New Haruhi Novel Sells 341,000 to Top Weekly Chart

The limited first-edition set of Suzumiya Haruhi no Kyōgaku (The Surprise of Haruhi Suzumiya), Nagaru Tanigawa's first new Haruhi Suzumiya light novel in four years, sold 341,000 units (rounded to the nearest thousand) to top Oricon's bunko (trade paperback book) sales chart for the May 23-29 week. The light novel also set a record for the most sales in one week in the bunko category since Oricon began publishing its book sales charts in 2008. Suzumiya Haruhi no Kyōgaku actually shipped in two volumes due to its 600-page length. It received a 513,000-set print run — a record for light novels. A number of stores in Japan and Taiwan sold the book at midnight on May 25, although some readers reported receiving their copies early.

Source: Oricon, Mantan-Web

Related: New Haruhi Novel Ships in Several Countries Tonight

Haruhi-Ville Coming to Japanese Mobile Phones

GREE, Japan's largest social networking service, will be offering Nexon Mobile developed The Union of Haruhi Suzumiya starting June 15th. Play involves quests, mini-games and interaction with the otaku media icon Haruhi Suzumiya and her SOS Brigade cohorts. The game is free to play, with revenue being generated through microtransactions.

New Haruhi Novel Ships in Several Countries Tonight

513,000 limited first-edition sets of Nagaru Tanigawa's next Haruhi Suzumiya light novel, Suzumiya Haruhi no Kyōgaku (The Surprise of Haruhi Suzumiya), will officially go on sale at midnight on Wednesday in Japan (11:00 a.m. on Tuesday EDT). The two-volume novel will also go on sale in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and South Korea. However, since some retailers shipped earlier than others, some readers have reported receiving their copies already.

Five Animate stores and three Gamers stores will open at midnight in Japan to sell the novel as early as possible. Staff members in some Animate stores will be cosplaying in the light novels' high school uniforms, complete with SOS Brigade armband, and customers will receive one of five random SOS Brigade Supporters Cards with every 1,000 yen (about US$12) they spend on Haruhi Suzumiya items. The Animate and Wawabooks stores in Taipei, as well as two more stores in Taichung and Kaohsiung, will also open at midnight in Taiwan.

Source: Niji ni Kubittake!, Comic Natalie