Magical Explorer

Magical Explorer: Reborn as a Side Character in a Fantasy Dating Sim (Japanese: マジカル★エクスプローラー エロゲの友人キャラに転生 したけど、ゲーム知識使って自由に生きる, Hepburn: Magikaru Ekusupurōrā: Eroge no Yūjin Chara ni Tensei Shita kedo, Gēmu Chishiki Tsukatte Jiyū ni Ikiru) is a Japanese light novel series written by Iris. The series originated on the Shōsetsuka ni Narō website in February 2018, before being published in print with illustrations by Noboru Kannatsuki by Kadokawa Shoten beginning in November 2019. A manga adaptation, illustrated by Yukari Higa, began serialization on the Young Ace Up website in August 2020. An anime adaptation has been announced.

Magical Explorer: Reborn as a Side Character in a Fantasy Dating Sim
Cover of the first volume
マジカル★エクスプローラー エロゲの友人キャラに転生 したけど、ゲーム知識使って自由に生きる (Magikaru Ekusupurōrā: Eroge no Yūjin Chara ni Tensei Shita kedo, Gēmu Chishiki Tsukatte Jiyū ni Ikiru)
Genre	Isekai[1]
Novel series
Written by	Iris
Published by	Shōsetsuka ni Narō
Original run	February 26, 2018 – present
Light novel
Written by	Iris
Illustrated by	Noboru Kannatsuki
Published by	Kadokawa Shoten
English publisher	NA: Yen Press
Imprint	Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko
Demographic	Male
Original run	November 1, 2019 – present
Volumes	11
Manga
Written by	Iris
Illustrated by	Yukari Higa
Published by	Kadokawa Shoten
English publisher	NA: Yen Press
Magazine	Young Ace Up
Demographic	Seinen
Original run	August 20, 2020 – present
Volumes	2
Anime

Media

Light novel

Written by Iris, the series began publication on the novel posting website Shōsetsuka ni Narō on February 26, 2018.^[2] The series was later acquired by Kadokawa Shoten, who began publishing the series in print with illustrations by Noboru Kannatsuki on November 1, 2019.^[3] As of November 2024, eleven volumes have been released.^[4]

Yen Press is publishing the series in English.^[5]

Volumes

No.	Original release date	Original ISBN	English release date	English ISBN
1	November 1, 2019[3]	978-4-04-108371-0	December 14, 2021[6]	978-1-97-532561-9
2	March 1, 2020[7]	978-4-04-108372-7	May 3, 2022[8]	978-1-97-532563-3
3	August 1, 2020[9]	978-4-04-109541-6	October 18, 2022[10]	978-1-97-532565-7
4	January 29, 2021[11]	978-4-04-109542-3	April 11, 2023[12]	978-1-97-535048-2
5	July 1, 2021[13]	978-4-04-111408-7	July 18, 2023[14]	978-1-97-535051-2
6	February 1, 2022[15]	978-4-04-111409-4	December 12, 2023[16]	978-1-97-536755-8
7	September 1, 2022[17]	978-4-04-112667-7	April 16, 2024[18]	978-1-97-537253-8
8	April 28, 2023[19]	978-4-04-112668-4	September 17, 2024[20]	978-1-97-539158-4
9	September 29, 2023[21]	978-4-04-114181-6	April 8, 2025[22]	979-8-85-540532-3
10	March 29, 2024[23]	978-4-04-114699-6	August 12, 2025[24]	979-8-85-541455-4
11	November 29, 2024[4]	978-4-04-115318-5	—	—

Manga

A manga adaptation, illustrated by Yukari Higa, began serialization on Kadokawa Shoten's Young Ace Up manga website on August 20, 2020.^[25] The series went on hiatus in June 2021 due to Higa's health.^[26] As of March 2024, the series' individual chapters have been collected into two tankōbon volumes.^[27]

Yen Press is also publishing the manga adaptation in English.^[5]

Volumes

No.	Original release date	Original ISBN	English release date	English ISBN
1	March 10, 2021[28]	978-4-04-111007-2	July 12, 2022[29]	978-1-97-534300-2
2	March 8, 2024[27]	978-4-04-113414-6	January 21, 2025[30]	979-8-85-540958-1

Anime

An anime adaptation was announced during Kadokawa's "Sneaker Bunko 35th Anniversary Festa!" livestream on September 24, 2023.^[31]

Reception

The novel has 50,000,000 views on the Shōsetsuka ni Narō website.^[32]

Rebecca Silverman of Anime News Network praised the illustrations, but criticized the female characters as lacking development. On the story, Silverman wrote "from the very first sentence, we know what we're getting into, and luckily, it does it decently well".^[33] Demelza of Anime UK News felt the series was a "serviceable" isekai series, though Demelza was critical of the writing.^[1]

See also

• Goblin Slayer, another light novel series with the same illustrator