In the Land of Leadale (Light Novel), Vol. 1 (2025)

probably the weakest isekai i've read, yet. at least it didn't have any traumatic scenes or anything. just, blandness. and not even saccharine blandness. it is like the oatmeal of isekai. the isekai your mom forces you to read for breakfast, because kids in africa don't have words to read, so you should be glad you've got some words to read.

Liked it so much I ordered books 2 and 3 as soon as I finished this one! 5, so great and gentle, stars!

A (mostly) well-executed slice-of-life isekai fantasy light novel which doesn't quite read as a typical light novel.

So, I picked this up because I wanted a break from reading one isekai series and this came up in the recommendations list, but also because it's slated for an anime adaptation later this year or next and the trailer looked interesting. It's supposed to be a 'well-loved' series, though that might be typical advertising hyperbole, and Japanese tastes don't always align with western. I figured I'd see.

I was immediately happy on opening it up because it's not a first-person narrative. I'm not as opposed to first person as I used to be, but I still prefer third. Also, the writing feels more like a western novel somehow. It could be the translation or the author's writing style, but whatever it is I suspect this might be a good starter for those not used to Japanese light novels

The basic plot is not exactly that different to other isekai fantasies at the lighter end of the genre. This time, our protagonist has been hospitalised after an accident which (I think) killed her parents. Stuck on life support, she ends up spending a lot of time in a fully interactive virtual reality game and, when a power cut happens and she dies, she wakes up in the body of her game avatar, apparently inside the game world. (Though, seriously, that's not how life support systems work!) The twist is that the world she used to game in happened 200 years ago and she has to get used to this new version as well as being Cayna for real.

She is, of course, overpowered as f***. Apparently, many of the 4000 skills she mastered in the game (what else did she have to do while stuck in a hospital bed) have been lost and there just aren't any other level 1,100 player characters around (or are there? dramatic music), so Cayna is basically the most powerful entity on the planet (or is she? more dramatic music). The world she's used to was one of constant war (it was a key selling point in the game), but she's now in a far more peaceful time. One of the battlefields is now a city! Cayna has to hold back a lot because if she really cut loose, she could devastate the city and its entire population. She decides to become an adventurer, and standard isekai OP protagonist hilarity proceeds from there.

Frankly, not a lot happens in this book, though there's also a lot happening. If you read it for the intense battle action, you'll be reading about three pages. The point of this book is to introduce the characters and setting, and get things ready for the rest of the series. It's an enjoyable read, despite this, rather better than that first episode of a TV series where you have to sit through all the exposition before the hero gains superpowers (or whatever). Some people may be put off by the game system references; litRPG fans will probably like that aspect.

If I had to complain about one thing, it's the ending. This book ends. It just kind of stops. There is a bit of a boss fight before that happens, but we're basically left with Cayna on the road north and we'll pick up the narrative in volume 2. It's abrupt.

Anyway, pretty good light reading, I'm probably going to pick up volume 2, and I think I'll enjoy the anime when it comes out.

Dropped at 18%

The author arbitrarily sets restrictions on an overpowered character, dumbing her down to accepting limiters on herself that inconvenience her. Furthermore, 67 pages into the first volume (18%) and nothing of note has happened that furthers the plot. There has yet to even be an inciting incident alluding to any plotline. [No. Entering the game world isn’t an inciting incident. It is the start of the story.]

If you’re not going to have your Main Character effectively use all that she has available to her to further her goals, then don’t give those things to her.

It is impressive how some of these light novel authors can suck every bit of adventure out of a fantasy adventure novel.

Even better than the manga currently and I am so excited for this to come out in manga form!!!!!
In my top 3 stories PLZ READ

Follows the tell don't show model.

Between the prologue and first chapter there isn't anything interesting. The author just info needlessly info dumps rather than actually writing a story. There is nothing interesting about the overpowered main character. Just another trope where someone one the verge of death does and ends up living in their favourite game. Even the character interaction is full and only used as a lead in for another info dump.

*Spoiler Free*

"Anyone can start a rumor, but none can stop one."

In the Land of Leadale seemed so promising in the beginning. You have a character who is suffering from medical complications and stuck in the hospital but able to express themselves through the world of videogames. Our main character is sucked into the perspective of her game character where she realizes that the game has gone on for 200 years without her. She "Keina," begins processing things that have happened both internally and externally.

I ended up DNF'ing this unfortunately. For a bit I was excited to see the game characters choices and figure out what was happening to the body of the real character stuck in the hospital. Alas, it became very dull. I learned very little and was bored by the day-to-day conversations the character was having with NPC characters. It was a lot of she did this and did that. For example, she would cut wood and place it in her inventory. She made a well; the list goes on and on.

I think the day-to-day explanations shadowed anything of value. There was hardly any action and for me it was frustrating. Action makes a book more interesting and give the readers more incentive to continue.

I will be donating this one to the little free library in the hopes that someone else will enjoy it far more than I did.

Great

This book is great really like the main character her kids are interesting wonder if she will eventually meet any other players also wonder if she will take out the bandits can't wait for the next book

This book is perfect for lovers of anime series Sword Art Online and Ready Player One.

Waking up in the virtual reality of Leadale (a fantasy MMORPG) and undertanding this is now the "real life" was very easy for beta player Keina Kagami aka Cayna. Living in the body of an inmortal Elf with top class magic powers and a 200 y.o. supply of artifacts will quest along the new land to reestablish her domain of things and make sure the foundations of the world woun't crumble down.

A fast pased story with various video games links and a character evolution that would leave you wanting to know more.

Also, let's not forget the cute manga-style illustrations sprinkpled along the book and the chapter dividers that will make your reading experience a semi mix media approach.

Still, some of the gaming argot my cut in the middle of the story telling and some of the action loses force when not clearly explained. I was hoping to undertand Keina's background better but the story lack development in this field, maybe left for further installments.

An e-ARC of this book was kindly provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

So much better than a lot of isekai out there. MC is a sweet, fleshed out character with a more interesting backstory than "loner weeb who plays video games/watches anime/reads light novels and then saved someone and sadly died (or got hit by a truck)". There's her ill health previously, making her experiences in the game-turned-reality all the more wholesome, and (minor spoilers) her apparent relationships with other players in the past. There's also the mystery about what exactly happened 200 years ago. Also, I'm personally a fan of the lack of focus wasted on fan service, and the skillmaster thing (and the towers) make for a more fun concept than the typical OP isekai MC. This volume did have a slower start, but was lovely all the same.

I like it

Waiting for book two! Book one is calm but maybe hopefully book two will ramp up....
Keep up the good work!

An early LitRPG success. Better than the anime.

Despite the flaws that I encountered while reading this book, I am placing it in my five star, inspirational category for the year.

1) Because of its original premise of a female lead that is appreciated for her mother-like qualities, not her sexual qualities. It was an interesting and refreshing dynamic that wasn’t a one-note shtick, but affected the outcome of events throughout the book.

2) The LitRPG elements were gently handled without a deluge of stats updates flooding the pages. This could be because the book was originally written in 2012, before the current LitRPG stats trends.

3) The reader was introduced to the magic system and the new world slowly along with the main character who was disorientated and uncertain about her surroundings. Many people refer to this as a slice-of-life book, but it was more than that. It was a journey of self-discovery of where Cayna fit within this new reality.

4) This was a story about an overpowered character who didn’t flaunt her power or force herself upon society or government. That in itself was a very refreshing difference from the current trends in light novels. Yet, because she was OP, her actions and attitudes still affected the world around her.

5) The writing was excellent for a light novel, and often was simply excellent as a book in general. There were picturesque descriptions that brought the novel world to life in my mind. The higher quality prose and a care to setting details helped it stand out as good writing.

6) The book was originally serialized on the web in 2012, but was picked up for novelization in 2018. This means that the author kept working on the book for six years before seeing success. I want to applaud that dedication.

7) Cayna’s character was delightful. There was just the right touch of self-deprecating embarrassment vs confidence that made her character feel balanced. I also enjoyed how she couldn’t stop herself from being overpowered because of her curiosity and enthusiasm. She got herself into trouble by overplaying her hand more than the situation called for, but in a humorus and lightly handled manner.

8) The world building was excellent and well thought out. Even though this world is based on a video game, and we don’t entirely understand, nor does the main character understand, why events have played out the way that they have, the world never felt slight or shallow. There was a lot of depth to the lore and culture that had developed in the 200 years that Cayna had been asleep. This made for a rich setting for the characters to walk through.

9) Lastly, Cayna was wonderful as a character. She was not perfect. In fact, she could be quite cruel to her own children, overly cold to enemies, callous and clueless, as well as naïve and immature. She had a lot of contrast in her personality that made her seem real, and that delighted me as a reader.

There were flaws that I mentioned before. The author alluded to the mess that was his initial manuscript from its Webnovel days in his afterword. I found remnants of the Webnovel here and there that should’ve been caught by the editors—repetitive descriptions of setting or characters that would make sense for a serialized story, but were redundant in the novel. I also noticed that the siblings didn’t have telepathy when they were introduced, but did have it in the bonus story. Here was another revision that got by the editors.

What makes a book a light novel is that the story is written as if it is an anime. Ofttimes that means plenty of gags and guffaws that would feel out of place in western fantasy. I definitely disliked the running gag of Cayna being forced to get drunk. I have a bias against alcohol since loved ones were taken from me due to abuses of alcohol, but objectively, I felt that this particular running gag showed the weaknesses of the light novel format because other gag scenes had a similar effect.

The story comes to a stop while outlandish, unrealistic slapstick humor occurs. When you have a slow slice-of-life story that crawls along in a realistic way, but is interrupted by gag scenes, sometimes the story feels not as if it’s not moving at all, but more like it took a pie in the face. I think humor does have a place in fiction, but I prefer it to be handled in a more literary way than as an anime. More wit; less slapstick. This is perhaps a cultural difference. I can accept it, but I do find it jarring sometimes.

Overall, I enjoyed this book immensely. Even despite the flaws, the strong characterization and settings details made for a positive and enjoyable reading experience. If you enjoyed the anime, this book is highly recommended. If you are new to LitRPG or light novels, this might be a good entry point if you enjoy slower paced stories. If you like your action fast and frantic, however, this story will probably put you to sleep.

This is one of my absolute favourite animes. It's a comfort anime that I think I've watched in completion four times. The books are better edited than many light novels in that the author took the time to edit and rewrite their work since it had been a web novel. The book and anime track pretty closely, still, with of course the book filling in more details. Lytt feels different here than in the anime (not worse just different), and we get to see that Cayna spent much more time in the village than we see in the show.

What's it like for those who want to know if they should read this book or not? Cayna is a late teen girl reincarnated into the fantasy gaming world that she spent thousands of hours in before. The rules of the game are discussed a fair amount, and how they are reflected in her new world, even though it seems to now all be real and not a game. It's 'cosy' in that Cayna is never really at danger, it's mostly comedic, and what Cayna most wants is to relax with a bowl of soup and some friends to chat with.

It's very challenging reviewing this because of my extensive background with the anime. I have great affection for all the characters: All three of her children, Lytt, the village, Sir Elineh, etc. However, I cannot say whether I'd have this love from reading the light novel, or if it is my love that the anime instilled and I carry it over.

Don't read this for a great adventure, especially not one of action. Read it for hanging out with mates, getting mixed up in funny little episodes, and reading while chilling. If you've ever played D&D, it's not a session where you had great tension wondering whether you'd survive and making difficult choices. Instead, it's the session where you were with friends doing fun things. The MC's OP nature is not so she can change the world; it's so we can laugh at the shenanigans.

Indeed, as some other reviewers mention, Cayna is NOT a paragon. In fact, the world seems to be getting on much better when the NPCs took over to establish peace, rather than when gamers were wrecking the place constantly. Cayna is very protective of those she cares for, but she's uncertain how to handle most social occasions, gets mad easily (and calms down easily), and doesn't know how to handle the relationships that were a gaming mechanism in the past but are now real people. She's a normal person who is OP. She is very giving and likes to take care, and she does grow emotionally as the series progresses but, as this is comedic ultimately, she will bonk someone over the head rather than be Aunty Iroh.

If you'd like to explore this mostly chill fantasy genre, the light novel version, it's worth a try.

J’ai de suite été attiré par la couverture. Je la trouve simple mais vraiment belle malgré tout. C’est le genre de couverture qui donne envie de découvrir ce manga. D’autant plus qu’il existe en anime et autant vous dire qu’il a atterri dans la watchlist directement! Maintenant que j’ai lu le premier tome j’ai encore plus hâte de découvrir l’anime sur mes écrans. On a ici un nouvel isekai qui est vraiment très plaisant. Certes c’est un isekai assez classique mais qui fonctionne parfaitement bien et qui est surtout très plaisant à lire. J’ai beaucoup apprécié ce premier tome et j’ai déjà très hâte de lire la suite. Je vais beaucoup aimer cette nouvelle série!

On va suivre le personnage de Cayna, une haute elfe. On découvre qu’en fait il s’agit de la jeune Keina Kagame, une jeune fille qui a été victime d’un terrible accident et s’est retrouvé réincarné dans le monde du jeu vidéo auquel elle jouait! En fait, elle a fini par se réincarner dans la peau du personnage qu’elle a créé dans le jeu. Mais elle découvre qu’il s’est passé 200 ans depuis l’époque où elle jouait.. Sa première quête va donc consister à essayer de comprendre ce qu’il s’est passé durant toutes ces années. Et le moins que l’on puisse dire c’est qu’elle n’est pas au bout de ses peines!

J’ai vraiment beaucoup aimé le personnage de Cayna. Je la trouve très drôle et surtout la voir déboussolé comme elle est c’est tout de même assez drôle. Et puis parfois elle a des réactions qui apportent vraiment beaucoup d’humour. Au delà de ça, j’aime vraiment le caractère de cette elfe. Elle est déterminée à accomplir sa mission. Et même bois d’ailleurs on finit par se demander ce qu’il a bien pu se passer durant ces 200 ans. Mais aussi pourquoi elle a été réincarné dans ce monde. On a donc pas mal de mystères qui entoure cette histoire. Pas mal de questions qui attendent des réponses! J’ai adoré aussi le personnage de la petite Lytt. Elle est beaucoup trop mignonne et absolument adorable! Même si ce n’est qu’un personnage secondaire, je l’ai vraiment beaucoup aimé.

J’ai hâte de voir la suite de ses aventures. Surtout quand on voit la fin de ce premier tome, on a qu’une seule envie c’est de se jeter sur la suite. L’histoire est classique pour un isekai mais très plaisante à lire. L’univers est top et les personnages sont vraiment très plaisant à suivre. Ce premier tome est dynamique, on ne s’ennuie pas, c’est bien rythmé et avec beaucoup d’humour qui apporte une petite touche de liberté. Encore une belle découverte en ce début d’année et il me tarde de voir la suite!

A paraplegic girl that died in real life gets miraculously teletransported to the game she used to play in virtual reality. She gets a second chance to "life" which to me is a noble and pietous duty that the author and the "God" that made this possible in this new light novel series. The only other example of this kind humanity is the side story from the Sword Art Online light novel series, called Mother Rosario. There is a second example, (I can't remember the name of that Light Novel series??), it had a butterfly garden where the young patients at a terminal health facility would allow the kids to connect to virtual reality machines as a way to live alternate reality lives, despite being very close to death. The main characters of that series were two sisters that become samurai.
Giving people hope, especially kids that aren't to blame for the deadly diseases they suffer, to me is "heavenly" "kindness", etc. In reality, there is a foundation called Starlight that aims to ease the suffering of young patients like this. <3
This Volume 1 of this series has over 250 pages illustrations and information and 5 chapters. It is a non-traditional isekai in that the main character gets "sent" to this Leadale World after her hospital death. Cayna is a High Elf and a Mage in this magic fantasy reality world. She completes the paperwork to become an adventurer. Cayna even adopts 2 elves as foster children. It is not action packed, but it is super easy going. Perfect for those readers like me, that are allergic to gore, terror, sexual assaults, slavery, etc. that today, sadly, plague web novel and light novel series.
I really like the fact that everything is positive in this series. I understand that in 2022 they transmitted the first season of the anime series with 12 episodes and this light novel series has 4 volumes so far.

The case in this story is the same as the story of my first SAO anime series after deciding to try to follow stories other than shonen: One Piece, Dragonball, Naruto etc. Keina Kagami is a person who can only lie in the hospital all her life and can only play VRMMORPG, but unfortunately when she played there was a power outage and caused her to be trapped in the game and live in it.

Produced in the body of her high-level character, "Cayna", she saw that the world of Leadale was different from what she remembered playing because everything felt real and alive. When she arrived the world had passed two hundred years since she last interacted. However, this did not sadden Cayna - for it meant that a new journey awaited her, filled with exciting prospects and unfamiliar faces all waiting to be discovered.

The story is enjoyable enough for those looking for a relaxing, humorous and adventurous story. The High Elf female character seems to be an attraction for female readers, but it reminds me of a girl I really like, very beautiful and really unreal like a High elf especially she is smart and likes read books, although I never saw her in person but that's a feeling.

(Dropped at 51%.)
A boring isekai. The core premise of a sickly girl being isekai'd into her favorite VR MMO is fine, whatever, but it goes absolutely nowhere from there. There's no problem to solve, no crisis, no drama, no nothing. She barely has any goal at all and is just kind of winging it, acting like everything she's doing is mundane, while everyone else in the story freaks out about how cool and awesome and powerful and cute and perfect she is, because of course.
I also have this novel to thank for teaching me that I absolutely hate when isekais make mentions of menus or other UI elements. Someone who has been transported INTO the game world should not still be seeing menus and HP bars and skill descriptions. She's basically still just playing a VR MMO while roleplaying.
I glanced through the reviews of this book and I can't get the description of "it's the oatmeal of isekai" out of my head. It's a perfect descriptor. There's even worse stories out there, sure, but it's just so....nothing. No flavor. No texture. Just bland slop.

Why did I read this book:
1. It's a light novel
2. I wanted something to read while I was waiting away from home. I spotted this on the books store's shelf and thought the synopsis sounded interesting.
3. The cover art was pretty. Yes I judged a book by its cover, sorry aesthetics are a thing.

What I liked:
The variety of characters included
Explanations of the world of the game

What I didn't like:
The story is slow; I guess we'll get there eventually?
Everyone is so nice, including the main character. While niceness is preferable in an ideal world, a story lacking character conflict is usually a bit dull.

Would I buy the next volume in the series?:
I would consider it, it was an overall enjoyable book. I think I probably wouldn't buy it for full price, if it was used or on sale for sure.

*Minor Ch 1 Spoilers*

I forget which episodes this book covers, but it's around the same where I stopped in the series (plus maybe one or two more episodes?).
I can't say if it's good or bad because this book is completely subjective. The prose is long and winding because it goes into depth explaining Leadale pre-death. In terms of scenery, minimum. Characterization is a bit one noted.

I think the only reason I want to continue the series is to see what the places the Skill Masters left behind are like and what the story turns into. It would be interesting from a Dks stand point (this book is like a fart of Dks, but that's it.) I might have to ask r/ if this series would be for me. I'm putting it in maybe continue if I have nothing else to read, but so far, I wouldn't write to home about this book.

3/5

Overall, In the Land of Leadale is a rather relaxing slice of life iseaki with an overpowered female main character. Sort of similar to Slime Taoshite 300-nen, but not as comedic, and the supporting characters are not as fun or interesting. Cayna, however, is a rather interesting character and has room for character growth as she becomes accustomed to the world and no longer being stuck in a hospital bed, as well as dealing with her anxieties of potentially being the only player in the world.

Not much happens within the story, as it's Cayna doing small things around the village she woke up in and a neighboring kingdom where her children live while experiencing everything from doing quests, reuniting with her family, meeting new acquaintances, and making new friends. However, there does appear to be some form of a plot forming, as the story is steadily progressing, with the first novel ending while Cayna is heading north of Leadale.

Keina Kagami, known as Cayna in the game Leadale, is hospitalized and is on life support. While hospitalized, Keina played the VRMMO game Leadale and became one of the Skill Masters in the game. Being the third Skill Master, Cayna was one of the most powerful players in the game, mastering over 4,000 skills and exceeding the level cap at level 1,100. However, following a sudden blackout, Kenia passed away from the few moments off life support and found herself in the game Leadale, but 200 years after the game's events.

After coming to terms that she is now in Leadale and is her avatar, as well as realizing that she is no longer stuck in a bed anymore, she begins exploring the village she woke up in before eventually exploring others of the continent. Knowing that she is many years past the game's events is another shock for Cayna as she comes to grips with the major differences that have occurred because of the 200 years.

She eventually leaves the village to head to the kingdom her children live. After arriving in the Felskeilo, she signs up to be an adventurer, learns that she is incredibly OP, and meets her children for the first time in 200 years. During her time at the kingdom, she also comes across one of the other 13 towers and activates it, learning that she is the only Skill Master left "alive," which leaves her slightly depressed, knowing she may be the only player alive in the game. Eventually, she comes to grips with this and plans to locate and activate the remaining Skill Master towers.

Besides being extremely OP due to her level and mastering numerous skills, Cayna is rather laidback. However, she sometimes comes across as ignorant of the world and how things operate and indifferent. That is not a negative and makes sense due to her being in a Leadale that is 200 years in the future and being hospitalized at a young age. Additionally, her level and wealth she accumulated playing the game are contributing factors. Notably, she tends to act annoyed toward her children, specifically Mai-Mai and Skargo. However, that is more so directed at how they behave.

Apart from Cayna, there is not much to add regarding the supporting characters, including her three children. Kartatz works as a carpenter(?) on ships and wagons and gets the most doted on by Cayna. Skargo is the high priest and the looniest of the three and receives the most negative attention from Cayna. Finally, Mai-Mai, a highly esteemed professor at the kingdom's academy, is more in the middle between the three in how she acts; as it is more that she craves Cayna's attention.

I adored the cover of what I thought was going to be a graphic novel but once I began reading it there were few illustrations and they were black and white rather than colour. The storyline was cute and endearing but I was really put off by the constant referral to game play such as health points and stored items. This is only interesting to me if I'm playing a game. If I'm reading a story I just want the story. I struggled to get to page 50 and gave up.

I received this arc from netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

I was trying to get rid of things and I found this again. I enjoyed it the first time for how light the story is and the video game becomes real world aspect. Also, the MC is OP and I think it's written in such a fun way that she has to go out of her way to not blast things into oblivion or restrain herself to live in this world. So, I found it again and thought, "Maybe I can live without this," and now I'm thinking, "Why haven't I read more?" So instead of making my stack of owned books smaller, I'm probably going to be adding to it...

Outside of the author info-dumping a little too often this book was extremely enjoyable. The author does a fantastic job of allowing the MC to explore different areas, which really brings the settings to life in the readers head. With a fun mix of characters and well developed settings this book is just a ton of wholesome fun. Would recommend for people that like a more slow paced relaxing adventure setting.

It's another meandering "girl in VRMMO gets isekai or world becomes real" that doesn't really go anywhere. Nothing significant happens. And of course it's aimed at dudes so we have to talk about girls' chests or lack there of. (Yes girls and not women)

She's also super powerful but of course isn't allowed to best a man so she has to go for a tie. None of the summons she has are particularly scary. You know, because girls always have to be "uwu cute" all the time.

Very enjoyable. Has strong Zelda vibes in a way but with the focus being on slice of life instead. Loved the humor and excited to see more Skargo. I did have some issues with the gaming mechanics and rules but that’s because I don’t play much rpgs probably. Also the editing and dialogue could be wonky at times. Other than that I look forward to reading more.

Fun and enjoyable experience

The adventure continues with a slight twist questions abound and a fast pace began.Awaiting to a 🌎 similar to the game you just where playing begins a new adventure.

This is written as if it was an anime, complete with one character's background effects like "Roses Scatter with Beauty" and sweat-dropping. I thought the story was good but found that anime aspect of the writing to be a little off-putting.

"In the Land of Leadale" is one step away, a very small step, from being gibberish.
It seems to be a literal translation, by someone with little talent, of some badly written Japanese idiocy.
Life is too short - I could care less.
1 Star.

A fun isekai read, but for some reason, didn't appeal to me enough to continue. There were some things that confused me - maybe because I'm not a gamer? I just don't understand how main girl Cayna is a player and an admin of the game.

Farewell, this series!