Kumo desu ga, Nani ka?
So I'm a Spider, So What?

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This small review is based on the latest chapter I read ( chapter 15 ) , might contain some spoilers but nothing serious .

Story : How do you feel life will be like in spiders perspective ? NAI WA !! , our heroine was just having a normal day in school , when SUDDENLY THERE WAS A GLITCH IN THE MATRIX !....just kidding ,but suddenly something strange happened, everyone in the class room including Kumoko started "vaporizing" , and then , Kumoko woke up thinking she got abducted , since she felt as if she was confined in a small bag.

Little does she know until she finally broke free, to find that was she broke from was an egg, SHE TURNED INTO A SMALL SPOODER ! the cutest spider your eyes will ever witness that is ! and she finds that the world she is in now is different from the one she used to be in, a world with some RPG elements, and that brings us to the art !

Art: the artiest did an amazing job , seriously , how many people can turn a "NOPE" material into the cutest thing ever ? along the dungeon, Kumoko will meet new creatures that she will have to survive, this is no longer the easy life of a high school girl, in order to survive she will have to hunt while exploring this weird dungeon she found herself in, so the artiest will introduce lots of weird, usually CREEPY creatures, done very well indeed.

Characters : Kumoko will probably be only spider that you will care so much about in your life, she's just SO adorable ! and the whole story until now is focused on her.

Overall : While lots of other Mangas used the "RPG world" thing , Kumo desu ga, Nani ka did it differently , and that's why I give it 10/10, which is a score I give if I GENUINELY enjoyed watching or reading every second of an Anime or a Manga.

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These days I feel like there are a lot of these monster POV/reincarnation manga coming out. I would call this one a more realistic approach of someone level grinding their way up. Unlike being unreasonably overpowered from the get go, Kumo thinks through her situations in a logical way and makes decisions with the best of her existing abilities in order to adapt and survive. In the process she gets beat up, finds herself in pain, and gets scared, and all with a touch of humor which I honestly found refreshing and relatable.

So far I am enjoying the series, but I am looking forward to seeing a larger overarching plot line manifest itself to add a bit of depth to the story.

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Well I just caught up with the series last night and was pretty much impressed about how a story that lacks very much in terms of an overarching plot could be so enjoyable.

The protagonist is the reason why I would thoroughly recommend this story though. And, by that, I don't mean the protagonist taken by itself, but rather the synergy that a girl reincarnated as a weak spider can give.

You could recognize characters like hers in many series and they would not stand out as much. The reason why I bring into the discussion synergy is because she is all alone.

I do not intend that as a spoiler, but there is no real dialogue that she can entertain with others. And so, what every reader can watch is her though process and that thought process alone. We're social animals after all, and we find great comfort in communicating and being understood, so there is this wondrous charm about the protagonist's continuous attempts to enter into a conversation with dungeon critters, regardless of whether they respond or not. Even more so, her monologues are quirky and bring back short blinks of optimism into the general equation.

The art style reflects her character pretty well, with very clear strokes and very rounded lines, so we can find greater sympathy in her odyssey.

All in all, I would rate it a 9, even though objectively the story is lacking, and the great mystery of the world is not engaging enough. Even so - to work in such a limited environment and create a likeable character, I would say that this series is a really enjoyable read.

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After 19 chapters I have to admit, this might just be the most interesting take on the iskai genre I have ever seen.

However, it is a bit hard to judge by conventional methods, because of its lack of characters and overarching plot, metrics by which most stories are being critiqued.

As for the characters, there is only one: Our main heroine Kumoko, reincarnated as a spider. Any dialogue that the story contains is her internal monologues and commentaries on the world. While she is a sympathetic protagonist, that is the case more because of her unique circumstances, rather than an actually intriguing personality. She doesn't really display any special character trait, other than what you would expect from an average somebody who got reincarnated into a fantasy world. Regardless, she is still plenty entertaining to follow.

Low-level mob simulator: The Grind, would be a less faithful but more accurate translation of the title. The story is entirely focused on the moment to moment plot of Kumoko trying to survive and grind her way up the food chain, in the dungeon she seems to be stuck in. And this is where the manga shines. Although this does not seem to be its main intention, the story's atmosphere has a rather dark and depressive edge to it. When most stories want things to go dark they, they often introduce heart-wrenching drama or tragedies, but this manga is a lot more subtle about it. Kumoko is far from being overpowered, struggling against even opponents of her own level, she is just a small fish in a big pond with a lot of bigger fishes. In a place where high-level monsters constantly roam around, where every victory must be hard earned and a safe spot for sleep is usually a luxury leads to a sense of constant dread, a sense of impending doom, because you just don't know what danger awaits at the next corner. It's a survival story, where the protagonist has to struggle just to stay alive, and it is not uncommon for our heroine to suffer grievous wounds, losing eyes or entire limbs (or just legs, in her case). Thankfully the fact that she heals when she levels up, coupled with her optimistic and resourceful nature and the cutesy art style, the atmosphere is overall well balanced, relieving most of the stress.

As for the art style, while it isn't anything special, it is very expressive. I was surprised how humanlike the artist could make the spider, in regards of its expressions. Making it a rather creative and overall pleasant thing to look at.

What keeps me giving the manga a rather well deserved 8, is the fact that as of now the story seems to be going nowhere, and despite it only having 19 chapters, thanks to the unique numbering, the number of existing chapters is closer to an actual 40. And after almost 40 chapters of dungeon crawling, I can not to do but yearn for a bit more variety. Don't get me wrong it's still a very interesting and compelling read, but since I don't really know where the story is going, at times it feels like a bit of a drag.

All in all, I can wholeheartedly recommend this manga to anyone who is looking for something different, because if nothing else, it is truly a unique experience.

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