Ryoma’s life on Earth wasn’t a fulfilling one and now it’s gone: dead at 39 from an accident in his sleep, he’s informed of his passing by a trio of gods from another world who say that they have a proposition for him. They need to siphon off some of Earth’s magical energy and they can only do that when they bring someone from Earth to their world. So how would Ryoma like to reincarnate on their world (memories intact but in a new body) and try to live a new life?
Ryoma is sad that his old life ended so ingloriously, but he’s willing to take on this new adventure granted to him by the gods.
I haven’t read the original light novels but I have been watching the anime adaptation of this story and so far the anime adaptation is a very low-key, sleepy story, very much an iyashikei isekai, a healing/escapism portal fantasy. The events of the anime and manga are a good match so far, with only a few moments appearing in the manga but not the anime (like a short reminiscence about one of Ryoma’s past coworkers), but the framing is a little bit different. This manga is a little more serious and sadder, and I think it gives the story more of a focus that the anime has been lacking.
When I first saw Ryoma’s original appearance on Earth I thought it was meant to be a joke as he didn’t look like the typical, skinny teenaged boy you usually find in isekai. But in a scene with the gods as they watch Ryoma’s progress, there’s an implication that Ryoma’s appearance, and some other details, is related to some trauma he underwent in his past. Most of the skills Ryoma has now are carried over from his past life and when Ryoma finally runs into other people (who can discern his abilities) they are deeply concerned why they’ve just found a “child” in the woods with near perfect physical/mental pain resistance, another sign that Ryoma’s life really wasn’t a happy one on Earth (I can’t imagine that level of mastery is considered typical for a 39 year old man either!). I don’t know how deeply the story plans to dive into Ryoma’s past life, even these details are more than you often find in isekai stories, but I’m a little curious why the anime cut some of these moments. The anime has progressed beyond the events of this first volume but some of these details gave me far more context into Ryoma’s thinking and actions than the anime has so far and I’m enjoying the story more as a result.
That said, I think I’ll stick with the anime, and possibly the manga adaptation as well for this story, I’m not that interested in trying out the light novel at this time. Part of my reason is the artwork — the art on the cover of the light novel looks more awkward than the art in the anime and manga (oddly it makes Ryoma look a bit older than he currently is, an incongruent detail considering that his apparent youth is a big factor in how other people view and treat him) but I also checked out the original (text) short story at the end of this volume and it didn’t grab my attention. Given how Ryoma is his own narrator in the manga and anime I was surprised that the short story was written in the third-person and the story just felt a little bland. Assuming that the original light novels are the same (same narration and a similar translation) I’m not so interested in this story that I want to experience it a third time.
But as a lightweight isekai story, something I can quickly read before bed or put on in the background while I work on knitting, By the Grace of the Gods is a perfectly acceptable, although not stand-out, fantasy tale.