In recent years, reincarnation has become a common trope in manga and anime. The main character wakes up in a new body and discovers that they’ve reincarnated into a world of swords and magic. Luckily for them, they can use a unique power or their knowledge from our world to get ahead.
As the trope has become more popular, authors have expanded the range of reincarnations from fictional villains and side characters to non-human monsters and even objects. Check out following titles available through The Library. (Descriptions below provided by publishers.)
Reincarnated as a fictional character:
My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom (Manga)
When a woman is reborn into an otome video game as the villainess, how can she play to win? A high school girl is stunned to find herself reincarnated as the conniving villainess from her favorite dating sim game, Fortune Lover. Now, as Catarina Claes, the impossibly rich and spoiled daughter of a Duke, her new life seems to perfectly sync up with the world of the game. This means big trouble! No matter how the game turned out, there were only two fates for Catarina: exile or death!
The Princess of Convenient Plot Devices (Manga)
After reincarnating into her favorite BL novel, Maki (now Octavia) has the perfect opportunity to fangirl over her favorite fictional couple, Sil and Prince Sirius, in real life—except she’s Sirius’s sister?! If that isn’t awkward enough, she’s expected to give up her firstborn child to be their heir! But the new Octavia won’t settle for a political marriage just to produce a baby. Her brother overcame many obstacles to be with the man of his dreams, and Octavia is prepared to do the same! Of course, she actually has to find a guy first…
Villainess Level 99: I May Be The Hidden Boss But I’m Not The Demon Lord (Anime)
This college kid wants nothing more than a quiet life. So when she’s reborn as Yumiella, the hidden villainess of an Otome RPG, she’s not exactly thrilled. Still yearning for peace, she abandons her evil duties to live a more discreet life. Until her gamer side kicks in and she accidentally reaches level 99! Now, everyone suspects that she’s the infamous Demon Lord. What future awaits her?
I’ll Become a Villainess Who Goes Down in History (Anime)
This young girl hates all those goodie-two-shoes heroines. So when she’s reincarnated as Alicia, the villain in her favorite fantasy dating sim, it’s like a dream come true! Now as Alicia, she’s ditching romance to be the world’s greatest villainess. There’s just one problem: the more she tries to be evil, the more the prince seems to fall for her. Alicia will have to work much harder if she ever wants to become the world’s greatest villainess.
Reincarnated as an object:
Reincarnated as a Sword (Manga) and Reincarnated as a Sword (Anime)
Live by the sword. Fran is a fiery, cat-eared girl whose luck couldn’t be worse–orphaned, consigned to slavery, and finally attacked by monsters. But everything changes when she finds a legendary talking sword. Inside the sword is the soul of a man from Earth, in search of answers about how he reached his current state. The two seal a pact to become sword and wielder, sharing power and magic between them. Together, Fran and sword cut their way to freedom, and the life of adventure that lies beyond!
Reborn as a Vending Machine, I Now Wander the Dungeon (Anime)
The future of this fantasy world now lies in the hands of…a vending machine! Boxxo was once a human, until he died in an accident and was reincarnated as a sentient piece of machinery. While he can still hear and see, there’s no way for him to move by himself or speak more than his programmed phrases. How can he make the most of this strange new life?
Reincarnated as a monster:
That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime (Manga)
Mikami’s middle age hasn’t gone as he planned: He never found a girlfriend, he got stuck in a dead-end job, and he was abruptly stabbed to death in the street at 37. So when he wakes up in a new world straight out of a fantasy RPG, he’s disappointed but not exactly surprised to find that he’s not a knight or a wizard but a blind slime demon. But there are chances for even a slime to become a hero…
So I’m a Spider, So What? (Manga)
I was your average, everyday high school girl, but now I’ve been reborn in a magical world–as a spider?! Wait–this isn’t how these stories are supposed to go! Can I get a do-over? No? But how am I supposed to survive in this big, scary dungeon as one of the weakest monsters? It’s “every spider for herself” in here! I gotta figure out the rules to this quick, or I’ll be kissing my short second life good-bye.
Woof Woof Story: I Told You to Turn Me Into a Pampered Pooch, Not Fenrir! (Manga)
“I just want an easy life, even as some rich person’s dog…” As corporate slave Routa Okami keels over in the middle of his busy office, he imagines how nice it would have been to live as the pet of some rich family instead of working himself to death. But when a goddess actually grants that wish and brings him back to life as a pampered pooch, Routa realizes he may have gotten more than he bargained for…
Skeleton Knight in Another World (Anime)
When Arc wakes up, he discovers that he has been transported to another world in the body of the character he was playing in an MMO. Looking like a suit of armor on the outside and a skeleton on the inside, he is the Skeleton Knight. If his identity is discovered, he could be mistaken for a monster and become a target! Arc decides to spend his time as a mercenary so as not to attract attention to himself. However, he’s not the kind of man who can stand idly by when he witnesses evil acts take place right before his eyes!
During the month of January, look for the “New Year, New Me: Reincarnation Stories” displays at all three branches for more reincarnation fiction.
