A Nobody's Way Up to an Exploration Hero
Japanese light novel series and its adaptations
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A Nobody's Way Up to an Exploration Hero (モブから始まる探索英雄譚, Mob kara Hajimaru Tansaku Eiyūtan; "The Story of an Exploration Hero Who Has Worked His Way Up from Common People") is a Japanese light novel series written by Kaitō and illustrated by Almic. It began serialization online in April 2019 on the user-generated novel publishing website Shōsetsuka ni Narō. It was later acquired by Hobby Japan, who have published thirteen volumes since July 2021 under their HJ Bunko imprint. A manga adaptation with art by Terio Teri has been serialized in Akita Shoten's seinen manga web magazine Dokodemo Young Champion since August 2021 and has been collected in six tankōbon volumes. An anime television series adaptation produced by Gekkou aired from July to September 2024.
| A Nobody's Way Up to an Exploration Hero | |
First light novel volume cover | |
| モブから始まる探索英雄譚 (Mob kara Hajimaru Tansaku Eiyūtan) | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Romantic comedy Fantasy[1] |
| Novel series | |
| Written by | Kaitō |
| Published by | Shōsetsuka ni Narō |
| Original run | April 9, 2019 – present |
| Light novel | |
| Written by | Kaitō |
| Illustrated by | Almic |
| Published by | Hobby Japan |
| Imprint | HJ Bunko |
| Original run | July 1, 2021 – present |
| Volumes | 13 |
| Manga | |
| Written by | Kaitō |
| Illustrated by | Terio Teri |
| Published by | Akita Shoten |
| Imprint | Young Champion Comics |
| Magazine | Dokodemo Young Champion |
| Original run | August 24, 2021 – present |
| Volumes | 6 |
| Anime television series | |
| Directed by | Tomoki Kobayashi |
| Written by | Kazuyuki Fudeyasu |
| Music by | Keiji Inai |
| Studio | Gekkou |
| Licensed by |
|
| Original network | Tokyo MX, KTN, BS NTV, AT-X |
| Original run | July 6, 2024 – September 21, 2024 |
| Episodes | 12 |
Premise
In an alternate version of the modern world featuring fantasy dungeons and other role-playing video game mechanics, Kaito Takagi is a high school student who hunts weak slime monsters on the first floor of a dungeon as a part-time job. One day, he defeats a golden slime that drops an extremely rare Servant Card, allowing him to summon Sylphy, a Valkyrie with powerful magic.
Characters
- Kaito Takagi (高木 海斗, Takagi Kaito)
- Voiced by: Yuya Hozumi[2]
- Main protagonist of the story and a low level adventurer who remains on the first floor after hearing his two male friends from school explain how they quit after running into a goblin on the second floor. He remains happy on the first floor, killing slimes and makes it up to 999 slimes. His 1,000th slime is a golden slime that drops a summoning card for a Valkyrie. He later finds and defeats a silver slime that rewards him with a Demon.
- Sylphy (シルフィー, Shirufī)
- Voiced by: Kana Hanazawa[2]
- A Valkyrie who is rewarded to Kaito after killing his 1,000th slime and earning him the title Slime Slayer. She is a short statured young woman who resembles an older child. She wears silver armor and she has blue hair with blue eyes. Her main skills are offensive lightning and a defensive barrier that she can create. She often shows jealousy toward Luceria and is very sensitive and encouraging to Kaito. Kaito eventually gives her the nickname Syl.
- Haruka Katsuragi (葛城 春香, Katsuragi Haruka)
- Voiced by: Azumi Waki[3]
- A childhood friend and neighbor to Kaito. She often discourages Kaito from going to the local dungeon. Her father helped to inspire Kaito to go down to the dungeon and become an explorer.
- Luceria (ルシェリア, Rusheria)
- Voiced by: Mayu Sagara[3]
- A demon summon rewarded to Kaito after killing a silver slime. Unlike the more reserved and nurturing Syl, Luceria is blunt and at first bemoans being the summon of Kaito. Like other summons, she requires the crystals dropped by monsters, but she has a habit of always asking for more crystals despite her workload. She has dark hair and resembles an older child. Kaito eventually gives her the nickname Luce. Her skills involve strong fire magic and disintegrating ability.
- Airi Jingūji (神宮寺 愛理, Jingūji Airi)
- Voiced by: Yoshino Aoyama[4]
- A female adventurer who Kaito meets in the dungeon along with her two female party members. She uses a naginata and has trained in her family dojo to use it as she dreams of becoming a hero. This dream is one she shares with Kaito. Eventually Kaito joins her party so they can clear more levels in the dungeon. She is a first year in college and attends the college that is the first choice for Katsuragi. She becomes infatuated with Kaito the more time she spends with him.
- Miku Moriyama (森山 ミク, Moriyama Miku)
- Voiced by: Saika Kitamori[4]
- Hikari Tanabe (田辺 光梨, Tanabe Hikari)
- Voiced by: Azusa Tsugimori[4]
Media
Light novel
Written by Kaitō, A Nobody's Way Up to an Exploration Hero began serialization on the user-generated novel publishing website Shōsetsuka ni Narō on April 9, 2019.[5] It was later acquired by Hobby Japan which began releasing it in July 2021 under its HJ Bunko imprint with illustrations by Almic. Thirteen volumes have been released as of January 30, 2026.[6]
| No. | Release date | ISBN |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | July 1, 2021[1] | 978-4-79-862436-5 |
| 2 | September 1, 2021[7] | 978-4-79-862580-5 |
| 3 | December 1, 2021[8] | 978-4-79-862679-6 |
| 4 | April 1, 2022[9] | 978-4-79-862801-1 |
| 5 | September 30, 2022[10] | 978-4-79-862921-6 |
| 6 | April 1, 2023[11] | 978-4-79-863149-3 |
| 7 | September 29, 2023[12] | 978-4-79-863313-8 |
| 8 | February 1, 2024[13] | 978-4-79-863405-0 |
| 9 | July 1, 2024[14] | 978-4-7986-3584-2 |
| 10 | November 1, 2024[15] | 978-4-7986-3670-2 |
| 11 | March 1, 2025[16] | 978-4-7986-3781-5 |
| 12 | September 1, 2025[17] | 978-4-7986-3924-6 |
| 13 | January 30, 2026[6] | 978-4-7986-4062-4 |
Manga
A manga adaptation illustrated by Terio Teri began serialization in Akita Shoten's seinen manga web magazine Dokodemo Young Champion on August 24, 2021.[18] Its chapters have been collected into six tankōbon volumes as of March 2026.[19]
| No. | Release date | ISBN |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | February 18, 2022[20] | 978-4-253-30681-2 |
| 2 | May 18, 2023[21] | 978-4-253-30682-9 |
| 3 | December 27, 2023[22] | 978-4-253-30683-6 |
| 4 | July 25, 2024[23] | 978-4-253-30684-3 |
| 5 | March 27, 2025[24] | 978-4-253-30685-0 |
| 6 | March 26, 2026[19] | 978-4-253-01047-4 |
Anime
An anime television series adaptation was announced in December 2023.[25] It is produced by Gekkou and directed by Tomoki Kobayashi, with Kazuyuki Fudeyasu handling series composition, Shoko Yasuda designing the characters, and Keiji Inai composing the music.[2] The series aired from July 6 to September 21, 2024, on Tokyo MX and other networks.[26] The opening theme song is "Up Start" performed by Amatsuki, while the ending theme song is "Strobe Fantasy" (ストロボ・ファンタジー) performed by May'n.[27] Crunchyroll streamed the series.[28] Muse Communication licensed the series in Southeast Asia.[29]
Episodes
| No. | Title [30][31] | Directed by [a] | Written by [a] | Storyboarded by [a] | Original release date [32] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "This Nobody Will Become a Hero" Transliteration: "Sono Mobu wa Eiyū o Mezasu" (Japanese: そのモブは英雄を目指す) | Kentarō Iino | Kazuyuki Fudeyasu | Tomoki Kobayashi | July 6, 2024 | |
|
Kaito is a frail boy who hunts slime on the 1st level of the city's dungeon. One day he finds and defeats a golden slime which leaves behind a special summoning card which changes Kaito's life forever. | ||||||
| 2 | "The Second Servant Card" Transliteration: "Ni-mai Me no Sābanto Kādo" (Japanese: 2枚目のサーバントカード) | Kentaro Iino | Kazuyuki Fudeyasu | Shin'ichi Watanabe | July 13, 2024[b] | |
| 3 | "The Viscount-Class Demon and Sylphy's Worries" Transliteration: "Shishaku-kyū Akuma to Shirufī no Nayami" (Japanese: 子爵級悪魔とシルフィーの悩み) | Tomonori Mine | Masanao Akahoshi | Tomonori Mine | July 20, 2024 | |
| 4 | "Hidden Dungeon" Transliteration: "Kakushi Danjon" (Japanese: 隠しダンジョン) | Subaru San | Michiru Tenma | Tomoki Kobayashi | July 27, 2024 | |
| 5 | "Attempting the 7th Floor! And a Date!?" Transliteration: "Chōsen, Nana-Kaisō! Soshite Dēto!?" (Japanese: 挑戦、7階層！そしてデート！？) | Sumito Sasaki | Kazuyuki Fudeyasu, Yōhei Kashii | Tadayoshi Sasaki | August 3, 2024 | |
| 6 | "The Doubly Dangerous 8th Floor" Transliteration: "Kiki Mata Kiki no Hachi-Kaisō" (Japanese: 危機また危機の8階層) | Kentarō Iino | Masanao Akahoshi | Kenya Ueno | August 10, 2024 | |
| 7 | "Open Campus of Adolescence" Transliteration: "Seishun no Ōpun Kyanpasu" (Japanese: 青春のオープンキャンパス) | Hiroto Miyagi | Kazuyoki Fudeyasu | Tadayoshi Sasaki | August 17, 2024 | |
| 8 | "Bellia the Knight-Class Devil" Transliteration: "Shishaku-kyū Akuma Beruria" (Japanese: 士爵級悪魔ベルリア) | San Subaru | Michiru Tenma | koto | August 24, 2024 | |
| 9 | "Joyful Days" Transliteration: "Shiawasena Hibi" (Japanese: 幸せな日々) | Kenya Ueno | Michiru Tenma | San Subaru | August 31, 2024 | |
| 10 | "What I Can Do Now" Transliteration: "Ima Jibun ni Dekiru Koto" (Japanese: いま自分にできること) | Kentarō Iino | Masanao Akahoshi | Tadayoshi Sasaki | September 7, 2024 | |
| 11 | "In Search of the Elixir" Transliteration: "Erikusā o Sagashi te" (Japanese: エリクサーを探して) | Masamune Hirata | Kazuyuki Fudeyasu | Shin'ichi Watanabe | September 14, 2024 | |
| 12 | "And Their Heroic Tale Begins" Transliteration: "Soshite, Eiyūtan ga Hajimaru" (Japanese: そして、英雄譚が始まる) | Tomonori Mine, Sumito Sasaki, Tomoki Kobayashi | Kazuyuki Fudeyasu | Tomoki Kobayashi, Shin'ichi Watanabe | September 21, 2024 | |
See also
- Love Is Indivisible by Twins, another light novel series with the same illustrator
Notes
- Production staff information is taken from the ending credits of each episode.
- From Episode 2 onwards, episodes are released on select platforms (such as ABEMA, Crunchyroll and simulcast platforms by Muse Communication) one week before their televised airings.