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My Instant Death Ability is So Overpowered, No One in This Other World Stands a Chance Against Me! Light Novel #1
My Instant Death Ability Is So Overpowered, No One in This Other World Stands a Chance Against Me!, Vol. 1 (light novel)
Awaking to absolute chaos and carnage while on a school trip, Yogiri Takatou discovers that everyone in his class has been transported to another world! He had somehow managed to sleep through the entire ordeal himself, missing out on the Gift ― powers bestowed upon the others by a mysterious Sage who appeared to transport them. Even worse, he and another classmate were ruthlessly abandoned by their friends, left as bait to distract a nearby dragon. Although not terribly bothered by the thought of dying, he reluctantly decides to protect his lone companion. After all, a lowly Level 1000 monster doesn't stand a chance against his secret power to invoke Instant Death with a single thought! If he can stay awake long enough to bother using it, that is...
294 pages, Paperback
First published October 15, 2016
153 people are currently reading
184 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
March 12, 2022
As a trope, the isekai genre (literally, "transported to another world") has been going strong in the light novel scene of Japan for the last few years. And it's easy to see why: who doesn't like to embark in an absolute power trip from time to time, where your main character ends up taken from a boring every day life into a new one filled with adventures while being absolutely all powerful against their foes?
Kind of like min-maxxing a character in an RPG (something I'm also quite fond of), these books offer the same type of experience with an easy prose and not much literary ambition other than offering a good time to the reader. We're not looking at Hugo awards here, is what I mean.
But still, when you're in the right frame of mind for it, they can be an absolute blast. My first foray into the genre was SAO, of which I've written extensively in my own reviews of its new Progressive series. That one put quite a "serious" spin on the tale, with life and death situations that really put our MC through the wringer from time to time.
This one could not be more different. Here, Yogiri (our main MC) is just untouchable. Attack him with killing intent? He kills you first with a thought. Think about attacking him? He kills you first with a thought. Attack him with a mob? Everyone's dead before they can carry out their intentions. Attack him from a distance? You drop dead. Seriously, he's the ultimate incarnation of what should be a really boring Mary Sue-like character.
Then how does the author make it work?
By making it all into a farce. A satire of the whole genre, with evil masterminds who expose and expound on their machiavellian machineries at length... before a bored Yogiri drops them dead before they even know what is going on. Gods, demons, angels, other uber-powered characters: no one stands a chance, and you end up curious about what type of foe will the author throw in the way of Yogiri & Co, and precisely how anti-climatic will their ultimate demise be. And it all ends up being absolutely hilarious!
Throw in some unexpected world-building in each final chapter, which takes up back into Yogiri's origins and who exactly might he be, behind the facade of "a regular looking, kinda dead-eyed teenage boy"; add some spice in the shape of his companion, a female classmate who ends up being the heir for an ultimate school of martial "archery" with the ghost of a dead relative acting as her guardian; and throw them both in increasingly ridiculous situations which they actually lampshade & hilariously comment about between themselves, even as they go through it all in their quest to return to their regular, boring, normal Earth (or their version of Earth that ends up being not as "normal" or "boring" as they initially thought)... and the whole thing is a blast, from start of this first volume up to & including Volume 8, the latest one being released in English by Yen Press (the official publisher), with more to come in the near future as the series is still going strong with quite a few more volumes published in Japan from what I gather.
I won't be giving a detailed review for each individual entry as they're short reads and, even if the general plot does evolve in some interesting ways, the general gist of it remains the same. And somehow, that makes it even more hilarious, like a joke that somehow doesn't get old even after hearing it for the nth time.
Kind of like min-maxxing a character in an RPG (something I'm also quite fond of), these books offer the same type of experience with an easy prose and not much literary ambition other than offering a good time to the reader. We're not looking at Hugo awards here, is what I mean.
But still, when you're in the right frame of mind for it, they can be an absolute blast. My first foray into the genre was SAO, of which I've written extensively in my own reviews of its new Progressive series. That one put quite a "serious" spin on the tale, with life and death situations that really put our MC through the wringer from time to time.
This one could not be more different. Here, Yogiri (our main MC) is just untouchable. Attack him with killing intent? He kills you first with a thought. Think about attacking him? He kills you first with a thought. Attack him with a mob? Everyone's dead before they can carry out their intentions. Attack him from a distance? You drop dead. Seriously, he's the ultimate incarnation of what should be a really boring Mary Sue-like character.
Then how does the author make it work?
By making it all into a farce. A satire of the whole genre, with evil masterminds who expose and expound on their machiavellian machineries at length... before a bored Yogiri drops them dead before they even know what is going on. Gods, demons, angels, other uber-powered characters: no one stands a chance, and you end up curious about what type of foe will the author throw in the way of Yogiri & Co, and precisely how anti-climatic will their ultimate demise be. And it all ends up being absolutely hilarious!
Throw in some unexpected world-building in each final chapter, which takes up back into Yogiri's origins and who exactly might he be, behind the facade of "a regular looking, kinda dead-eyed teenage boy"; add some spice in the shape of his companion, a female classmate who ends up being the heir for an ultimate school of martial "archery" with the ghost of a dead relative acting as her guardian; and throw them both in increasingly ridiculous situations which they actually lampshade & hilariously comment about between themselves, even as they go through it all in their quest to return to their regular, boring, normal Earth (or their version of Earth that ends up being not as "normal" or "boring" as they initially thought)... and the whole thing is a blast, from start of this first volume up to & including Volume 8, the latest one being released in English by Yen Press (the official publisher), with more to come in the near future as the series is still going strong with quite a few more volumes published in Japan from what I gather.
I won't be giving a detailed review for each individual entry as they're short reads and, even if the general plot does evolve in some interesting ways, the general gist of it remains the same. And somehow, that makes it even more hilarious, like a joke that somehow doesn't get old even after hearing it for the nth time.
November 21, 2025
The story is like a fantasy story of a boy who has the power to kill, with a girl who tries to survive and go home.
The beginning of a school field trip. The bus got into another dimension by the magic of a sage.
Yogiri Takatou is the boy who kept sleeping on the school bus while everything was happening. He was woken by another student, Tomochika Dannora. She is panicking as the bus is under attack by a dragon. When Yogiri was attacked, he used his power to kill the dragon.
That's the secret power. He has the power to kill whatever he wants. Yet, he only uses his power when he feels the killing intent of another being.
Tomochika Dannora filled him in on what happened to the other students. They were being transported here by magic. And the other students met the sage who got them here. She wants the students to download into their minds the song and train with magic to become sages themselves. Only Tomochika Dannora cannot download the song. So the other students decided that she had no magic and locked her in the bus, along with the student who was still asleep in the back. They decided that they might not be able to fight the dragon that is coming to attack them. So they left her and Yogiri as bait.
This is how they teamed up. The other students were cruel and wanted to ensalved other people.
Three students flew back with a slave collar for Tamochika. Yogiri saved her again and got information on how to get to town.
The adventure continued. It is a strange read. It focuses on how to use power responsibly. Kill only when it is necessary. And only kill those who have the killer intention.
4 stars read
The beginning of a school field trip. The bus got into another dimension by the magic of a sage.
Yogiri Takatou is the boy who kept sleeping on the school bus while everything was happening. He was woken by another student, Tomochika Dannora. She is panicking as the bus is under attack by a dragon. When Yogiri was attacked, he used his power to kill the dragon.
That's the secret power. He has the power to kill whatever he wants. Yet, he only uses his power when he feels the killing intent of another being.
Tomochika Dannora filled him in on what happened to the other students. They were being transported here by magic. And the other students met the sage who got them here. She wants the students to download into their minds the song and train with magic to become sages themselves. Only Tomochika Dannora cannot download the song. So the other students decided that she had no magic and locked her in the bus, along with the student who was still asleep in the back. They decided that they might not be able to fight the dragon that is coming to attack them. So they left her and Yogiri as bait.
This is how they teamed up. The other students were cruel and wanted to ensalved other people.
Three students flew back with a slave collar for Tamochika. Yogiri saved her again and got information on how to get to town.
The adventure continued. It is a strange read. It focuses on how to use power responsibly. Kill only when it is necessary. And only kill those who have the killer intention.
4 stars read
May 31, 2024
This came very close to the 5th star, and I might up the rating sometime in the future depending how I feel next week. I honestly didn't expect to like this all that much, but was looking for something quick and light to read that I could finish before the weekend.
I'll admit, I didn't really like this for the first couple of chapters. It was a problem of expectations. I've read and watched a ton of isekai and am familiar with the tropes. Light novels in particular tend to lean so heavily into the tropes that it becomes cliche. And among those: the protagonist who's OP because of a cheat skill. I really didn't like the main character initially. The way he behaved and reacted to things. But the pacing was fast and there was a contradiction introduced early on: if our MC wasn't gifted new powers when his class arrived in the new world, how did he just instantly kill a dragon?
It was enough to keep me going for a few chapters, which was a good thing as it became apparent I was misled. This wasn't a typical isekai story. It follows many of the same story beats but ultimately subverts most of my expectations.
While many cheat skill MC's are Mary Sue/Gary Stu types who just get everything they want without earning it, Yogiri actively tries to avoid using his power because it's so overpowered and it would be a slippery slope to end up using it all the time.
Basically, Yogiri can "see" killing intent. Once he sees it, he can kill the source with a thought. It's the most ludicrously overpowered ability. He's basically a force of nature. But his only concern is how to get home. He doesn't want to play hero or slay demon lords. He would rather leave local problems to the locals.
This story seems to be a mix of the comedy from The Hero is Overpowered but Overly Caughtious, the unstoppable force that is somehow still interesting to see over and over like Golgo 13, and the existential detachment of being powerful seen with One Punch Man. I have no idea where this story is going or whether the author can maintain the delicate mix of ingredients over multiple volumes, but I guess I'll find out.
I'll admit, I didn't really like this for the first couple of chapters. It was a problem of expectations. I've read and watched a ton of isekai and am familiar with the tropes. Light novels in particular tend to lean so heavily into the tropes that it becomes cliche. And among those: the protagonist who's OP because of a cheat skill. I really didn't like the main character initially. The way he behaved and reacted to things. But the pacing was fast and there was a contradiction introduced early on: if our MC wasn't gifted new powers when his class arrived in the new world, how did he just instantly kill a dragon?
It was enough to keep me going for a few chapters, which was a good thing as it became apparent I was misled. This wasn't a typical isekai story. It follows many of the same story beats but ultimately subverts most of my expectations.
While many cheat skill MC's are Mary Sue/Gary Stu types who just get everything they want without earning it, Yogiri actively tries to avoid using his power because it's so overpowered and it would be a slippery slope to end up using it all the time.
Basically, Yogiri can "see" killing intent. Once he sees it, he can kill the source with a thought. It's the most ludicrously overpowered ability. He's basically a force of nature. But his only concern is how to get home. He doesn't want to play hero or slay demon lords. He would rather leave local problems to the locals.
This story seems to be a mix of the comedy from The Hero is Overpowered but Overly Caughtious, the unstoppable force that is somehow still interesting to see over and over like Golgo 13, and the existential detachment of being powerful seen with One Punch Man. I have no idea where this story is going or whether the author can maintain the delicate mix of ingredients over multiple volumes, but I guess I'll find out.
September 30, 2020
I remember reading a few chapters of the webnovel version of this years and years ago and thinking it was interesting. Then the translator changed and I just stopped reading it. So when I finally learned this was licensed I was pretty excited. It's an interesting concept. Just, I was bored. The humor didn't work for me and while there were mysteries hinted at I don't see myself reading the next vol. The characters are okay, they could be better, especially the side characters/villains. The world it's set in seems like a horrible place to live, but I did like how it showed the impact of constantly having overpowered foreigners showing up, like how this influenced the culture and economy. Too many references to side character/villain boys wanting to enslave women so they can get a harem. Some of the gifts introduced were pretty interesting, but ultimately they won't go anywhere thanks to the MC's ability.
I guess I'm just not interested in stories like this, at least not new ones I'm not already following. For the last few years I've mostly been reading chinese webnovels, I can't remember the last time I picked up a new japanese webnovel. I just am no longer at a place in my life to enjoy this series. Oh well, hopefully I'll always have So I'm a Spider to enjoy.
I guess I'm just not interested in stories like this, at least not new ones I'm not already following. For the last few years I've mostly been reading chinese webnovels, I can't remember the last time I picked up a new japanese webnovel. I just am no longer at a place in my life to enjoy this series. Oh well, hopefully I'll always have So I'm a Spider to enjoy.
May 13, 2022
As mentioned in the title, this is the story of an unstoppable, overpowered protagonist. I think these types of stories can be fun satires (?) of the hero trope. If that is your thing and you don't take the story too seriously, I think you will enjoy the series.
One negative review I saw of the book was how the book was filled with morally corrupt, bloodthirsty people. Even the protagonist and his heroine don't seem to respond "appropriately" to all the death that surrounds them. However, I believe that is intentional. For some reason, sages are meant to be corrupt. They likely selected that bus of students because they were already somewhat soiled, and the "gifts" they received are meant to further corrupt their souls.
Not sure how long I will follow the series, but it seems promising at least in the short term. I was also surprised in the afterward to learn this is the same writer responsible for "My Sister Lives in a Fantasy World", which I also enjoyed.
One negative review I saw of the book was how the book was filled with morally corrupt, bloodthirsty people. Even the protagonist and his heroine don't seem to respond "appropriately" to all the death that surrounds them. However, I believe that is intentional. For some reason, sages are meant to be corrupt. They likely selected that bus of students because they were already somewhat soiled, and the "gifts" they received are meant to further corrupt their souls.
Not sure how long I will follow the series, but it seems promising at least in the short term. I was also surprised in the afterward to learn this is the same writer responsible for "My Sister Lives in a Fantasy World", which I also enjoyed.
October 19, 2022
Ok so this gets 5 stars simply because it hits all the right notes for me personally.
1. It's well written and paced. It's not complex or anything but it doesn't drone on, the translation is smooth and makes sense, and the author doesn't try to fill out tons of pages with unneeded bulk.
2. While I thought it be boring to have an OP character like this one, I was plesently surprised by how the character was handled. His personality adds substance to his power. It's never about if he can do it, but if he'll decide to do it and how.
3. His background which is at the end of each novel could be made into a seperate series itself. First time I've enjoyed the background of a character so much. And it's because it aids my 2nd point above.
I've read the whole series and I'll admit that the more you read the series the more invested in the characters you get.
1. It's well written and paced. It's not complex or anything but it doesn't drone on, the translation is smooth and makes sense, and the author doesn't try to fill out tons of pages with unneeded bulk.
2. While I thought it be boring to have an OP character like this one, I was plesently surprised by how the character was handled. His personality adds substance to his power. It's never about if he can do it, but if he'll decide to do it and how.
3. His background which is at the end of each novel could be made into a seperate series itself. First time I've enjoyed the background of a character so much. And it's because it aids my 2nd point above.
I've read the whole series and I'll admit that the more you read the series the more invested in the characters you get.
October 3, 2023
Yeah, so, definitely not the type of book I would normally read. There was a copy of it in my classroom and I read the first page. Having read the first page, I had to read the second, of course. And, before I knew it I'd finished the book.
So, what does a normal, rational person do when they realize that they've read an entire YA light novel? They wash their hands and never speak of it again.
But, no, not me - I went on to read the first four volumes... So, yeah.
I have to say that it's high praise to the translator and the author that I had so much fun reading this. The sheer insanity of it all is breath-taking.
Great story for turning your brain off and just enjoying the lunacy of it all.
So, what does a normal, rational person do when they realize that they've read an entire YA light novel? They wash their hands and never speak of it again.
But, no, not me - I went on to read the first four volumes... So, yeah.
I have to say that it's high praise to the translator and the author that I had so much fun reading this. The sheer insanity of it all is breath-taking.
Great story for turning your brain off and just enjoying the lunacy of it all.
December 23, 2020
Bland characters with no morals
The story started as other novels in this gender, but the main character is just too overpowered, being able to kill anybody and anything with just his mind. The problem arises as the story progress, all the characters presented are just sociopaths or psychopaths. The MC doesn’t have any problems killing anybody, be it a classmate or a civilian. The second MC, despite being a teenager doesn’t have any problems either. At the end there is no connection with the characters as they have no personality, and during the book they didn’t accomplish anything remarkable.
The story started as other novels in this gender, but the main character is just too overpowered, being able to kill anybody and anything with just his mind. The problem arises as the story progress, all the characters presented are just sociopaths or psychopaths. The MC doesn’t have any problems killing anybody, be it a classmate or a civilian. The second MC, despite being a teenager doesn’t have any problems either. At the end there is no connection with the characters as they have no personality, and during the book they didn’t accomplish anything remarkable.
October 4, 2020
A fun read!
Do you enjoy reading about overpowered protagonists who can crush all opposition from the start? Do you enjoy crushing your foes in easy mode and see snarky designer lines used to entice gamers to play it on hardcore a sucker's bet when you could be crushing all opposition on godmode? Did you ever want to transport to another world with powers that would make your enemies tremble in fear? If the answer to any of those questions is yes, then this series ( like most Japanese isekai) is definitely worth the read!)
Do you enjoy reading about overpowered protagonists who can crush all opposition from the start? Do you enjoy crushing your foes in easy mode and see snarky designer lines used to entice gamers to play it on hardcore a sucker's bet when you could be crushing all opposition on godmode? Did you ever want to transport to another world with powers that would make your enemies tremble in fear? If the answer to any of those questions is yes, then this series ( like most Japanese isekai) is definitely worth the read!)
May 12, 2022
This series is overall satire of isekai game world with completely overpowered main character(not really spoiler since title says it all). Basically all most crazily overpowered characters you could ever imagine do what ever they want in game like fantasy world, until they meet main hero. It is surprisingly brutal and bloody but all of it is so absurd that it is barely noticeable. Autor cleary got something against japanese teenagers, because moment they got any special power they go full mental and do some unbelievable stuff.
May 28, 2021
Ok if you haven't figured out the MC has an ability to kill anything with a thought. This makes him OP. While he is willing to kill anyone he does have a moral code of sorts he only kills those who want to kill him or his friends. The only let might be the fact he is a mystery all the way to end where this a side bonus story which was kinda of anti climatic. But the actual story was good.
August 27, 2020
Very interesting plot point to begin the series that distinguishes itself from other stories in this genre, the "Instant Death" adds an interesting dynamic for the story that results in both shocking and hilarious results. I will definitively check out more of this series.
3.5 out of 5 stars
3.5 out of 5 stars
December 2, 2020
Terrible name great book
Very funny book without any pointless drama or overblown fight scenes that pretend that the mc will die when everyone already knows that they will be fine I definitely recommend to anyone that wants a good laugh
Very funny book without any pointless drama or overblown fight scenes that pretend that the mc will die when everyone already knows that they will be fine I definitely recommend to anyone that wants a good laugh
January 6, 2024
The title really life by its name. The overpowered hero. Even thought its funny, nothing caught more attention like one punch man did. The story is weak and so lame. Not funny and not amazing either. The story hanging in the middle of my thought. Its hard to remembering this after.
February 1, 2024
like a 2.5/5, starts interesting enough but falls off super hard, gets super super boring basically after they leave the holy tower, basically impossible for your eyes to not just glaze over and skip a load of it
October 13, 2020
Good
A good start to the book series, I am looking forward to seeing what happens in the next book released.
A good start to the book series, I am looking forward to seeing what happens in the next book released.
November 11, 2021
It’s fine, but everyone’s kind of an asshole?
January 22, 2022
This is a good isekai novel to read if you want comedy and exploration. There are some action scenes but only with the side characters but the jokes and troupes hold up and make me laugh.
January 2, 2024
Very amazing book!
January 21, 2025
A strong start to this lovely little satirical series.
March 15, 2025
Honestly pretty interesting to see the MC be OP with instant death Ability and girl with him is pretty interesting too. Plot been just trying to get back to classmates so far.Good read
January 15, 2024
This was an interesting take on the isekai genre. Loved the two main characters and their interactions. Everyone seemed to be against them and they found their way out of difficult situations. It was interesting how he experimented using his power. Can't wait to read more to see if they make it back to their world.
March 29, 2022
The author of this light novel series has a dark soul. Deaths right and left of both transported Japanese students, as for locals. Author lacks ethical values and is probably a sociopath-psychopath. Robbing other people, killing and maiming other people even if it is in an alternate reality world seems to have no consequences for the author or for the main characters of this light novel series.
Everything is just life or death. The main character kills and sleeps. In his free time plays a video game he's not really good at. So the possible scope of this LN series is death, sleep and video game. Because the main character has an instant death ability, the span and grasp of this LN series might be really short. The first volume is quite long with 40 chapters and side stories. About 250 pages and illustrations, cover and details about the LN.
Some students in a school trip are taken in their bus, to another world. This world prestiges Mages above all other beings and has the students that actually get skills to serve the nobles of this world.
In an alternative path, the main character, Yogiri Takatou (has the instant death skill) and his school friend Tomochika (has no apparent magical skill). Everybody wants to sexually assault and enslave Tomuchika. Tomuchika practices special martial arts back in her world, the problem is she never does anything in this alternate reality world except go shopping, complain and cause problems for Yogiri, the main character.
It is not a comedy, nor a romantic LN, so I figure, action with little or no ethical values. Even though main character, Yogiri only defends himself and Tomochika, everybody they attack dies.
The light novel series has 8 volumes so far, it was first published in 2016. It is both a manga (comic) and Light novel series. The translation is quite good, and easy to read.
Everything is just life or death. The main character kills and sleeps. In his free time plays a video game he's not really good at. So the possible scope of this LN series is death, sleep and video game. Because the main character has an instant death ability, the span and grasp of this LN series might be really short. The first volume is quite long with 40 chapters and side stories. About 250 pages and illustrations, cover and details about the LN.
Some students in a school trip are taken in their bus, to another world. This world prestiges Mages above all other beings and has the students that actually get skills to serve the nobles of this world.
In an alternative path, the main character, Yogiri Takatou (has the instant death skill) and his school friend Tomochika (has no apparent magical skill). Everybody wants to sexually assault and enslave Tomuchika. Tomuchika practices special martial arts back in her world, the problem is she never does anything in this alternate reality world except go shopping, complain and cause problems for Yogiri, the main character.
It is not a comedy, nor a romantic LN, so I figure, action with little or no ethical values. Even though main character, Yogiri only defends himself and Tomochika, everybody they attack dies.
The light novel series has 8 volumes so far, it was first published in 2016. It is both a manga (comic) and Light novel series. The translation is quite good, and easy to read.
August 12, 2023
I skipping the first too books in this series has I got tired of waiting for new chs for th3 manga but my library for some strange reason I saw had added this book to it’s collection.
I thought it’s a mote point has I’d already ready the later books and manga. Then it came has a shock when I found I read the book with out stopping really making me see how this is sptruly a too-quality LN series.
I thought it’s a mote point has I’d already ready the later books and manga. Then it came has a shock when I found I read the book with out stopping really making me see how this is sptruly a too-quality LN series.
May 16, 2023
Unexpected
Twists and turns galore. Nothing like I was expecting. Fun abilities by all. Still wondering where the story will go next. Highly recommend
Twists and turns galore. Nothing like I was expecting. Fun abilities by all. Still wondering where the story will go next. Highly recommend
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews