What Are The Best Kodansha Novels To Read In 2024?

On the day of my coming-of-age ceremony, I must choose a fiancé from among the heirs of three great families. Everyone believes I will choose Dario Morandi—the man I have pursued for years. Instead, I pick up the photograph of his older brother, Cassiano Morandi. Cassiano is known as the lunatic who was kidnapped by enemies at the age of five and thrown into an underground fighting pit. He survived on his own for ten years before the Morandis brought him back. No one thinks he is worthy of me, the Vito family's Principessa. In my previous life, I choose Dario. On our wedding day, Lina Greco—the daughter of Papa's chauffeur—shows up in a white wedding dress with her pregnant belly on display, crying as she claims the child is Dario's. Enraged, I have her thrown out. But amid the chaos, she suffers a miscarriage. Dario smiles and goes through with the wedding. But in the third year of our marriage, he steals classified intelligence and hands it over to my famiglia's enemies. I die that very night. Now that I have a second chance at life, I decide to fulfill his wish and let him be with Lina. What I never expect is that he has been reborn as well.

Born with angelic blood, Lixue has lived her entire life bound to a prophecy she never chose. Raised in the countryside among a family who shared her celestial heritage, she was sent to Heaven at the age of seven to serve the Father and awaken the powers hidden within her soul. But a single night of tragedy shattered her peaceful life—demons invaded their ancestral mansion, and in the battle that followed, Lixue lost both her mother and her brother. From that moment on, her heart closed itself to the mortal world. Haunted by loss and unable to accept death, Lixue disappears into the Philippines, working as a secret agent for her godfather’s underground organization. Her latest mission seems simple: protect Shuji Liao, a world-renowned model, from an unknown stalker. To stay close, she hides her true identity and lives under the same roof as Shuji and his father. But as Lixue investigates, she uncovers a far darker truth—Shuji’s family is entangled in a powerful criminal syndicate that threatens both the mortal and supernatural realms. Shuji, raised between two countries and burdened by a fractured family, finds his once-stable life unraveling. A mysterious incident alters his heart, pulling him away from his girlfriend and toward the woman sworn only to protect him. What begins as duty slowly turns into forbidden love. Unbeknownst to Shuji, a single kiss seals their fate. The prophecy awakens, revealing its cruel demand: Lixue must love Shuji and bear a child destined to save the world from demons, devils, and ancient evils that walk the Earth. But salvation always comes at a price. After their child is born, Lixue vanishes—erased like a dream at dawn—leaving behind a son, a broken lover, and a world saved by a sacrifice no one will ever forget.

The Demon King’s Bride The entire kingdom fears him. With white hair, piercing blue eyes, and a heart sealed by cruelty, King Edrion is known as the Demon King—a ruler who accepts betrothed brides… only to turn them into concubines and discard them without mercy. When a young noble lady is promised to the king, her fate seems sealed. But she refuses to give up her freedom—or the man she secretly loves: a guard from her own household. Desperate, they devise an unthinkable plan—to have a poor girl, identical to the noble, take her place as the royal bride. The girl agrees to assume a life that is not hers, believing she will become nothing more than another forgotten concubine in the shadow of the throne. What no one expected… is that the king would choose her. Now destined to become queen to the most feared man in the kingdom, trapped in a lie that could cost her life, she must survive the court, a forbidden desire, and a king who was never meant to look at her the way he does. Because the Demon King does not love. But when he chooses… he neither forgives nor lets go.

A week before the college entrance exam, my twin brother, Tristan Doyle, runs away with a delinquent. Our parents abandon their massive corporate empire and set out to search for him. I intend to join the search, but a comment abruptly flashes across my vision. "Don't go, Ryan! If you skip the exam too, your family is doomed!" With no other choice, I shoulder the pressure and walk into the exam hall alone. Yet the moment the exams end, my parents return and lock me in the basement. Ten years later, I finally escape, only to discover that Tristan has stolen my identity. He's celebrated as that year's top scorer, gets a degree from a prestigious university, and is even married to my former high-achieving girlfriend, Alisha Hudson. They share a perfect life with two children. Furious, I attempt to confront them, but they bind me and throw me back into the basement. As I howl in rage, my parents reprimand me, "Tristan was never as smart as you, and that delinquent tricked him into running away. There was no way he could've gotten into college on his own." "You're his older brother. What's wrong with letting him have one thing? Stop being so selfish." I break down completely and die in despair. Only after my death do I learn that Tristan was the one who sent that comment. When I open my eyes again, I'm back on the day Tristan elopes with the delinquent. The comment appears once more. As I stand there frozen, Alisha gently nudges me with a smile. "Go study! Your whole family's counting on you."

The Raikiri clan, which was famed as the most prominent military and tactical geniuses, existed since the feudal Japanese period during the reign of Minamoto Yoritomo. Bestowed with great power, the descendants of Iwasaki Senju yielded the Amaterasu, the power which awakens under emotional stress. Kenjirou Subaru was hailed as a legend for saving the clan at the tender age of six from a unit of 70 yakuza. However, all good things must come to an end eventually as the ancient Ninjutsu clan was assassinated in cold blood, probably by an external group fearful of the clan's prominence and place in modern Japanese culture. The horror of the heinous tragedy at his birthplace, the Village of Raden in Osaka rendered his mental condition unstable thus causing Izanami to go rouge. Unbeknownst to him, he ends up in Tokyo, involving in a frenzy of incidents, gathering to find the intel on the person or the organization responsible for the eradication of his people. Therefore, eking out an existence and pursuing an education. He would eventually make his way to Mitsushiba. He enrolls in high school and thus begins his quest to discover himself again. Eventually, he would be befriended by a group of students who change Subaru's view of life and show him that life this beautiful is worth living or is it really the case....

“No matter how many times we turn back time, in the end, you and I will still be enemies. Don't you understand? This tragedy will never end until one of us dies.” In her previous life, Ariana lived as a stupid duchess who gave up her name just for the crown prince. Her mistake left her territory destroyed, her entire family annihilated, while Ariana was poisoned and abandoned after she was useless. In the end, Ariana ended her life by jumping from the top floor of the castle she lived in and dying regretfully. Given a second chance, Ariana returns to a time when the tragedy had not yet occurred. Ariana realized that the second chance was a chance for her to make up for all her mistakes. The girl was determined, that she would become a useful duchess for the kingdom she loved. War, battle for the throne, and a grand conspiracy will accompany Ariana on her journey to becoming the only duchess in the Kingdom of Sigmund.