Nia Liston: The Merciless Maiden
Japanese light novel series
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Nia Liston: The Merciless Maiden (Japanese: 凶乱令嬢ニア・リストン 病弱令嬢に転生した神殺しの武人の華麗なる無双録, Hepburn: Kyoran Reijō Nia Risuton: Byōjaku Reijō ni Tenseishita Kami-goroshi no Bujin no Kareinaru Musō Roku), or simply Nia Liston, is a Japanese light novel series written by Umikaze Minamino and illustrated by Katana Canata. It was originally serialized on the user-generated novel publishing website Shōsetsuka ni Narō from May 2019 to January 2021. It was later acquired by Hobby Japan who began releasing it under their HJ Bunko imprint in September 2022. A manga adaptation illustrated by Kabuto Kodai began serialization on Square Enix's Manga Up! manga service in November 2022. An anime television series adaptation produced by Konami Animation is set to premiere in October 2026.
| Nia Liston: The Merciless Maiden | |
First light novel volume cover | |
| 凶乱令嬢ニア・リストン 病弱令嬢に転生した神殺しの武人の華麗なる無双録 (Kyōran Reijō Nia Risuton: Byōjaku Reijō ni Tenseishita Kami-goroshi no Bujin no Kareinaru Musō Roku) | |
|---|---|
| Genre | |
| Novel series | |
| Written by | Umikaze Minamino |
| Published by | Shōsetsuka ni Narō |
| Original run | May 25, 2019 – January 6, 2021 |
| Light novel | |
| Written by | Umikaze Minamino |
| Illustrated by |
|
| Published by | Hobby Japan |
| English publisher | |
| Imprint | HJ Bunko |
| Original run | September 30, 2022 – present |
| Volumes | 11 |
| Manga | |
| Written by | Umikaze Minamino |
| Illustrated by | Kabuto Kodai |
| Published by | Square Enix |
| English publisher |
|
| Imprint | Gangan Comics UP! |
| Magazine | Manga Up! |
| Original run | November 17, 2022 – present |
| Volumes | 8 |
| Anime television series | |
| Directed by |
|
| Written by | Gigaemon Ichikawa |
| Music by | Naoki Endō |
| Studio | Konami Animation |
| Original run | October 2026 – scheduled |
Plot
The great hero, who even killed a god, hoped to meet someone strong enough to kill her, but died before she could achieve her goal. When she woke up, she found herself in the body of Nia Liston, the daughter of the Liston territory, who was consumed by illness. This possession occurred when Nia was originally sickly, and her parents, not wanting their daughter to die, hired someone to help, but when he realized there was nothing he could do, he used the "Law of Resurrection" and exchanged Nia's soul with the great hero's. The great hero then purified her diseased body by manipulating "ki" and began living a second life as Nia.
Characters
- Nia Liston (ニア・リストン, Nia Risuton)
- Voiced by: Honoka Inoue[3]
- A four year old girl, the only daughter of the fourth-order peer family Liston. She was plagued by a respiratory illness. On the verge of death a healer was brought to help her but she was too far gone so instead he pulled a soul to replace the original Nia. The nameless soul belonged to a peerless warrior who in life sought only to be defeated and aims while living as Nia to both repay the kindness of her new family and find that death in battle that eluded her in her previous life. After her revival Nia's story and health recovery jump starts her career as a budding start on the new technology known as magivision. She uses her rising fame to build to popularity of magivision sets which her family is heavily invested in.
Media
Light novel
Written by Umikaze Minamino, Nia Liston: The Merciless Maiden was serialized on the user-generated novel publishing website Shōsetsuka ni Narō from May 25, 2019, to January 6, 2021.[4] It was later acquired by Hobby Japan who began publishing it with illustrations by Jishaku under their HJ Bunko light novel imprint on September 30, 2022. Later volumes from volume 3 and onwards feature illustrations by Katana Canata. Eleven volumes have been released as of June 1, 2026.[5]
During their panel at Anime NYC 2023, J-Novel Club announced that they had licensed the series for English publication.[6]
| No. | Original release date | Original ISBN | North American release date | North American ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 30, 2022[7] | 978-4-7986-2970-4 | February 9, 2024[8] | 978-1-7183-1770-3 |
| 2 | May 1, 2023[9] | 978-4-7986-3148-6 | May 6, 2024[10] | 978-1-7183-1772-7 |
| 3 | September 29, 2023[11] | 978-4-7986-3310-7 | July 22, 2024[12] | 978-1-7183-1774-1 |
| 4 | December 1, 2023[13] | 978-4-7986-3360-2 | October 8, 2024[14] | 978-1-7183-1776-5 |
| 5 | April 1, 2024[15] | 978-4-7986-3504-0 | January 2, 2025[16] | 978-1-7183-1778-9 |
| 6 | August 1, 2024[17] | 978-4-7986-3597-2 | March 28, 2025[18] | 978-1-7183-1780-2 |
| 7 | November 29, 2024[19] | 978-4-7986-3694-8 | June 26, 2025[20] | 978-1-7183-1782-6 |
| 8 | May 1, 2025[21] | 978-4-7986-3823-2 | December 18, 2025[22] | 978-1-7183-1784-0 |
| 9 | September 1, 2025[23] | 978-4-7986-3956-7 | May 26, 2026[24] | 978-1-7183-1786-4 |
| 10 | January 30, 2026[25] | 978-4-7986-4080-8 | — | — |
| 11 | June 1, 2026[5] | 978-4-7986-4194-2 | — | — |
Manga
A manga adaptation illustrated by Kabuto Kodai began serialization on Square Enix's Manga Up! manga service on November 17, 2022.[26] The manga's chapters have been collected into eight tankōbon volumes as of February 2026.[27]
The manga's chapters are published in English on Square Enix's Manga Up! Global service.[28]
| No. | Release date | ISBN |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | May 6, 2023[29] | 978-4-7575-8554-6 |
| 2 | September 7, 2023[30] | 978-4-7575-8782-3 |
| 3 | February 7, 2024[31] | 978-4-7575-9038-0 |
| 4 | July 5, 2024[32] | 978-4-7575-9326-8 |
| 5 | December 6, 2024[33] | 978-4-7575-9548-4 |
| 6 | April 7, 2025[34] | 978-4-7575-9784-6 |
| 7 | September 5, 2025[35] | 978-4-3010-0036-5 |
| 8 | February 6, 2026[27] | 978-4-3010-0308-3 |
Anime
An anime television series adaptation was announced on January 28, 2026. The series will be produced by Konami Animation and directed by Motoki Nakanishi, with Haruta Segi serving as assistant director, Gigaemon Ichikawa handling series composition, Yūki Itō and Kana Tosaoka designing the characters, and Naoki Endō composing the music. It is set to premiere in October 2026.[3]
Reception
By April 2024, the series had over 400,000 copies in circulation.[36]
See also
- Kunon the Sorcerer Can See, another light novel series written by Umikaze Minamino