is a Japanese

light novel A light novel (, Hepburn: ''raito noberu'') is a style of young adult novel primarily targeting high school and middle school students. The term "light novel" is a ''wasei-eigo'', or a Japanese term formed from words in the English languag ...

series written by

Reki Kawahara is a Japanese light novel author. He is best known as the creator of ''Sword Art Online'' and '' Accel World'', both of which have been adapted into anime. He has also written '' The Isolator''. Career Kawahara wrote the first volume of ''Swo ...

and illustrated by Shimeji. ASCII Media Works has published five volumes since June 2014. A

manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...

adaptation drawn by Naoki Koshimizu was serialized in ''

Dengeki Daioh is a Japanese shōnen manga magazine published by ASCII Media Works (formerly MediaWorks) under the ''Dengeki'' brand. Many manga serialized in ''Dengeki Daioh'' were later published in ''tankōbon'' volumes under ASCII Media Works' Dengeki Co ...

''.

Yen Press Yen Press, LLC is an American manga and graphic novel publisher co-owned by Kadokawa Corporation and Hachette Book Group. It published ''Yen Plus'', a monthly comic anthology, between 2008 and 2013. In addition to translated material, Yen Press ...

has licensed the novels and manga in North America.

Plot

When Minoru Utsugi was eight years old, home invaders killed his parents and older sister while he hid in a cabinet. At 16, he still struggles with the trauma. Then mysterious alien orbs descend from the sky and take up residence inside some humans, granting them each a superpower that reflects their deepest desire. Minoru's power is the ability to protect himself inside an impenetrable shell. Some people gain a more active power, and not everyone uses their power for good.

Characters

; ; ; ; ;Riri Isa ;Oliver Saito ;Denjirou Daimon (DD)

Media

Light novels

Manga

Reception

Yen Press' English edition of the first light novel volume received a positive review from

Anime News Network Anime News Network (ANN) is a news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, video games, Japanese popular music and other related cultures within North America, Australia, Southeast Asia and Japan. The website offers reviews and oth ...

. It was praised for its "believable characters" and the thought that "switching between the hero and villain's point of view really works." However, it was said that Shimeji's illustrations can make Takaesu (the antagonist of the first volume) "more wolf-like than shark-like in some images."

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Isolator, The 2014 Japanese novels Fiction set in 2019 Anime and manga based on light novels ASCII Media Works manga Dengeki Bunko Dengeki Daioh Kadokawa Dwango franchises Fictional extraterrestrial life forms Japanese science fiction novels Light novels Science fiction anime and manga Shōnen manga Fiction about superhuman features or abilities Yen Press titles