Cobalt Bunko
Overview
Cobalt Bunko (コバルト文庫) is one of the novel labels published by Shueisha. It represents Shueisha's Shōjo shōsetsu (少女小説, 'novels for girls') and is a pioneer in the field of so-called 'light novels for women'.
It is known as a long-established publishing label alongside Sneaker Bunko, Fujimi Fantasia Bunko and the former Sonorama Bunko, among others.
It produced many pioneers in the early days of light novels, including Motoko Arai, Saori Kumi and Saeko Himuro. Although it mainly deals with romance stories for girls, it also publishes a wide range of other genres, including fantasy, science fiction, mystery, yuri and BL.
Recently, the regular publication of paperbacks has ceased, and it has shifted its focus to e-books (and the physical publication under the Orange Bunko label of works first published on e-books) and websites, while shifting its activities to its sister label, Orange Bunko.
History
Cobalt Bunko was founded in 1976 as a label to publish works from the junior and senior high school novel magazine "Shosetsu Junior" (the predecessor of the magazine Cobalt, which was published until 2016) in Bunkobon (Japanese paperback) form. At the time, the concept of 'light novels' did not yet exist, and they were called 'Junior Novels', named after the magazines in which they appeared. In its early years, it was known for its writers such as Yumie Hiraiwa and Sōkun Kawakami.
The Cobalt Novel Award, organised by the label, has a long history, with Naoki Prize-winning authors Fumio Yamamoto, Kei Yuikawa and Mitsuyo Kakuta among its recipients.
Cobalt Pinky
In the 1990s, the branding of Cobalt Pinky (コバルト・ピンキー) was created as a tie-up brand with Shueisha shoujo manga magazines (RIBON, Margaret, etc.), and was distinguished within in the same Cobalt bunko. The development was later terminated before the beginning of the 2000s.
Basically, branded works similar to these were referred to as 'Cobalt Pinky + (magazine name)'. For example, if the work was originally serialised in RIBON, it was called Cobalt Pinky-RIBON. (Although Margaret is included in this series, in reality there are almost exclusively "Ribon" works.)
The content is a novelisation of an anime work based on a manga work serialised in these shōjo manga magazines, so the setting was also written on the premise of the anime version setting, rather than the original manga setting.
List of Main Works
In kana alphabetical order (A-I-U-E-O...)
A-
- Angeruze (アンゲルゼ)
- An'ya Kitan (暗夜鬼譚)
- Ijinkan Garo (異人館画廊)
- Victorian Rose Tailer (ヴィクトリアン・ローズ・テーラー)
- Oka no Ie no Micky (丘の家のミッキー)
- Oshaka-sama mo Miteru (お釈迦様もみてる)
- Otome wa Ryū wo Michibiku series (乙女は龍を導く!(乙龍)シリーズ)
- Onimai (鬼舞)
Ka-
- Kage no Ōkoku series (影の王国)
- Kaze no Ōkoku series (風の王国)
- KZ Shōnen Shōjo Seminar (KZ少年少女ゼミナール)
- Kill Zone series (キル・ゾーン)
- Gin no Umi Kin no Daichi (銀の海金の大地)
- Glass Heart (グラスハート)
Sa-
Ta-
- Tarastaros no Niwa (タラスタロスの庭)
- Chō series (ちょーシリーズ)
- Torikago no Ōjo to Kyōiku-gakari (鳥籠の王女と教育係)
Na-
- Nante Suteki ni Japanesque (なんて素敵にジャパネスク)
Ha-
- High School Aura Buster (ハイスクール・オーラバスター)
- The Earl and the Fairy (伯爵と妖精, Hakushaku to Yōsei)
- Hayō no Tsurugi (破妖の剣)
- Himegami-sama ni Negai wo (姫神さまに願いを)
- Himegimi to Konyakusha (姫君と婚約者)
- Fukumen Ryūjo (覆面竜女)
- Hōkago series (放課後シリーズ, 'Afterschool series')
- Mirage of Blaze (炎の蜃気楼, Honō no Mirage)
- Hoshi he Iku Fune series (星へ行く船)
Ma-
- Majo no Kekkon (魔女の結婚)
- Maria-sama ga Miteru (マリア様がみてる)
- Mangaka Marina series (まんが家マリナ・シリーズ)
- Midori no Arda (緑のアルダ)
- Megami-sama no Oki ni Muku mama (女神さまのお気の向くまま)
Ya-
- Yami ni Utaeba (new edition) (闇に歌えば)
- Yumemi to Gin no Bara Kishidan (ユメミと銀のバラ騎士団)
Ra-
Wa-
- Wild Card (ワイルド・カード)
Cobalt Pinky
- Hime-chan's Ribbon (姫ちゃんのリボン)
- Akazukin Chacha (赤ずきんチャチャ)
- Marmalade Boy (ママレード・ボーイ)
- Muteki no Venus (無敵のヴィーナス)
- Handsome na Kanojo (ハンサムな彼女)
