Reincarnated as a Sword

Reincarnated as a Sword, also known as I Became the Sword by Transmigrating (転生したら剣でした) or Tenken (転剣), is a Japanese light novel series written by Yuu Tanaka and illustrated by Llo. It started as a web novel on the Shōsetsuka ni Narō website in October 2015. It was later published as a light novel by Micro Magazine, who released the first volume in July 2016. The series has received a manga adaptation by Tomowo Maruyama, published by Gentosha, as well as a spin-off manga by Hinako Inoue, published by Micro Magazine. Both the light novels and manga were licensed for North American release by Seven Seas Entertainment, as well as the spin-off. An anime television series adaptation by C2C aired from October to December 2022. A second season has been announced.

Critical reaction has been generally positive, with its visuals, voice acting, action scenes and chemistry between the two leads being praised; however critics also lamented its writing and lack of originality.

Plot
After dying in a car accident, an unnamed man finds himself reincarnated in another world as a sentient sword with powerful abilities and no recollection of his name, though he remembers everything else from his previous life. Accepting his fate as a sword, he begins to seek someone to become his wielder, fighting and gaining powers. He discovers a caravan of slave traders under attack by a two-headed bear. A young catgirl slave, Fran, discovers the sword, and uses him to kill the bear. After being freed from slavery, she names the sword "Teacher", and the two embark on an adventure together.

Characters

 * Teacher (師匠)
 * Originally a human in his past life, Teacher finds himself reincarnated as a powerful, legendary sword equipped with an A.I. that gives him pointers. However, after being forced in place, he resigns himself to rest until a mighty warrior can find and wield him. He soon becomes Fran's ally and primary weapon after he frees her from slavery, who also gave him his name. He is able to gain abilities from various creatures after killing them, which allows him to evolve and get stronger. He can also share his abilities with Fran.
 * Originally a human in his past life, Teacher finds himself reincarnated as a powerful, legendary sword equipped with an A.I. that gives him pointers. However, after being forced in place, he resigns himself to rest until a mighty warrior can find and wield him. He soon becomes Fran's ally and primary weapon after he frees her from slavery, who also gave him his name. He is able to gain abilities from various creatures after killing them, which allows him to evolve and get stronger. He can also share his abilities with Fran.


 * Fran (フラン)
 * A 12-year-old Black Cat girl. Her parents were killed when she was young and was subsequently sold into slavery. However, when her caravan is attacked by a two-headed bear, she comes across and draws Teacher from his resting place, who helps her kill the beast and set her free. Together, the two embark on a quest to help Fran evolve fully, a feat no Black Cat has been able to achieve. When facing great danger, she will not back down despite others warning her otherwise. Her abilities all originate from Teacher. Without him, she is powerless.
 * A 12-year-old Black Cat girl. Her parents were killed when she was young and was subsequently sold into slavery. However, when her caravan is attacked by a two-headed bear, she comes across and draws Teacher from his resting place, who helps her kill the beast and set her free. Together, the two embark on a quest to help Fran evolve fully, a feat no Black Cat has been able to achieve. When facing great danger, she will not back down despite others warning her otherwise. Her abilities all originate from Teacher. Without him, she is powerless.


 * Amanda (アマンダ)
 * A half-elf who runs an orphanage. She has great admiration for Fran whom it is revealed she herself had looked after since her parents had died. Despite her bubbly nature, she is a very powerful warrior who is much stronger than Fran and Teacher. She also serves as a mother figure and mentor to Fran, although Fran did not enjoy it at first. She has a soft side for kids and is one of the only characters who knows about Teacher.
 * A half-elf who runs an orphanage. She has great admiration for Fran whom it is revealed she herself had looked after since her parents had died. Despite her bubbly nature, she is a very powerful warrior who is much stronger than Fran and Teacher. She also serves as a mother figure and mentor to Fran, although Fran did not enjoy it at first. She has a soft side for kids and is one of the only characters who knows about Teacher.


 * Klimt (クリムト)
 * A Wood Elf elementalist who is the guild master of the Alessa Adventurers' Guild. He has a special ability that allows him to see a person's true nature. He is suspicious about the source of Fran's abilities after he could not identify her, but allows her to join the guild and soon sees that she isn't a bad person. He is Frion's uncle.
 * A Wood Elf elementalist who is the guild master of the Alessa Adventurers' Guild. He has a special ability that allows him to see a person's true nature. He is suspicious about the source of Fran's abilities after he could not identify her, but allows her to join the guild and soon sees that she isn't a bad person. He is Frion's uncle.


 * Donadrond (ドナドロンド)
 * An Oni warrior who acts as examiner for the Adventurers' Guild, challenging prospective adventurers to duels to test their skills. He is defeated by Fran and allows her to pass the exam.
 * An Oni warrior who acts as examiner for the Adventurers' Guild, challenging prospective adventurers to duels to test their skills. He is defeated by Fran and allows her to pass the exam.


 * Nell (ネル)
 * The receptionist for the Alessa town Adventurers' Guild. She possesses a hidden dark side wishing death on adventurers she dislikes, but quickly warms up to Fran.
 * The receptionist for the Alessa town Adventurers' Guild. She possesses a hidden dark side wishing death on adventurers she dislikes, but quickly warms up to Fran.


 * Gallus (ガルス)
 * An old dwarf with a passion for blacksmithing. He supplies Fran with all sorts of equipment and knows about Teacher due to him having an ability that bypasses identity blocking.
 * An old dwarf with a passion for blacksmithing. He supplies Fran with all sorts of equipment and knows about Teacher due to him having an ability that bypasses identity blocking.


 * Randell
 * An adventurer that Fran and Teacher rescued sometime after the two met.


 * Lily
 * An adventurer that Fran and Teacher meet during their journey.


 * Crull
 * An adventurer that Fran and Teacher meet during their journey.


 * Eustace
 * An adventurer that Fran and Teacher meet during their journey.


 * August
 * The cruel vice-captain of Alessa's guards who bears a hatred towards adventurers. He has two special abilities that allow him to tell if a person is lying or not and charm others, although he abuses his skills. These abilities was stolen from him by Teacher, which results in his reputation being ruined. To get revenge on Fran, he hires the Blue Cat assassin Gyuran to kill her, but she turns the tables on them and kills Gyuran instead. August is then put under house arrest permanently by his father as punishment for his crimes.


 * Gyruan
 * A Blue Cat assassin. His kind have been known enemies of the Black Cats and is the reason why Fran ended up in slavery in the first place. He takes pleasure in killing Black Cats and selling them into slave labor. August hires him to kill Fran for sabotaging his reputation, but she manages to kill him instead and take his weapon, avenging most of her kind.


 * Count Holmes
 * The ruler of Alessa and August's father. After learning of his son's crimes, he punishes August by putting him under house arrest forever. However, it is implied that he has ulterior motives.


 * Cruise Riouselle
 * The leader of a party called the Azure Guardians and an examiner tasked with helping a group of warriors whose goal is to defeat a group of spider monsters in one of the world's dungeons.


 * Rig
 * A member of the Azure Guardians and an examiner tasked with helping a group of warriors whose goal is to defeat a group of spider monsters in one of the world's dungeons.


 * Eizelle
 * A member of the Azure Guardians and an examiner tasked with helping a group of warriors whose goal is to defeat a group of spider monsters in one of the world's dungeons.


 * Krad
 * The leader of a group called Dragon's Roar, who join a group of powerful warriors to defeat some spider monsters in a dungeon. Upon meeting Fran, he is resentful towards the idea of having her and Amanda join the party that mostly consists of men, but soon respects her after seeing how powerful she and Amanda are.


 * Balz
 * One of the members of Dragon's Roar.


 * Victor
 * One of the members of Dragon's Roar.


 * Gennel
 * One of the members of Dragon's Roar.


 * Frion
 * An elf sorcerer who is the leader of a party called the Eyes of the Forest. He is also Klimt's nephew.


 * Urushi
 * A warrior who accompanies Fran's group in eliminating a group of spider monsters in one of the world's dungeons.


 * Kinan and Flamia
 * Fran's parents, whom Amanda knows of before they passed away and entrusted their daughter to her.


 * Jean Du Vix
 * A necromancer who appears at the end of the first season. It is unknown what his motive is and whether he is friend or foe to Fran and Teacher.

Light novel
Yuu Tanaka started the series as a web novel hosted on Shōsetsuka ni Narō in October 2015 and ended it in February 2024. Micro Magazine acquired and published the light novel series under their GC Novels imprint, with illustrations by Llo. Seventeen volumes have been published as of March 2024. The fifth volume's limited edition was bundled with a drama CD, telling an original story. Seven Seas Entertainment announced their acquisition of the light novels, and began releasing from August 6, 2019.

Manga
A manga adaptation by Tomowo Maruyamawa was serialized in Gentosha's Denshi Birz magazine from December 9, 2016 to January 15, 2018. After the magazine stopped, it resumed publishing on Comic Boost. The series is compiled into fifteen tankōbon volumes, with the first volume released in April 2017. Seven Seas Entertainment also licensed the manga for North American release, with the first volume releasing on December 17, 2019. A spin-off manga written by Tanaka and illustrated by Hinako Inoue was serialized in Micro Magazine's Comic Ride website from June 1, 2020 to January 30, 2023. The spin-off manga is also licensed by Seven Seas.

Anime
An anime television series adaptation was announced in the twelfth volume of the light novel on September 24, 2021. The series is produced by C2C and directed by Shinji Ishihira, with Takahiro Nagano writing and supervising the scripts, Atsuki Saitō designing the characters and serving as chief animation director, and Yasuharu Takanashi composing the music. It aired from October 5 to December 21, 2022, on Tokyo MX, ABC, and BS Asahi. The opening theme song is "Tensei Shitara Ken Deshita" by Kishida Kyoudan & The Akeboshi Rockets, while the ending theme song is "More Strongly" by Maon Kurosaki. At Anime Expo 2022, Sentai Filmworks announced that they licensed the series outside of Asia. This was followed by an English dub as announced at Anime Weekend Atlanta on October 28, 2022.

After the airing of the final episode, a second season was announced, but there is currently no release date for it yet.

Reception
Reincarnated as a Sword has received generally positive reviews from critics. Theron Martin of Anime News Network, in his review of the first volume of the light novel, praised the interactions between the two lead characters, and said: "Beyond the action scenes, Tanaka's writing skill is a little above average. Dialogue and character development flows smoothly and world-building, though somewhat limited, does fit with the perspective of the central characters." However, he criticized the story's lack of originality, noting its similarities to So I'm a Spider, So What?, That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime, and Reborn as a Vending Machine, I Now Wander the Dungeon.