From web novel to anime: the evolution of a spider's survival story
In short: What begins as a simple web novel on a user-generated site can transform into a global multimedia phenomenon. This is the journey of a story about a high schooler reincarnated as a lowly dungeon monster, navigating a dangerous RPG-style world through sheer positivity and human intellect.
The series began its life on May 27, 2015, as a web novel on the Japanese site Shōsetsuka ni Narō, authored by Okina Baba. This digital origin story eventually caught the attention of publishers, leading Fujimi Shobo to release the first light novel, illustrated by Tsukasa Kiryu, in December 2015. The narrative follows a high school class killed by a mysterious explosion and reborn into a fantasy realm, where one girl finds herself trapped as a weak spider monster in a lethal dungeon.
The franchise's expansion has been significant. While the main light novel story concluded with its 16th volume on January 8, 2022, the series has branched into multiple formats. A manga adaptation by Asahiro Kakashi launched on December 22, 2015, and a spin-off titled 'The Daily Lives of the Kumoko Sisters' was published between July 18, 2019, and December 8, 2022. This spin-off was eventually collected into six volumes.
The transition to television was not without delays. Originally intended for a 2020 release, the 24-episode anime adaptation produced by Millepensee was pushed to January 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It eventually aired through July 3, 2021. The series has seen considerable commercial success, with the light novels and manga reaching a combined 1.2 million print copies by July 2018, and the manga ranking 18th in the web category at the third Next Manga Awards in 2017.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: So I'm a Spider, So What?
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