Playing Death Games to Put Food on the Table

Playing Death Games to Put Food on the Table (死亡遊戯で飯を食う。, Shibō Yūgi de Meshi o Kū) is a Japanese light novel series written by Yushi Ukai and illustrated by Nekometaru. It began publication under Media Factory's MF Bunko J light novel imprint in November 2022. A manga adaptation illustrated by Banzai Kotobuki Daienkai began serialization in Kadokawa Shoten's seinen manga magazine Comp Ace in April 2023. An anime television series adaptation produced by Studio Deen is set to premiere in January 2026.

Playing Death Games to Put Food on the Table
First light novel volume cover
死亡遊戯で飯を食う。 (Shibō Yūgi de Meshi o Kū)
Genre	Action[1]
Light novel
Written by	Yushi Ukai
Illustrated by	Nekometaru
Published by	Media Factory
English publisher	NA: Yen Press
Imprint	MF Bunko J
Original run	November 25, 2022 – present
Volumes	8
Manga
Written by	Yushi Ukai
Illustrated by	Banzai Kotobuki Daienkai
Published by	Kadokawa Shoten
Imprint	Kadokawa Comics A
Magazine	Comp Ace
Original run	April 26, 2023 – present
Volumes	3
Anime television series
Directed by	Souta Ueno
Written by	Rintarou Ueda
Music by	Junichi Matsumoto
Studio	Studio Deen
Original run	January 2026 – scheduled

Characters

Yuuki (幽鬼, Yūki)

Voiced by: Yuki Nakashima (PV)^[2], Chiyuki Miura (anime)^[3]

Media

Light novel

Written by Yushi Ukai and illustrated by Nekometaru, Playing Death Games to Put Food on the Table began publication under Media Factory's MF Bunko J light novel imprint on November 25, 2022. Eight volumes have been released as of February 25, 2025.^[4]

During their panel at Anime Expo 2023, Yen Press announced that they had licensed the series.^[5]

No.	Original release date	Original ISBN	North American release date	North American ISBN
1	November 25, 2022[6]	978-4-04-681937-6	June 18, 2024[7]	978-1-97-539261-1
2	January 25, 2023[8]	978-4-04-682109-6	October 15, 2024[9]	979-8-85-540087-8
3	April 25, 2023[10]	978-4-04-682405-9	February 18, 2025[11]	979-8-85-540089-2
4	August 25, 2023[12]	978-4-04-682765-4	August 12, 2025[13]	979-8-85-540091-5
5	December 25, 2023[14]	978-4-04-683149-1	—	—
6	April 25, 2024[15]	978-4-04-683544-4	—	—
7	September 25, 2024[16]	978-4-04-684006-6	—	—
8	February 25, 2025[4]	978-4-04-684556-6	—	—

Manga

A manga adaptation illustrated by Banzai Kotobuki Daienkai began serialization in Kadokawa Shoten's seinen manga magazine Comp Ace on April 26, 2023.^[1] The manga's chapters have been collected into three tankōbon volumes as of February 2025.^[17]

No.	Release date	ISBN
1	December 26, 2023[18]	978-4-04-114456-5
2	July 25, 2024[19]	978-4-04-115036-8
3	February 26, 2025[17]	978-4-04-115861-6
4	September 24, 2025[20]	978-4-04-116476-1

Anime

An anime television series adaptation was announced during the "MF Bunko J Natsu no Gakuensai 2024" livestream event on September 1, 2024.^[21] The series will be produced by Studio Deen and directed by Souta Ueno, with Rintarou Ueda handling series composition, Eri Osada designing the characters, and Junichi Matsumoto composing the music.^[3] It is set to premiere in January 2026.^[22]

Other

A promotional video commemorating the release of the light novel's fourth volume was released on the Kadokawa Anime YouTube channel in August 2023. It featured voice actress Yuki Nakashima as the main character, Yuki.^[2]

Reception

The series won the Excellence Award at the 18th annual MF Bunko J Light Novel Newcomer Awards in 2022.^[23] The series was also ranked first in the New Title ranking and second in the Bunkobon category in the 2024 edition of Takarajimasha's Kono Light Novel ga Sugoi! guidebook.^[24]