Reincarnated as a Sword

Reincarnated as a Sword (転生したら剣でした), also known as I Was a Sword When I Reincarnated, I Became the Sword by Transmigrating, or simply TenKen (転剣), is a Japanese light novel series written by Yuu Tanaka with illustrations by Llo. The story chronicles the lives of a salaryman who is reborn as a sword, Teacher, and his catgirl wielder Fran as they journey from place to place.

It began as a web novel on the Shōsetsuka ni Narō website in September 2015. A light novel was later published by Micro Magazine, who released the first volume in July 2016. The series has since 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 novel, manga, and spin-off manga were licensed for North American release by Seven Seas Entertainment. An anime television series adaptation has been announced.

Plot
After dying from a car accident, the protagonist finds himself reincarnated in another world as a sword with 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. 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.

Light novel
Yuu Tanaka started the series as a web novel hosted on Shōsetsuka ni Narō in September 2015. Micro Magazine acquired and published the series under their GC Novels imprint on July 30, 2016, with illustrations by Llo. Twelve volumes have been published as of September 25, 2021, nine of which have been released in English. Seven Seas Entertainment announced their acquisition of the light novel, and began releasing from August 6, 2019. After the implementation of their Airship imprint, the light novel was moved under the imprint. Currently, it has 1.8 million copies in circulation.

Manga
The manga began serialization on Gentosha Comics' Monthly Birz magazine with art by Tomowo Maruyama from December 9, 2016 to January 15, 2018. After the magazine stopped, it resumed publishing on Comic Boost. The series is compiled into several tankōbon volumes, with the first volume released on April 24, 2017. Seven Seas Entertainment licensed the manga for North American release, with the first volume releasing on December 17, 2019.

Spin-off manga
A spin-off manga, titled Reincarnated as a Sword: Another Wish, was launched in the 48th issue of Micro Magazine's Comic Ride web manga magazine with art by Hinako Inoue. The manga began serialization on the Comic Ride website on June 30, 2020. It is also being released as tankōbon volumes. Seven Seas Entertainment announced their license of the spin-off manga on May 21, 2021.

Anime
The anime was announced on September 23th, 2021, alongside the release of the 12th volume of the Japanese light novel the day after. The wraparound jacket bands of the 12th volume also announce the anime.

Reception
The light novel has 1.8 million copies in circulation. There has been some controversy in Western audiences about the underwear scene in the first volume of the light novel and the sexualization of Fran in the manga.

On December 22nd, 2016, SomyMedia released the first volume of the light novel in Korea.

English

 * Official light novel website


 * Official manga website


 * Official manga spin-off website

Japanese

 * Web novel
 * Official website
 * Official manga website
 * Official manga spin-off website
 * Official Twitter account