Reincarnated as a Dragon Hatchling

Reincarnated as a Dragon Hatchling (転生したらドラゴンの卵だった 〜最強以外目指さねぇ〜, Tensei Shitara Doragon no Tamago Datta: Saikyō Igai Mezasa Nee) is a Japanese light novel series written by Nekoko and illustrated by Naji Yanagida. It originally began as a web novel series on the Shōsetsuka ni Narō website in August 2015, before beginning publication by Earth Star Entertainment under their Earth Star Novel imprint in December 2015, and later moved to Square Enix's SQEX Novel imprint in January 2021. A manga adaptation illustrated by Rio began serialization on Earth Star Entertainment's Comic Earth Star manga website in September 2017, and has been compiled into eight volumes as of January 2025. An anime television series adaptation produced by Felix Film and Ga-Crew is set to premiere in January 2026.

Reincarnated as a Dragon Hatchling
First light novel volume cover
転生したらドラゴンの卵だった 〜最強以外目指さねぇ〜 (Tensei Shitara Doragon no Tamago Datta: Saikyō Igai Mezasa Nee)
Genre	Fantasy, isekai
Novel series
Written by	Nekoko
Published by	Shōsetsuka ni Narō
Original run	August 20, 2015 – present
Light novel
Written by	Nekoko
Illustrated by	Naji Yanagida
Published by	Earth Star Entertainment (1–12) Square Enix (13–)
English publisher	NA: Seven Seas Entertainment
Imprint	Earth Star Novel (1–12) SQEX Novel (13–)
Original run	December 15, 2015 – present
Volumes	16
Manga
Written by	Nekoko
Illustrated by	Rio
Published by	Earth Star Entertainment
English publisher	NA: Seven Seas Entertainment
Imprint	Earth Star Comics
Magazine	Comic Earth Star
Original run	September 28, 2017 – present
Volumes	8
Anime television series
Directed by	Yuta Takamura Nobuyoshi Arai (assistant)
Written by	Tatsuhiko Urahata
Music by	Kow Otani
Studio	Felix Film Ga-Crew
Licensed by	Sentai Filmworks
Original run	January 2026 – scheduled

Premise

A person from Earth is reincarnated as a dragon, and has to survive in a hostile world of monsters while leveling up with the assistance of the Divine Voice, a mysterious voice that acts as Illusia's guide to the world around him.

Characters

Ilusia (イルシア, Irushia)

Voiced by: Shun'ichi Toki^[1]

The protagonist of the series. Originally a human from Earth, he is reincarnated as a dragon egg, but becomes increasingly more powerful as he evolves into multiple stronger dragon species during the series. He is named Illusia by Myria in volume 2 after her favorite flower.

Divine Voice (神の声, Kami no Koe)

Voiced by: Ami Koshimizu^[1]

A voice that guides Illusia throughout the series by providing information on his skills, evolutions and the world he is reincarnated in. The Divine Voice is eventually revealed to be the main antagonist of the series, having orchestrated the events which led to Illusia becoming stronger and acquiring his powerful skills, with Illusia unknowingly acting as one of their pawns alongside the other antagonists Illusia faces.

Myria (ミリア, Miria)

Voiced by: Miku Itō^[1]

A young mage who saves Illusia from her friends in volume 1 when he is still a baby dragon. She gives Illusia his name in volume 2. She reunites with Illusia in volume 7 due to both being caught up in the Forte Slime's plans.

Partner

The second dragon head Illusia acquires after evolving into an Ouroboros dragon in volume 4. Illusia and Partner face some difficulties communicating at first, but bond over time. She sacrifices herself to help defeat Ruin in volume 9.

Forte Slime

A slime that Illusia confronts in volumes 1 and 2 that has developed sentience and the ability to use the powers of the monsters it kills. Illusia seemingly defeats and kills it at the end of volume 2, but it returns in volume 7, having been driven insane due to the Divine Voice abandoning it when Illusia defeated it. It evolves into an ultra-powerful, non-sapient monster known as Ruin in volume 9, but dies for real after its health and mana are fully depleted.

Media

Light novel

Written by Nekoko, Reincarnated as a Dragon Hatchling originally began serialization as a web novel on the Shōsetsuka ni Narō website on August 20, 2015.^[2] It later began publication as a light novel with illustrations by Naji Yanagida under Earth Star Entertainment's Earth Star Novel imprint on December 15, 2015.^[3] Twelve volumes were published up until May 15, 2020.^[4] On November 8, 2020, Square Enix announced that they acquired the series and would release it under their newly created SQEX Novel imprint from the thirteenth volume on January 7, 2021.^[5] Sixteen volumes have been released as of June 7, 2022.^[6] The series is set to end with the release of its seventeenth volume in January 2026.^[7]

The light novels are licensed in English by Seven Seas Entertainment.^[8]

No.	Original release date	Original ISBN	North American release date	North American ISBN
1	December 15, 2015[3]	978-4-8030-0847-0	June 17, 2021 (digital) July 27, 2021 (print)[9]	978-1-64827-581-4
2	March 15, 2016[10]	978-4-8030-0897-5	October 28, 2021 (digital) November 23, 2021 (print)[11]	978-1-64827-609-5
3	August 15, 2016[12]	978-4-8030-0950-7	April 14, 2022 (digital) May 3, 2022 (print)[13]	978-1-64827-627-9
4	February 15, 2017[14]	978-4-8030-0998-9	June 16, 2022 (digital) July 26, 2022 (print)[15]	978-1-63858-119-2
5	October 17, 2017[16]	978-4-8030-1123-4	October 5, 2023 (digital) October 31, 2023 (print)[17]	978-1-63858-220-5
6	February 15, 2018[18]	978-4-8030-1161-6	February 15, 2024 (digital) May 28, 2024 (print)[19]	978-1-63858-338-7
7	June 15, 2018[20]	978-4-8030-1201-9	July 4, 2024 (digital) August 13, 2024 (print)[21]	978-1-63858-766-8
8	September 13, 2018[22]	978-4-8030-1230-9	October 3, 2024 (digital) November 12, 2024 (print)[23]	978-1-63858-910-5
9	February 15, 2019[24]	978-4-8030-1271-2	January 9, 2025 (digital) February 4, 2025 (print)[25]	979-8-88843-133-7
10	July 16, 2019[26]	978-4-8030-1313-9	May 13, 2025[27]	979-8-89160-955-6
11	December 14, 2019[28]	978-4-8030-1363-4	July 3, 2025 (digital) August 12, 2025 (print)[29]	979-8-89373-466-9
12	May 15, 2020[4]	978-4-8030-1420-4	October 16, 2025 (digital) November 11, 2025 (print)[30]	979-8-89373-467-6
13	January 7, 2021[31]	978-4-7575-7026-9	March 24, 2026 (print)[32]	979-8-89765-452-9
14	June 7, 2021[33]	978-4-7575-7310-9	—	—
15	November 6, 2021[34]	978-4-7575-7563-9	—	—
16	June 7, 2022[6]	978-4-7575-7956-9	—	—

Manga

A manga adaptation illustrated by Rio began serialization on Earth Star Entertainment's Comic Earth Star manga website on September 28, 2017.^[35] The manga's chapters have been collected into eight tankōbon volumes as of January 2025.^[36]

The manga adaptation is also licensed in English by Seven Seas Entertainment.^[8]

No.	Original release date	Original ISBN	North American release date	North American ISBN
1	June 15, 2018[37]	978-4-8030-1198-2	September 28, 2021[38]	978-1-64827-601-9
2	August 10, 2019[39]	978-4-8030-1319-1	February 15, 2022[40]	978-1-64827-620-0
3	July 10, 2020[41]	978-4-8030-1428-0	May 3, 2022[42]	978-1-63858-113-0
4	April 12, 2021[43]	978-4-8030-1508-9	September 26, 2023[44]	978-1-63858-358-5
5	March 12, 2022[45]	978-4-8030-1623-9	February 27, 2024[46]	978-1-63858-839-9
6	March 10, 2023[47]	978-4-8030-1757-1	September 3, 2024[48]	979-8-88843-805-3
7	March 13, 2024[49]	978-4-8030-1918-6	February 25, 2025[50]	979-8-89373-167-5
8	January 10, 2025[36]	978-4-8030-2061-8	September 30, 2025[51]	979-8-89561-708-3

Anime

An anime television series adaptation was announced on March 14, 2025.^[1] The series will be produced by Felix Film and Ga-Crew and directed by Yuta Takamura, with Nobuyoshi Arai serving as assistant director, Tatsuhiko Urahata handling series composition, Masahito Onoda designing the characters and Kow Otani composing the music.^[52] It is set to premiere in January 2026. The opening theme song is "Gliding Claw", performed by Sizuk [ja], and the ending theme song is "Sky Clipper", performed by Tao and Sak.^[53] Sentai Filmworks licensed the series in North America for streaming on Hidive.^[54]

See also

• The Exiled Heavy Knight Knows How to Game the System, another light novel series written by Nekoko
• This Alluring Dark Elf Has the Heart of a Middle-Aged Man!, another light novel series illustrated by Naji Yanagida