2021 #Novel note Summary: 100 Works

The end of the year is here again. The official selection of 30 notes that colored 2021 has been announced!

As I was looking through them, thinking, 'Oh, I read this,' or 'That one was good,' I suddenly thought, 'Wait, what?'There are no novel notes...! What on earth!! Even though the novel category is right at the beginning of the note home screen...!!
(Maybe it was hard for the official team to pick novels since the Creative Awards are currently being held...)

So, I wrote this!

Here you go!

1. 'Things you want to do' will not make you happy

A note that gets you fired up while reading about the cruelty of dreams and talent, and the wishes we hold. It really hits home...

2. I want to open a shop.

I was completely taken by the last two lines!! A note about how wonderful a shop like this would be.

3. Short-short story 'Yoshida has died'

I wrote this. Hehe.
I was so surprised!! Yoshida, you did it!!

4. I tried giving my middle school daughter a handmade 'story' and this happened...

I'm so curious about the content of the novel! A lovely note where the bitterness turns into warmth.

5. I was in a world without SNS

If you change the way you frame things, the world looks different. A note that made me realize how we are connected every day by smartphones that fit in our hands.

6. What do book lovers do at bookstores?

Bookstores are great, aren't they? A writing style that lets you feel the texture of the books, a note that makes you want to read immediately.

7. #62 'Graduating from Normal'

Why do I write? What do I write for? The more I talk to myself, the deeper I sink, but there is also a part of me that is stubborn and says, 'Just you wait.' A note that makes you clench your stomach with determination.

8. 'The truth is in fiction' — Writing is diving, writing is meeting

'Writing changed me.' This one sentence really hits home. A note that embodies writing, reading, and connecting.

9. The sesame tofu shop owner's husband, and the day we first met on Twitter.

It takes a little courage and initiative to attract a meeting like something out of a novel. A heartwarming, grounded note that feels like a breath of fresh air filling your lungs.

To everyone who gave me recommendations, thank you so much. It's amazing how much you all read!!

From here on out, I'll be introducing everyone's recommendations one after another!

🐐

10. Blue Play-House #MonthlyTwistedThread

The matter-of-fact sense of suffocation and the addictive writing style make Iterasan's work really great... A short note where a kind of pain that tightens like silk and a strange sense of comfort coexist.

11. Creative Short Story 'It's Not This, But It Was Love'

Hooked from the first line, it seems laid-back, but the grounded dialogue is incredibly good... A deeply nourishing note that I want to keep reading forever.

12. The Place Where Waves Wash Up

Word count has nothing to do with being 'interesting.' 40,000 characters of overwhelming brilliance. A crystalline note of Yagi Mail's fictional world that makes you wish for the happiness of the characters as you read. The best.

13. Short Story | Tokyo Fantasy

'People of Tokyo,' sigh... Tokyo contains countless stories. The best. A wonderful note where the strange conversations are strangely warm.

14. [Novel] Swallowing the Moon

Kaede-san's world is in top gear from the very first line. The clear, refined dialogue is incredibly good. A wonderful note that makes you drunk on the love connected by the moon and a tiny bit of loneliness.

15. Round Second Base

The title is absolutely wonderful... It makes my heart ache at the difference between what was gained and what overflowed. A note that gives you the courage to know that someone is definitely watching that swing of yours.

16. [Novel] What I Wanted to Eat

The way it pierces through, seeing right through the kindness, makes my heart ache. Sisters, brothers, parents and children. It's not addition or subtraction, but sometimes it's hard to see it as multiplication, isn't it? A note that leaves you feeling warm after reading it.

17. [Novel] Basil on the Balcony

Eating always involves 'something' before and after it. This is a note where you can see the heart carefully put into every ingredient, dish, and step of the process, making me feel clear-headed as I read it. Ueda-san's cooking is the best.

18. Hidden in a Small Box [Short Story (approx. 3600 characters)]

Thoughts that quietly approach beyond the calm narration. A 3600-character note with a powerful monologue style that draws you in. The sediment of emotions left after finishing it is just wonderful...

19. [Youth Novel ①] Sharing a Curry Bread

Haa~~~!!!! So blue!!!!
A boy-meets-girl curry bread note that forcibly activates a ticklish feeling I had forgotten.

20. Over the Corpse of Heath Ledger

28 years old. Conversations of people living firmly in the narrow space of a gradient. Chikaze-san's crisp, vivid writing style is just wonderful. A note where you can stop and linger in a daze.

21. From Within the Rain

In Yagi Mail-san's novels, formless emotions are represented by actions one by one, and the description of a writing style that 'suits water' hits home perfectly. A warm note about a scream found after dripping away like a flowing stream.

22. none

The chaos that sometimes visits like a bonus stage in life is just wonderful... A note that makes you fall in love with the kindness and strength of grabbing an opportunity and expressing it frankly.

23. Firefly Seller

Faint light and life. The world you see shifts, and you get completely drawn in. A note that makes you groan, thinking, 'This is exactly what makes text interesting.'

24. Short Story | The Child in the Mirror

The determination to run until you are truly burned out seeps into those seven characters, 'pouring everything in.' The world where 'with all one's heart and soul' isn't a sprint is the most intense. A note of attrition, energy, and passion.

25. Wrapping Thoughts

The structure, or rather the design of the work, is already the best gift. Wrapping, and then opening the heart. Haa~~!! A note that makes you feel gentle.

26. Battery

I read it twice and laughed my head off...!! The greatest tragedy of the year is in this note. It's the best. It's too good...!!

27. Spanning the Ocean

A distance where you can smile a little and swallow your feelings without having to say them out loud. Even if you are apart, even as time passes, you can go there every time you look at the moon. A note that is warmly soothing and gently pierces the heart.

28. The Thug and the Florist

A short story note about misfits meeting in the midst of daily life filled with pain, where the kindness that appears once you peel back a layer really hits home.

29. [Novel] At Feuille

If life is defined by the time cells hold their shape, then it is an amazing thing that we happen to be together. A powerful and encouraging note.

30. Short Story_Fuyu-chan's Dragonite #BecauseOfThatFailure

Memories that hit home in that unique way only childhood can. Items that only childhood friends who shared that same time can truly understand. Sigh... A short story note that is bittersweet and makes you want to be as kind as possible.

31. Dear You #LetterToYouContest

The leap of the story from just two characters is amazing... It can fly. What you want to convey is always omitted. The absence is the expression itself. A note that is a suspenseful, captive short story that stays in your heart and makes you soar.

32. [Novel] Vanilla Ice Cream of Reminiscence

A warm note that feels like something cold and hardened is slowly melting away. You might drag your shadows along, but they gradually stretch and fade. Those moments in life that feel like gently sliding a spoon into ice cream—they're wonderful.

33. I Thought Girls' Busts Were Filled with Sweet Whipped Cream

Self-consciousness is truly a troublesome thing. But because we all have memories of facing it, it hits home. A note written in a comical style that still leaves your core laid bare when you read it. It's good stuff.

34. [Novel] Polygonal Moon

My heart aches at the bittersweetness swaying between the words we can't say and the words we don't say... Matsui—!!!! A note that makes you want to crack open a can of beer after reading it.

35. The Added End Roll

From the first line, you're set at the perfect angle for full-throttle youth, and then you're launched into a flow of swaying emotions. And the strength of the end mark makes you straighten your back. A top-tier note.

36. Drugstore Old Tales 1

The narrator's perspective adds so much to the humor of the story... An interesting note that whisks you away to a strange world and makes you absolutely need to know what happens next.

37. Don't Erase the Memories

A flowing development that keeps your emotions swinging, right to the end. Ah, the range of emotions I felt while reading this is incredible... How can someone create a narrative structure like this? A sci-fi note that hits the spot perfectly.

38. Chobei of the Long Night (1) Morning Glory

A work that makes me so happy, serialized after being inspired by the 'First 3 Lines Championship'. A period-piece note with a wonderful, fragrant writing style and color. The kind that makes you want to know what happens next!

39. Picking Up a Finger

This is amazing. It has that stinging sensation of a fuse that won't explode but keeps burning. It's mysterious, yet you can read it calmly and visualize it. How can someone write something like this? A top-tier note that stays in your heart once you read it.

40. "in other words"

I was completely drawn into the two people described so calmly. The sweetness of connecting by converting the five senses into words, even when you can't see. A note I want to read over and over again.

41. The Cat Dreams of a Giraffe on a Peony

Even though it's text, the writing style feels like a series of images or panels, which is so satisfying. You get trapped in the distance between the two, slowly drawn in—a top-tier note that stays in your heart once you read it.

42. The Belaguald Chronicles - Prologue

It's a long-term serialization (2 years!), but having the narrator guide you at the entrance is so good...! A perfect example of a serialized summary, an entrance note with an incredible worldview. One you can enjoy in full volume!

43. Rain and Pistachios

Small explanations. Those connections take on the form of a story. Ah, I want to write something like this... An ultra-short story note with an amazing level of polish in its words.

44. Snow in Shinjuku

The cold, the hands, the grip. How learning connects at any given time. I find myself rooting for them, as if in defiance of the cold. Heading toward the end. But becoming positive. A top-tier note to read in winter.

45. The Summer When Three Fingers Reached the Blue Sky

A youth spent giving it your all, even if you don't know where that one pitch will land. Haa~~~!!! A note that makes your heart race with the emotional turbulence of the three, even before they have words for it. The best.

46. Episode 1: Rakugo Performer Mass Attack [THE ASAXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE] #ScreamCup

One person dies every scroll. What is this?! A drift-style writing that forces you into its mysterious world without question. A hard-boiled novel note that is a favorite for those who like this kind of thing. Crazy.

47. The Wind Blowing on the Moon

Leaping over distance and time, Palau. When you feel the moment the wind blows, you just want to cheer, 'Fly!!!' An amazing note that leaves you unable to do anything but wish for happiness at the end mark.

Hasegawa-san's recommendation commentary note is also super good! (It contains spoilers, so please read it after you've read the story!)

48. Shirogane ⇔ Struggle Table of Contents

A novel series with an explosive power development of another world x boys x soldiers. There was a peak of excellence that those who get hooked will enjoy immensely. The illustrations are also super good, a wonderful note.

49. Guardian of the Usurper Chapter 1 [1, 2]

Each person's intentions are inserted into the high-speed development. It feels great to flow into the worldview! A peak of excellence that you can enjoy for a long time, a note that serves as a gateway to a swamp with the best tempo.

50. "Gentle Revenge" Novel

An excellent business novel where insights as solid as a business book and careful character descriptions drive the story. This is going to be huge. The title is suspenseful, and the gentle resolution makes for a note with a great aftertaste.

51. Comprehensive Table of Contents: Near-Future Architectural Appraiser Harima

No matter the world or era, drama resides in humble jobs. The lead-in for the synopsis is great, it's easy to read one episode at a time, the tempo is good, it's a swamp, and it's a note that is a peak of excellence you can enjoy for a long time. Let's read this.

52. Soul Light -Summary Edition- #ppslgr

I wondered what on earth the introduction meant by 'a super-robot action epic where the determination of young people struggling with creation on note clashes,' but it really feels great to see it unfold just like that. This is an interest you can't understand unless you read it... A note that breaks through the heavens of creation while sipping CORONA today.

53. New Serial Relay Story "Moving Worker #1"

The relay that connects the frames of the story is super amazing... A heartwarming note that makes you unable to keep the box of curiosity closed and makes you fall in love with the characters once you read it.

54. [Short Story] Smart Town

It is, after all, people who use devices. Perhaps 'smart' is about consideration for others. A note that surprises you with a future that is startling, yet within the realm of imagination.

55. Final Abode (Short-Short)

The flow of the end that turns around from the title introduction. The wall that is simply there at the end of catching your breath while being swept up. A satirical short-short note that hits just right.

56. Princess Kaguya Who Wants to Start Over from Bamboo [Complete Edition]

A Princess Kaguya with a powerful 'gyaru' vibe, but she has a core and is thrilling... A positive note that forces a restart of your energy when you read it. I'm also super happy that you wrote it for the 'First 3 Lines Championship'!

57. Flag

A strangeness that is an extension of daily life, wrapped in sincerity and an unspoken kindness. Perhaps everyone carries a flag and a gathering somewhere in their hearts. A note that stays in your mind as an image once read, and one you'll want to reread many times.

58. Short Story_When Napping With You

If stress is something that gets passed around, someone must be absorbing and resetting it. A nap. A top-tier note that makes you involuntarily wish for a peaceful future for you and me, like the sound of cracking open a can while dozing off.

59. Racing Toward Autumn. #TheMomentTheEngineStarted

The seasons turn while I count the things that have overflowed. I hope that for as much as they've turned, we can meet again... An emotional novel note that makes you feel a searing impatience as you get swept up in reading it.

60. Lust Twice a Month #1

A well-prepared heat that falls upon you like a cascade. Just slightly outside the limit, a note that once it takes root, you're captured and just have to keep reading. You're going to get hooked.

61. Serial Novel | Paradise [Part 1]

Ugh...! First suspense, then the clash of emotions, with the narrator's position and distance from the reader's perspective... It follows the conventions firmly, but you can't help but be curious about the connection and the 'Wait, what does that mean?' factor in this note...

62. Serial 'Traveling Cotton.' Trip to Kochi [1]

Sometimes things are too close to see. Travel is about cutting yourself out and placing yourself somewhere else. What you see while traveling might not be the outside world, but the inside of your heart. A note that leaves a prickling sensation and makes you desperate to know what happens next in the journey.

63. Fragments of a Story: Blue Spring Chapter 1

The illustrations and the fantasy introduction are wonderful, and I'm intrigued that it's tagged as a mystery. If you can dive into the world-building, it's a swamp-like note you can enjoy for a long time. This is one where I'm curious about the sequel.

64. [Serial Novel] Ahe-Ahe Kingdom 3rd Season Introduction [Complete Version]

'A web novel that you can enjoy like watching an anime, weaving in illustrations and songs.' It really does feel more like watching than reading, and the experience of reading a dialogue play in a thread format is new...!! A user-friendly design that you can enjoy as a standalone season or by going back to the beginning. A note that makes you imagine various forms of expression, not just as a note, but perhaps on TikTok too.

65. Menbou or Manbou. And Future

Just like the tag says, it makes no sense! But it's addictive. The sound of the writing style as a whole is great. The best. A strange aftertaste that makes the front of your teeth and soft palate feel dry. Interesting. A top-tier note.

66. 'Various Things Happened'

There is a history behind the 'various things' that are as diverse as the people who experience them. A relationship where you can unravel things by saying 'So many things happened, didn't they!' is a time that surely paints a beautiful pattern. A heartwarming note.

67. [Novel] Let's do good work together again

I think the way work-themed novels resonate and the passion they evoke change depending on your stage in life, but this was definitely a work that resonates with me right now... It's the best when you read a piece and think, 'This is about me.' The way of facing things, the way of interacting, the connections, the passion. A note that makes you feel like you can do your best again tomorrow after reading it.

68. Lost City (Short Story)

Perhaps changing isn't about becoming something new, but about losing the place you were before. The speed of the heart is slower than time. A short note that is bittersweet, yet lets you breathe a sigh of relief.

69. Short-Short: The Talking Piano [410 characters]

The beauty and ugliness that flow down from the title. 410 characters, a short-short note with an impact that hits you like a punch, making it addictive. Scary.

70. My Grandchild, Me, and Moon Viewing [Short-Short] [#166]

The framework of life that children acquire, and the time after stepping out of it or redrawing it little by little. Even if the moon is the same, the one looking at it changes. A top-tier short-short note with a pleasant aftertaste that makes you smile wryly without words.

71. On the Matter of Me Being Threatened by Jealousy [Short Story (approx. 13,000 characters)]

I let my guard down thinking it was a youth story, and then I was swept away by a torrent of love and madness. Does the system of love and hate catch up to the heart, or is the heart replaced by the system? A short story note with an exhilarating aftertaste, as if I were left behind by a future I could imagine. Scary.

72. The Ogre and Chocolate

A Setsubun slapstick comedy with the best punchline right up to the final tag. It feels great how it unfolds rapidly in such a short text. A superb short story note that will surely make you want to read other short-shorts.

73. Yajirobei Diary No. 1: 'Invitation'

Today cannot be repeated, but tomorrow can. The smart conversation is delightful! A music session story note that makes you curious about what lies beyond the chemical reaction of change.

74. Goodbye, Rotten Taste

The family restaurant I thought I could stay in forever, the 296-yen medium beer mug I thought was the best taste in life, the refrigerator that was so big. Everything rots at the bottom of my memory and turns into soil. The strength to bite down hard and stand up to walk again hits home; that, too, is youth.

75. Mont Blanc Anniversary

Deliciousness is a signpost for life. Sweet, salty, and after finishing it, you feel pleasantly positive. Ah~~~! It's a note just like a cake, a Mont Blanc. May you be happy!!

76. The Language of Anemone Flowers

Unspoken words, a heart before it even has a name. Yes, ah~~~!!!! A sweet and bittersweet, straightforward youth note with a great aftertaste.

77. Coltrane's Whisper Vol. 1

The clothing and every gesture of the fingertips reveal the character's current moment, and it's a mature novel series on note that makes you curious about what lies beyond the relentless falls and rebirths. It makes my heart race.

78. Dakakakaakaaka

Some things come like a typhoon, and others you get swept up in like a sudden whirlwind; it's always so abrupt. Kakakaka, a note that makes you feel all tingly!

79. Novel "My Voice"

Sharing a hole that has opened up completely. That voice is certainly my voice, and it's a joy to read, hoping for what comes after the end mark. A wonderful note.

80. "Midnight Secret Letter" (Entry for Uta Mizuno's "#LetterToYou Contest")

The gift is not a thing or words, but sharing time. Some things happen because they were meant to, but there is a next time. A note that thinks of healthy times.

81. Novel: Goodbye Pale Clouds [3462 characters]

A blue that looks transparent turns murky, stagnates, approaches my hands, and flows away. An ultramarine that pierces the heart with its imagery despite being a mysterious world. A scary and interesting short story note.

82. [Waxing and Waning Squadron Otsukiyan]

This is strange... I'm completely swept up in it, and even though I don't understand it at all, it's interesting and I keep reading... It's strange... Panche... Crab miso... Ah, a note that becomes a habit.

83. My Story

Before I knew it, what is this? The arrows of the evoked images strike in such a novel way. An interesting and addictive Orca-san world note.

84. Desert Moon

The ascent and descent like a fighter jet in the first two paragraphs. Development, sudden turns, and before you know it, you're captured. A short story note where you can fully enjoy a mysterious world.

85. Cats and Sake

That glass, moist, slightly, with kindness seeping through. The whole structure is warm and moving... A wonderful note that I want to see turned into a series.

86. 100-Character Story "The Boy's Search" #Episode 1

A novel series that is shorter than Twitter, exactly 100 characters long. Amazing, the feeling that creativity leaps forward because of the constraints. It reads like a comic strip, a series note that makes you curious about what happens next.

87. 1. Shinjuku Ionazun

The starting station for my memories and lives that I encounter along the Keio Line. This series makes me laugh out loud, gets me fired up, and makes me cry. A youth journey through 10 stations, like looking out a train window. The best literature note.

88. [Novel] Shake

It is someone's words that make us stumble, and also someone's words that help us walk again. The thick sweetness melts slowly, too. A short story note with a refreshing aftertaste that feels incredibly good.

89. "Little Stranger" (Short Story)

A story of a mysterious journey. A gentle writing style that feels like reaching out to a stranger while traveling. A note that gives you the best feeling, like a refreshing breeze blowing after you finish reading it.

90. The Mysterious World Seen Beyond the Diving Board

A mysterious world seen beyond a sharpened focus. The feeling of being captured by a piercing blue; a scary and interesting note that is over in a flash.

91. Post-Post-Apocalyptic Delivery Person: Comprehensive Table of Contents

The naming is superb. Each episode is easy to read, and the powerful story is addictive. A sci-fi serial series note with a thrilling tempo.

92. (Day 7) [Palm-sized Novel] You, Me, and a White Snowman Latte #XmasAdCalNote2019

A sweet, heart-fluttering note that melts across the seasons, just like a latte. The way the distance between them closes and the cup of coffee they share is heartwarming. A serial you want to read in winter.

93. [Necro 13: Table of Contents]

The simple introduction is seasoned and cool; if you get hooked, it is a mountain of fun. A serial note where the swamp of high-power, blood-splattering, relentless developments becomes addictive.

94. #IsekaiSauna All Episodes Summary Version

A serial note that lives up to its title of 'getting into the zone' in another world. Are you staring at your smartphone on the train right now with tense shoulders? Don't you want to get into the zone? To you, right there! Come on, let's read it. This is the kind of thing that gets adapted into a movie... It's incredibly good.

95. Palm-sized Novel | Everything in the World is 3.24㎡

The sweet distance circles around and turns into madness. It is scary, interesting, and captivating. A short story note with a high level of linguistic refinement that makes you groan with satisfaction after reading.

96. The Half-Smiling God

A god who gives a mean half-smile—that is just so good. From the title to the end, it is a short-short note with an addictive, rapid, and sudden twist.

97. We dare to call that love.

It seems that when people want to convey trivial things, they call it love. A note where photos, distance, and a gentle silence flip and pierce you.

98. [Mastery Novel/Like ①] That is just a trigger

The development is exactly as the title suggests, but I love the 'me' who faces the blade of words like a traffic accident; it's powerful. A note that makes you want to straighten your back and take a deep breath into your lungs.

99. Rope and Fuki-miso

I love Yagi Mail's buddy + 1 stories. Whether it's their attitude toward work, teaming up, or when something happens that you can't do anything about, this is a story note that gives you courage after reading it, as if you can start walking again supported by words.

100. On the Hanshin Expressway Route 3, Kobe Line

Everyone has a place where drama is born. I'm also super happy about the flow that started from the 'First 3 Lines Championship,' and the work itself hits home with the overlapping sense of speed and catching-up regret. It's the best. The rain that feels like youth fading away at the end is a note that lingers even after you've finished reading.

The note about writing novels was also incredibly good.

🐐

That concludes my enjoyment of these 100 works.

Writing novels requires energy, and yet they are hard to get read. If you write, you want to be read. But if you aren't read, it's a bit tough.
But there are so many wonderful works overflowing, and you want to recommend interesting novels to someone. You want to read them. If you can write, and if you can get them read, it becomes energy for the next creation. Surely.
Thank you so much for teaching me so many recommendations despite the sudden invitation! It turned into a festival unexpectedly, and it was incredibly fun! The blurbs recommended are also absolutely wonderful, so please check the Twitter reply section above.

Novels are truly the best. Otherwise, the act of writing things you want to convey through stories wouldn't have become such a culture. It would be great if writing, reading, and enjoying could circulate more casually and familiarly, beyond just the novels of authors and works that are already books.

So, that's it.

At the end of the year, please find wonderful works, read them, and by all means, share them!

Have a great year!

The end.