tooru remembering something in particular if he regains his memories? The bonds of the past are finally becoming clearer... <<less

After losing his memory in a serious car accident, Tohru Takahisa is taken in by Fujishima, an older man who claims to be his friend. But the taciturn Fujishima refuses to reveal anything about Tohru’s past! Despite the gulf between them, a strange and awkward tenderness grows, even as they are held apart by the tragic events of Tohru’s forgotten past! Dramatic, heart-wrenching romance and tragedy combine in a gripping story where the past and present are intricately entwined.... more>>

Reading order of the series:
Cold Sleep
Cold Light
Cold Fever <<less

This is the story of a crazy lich who possesses an internal game system and brings catastrophe to the entire world.... more>>

“Let’s look at the daily quests today… it’s the damned choose one-of-two-options-type again. Destroy a town with a population of 30,000 people or above; reward: 10,000 evil points. Steal lollipops from 3 children; reward: 1 evil point. If neither of the quests is completed, then 2 points will be deducted.”

“Tsk! You think I’m s*upid? If I really destroyed a town, a crusade of Epic-ranked Holy Knights would definitely come hunting me down. Even if I earned the points, there wouldn’t be any life left in me to spend them. I better just go be a kindly lollipop bandit.”

I’ve already had enough of being a notorious lich. Who says that a lich can’t be a good person? I’m definitely going to beat this damned system and be an upright and dignified good man. <<less

After being soundly thrashed by the hero Emilia, the Devil King and his general beat a hasty retreat to a parallel universe…only to land plop... more>> in the middle of bustling, modern-day Tokyo! Lacking the magic necessary to return home, the two are forced to assume human identities and live average human lives until they can find a better solution. And to make ends meet, Satan finds gainful employment at a nearby fast food joint! With his devilish mind set on working his way up the management food chain, what will become of his thirst for conquest?! <<less

My name is Joo In-gong. The name that my parents gave me meant ‘protagonist’ of the world. Really?... more>>

As anyone can predict, I was constantly teased due to my name. In kindergarten, elementary school, middle school and high school. If I went to university as planned then I would probably be laughed at there as well.

So, at one point, I really hated my name.

But not anymore. Now, I think slightly differently. Maybe being named Joo In-gong was a type of foreshadowing? <<less

Now that he enters his high school career, Satomi Koutaro begins his life living alone in an apartment that only costs him 5000 yen per month, an extremely cheap deal even for this small apartment. There’s a catch: the apartment is apparently haunted by a cute ghost that has driven its prior occupants away.... more>>

Next thing he knows, not only is there a ghost trying to drive him out of his new home, but magical girls and other unique female characters turn this small apartment into a battleground of sorts. <<less

Lyle Walt is a young noble boy and heir looking forward to the day he can inherit his family’s territory. Except around when he was 10 year old, his parents started neglecting him more and more in favour of his little sister, Celes.... more>>

On his fifteenth birthday, he is challenged to a duel by his sister to see who will inherit the household and horribly loses, being cast out of his family. Afterwards, he gets treated by the family groundskeepers and receives the family heirloom Gem from him that Lyle’s grandfather had entrusted to him. From there, he begins an aimless journey with his childhood friend and former fiancée, Novem, and the Gem-turned-Jewel that houses the memories, personalities, and Skills of seven of his ancestors. <<less

Kim Dokja does not consider himself the protagonist of his own life. Befitting the name his parents gave him, he is a solitary person whose sole hobby is reading web novels. For over a decade, he has lived vicariously through Yu Junghyeok, the main character of the web novel Three Ways to Survive the Apocalypse (TWSA). ... more>>

Through Junghyeok, Dokja has experienced secondhand the trials of repeatedly regressing in time, in search of an end to life-threatening “scenarios” that force people to act out narratives for the amus**ent of god-like “Constellations.”

After reading 3,149 chapters—long after all other readers lost interest—Dokja finally resigns himself to the story ending. However, he receives an enigmatic message from the author, stating that the story will soon be monetized, before his surroundings suddenly go dark.

He swiftly realizes that fiction has become reality and he is now living through TWSA. Although he is the singular omniscient reader of the events yet to come, his success in the scenarios is not guaranteed—but perhaps his advantage will empower him to step into the protagonist role that never suited him before. <<less

"I remember this! I'll never forgive you!"... more>>

Hirao's childhood friend, Naho Kusano, caught two fraudsters when he was in sixth grade. Hirao happened to witness the fraudsters being taken away, and he worried that they might harm Naho after their release from prison. After much deliberation, he decided to train himself at a martial arts dojo on the outskirts of town to prepare for that day. However, as Naho began to frequent the suspicious dojo, Hirao started to distance himself from her, feeling uneasy about her involvement.

Even if Naho disliked him, he was fine with it as long as she could enjoy her daily life.

Until that day arrives, Hirao dedicated his life to protecting Naho.
And one day during his second year of high school... <<less

Toru lost his most of his memory in an accident. He can’t remember anything that happened from the past six years. But with time, yet... more>> he struggles, he slowly recovers his memory. He feels as if he is a different person now, and he hates “the other guy” – the “himself” from six years ago… And thinking, Fujishima was his friend, felt like he was being watched over like a guardian angel but in the end he’s betrayed. Miserable and emotionally drained, Toru is trying not to relive in the shadow of his past. He is trying to move on with his new life… but harder he tries, he finds himself being pulled in by Fujishima. <<less

The story of a cult master, his lover and their deaths.
Dongfang Bubai and Yang Lianting's story.

The following short story is from the heroine's perspective.

The age of darkness has arrived.... more>>

When the rift to an unknown plane suddenly appeared on Earth, monsters invaded, beasts mutated while humans, the once-dominant species fell to the bottom of the food chain.

A hundred years later, three of the greatest classes evolve amongst humans: ability users, ancient warriors, and gunslingers.

Qin Feng, an orphan of this dark age was tormented just as he awakened his pinnacle level of special ability, barely surviving for ten years in the post-apocalyptic world.

Hence, he was reborn… <<less

The girl who should had more unreasonable circumstance than anyone else, trusted the woman who was wore out of reality and completely rebellious since the first day they met.... more>>

She believed in the woman’s superpower.

Because her powerful power, her skin discolored and she was crying, said she loved her skin.

At a certain night, the woman speak about her life, her regret and her grudge against the world, and when the girl accept all of them, she got hugged.

The woman thought protecting a girl who was much younger than herself was something purer than anything in the world.

That’s why.

That’s why the woman decided.

To destroy this world.

To turn everything in this word into enemies.

With her Miracle Ash superpower — she will absolutely burn The World Tree. <<less

The Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre was first serialized by Jin Yong in newspapers from 6 July 1961 to 2 September 1963.... more>>

The book is the third of the Condor Trilogy. The story has undergone two revisions. The second edition was released in 1979 and and the third edition was published in 2005.

Set in the late Yuan dynasty, the story revolves around a pair of priceless and extremely powerful weapons, the Heaven Reliant Sword (倚天劍) and Dragon Slaying Saber (屠龍刀), which are coveted by many martial artists in the jianghu. Either or both of them are thought to allow their wielder to rule the wulin (martial artists' community), according to a widely circulated mantra which goes, "Honoured by the wulin, the precious Saber slays the Dragon. It commands the world. Who dares to disobey? If the Heaven Reliant does not appear, who can challenge it?" (武林至尊，寶刀屠龍，號令天下，莫敢不從！倚天不出，誰與爭鋒？). The origins of this mantra are not known at the beginning of the story.

The protagonist, Zhang Wuji, is of mixed heritage: His father, Zhang Cuishan, is an apprentice of Zhang Sanfeng, the highly revered leader of the Wudang Sect; his mother, Yin Susu, is the daughter of Yin Tianzheng, the chief of the "unorthodox" Heavenly Eagle Cult. He spent his childhood on a reclusive northern island, where he was born, with only his parents and his godfather, Xie Xun, to keep him company. When he is about 10 years old, he returns to the Chinese mainland with his parents. They soon find themselves the target of several martial artists, who try to force them to reveal the whereabouts of Xie Xun and the Dragon Slaying Saber. His parents refuse and commit su*cide. At the same time, Zhang Wuji is wounded by the Xuanming Elders, but he survives after seeking medical treatment from Hu Qingniu, an eccentric physician. <<less

The once wealthy and powerful Ryuuzen clan has been all but destroyed. Their misfortune began in 1960, when a majority of the family was wiped out when their vacation villa was buried under a landslide. However, search and rescue teams discovered something even more shocking: A majority of the bodies they discovered showed obvious signs of having been mu*dered before the landslide.... more>>

As though it were a trigger, what came to be known as "The Curse of the Ryuuzen Clan" spread throughout the descendants of the family's only survivor. By mu*der, by su*cide, by accident... it seemed none who held the name "Ryuuzen" could live to see the age of 35, and now, the family has been reduced to a single woman, lying in a hospital bed, days away from death.

Kamo Touma was once just another of the endless parade of sleazy tabloid journalists looking to exploit a prominent family's tragedy to sell magazines, but Ryuuzen Rena's kindness melted his frozen heart, driving him to quit his old job and become an investigative journalist specializing in overturning cases of false arrest. Eventually, he and Rena were married, but now, the curse threatens to steal away their happiness.

Kamo prays for a miracle, and his prayers are answered by the Hourglass of Miracles, an artifact spoken of in rumors and urban legends, said to grant one wish to anyone who obtains it.

"Meister Hora", a guide for those who obtain the hourglass, tells Kamo there is only one way to break the curse and save Rena: He must travel back in time to the year 1960 and catch the culprit of the original Ryuuzen Family massacre.

Who was the culprit of the mu*ders that took place almost 60 years ago? Why did they steal away the lives of the Ryuuzen clan? What is the true nature of the "Curse of the Ryuuzen Clan?" And perhaps most mysteriously of all... What is Meister Hora's goal in all this?

Winner of the 29th annual Ayukawa Tetsuya Award. <<less

It has been three months since I transferred to this school.... more>>

It is a very ordinary public high school located in a provincial city in a certain prefecture.

Despite the fact that it is a public high school located in a provincial city in a certain prefecture, the class happens to be full of exceptionally beautiful girls.

I was excited by this fact, but then I ...... <<less

The notorious imperial court lackey and the meritorious military general were well-known for their mutual dislike, a pair of arch-enemies set in stone. Who could have foreseen the unexpected change in the winds of heaven: the general injured on the battlefield, both legs disabled, and even forced by the emperor to marry his nemesis. ... more>>

With one marriage edict, two people with mutual hostility are forced to marry and live under the same roof. Yet after these long days together, they come to the realization that this fellow is not truly devoid of any saving grace/unattainable and high out of reach. <<less

Is money really everything in a life?... more>>

If you could live through your life again you must become a God of money. A person who lives for money. A person who treats money with the worth it deserves. <<less

She reincarnated, she died when she was twenty, the mu*derer pushed her to the road in the glare of public eye. However, within the people —... more>>

Her respectful father said to the mu*derer: Don’t take it to your heart, this is not your fault.

Her kindness-loving mother said to the mu*derer: Don’t worry, I still got you, you’re much better than my real daughter.

Her lovely brother said to the mu*derer: Tsk, this kind of woman should have just die earlier, her existence embarrasses me.

Her beloved man said to the mu*derer: You’re the only one I loved from the start.

The mu*derer was moved to tears, as if she was the only pure white lotus that remains in this world; nobody notices her vicious and scarcely smile.

Hence —

When everything resets, she swears she will take everything back and make her pay twice the price, she desires to become the princess where everyone comforts her for mu*dering a person too. She’ll definitely make that person who stole everything from her to experience the deepest agony in her soul.

//

Before he was in love with her, he calmly said: “I can sense the smell of crime on her.”

After he was in love with her, his face was cold but his heart was warm: “I can sense the smell that turns me into a crime on her.”

She said: “Can I keep your corpse into my collection when you die?”

He said: “Are you going to r*pe me day and night?”

She said: “I just want to make you into a mummy.”

He said: “I didn’t know you were so hardcore, using this kind of method to make me stay by your side forever.” <<less

“Can’t I properly read stallion novels anymore!”... more>>

Shen Yuan transmigrated into someone who’d tormented the young male lead almost to death, the scum villain Shen Qingqiu.

It must be known, the original Shen Qingqiu ended up being carved alive by his disciple, Luo Binghe, into a human stick, a human stick!

Ten thousand “f*ck your moms” rampaged through Shen Qingqiu’s heart:

“It’s not that I don’t want to cling to the male lead’s thighs, but who made him so f*cking black. The type who seeks thousand-fold retribution!”

Why have all the female lead’s scenes been forcibly given to him.

Why, as a scum villain, does he need to constantly sacrifice himself, blocking knife and gun for the protagonist!

Shen Qingqiu: “…I think I can still save him, one more time.” <<less

I have experienced all the eight sufferings of this world.... more>>

I do not ask for nirvana, but for you.

Wild and hard-to-tame demon (gong) X Cold, ascetic and childish immortal (shou) <<less