Reborn as a Vending Machine, I Now Wander the Dungeon (自動販売機に生まれ変わった俺は迷宮を彷徨う, Jidōhanbaiki ni Umarekawatta Ore wa Meikyū ni Samayō) is a Japanese light novel series written by Hirukuma and illustrated by Itsuwa Kato. The series was originally published in 2016 as a web novel by the author on the user-generated novel publishing website Shōsetsuka ni Narō. Later on the same year, it was acquired and then published by Kadokawa Shoten. A manga adaptation by Kunieda began serialization ASCII Media Works's shōnen manga magazine Dengeki Daioh in August 2021. Both the light novel and manga have been licensed in English by Yen Press. An anime television series adaptation by Studio Gokumi and AXsiZ will premiere in July 2023.
The light novels follow its titular protagonist who, after being crushed to death by a vending machine, is reincarnated as a sentient vending machine in a fantasy dungeon world. Shortly after, he meets and befriends Lammis, a young female hunter, who names him "Boxxo" and starts carrying him around on her back, and the two start their adventures in the dungeon together. Reborn as a Vending Machine has received positive reception from reviewers, with particular praise being directed at the novels' unique take on the isekai genre.
Synopsis[]
The then-unnamed protagonist, a Japanese vending machine otaku, is crushed to death by a falling vending machine. He then finds himself reincarnated in a fantasy world dungeon as a sentient vending machine. He can see and hear but is immobile, with his speech being limited to stock Japanese vending machine phrases, such as "Welcome" or "Too bad". As a vending machine, he discovers he can dispense any item he has bought in his previous life, and can convert such sales to points thus sustaining his existence. He is also able to use excess coins to add additional features to his vending machine body, and is able to choose which items he stocks or the prices of the items. He is also able to use some magical abilities, including a defensive force field.
Stuck in the middle of the wilderness, he encounters Lammis, a young, busty hunter girl. Lammis has a skill known as the Blessing of Might which makes her ridiculously strong, but is still a novice at managing her own strength. The two quickly become friends after he dispenses some food items to the hungry Lammis. Calling him "Boxxo" (the protagonist's real name is never revealed), she starts carrying him around on her back, which allows Boxxo to move, with his weight allowing her to more easily control her strength. The light novels chronicles their adventures as they start exploring the world's dungeon, and the characters they meet on the way.
Background[]
In the afterword of the first volume, Hirukuma describes his envisioning and road to publishing Reborn as a Vending Machine. He at first helped out with his father's independent business, though, after the death of his father from a high fall, he closed down the business and began pursuing his ambition as a writer. He described his father's death as giving him acrophobia, and recalled thinking "I don't know when I'm going to die like my father did. One question went through my mind: Have I done everything I've wanted to in life?" On a site titled Let's Become Novelists, a site for submitting novels, he submitted several works of fiction including another isekai piece and a battle-themed novel set in the near future, but was initially unsuccessful.
He described Reborn as a Vending Machine as his final effort after four years of unsuccessfully getting his novels published. Hirukuma wrote that "[it was] one that was fantastical and original, and one that I wanted to write [...] This wasn't a novel where I adjusted for the readers' needs, or had to think long and hard about constructing a plot. Instead, I pursued my own style for it, and it garnered the most popularity of all my work".
List of Books[]
Light novel[]
Originally Hirukuma published the series online as a web novel on the user-generated novel publishing website Shōsetsuka ni Narō in March 2016, until Kadokawa Shoten acquired the series to publish it as a light novel.
The first volume was published by Kadokawa Shoten on August 1, 2016. Yen Press announced during the Anime Expo 2017 that they had licensed the series for an English release.
| No. | Original release date | Original ISBN | English release date | English ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | August 1, 2016 (original) June 30, 2023 (revised) |
978-4-04-104728-6 (original) 978-4-04-111959-4 (revised) |
April 24, 2018 | 978-0-31-647911-0 |
| 2 | October 1, 2016 (original) September 1, 2023 (revised) |
978-4-04-104729-3 (original) 978-4-04-111960-0 (revised) |
August 28, 2018 | 978-0-31-647913-4 |
| 3 | February 1, 2017 (old ver.) | 978-4-04-105174-0 (original) | December 18, 2018 | 978-0-31-647915-8 |
| 4 | June 30, 2023 (new ver.) | 978-4-04-111959-4 | — | — |
Manga[]
A manga adaptation illustrated by Kunieda began serialization in ASCII Media Works's shōnen manga magazine Dengeki Daioh on August 27, 2021. The manga is also licensed by Yen Press as a digital simul publication
| No. | Original release date | Original ISBN | English release date | English ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | March 25, 2022 | 9784049143232 | April 18, 2023 | 9781975365783 |
| 2 | March 25, 2023 | 9784049149647 | — | — |
Character[]
The heroine of this work. A hunter girl with the blessing of monstrous strength. She is the first person to use Boxxo. With the blessing of her monstrous strength, she is much stronger than she appears, and can easily carry Boxxo, which weighs more than 400 kilograms. She switches between standard Japanese and Kansai dialects in his conversations. She met Boxxo when she was wandering in the labyrinth after his fellow hunters abandoned her as a decoy and food was lost. She secures food by buying Boxxo's goods and returns safely to the village with Boxxo.
She can purchase goods without making any mistakes when she sees Boxxo at the vending machine for the first time, and she can communicate with Boxxo, who can only speak a certain language, with little misunderstanding, showing his good comprehension skills.
She has no weapons and fights with his bare hands. Before she met Boxxo, she was not a good hunter because his attacks did not hit her. After all, she had too much strength and swung too big. By carrying Boxxo on his back, she was able to display his true fighting ability. She is also useful for carrying rubble and other objects because she can use his monstrous strength to the fullest. However, when she is praised, she gets carried away and becomes careless about his surroundings.
In the beginning, she carried Boxxo on his back, but later she bought a backpack and carried Boxxo on his back. She used to have a hometown separate from the village where she now lives, but it was destroyed by demons and she and his parents were bereaved. She is ashamed of herself because she was too afraid to do anything despite the blessing of his monstrous power at that time, which led her to fight as a hunter. The only people who know about this situation are Hulemy, who is in the same situation, and Boxxo, who learned about it through Hulemy's story.
Abilities[]
"Great! Here's to the future, Boxxo!"
― Lammis said to Boxxo
She has the blessing of "Might (monstrous strength)," and has such extraordinary physical strength that she can crush rocks with her bare hands and easily carry a several hundred-kilogram Boxxo on his back by himself. By carrying Boxxo on his back, she is able to stabilize her center of gravity and wield his violence to the fullest.
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which makes her incredibly strong, though she is clumsy at controlling her strength. This was resolved when she carried Boxxo on her back, allowing her better control of her strength. She cares for Boxxo, who saved his life, and appears to be half-dependent on him. As a hunter, she knows close-combat martial arts, she was able to display his true fighting ability.
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Boxxo is a sentient vending machine sidekick to Lammis, who often carries him. Except he can only communicate using preprogrammed lines.
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BOXXO 【ハッコン, Hakkon】 The protagonist of this work. A young man reincarnated as a vending machine. Before his death, he was a vending machine enthusiast who spent most of his salary on vending machines. He was killed when he tried to catch a vending machine that flew out of the back of his light truck as a result of the impact of a traffic accident that occurred right in front of him, but instead of avoiding it, he tried to catch it and was pinned under it. He was named "Boxxo" by Lammis, but his name before his death is unknown. In the subtitles of the animated TV series, he was referred to as "the protagonist" before his reincarnation and as "the vending machine" until he was given a name after his reincarnation. After being incarnated in a vending machine, they cannot move and can only utter pre-recorded lines, but at the suggestion of Lammis, they communicate with others by saying "Irasshaimase (いらっしゃいませ, Welcome/Hello)" in the affirmative and "Zanen (残念 , that too bad/Too bad)" in the negative. The coins that are inserted into the machine are turned into points, and the points allow the user to maintain magical power, replenish products, expand the vending machine's functions, and learn new skills. Immediately after reincarnation, the first points given are used to obtain "Barriering," which allows the user to protect himself from attacks within a range of 1 meter around him. Since the points are also used for its operation, the vending machine stops functioning when the points reach zero, so it is necessary to always sell a certain amount of goods to earn points. The function of the vending machine is not limited to selling beverages; it can also be transformed into other vending machine forms, such as a spherical vending machine that sells sweets or a jukebox. Although Boxxo himself can only transform into products that he has purchased or into types of vending machines that he knows, he has a vast amount of knowledge about vending machines and has never had any trouble in this regard. | ||
 When he speaks in monologue, his eyes are displayed to express his emotions, but this is a deformation to make it easier for readers and viewers to understand, and his eyes are not present. From the point of view of the person or characters, they are just vending machines. When it crashes from the surface to the bottom of the labyrinth, it seems to understand the shock and cold temperatures, as it says (in a mental voice), "Ouch, ouch". When sleeping or thinking, the lights of the exhibits go into power-saving mode or blink, which is noticed by the Lammis. Boxxo has 7 phrases that he can use as a whole or interchange and mix them to communicate with others.
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PERSONAL INFORMATION
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| Alias/Epithet: | The Protagonist (Only TV Anime) | Age: | 1 month (Mentally 30 yrs. old) | Alignments: | Social • Moral |
| Affiliation: | ─ Hunters Association ─ Merchants Exchange ─ Menagerie of Fools (Party) ─ Goddess |
Gender | Male (mentally and in a past life, but biologically none as a vending machine) | Place of Death: | Japan (Accident) |
| Race: | Vending Machine (Non-organic being) | Traits: | Reincarnated, Non-Human Protagonist | ||
| Allied: | ─ Lammis (Partner/Love Interest) ─ Hulemy (Friend) ─ Shirley (Friend) |
Height & Weight: | Nearly 6 feet (Height) & 500 kilograms (Weight) | Eye Color: | Star Grass |
| Voice Actor: | Jun Fukuyama (JP) & Garret Storms (EN) | Status: | Active | ||
ABILITIES | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
In his past life, he was a vending machine otaku. He is able to sell and dispense an unlimited number of products (all of which are things he bought in his past life) for all sorts of useful purposes, which barriers him with points that he can use to upgrade himself. He is also built with a small digital slot machine can barrier people with free products. Sometimes, he gives stuff for free usually if it is an emergency.
Boxxo can upgrade his durability if he has enough points, making it harder for enemies to damage him. It is as sturdy as a vending machine. Its durability is 1000; it can continue fighting until its durability reaches 0. The standard is 1-5 damage from punching and kicking a normal person. The standard for damage from other attacks is not known, but it is thought that damage in excess of 1000 points during warding is unbearable unless warding is applied. Boxxo can repair damages done to him.
He can also change his shape, make himself invisible, gather knowledge based on his surroundings, record or photograph things with his camera and can then display them on his screen, use telekinesis, deploy solar panels to recharge without spending points (gained after an upgrade), increase his durability, repair damages to himself, make product leftovers disappear, and create a force field around him for defense, but can also briefly allow objects and people to pass through his force field if he wants to. Although he looks normal to other characters, he can also display eyes.
Every transformation of Boxxo limit into 3 to 23 hrs. or 2 days, but it depends of transformation he does. Their is downside of being vending machine by entering the battle with barrier in place from the beginning. If the opponent's speed and reaction time are such that he can attack, he releases the barrier and uses a high-pressure cleaner to radiate water. If there is no time to attack, or if the high-pressure cleaner is ineffective, continue to apply the barrier and engage in a battle of endurance. Later in the series Boxxo upgrade his production speed to be able to produced product at high speed. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
TV Anime[]
In August 2022, it was announced that the series would be receiving an anime adaptation. It was later confirmed to be a television series produced by Slow Curve, animated by Studio Gokumi and AXsiZ and directed by Noriaki Akitaya, with Masayuki Takahashi serving as assistant director, Tatsuya Takahashi overseeing series scripts, Takahiro Sakai adapting Yūki Hagure's designs for animation, and Yuta Uraki and Keita Takahashi composing the music. The series aired from July 5 to September 20, 2023, on Tokyo MX and other networks. The opening theme song is "Fanfare" (ファンファーレ) by BRADIO, while the ending theme song is "Itsumo no Soup" (いつものスープ, "The Usual Soup") by Peel the Apple.
- Staff:
- Original Author - Hirukuma
- Director - Noriaki Akitaya
- Series composition - Tatsuya Takahashi
- Character Draft - Yuuki Hagure
- Character design - Takahiro Sakai
- Monster Design - Ryo Akizuki
- Deputy Director - Masayuki Takahashi
- Chief animation director - Naoki Yamauchi, Nanako Tatsu, Yoshiaki Tsubata, Masaru Koseki
- Sub Character Design - Shigeyuki Koresawa, Tomu
- Vending Machine Design - Michiru Kodaka, Kado Tokita
- Color design - Yoko Suzuki
- Art director - Eiji Iwase
- Art Setting - Tsukasa Ohira
- Director of Photography - Masashi Uoyama
- Editing - Kentaro Tsubone
- Acoustic director - Yuki Gofumi
- Music - Yuta Uraki, Keita Takahashi
- Music Production - Nippon Television Music
- Music Producer - Kazunari Sengoku, Hiroki Utsumi
- Produce - Slow Curve
- Chief Producer - Toshio Nakatani, Dai Horikoshi, Kenji Ebato
- Producer - Nao Oji, Yudai Miyagi, Soso, Kazuya Kuwabar, Hajime Maruyama, Shingo Akita, Ryutaro Sakae, Tomoya Uehara, Hiroto Yonemori
- Animation Producer - Tetsuya Tomioka
- Animation production - Studio Gokumi, AXsiZ
- Production - "I was reborn as a vending machine and I wander through the labyrinth" Production Committee (NTV, NetEase Games, YTE, BS Japan, NTV Wands, VAP, NTV Music)
Crunchyroll licensed the series outside of Asia.
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Storyboarded by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "The Vending Machine Travels" Transcription: "Jidōhanbaiki, Idō Suru" (Japanese: 自動販売機、移動する) |
Mihiro Yamaguchi | Tatsuya Takahashi | Noriaki Akitaya | July 5, 2023 |
| An unnamed man is killed in an accident involving a vending machine and reincarnates into another world as one himself. He discovers that he contains options to upgrade himself. Unfortunately, it also costs points to charge his power supply and without a customer, he will lose power in one month. He is attacked by frog-like monsters, but discovers a blessing from God that generates a protective barrier. The monsters soon get bored and leave. A starving human hunter named Lammis later appears. The vending machine develops a way of communicating in which his stock phrases mean other things. He helps provide her with food and water. As her blessing is strength, Lammis decides to carry him, revealing they are in a dungeon on a secure level where adventurers have built a village. Along the way, Lammis saves a girl from some thugs. Lammis wants to show him to her friend Hulemy on the surface, but without money for the teleportation circle, she takes him to an inn where her friend Munami works. The new vending machine becomes popular with adventurers and he gains many points, allowing him to upgrade his items. Lammis acquires a frame to carry him on her back and names him "Boxxo". | |||||
| 2 | "The King Frog Fiend Appears" Transcription: "Ōkawazujinma ga Arawareta" (Japanese: 王蛙人魔が現れた) |
Tatsuya Fujinaka | Yutaka Yasunaga | Royden B & Hiroyuki Ōshima | July 12, 2023 |
| Director Bear, an actual bear who is the director of the Hunter's Association, asks Lammis to bring Boxxo as food support for a large hunt to exterminate frog fiends, the same monsters that attacked Boxxo earlier. Kerioyl, leader of the Menagerie of Fools party, takes an interest in Boxxo, who decides he cannot be trusted. Filmina, Kerioyl's second-in-command, examines Boxxo, but senses no magic inside him. Meanwhile, Lammis becomes friends with a huntress named Shui. Boxxo decides to join the fight to protect Lammis. Lammis discovers that with Boxxo on her back as a counterweight, her usually poor control of her strength is negated. After the battle, Boxxo provides free sports drinks to the injured. Director Bear believes a king frog fiend is nearby and takes the remaining hunters to find it. That night, a hunter tries to break open Boxxo to steal his items, but Boxxo burns him with scalding soup and he is punished by Lammis for trying to rob Boxxo. When the king frog fiend appears, Boxxo provides cola and some mints. The combined items are eventually used to blind the king enough for the hunters to return and slay it. With the hunt over, everyone returns to the village victorious. | |||||
| 3 | "Rebuilding" Transcription: "Fukkō" (Japanese: 復興) |
Masateru Nomi | Tatsuya Takahashi | Hiroyuki Ōshima | July 19, 2023 |
| The party returns to the village, only to find it has been destroyed by a two-headed snake. Used to such things, the citizens kill the monster and begin rebuilding. Kerioyl asks Lammis and Boxxo to join his party, but Lammis refuses. Acowi, from the Merchants Exchange, reveals the village is running out of silver coins which are inside Boxxo. To get them back into circulation, she proposes buying them back with gold. Unfortunately, Boxxo cannot perform exchanges, though Lammis realizes by buying items with gold, Boxxo can return silver as change, which satisfies Acowi. Boxxo later adds a gambling function. Director Bear asks Boxxo to help Shirley, a brothel owner, so Boxxo sells her condoms to deal with diseases. A rich girl named Suori, who Lammis previously rescued, tries to vandalize Boxxo, but he stops her and also forgives her as she misses her absent father. Boxxo also begins selling soap at the public baths. Director Bear asks Boxxo to use his camouflage skill to catch criminals in the act. While disguised, Boxxo overhears Suori trying to buy him from Lammis, who refuses. Boxxo is overwhelmed with emotion by this before revealing himself to Lammis. | |||||
| 4 | "Boxxo Is Abducted" Transcription: "Hakkon, Yūkai Sareru" (Japanese: ハッコン、誘拐される) |
Mihiro Yamaguchi | Yutaka Yasunaga | Hirokazu Yamada | July 26, 2023 |
| Boxxo is kidnapped by thieves, including Gugoyle, the hunter who tried to break him open previously. They take him to their hideout with a kidnapped magic item engineer, who turns out to be Lammis' friend Hulemy. She and Boxxo quickly become friends and with her expertise, she realizes Boxxo contains a human soul. That night, the thieves sneak in to attack Hulemy, but Boxxo persuades them to leave by dispensing pornographic magazines. The thieves' leader gives her two days to break Boxxo open or she will die. Shortly before the deadline, the hideout is attacked by Lammis and the Hunter's Association in search for Boxxo. The attack sets off explosives that buries Boxxo and Hulemy under rubble. They survive inside Boxxo's shield while he also provides Hulemy some oxygen. In turn, Hulemy provides Boxxo the thieves' gold to help maintain his shield. Lammis eventually finds and reunites with Boxxo and Hulemy. Kerioyl is revealed to have uncharacteristically aided in Boxxo's rescue for free by capturing the thieves, though he insists it is a ploy to eventually have Boxxo join the Menagerie of Fools and help Kerioyl achieve his dream. | |||||
| 5 | "Vanity, Pride, and Vending Machine" Transcription: "Mie to Puraido to Jidōhanbaiki" (Japanese: 見栄とプライドと自動販売機) |
Sumito Sasaki | Yutaka Yasunaga | Waruo Suzuki | August 2, 2023 |
| While Lammis is embracing Boxxo, Hulemy reveals that Lammis hates losing people since her and Hulemy's parents were killed in a monster attack. Suori tells Hulemy there will be a gathering of merchant families and their magic item engineers. A girl from a rival family named Kanashi will be there, so she asks Hulemy to pretend to be her engineer and Boxxo as her latest magic item. Kanashi's engineer presents an automaton that obeys orders. Hulemy is outraged as it was made with a mind controlled human soul, which is against the law. When the automaton goes berserk, Hulemy helps free the trapped soul. As such, Kanashi is disqualified. Later, the village's restaurant owners panic when a popular restaurant called Chains opens a branch, so they ask Boxxo for help. After Lammis and Hulemy discover Chains' food is low quality. Boxxo provides several novel items, which the chefs reverse engineer so they can make them themselves. Chains goes out of business in only one month. Kerioyl asks Boxxo and Lammis to join a campaign. Despite Boxxo's mistrust, he decides to accompany Lammis as she wishes to keep improving her abilities. | |||||
| 6 | "The Fighting Vending Machine" Transcription: "Tatakau Jidōhanbaiki" (Japanese: 戦う自動販売機) |
Tōru Hamasaki | Tatsuya Takahashi | Hikaru Takeuchi & Kōji Yoshikawa | August 9, 2023 |
| By providing free ingredients to make home cooked Oden, Boxxo facilitates love between a shy shopkeeper and a village guard named Gorth. Spring arrives and Kerioyl's party is organized to check the population of crocodile-fiends. Boxxo provides a portable toilet with a privacy tent, which the ladies are grateful for. Kerioyl decides to cull the crocodile-fiends to prevent them from hunting humans. Hulemy reveals to Boxxo Director Bear asked her to look out for a Stratum Lord, a rare monster similar to a dungeon boss. Almost immediately the Crocodile-Lord appears, forcing everyone to flee and leave Boxxo behind. Boxxo dispenses fried chicken to distract it, but is himself swallowed. Safe inside his barrier, Boxxo floods the Lord's stomach with cleaning chemicals and gas and then creates a spark by heating a tin can inside his microwave function, causing an explosion that kills the Lord. Boxxo receives a valuable coin as a reBarrier, but magic leaking from the Lord's bones collapses the ground under him. As he plummets into an even lower stratum, all Boxxo can think about is a distraught Lammis. | |||||
| 7 | "The Voracious Devils" Transcription: "Bōshoku no Akumadan" (Japanese: 暴食の悪魔団) |
Tatsuya Fujinaka | Yutaka Yasunaga | Yō Nakano & Noriaki Akitaya | August 16, 2023 |
| Boxxo lands in the next stratum, a giant maze. Defeating the Lord has given him one million points, which he spends leveling up to a Rank 2 vending machine. He is disappointed that the coin he received is just a medal proving he killed a Lord. As a Rank 2, he unlocks a solar panel to recharge his power without spending points. Eventually, he encounters four young creatures called Bearcats; Suco, Pell, Short, and Mikenne. From their conversation, Boxxo deduces they are seeking treasure in the maze since they must eat a lot to survive. Unfortunately, they do not realize Boxxo is conscious, so they plan to sell him to Chains. They are attacked by a colossal Flame Skeletitan, the maze Stratum Lord, but the Bearcats escape with Boxxo. Despite Boxxo dispensing useful items to help them, they still do not realize he is conscious. As they reach the maze exit, they encounter Lammis and the Menagerie of Fools, who are thrilled they finally found Boxxo as Lammis was furious with Kerioyl for abandoning him. The Bearcats ally with the hunters and are dumbfounded when Director Bear explains about Boxxo's consciousness and unique method of speaking. | |||||
| 8 | "The Flame Skeletitan of the Labyrinth Stratum" Transcription: "Meiro Kaisō no Enkyokotsuma" (Japanese: 迷路階層の炎巨骨魔) |
Sumito Sasaki | Tatsuya Takahashi | Kazuma Takeya & Masayuki Takahashi | August 23, 2023 |
| Kerioyl asks Boxxo to help defeat the Skeletitan, revealing the Menagerie of Fools believes a legend that anyone who receives a coin from defeating a stratum Lord then makes it all the way to the lowest stratum will be granted a wish by God. They need six coins in total but only have three so far. Boxxo is intrigued as it could mean he can use his own coin to become human, though he also fears losing his usefulness as a vending machine. As the maze possesses its own traps, they plan to drop the Skeletitan into a large pit which they spend days filling with Boxxo's water and ice to extinguish the Skeletitan's protective flames. Boxxo also adds dry ice so the carbon dioxide smothers the flames even faster. Once the Skeletitan falls down the pit, Boxxo tricks Lammis into knocking him down there as well so he can use his weight to kill it. After dispensing helium balloons to lift himself out, Boxxo receives the Skeletitan's coin, but happily sells it to a grateful Kerioyl for 100 gold. | |||||
| 9 | "A Less-than-Ideal Hero" Transcription: "Risō no Eiyū Miman" (Japanese: 理想の英雄未満) |
Masateru Nomi | Yutaka Yasunaga | Waruo Suzuki | August 30, 2023 |
| The group stops at the maze stratum's Hunter's Association headquarters. While the Menagerie of Fools returns to Clearflow Lake village, Director Bear asks Lammis and Hulemy to begin mapping the maze. Mishuel, a young handsome hunter, begins working in the maze as well. However, once alone, Boxxo witnesses Mishuel's real personality where he is nervous and lacks confidence. Mishuel joins their group, even though it means working together for three weeks with his terrible communication skills. Lammis becomes unwell from getting her period, so Boxxo dispenses menstrual pads and transforms into a clothes washing machine to clean her clothes. The experience actually brings Mishuel out of his shell. After another week, they encounter assassins sent to kill Mishuel for a mysterious reason linked to his past. With Boxxo's help, they are easily defeated. Mishuel decides to leave, but Lammis suggests he join the Menagerie of Fools since they will not care about his past and will welcome his strength in battle. The group finally returns home and finds in Boxxo's absence, Chains has been using fake vending machines to sell their low-quality food, though with Boxxo's return, they are quickly exposed and shut down. | |||||
| 10 | "Gastric Measures" Transcription: "Ibukuro no Hate ni" (Japanese: 胃袋の果てに) |
Sumito Sasaki | Tatsuya Takahashi | Shin'ichi Tanabe | September 6, 2023 |
| The Restaurant Owners Union decide to hold an eating contest to attract people back to the village, which has finally been rebuilt. This backfires when Shui and the Bearcats, who are gluttonous, enter the contest. Afraid for their profits, the Union begs Boxxo's help, so he dispenses cola, which, if drunk by the contestants, will fill them faster. After an intense multi-round contest, Shui defeats the Bearcats and receives free access to Boxxo for 24 hours as her prize. With Lammis carrying Boxxo, Shui takes them to the Origin stratum that is closest to the surface, which houses an orphanage and uses her free 24 hours to feed, wash, clothe, and entertain the children. Shui explains the Origin stratum acts as a sort of test to allow access to lower stratums, meaning that it tends to collect people not strong enough to survive yet, like children whose parents died during the test. At night, bandits try to steal Boxxo's items, but he takes their photos, and then scares them away with mist, ice, and creepy music. The orphanage director, a retired hunter stronger than Kerioyl, later "takes care of" the bandits to protect the children. | |||||
| 11 | "The Dead's Lament Stratum" Transcription: "Mōja no Nageki Kaisō" (Japanese: 亡者の嘆き階層) |
Sumito Sasaki & Masateru Nomi | Yutaka Yasunaga | Waruo Suzuki | September 13, 2023 |
| The Menagerie of Fools ask Boxxo to accompany them to Dead's Lament, a stratum of undead which scares Lammis. When the dead wander about overnight, the creepy guild secretary explains they envy the living and often peer in windows as though trying to enter, but are harmless as long as the living stay indoors at night. To get over her fear, Hulemy tells Lammis to go shopping alone but she clings to Boxxo terrified. Kerioyl plans to hunt the stratum lord, the King of Souls. As night arrives again, Boxxo encounters an undead child seemingly asking for a drink. Curious by the sign of potential intelligence, Boxxo dispenses a bottle and is amazed when the boy attempts to drink it, and the same thing happens several nights in a row. One night, the Menagerie of Fools camp outside the village and the same boy follows them to see Boxxo, who fails to save him. Boxxo realizes the boy had been carrying a copper coin in an attempt to buy something, and is deeply saddened. Kerioyl reveals the King of Souls is a magic user, so their plan to defeat it will rely heavily on Boxxo's impenetrable barrier. | |||||
| 12 | "What Can Be Done as a Vending Machine" Transcription: "Jidōhanbaiki Toshite Dekiru Koto" (Japanese: 自動販売機として出来ること) |
Sumito Sasaki & Tatsuya Fujinaka | Tatsuya Takahashi | Sumito Sasaki & Noriaki Akitaya | September 20, 2023 |
| The party locates the King of Souls, a skeleton possessing intelligence. Relying on her strength, Lammis avoids his spells before using Boxxo to crush the King. The King is revealed to only have been a fragment of an even more powerful undead, the Netherlord. Hulemy and Shui are mortally wounded protecting Lammis, which sends her into a rage until Boxxo calms her. Deciding to trust herself, Lammis puts Boxxo down to use all her strength and destroys Netherlord’s staff. An impressed Netherlord retreats. Boxxo becomes an emergency defibrillator and spends all his available points acquiring the telekinesis skill to operate it himself, reviving Hulemy and Shui. They return home to inform Director Bear of the Netherlord, revealed as one of the Demon Lord’s generals. He contacts the directors of each stratum to begin assembling an army of the most skilled adventurers to combat this powerful foe. Kerioyl considers abandoning his goal to ensure the party's safety, but they convince him to keep going. Lammis takes Boxxo to the spot where she first found him and thanks him for everything. Hulemy and Shui secretly follow and thank Boxxo for saving their lives by kissing his screen. They make a jealous Lammis kiss him too, to her embarrassment. Boxxo decides life as a vending machine is not so bad. | |||||
| TRAILERS (SEASON 1) | |
After the final episode of the first season, a second season was announced, although the release date has not yet been revealed.
Reception[]
Reborn as a Vending Machine, I Now Wander the Dungeon has received positive reception. Theron Martin of Anime News Network reviewed the first volume positively, praising its unique take on the Isekai genre, Hirukuma's writing style, and the relationship between Boxxo and Lammis, which he found to be impressive and not having to "resort to hackneyed gimmicks". Summarizing that "this novel's bizarre concept is what will catch people's attention, but the writing is good enough to keep it", some criticism was directed at the light novel's fanservice, which Martin found to be forced, and the RPG elements typical of Isekai series. Similarly, Robert Frazer of UK Anime Network found Reborn as a Vending Machine to be "a blast of fresh air to flush out the stale Isekai genre", as "it’s fun and different to defeat the villain with Diet Coke and Mentos instead of just firing a Saiyan blast at a higher power level".
Rebecca Silverman and Lynzee Loveridge, in Anime News Network's Spring 2018 Light Novel Guide, also praised the setting but found the writing to "read like fan-fiction-level quality". They ultimately found the volume to "still [be] an engaging read", and compared it to So I'm a Spider, So What? and That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime. Loveridge further included the protagonist's "Death By Vending Machine" on her list of the "7 Strangest Isekai Deaths".
External Links[]
- Reborn as a Vending Machine, I Now Wander the Dungeon ─ Web novel at Shōsetsuka ni Narō (in Japanese)
- Reborn as a Vending Machine, I Now Wander the Dungeon ─ Official Light Novel (in Japanese)
- Reborn as a Vending Machine, I Now Wander the Dungeon ─ Official Manga Website (in Japanese)
- TV Anime "Reborn as a Vending Machine, I Now Wander the Dungeon" Official Website (in Japanese)
- TV Anime "Reborn as a Vending Machine, I Now Wander the Dungeon" Official (@jihanki_anime) - Twitter
- Reborn as a Vending Machine, I Now Wander the Dungeon ─ Wikipedia (in Japanese)
- Reborn as a Vending Machine, I Now Wander the Dungeon ─ Wikipedia (in English)
See Also[]
- Salaryman no Fushigi na Dungeon, Another light novel series with the same author.
- Jibun ga Isekai ni Teni Suru nara, Another light novel series with the same author.
- Kekkaishi e no Tensei, Another light novel series with the same illustrator.
- Saikyou Gamer, Isekai nite Jikkyou Play-chuu, Another light novel series with the same illustrator.
- Save & Load no Dekiru Yadoya-san: Counter Stop Tenseisha ga Yadoya de Shinjin Ikusei wo Hajimeta you desu, Another light novel series with the same illustrator.
Trivia[]
To be added.