As anime is often used as a promotional tool to boost source material and merch sales, to fall in love with an anime and expect a complete story is to usually set yourself up for disappointment. Unless your light novel series is short, already concluded, or the anime series is particularly popular (in Japan), you’re probably not going to see the series fully adapted into anime.
Who can say as to why that is, other than the easy answer – money – but a good number of your favorite anime based on light novels won’t ever be fully adapted to the screen. This is okay if you do actually enjoy going to read the source material, and pretty good for me, a person who run this website telling you where you can go to pick up the series after the anime. Although, it is not great for closure.
If you are sick of picking up anime series that are never going to get a conclusion, I’ve compiled this big list of anime that do end conclusively.
Now that said, these anime don’t always end the same way as the light novel. This list does include anime that diverged from the light novel it was based on, but I have marked those series with helpful notes.
When applicable, I have also linked to articles I wrote with more information on how and where it diverges. That said, I’ve not done all of the series that have diverged on this list yet, but I will start to make them a priority and update this list with links as I go.
If you notice errors or series that aren’t on here, you are encouraged to leave a comment and I will make appropriate updates to try to keep this as up-to-date and accurate as possible.
This list does not include anime adapted from manga. That’s a separate list.
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Anime That Are Full Light Novel Adaptations
| Series | Adaptation Notes |
| A Certain Magical Index (Toaru Majutsu no Index) | The ending seems rather bad due to it having a sequel light novel series, A Certain Magical Index New Testament, that continues the story. |
| Allison and Lillia | |
| Another | Was adapted to manga, the anime is more based off that. The light novel has many differences from the anime |
| Bakemonogatari | Does have several not adapted side/short story volumes |
| Beatless | |
| Beyond the Boundary (Kyoukai no Kanata) | |
| Chaika the Coffin Princess (Hitsugi no Chaika) | Does not adapt the last volume of side stories |
| Dragon Crisis | |
| Durarara | Adapts the original light novel series, does not adapt the ongoing sequel series, Durarara SH |
| Endo and Kobayashi Live! The Latest on Tsundere Villainess Lieselotte | Manga was abruptly canceled, but very close to the ending of the light novel as well. |
| Fate/Apocrypha | Leaves bits out of the light novel. The manga adaptation is considered superior to LN and anime. |
| From The New World (Shinsekai Yori) | The manga changed the novel story a bit, and the anime is more adapting the manga. So the LN is different in some parts. |
| Gankutsuou | Changes the setting of the original classic literature novel, keeps most else true to form. |
| Garden of Sinners (Kara no Kyoukai) | The sixth movie (Oblivion Recording) is different from its corresponding sixth novel. |
| GJ-bu | |
| Golden Time | Skips the side story light novels |
| Gosick | Has a complete manga as well, The anime sticks closer to the novels than the manga |
| Higehiro – After Being Rejected, I Shaved and Took in a High School Runaway | Speeds through it. |
| Japan Sinks 2020 (Nihon Chinbotsu 2020) | Based on a literature novel from the 70’s, thus the anime takes many liberties modernizing and futurizing the story |
| Juuni Taisen – Zodiac Wars | |
| Katanagatari | |
| Kaze no Stigma | 6 volumes are main story, 6 volumes are side stories. The anime adapts the main story, but the author died so the series is unfinished. |
| Legend of the Galactic Heroes (Ginga Eiyuu Densetsu) | Only the 1988 anime adapts the four Gaiden volumes |
| Library Wars (Toshokan Sensou) | Anime + movie fully adapt the novels, but novels and manga have a sequel manga, Bessatsu-hen |
| Love, Chunibyou, and Other Delusions (Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai!) | The anime diverged from the light novels. The anime was more “inspired by” the light novel than adapting it. |
| Mardock Scramble | As Mardock Scramble is a trilogy of movies adapting a trilogy of books, it speeds through the story at points. |
| No. 6 | Has a manga that adapts the novel, but the manga has a different ending. The anime more adapts the manga story, but also has a different ending from both the manga and novel. So LN, manga, and anime all have different endings. |
| Oregairu – My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU (Yahari Ore no Seishun Love Comedy wa Machigatteiru.) | Skips some side story volumes and a few post-story short stories that came out with the Blu-rays. You can find more information here. (That’s a link offsite to the Oregairu reddit FAQ) |
| Oreimo – My Little Sister Can’t Be This Cute (Ore no Imouto ga Konnani Kawaii Wake ga Nai) | Main story ends at Novel 12 where the anime does, the remaining volumes are What Ifs. |
| Requiem From The Darkness (Kyougoku Natsuhiko: Kousetsu Hyaku Monogatari) | Adapts the The Wicked and the Damned: A Hundred Tales of Karma anthology novel. |
| Run With The Wind (Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteiru) | |
| Saekano – How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend (Saenai Heroine no Sodatekata) | Ends in the movie. |
| Sakurada Reset | |
| Scrapped Princess | Leaves out some side story volumes |
| Shakugan no Shana | Each season gets worse at adapting the light novel than the last, but it does get to the end. |
| Shiki | The anime is more adapting the manga, but both versions are similar. |
| Sound! Euphonium (Hibike! Euphonium) | Does change the story a bit. |
| Strike the Blood | Skips some novels, adapts later novels earlier in the show, jumps all over, but gets to the end and does indeed give a whole season to adapting the last novel. |
| Student Council’s Discretion (Seitokai no Ichizon) | |
| Armed Librarians: The Book of Bantorra (Tatakau Shisho: The Book of Bantorra) | |
| The Eccentric Family (Uchouten Kazoku) | |
| The Familiar of Zero (Zero no Tsukaima) | Leaves a few parts of the last volume out of the anime. Not a particularly good adaptation as well. |
| The Fire Hunter (Hikari no Ou) | |
| The Great Passage (Fune wo Amu) | |
| The Perfect Insider (Subete ga F ni Naru) | |
| The Record of Grancrest War (Grancrest Senki) | Anime adapts 10 light novel volumes, so zips through content. |
| The Tatami Galaxy (Yojouhan Shinwa Taikei) | There is also an anime for the Tatami Time Machine Blues sequel novel. |
| Toradora | Light novel ending offers more closure. |
| Violet Evergarden | Changes the story throughout – sometimes majorly. Also adapts the Gaiden novel. |
| Welcome to Irabu’s Office (Kuuchuu Buranko) | |
| Welcome to the NHK (NHK ni Youkoso!) | The anime differs from the novel with the addition of some arcs (since it is a singular novel and not a “light novel” series). The manga is more similar to the anime with the additions and expansion of the novel story, but the manga diverges majorly from both anime and LN. The ending of the anime is more akin to the novel. |
Didn’t see an anime that fully adapted its manga series on here? Leave a comment! I’ll validate the information and add it. If it is based on a light novel, that’s a different list!
See a mistake? Leave a comment! I’ll look into it further and update it.
I’m curious. Next year, we’ll have a very rare situation, an anime based directly on a *Western* book series, Leviathan. Where will you put that when it comes out?
Sure will! If its adapting something, is animated, and I can find both the anime and the source material, I’ll add it on here.
Although, if it is a full adaptation, it may end up on this list even though it is not strictly a “light” novel.
Have you ever thought about making a list of complete LN-to-manga adaptations? That’s usually explained on the individual series pages, but as someone who’s not interested in reading translated novels, a compiled list is at least something I personally would be interested in.
It is something I could look into. Though I don’t know if it would be a very long list.