By the Grace of the Gods

By the Grace of the Gods (神達に拾われた男) is a Japanese light novel series written by Roy and illustrated by Ririnra. It is about a man who is chosen by three gods to be reincarnated into a fantasy world after living a sad life, using his past knowledge combined with new powers bestowed to him by said gods to help others and live a bountiful life. It began serialization online in January 2014 on the user-generated novel publishing website Shōsetsuka ni Narō, with a revised version began serialization since September 2015.

The series was later acquired by Hobby Japan, which has published eighteen volumes since September 2017 under its HJ Novels imprint. A manga adaptation with art by Ranran has been serialized online via Square Enix's Manga UP! website since November 2017 and has been collected in fifteen volumes. The light novel is licensed in North America by J-Novel Club, while the manga is licensed by Square Enix. An anime television series adaptation by Maho Film aired from October to December 2020. A second season aired from January to March 2023.

Plot

The life of Ryoma Takebayashi could only be described as nonstop ride of horrible luck and abuse; which would have driven most people insane from all the painful experiences. However, despite all that, Ryoma remained a kind man until the day he died from hitting his head from sneezing in his sleep. Three gods from another world take pity on Ryoma, offering the chance to live a new life in their world; granting him

Characters

Main characters

Ryoma Takebayashi (竹林竜馬)
Ryoma lived an uneventful life as an office worker/salaryman in Japan before dying in his sleep. Due to his diligent and kind behavior, Ryoma earns the grace of three gods from Seilfall who bring him to their world as an 8-year-old boy where he lives in a forest for three years while polishing his skills and taming hundreds of slimes, making use of their multiple abilities in various tasks from combat and hunting to cleaning and crafting, until meeting the Jamil family who warmly welcomes him among them. Determined to live independently, he refuses to overindulge on their hospitality and looks for ways to make ends meet by himself. It was later revealed that Ryoma's harsh life on Earth was caused by the God of Earth who intended to torment him enough for him to turn into a murderer, just for his amusement. Seeing that he failed to break Ryoma's mind, the god gave up on him and provoked his death instead.
Eliaria Jamil (エリアリア・ジャミール)
Heir to the Jamil dukedom, Eliaria is an 11-year-old girl who becomes Ryoma's closest friend. Like Ryoma, she is a monster tamer and her body is gifted with large magic potential, but she has difficulty controlling it until Ryoma teaches her how to train herself properly. After Ryoma decides to stay in Gimul, she frequently exchanges letters with him. Eliaria later moves to the Imperial Academy at the capital for her studies and makes some new friends.

Jamil Household

Reinhart Jamil (ラインハルト・ジャミール)
The Duke of Jamil and Eliaria's father, he meets Ryoma in the forest and becomes his friend, later inviting him to live with his family.
Elise Jamil (エリーゼ・ジャミール)
Duchess of Jamil and Reinhart's wife. Upon meeting Ryoma, she quickly grows attached to him, treating the boy like her own son.
Reinbach Jamil (ラインバッハ・ジャミール)
The former Duke of Jamil, he is Reinhart's father and a well known monster tamer. He also is one of Ryoma's closest confidants to whom he entrusts the secret that he is a Child of God.
Hughes (ヒューズ)
One of the Jamil family's bodyguards, he gets injured while fighting a bear and rescued by Ryoma, leading his first encounter with Reinhart. He later becomes Lulunese's husband.
Lulunese (ルルネーゼ)
A female cat beastkin who is a maid of the Jamil Household. She later becomes Hughes' wife.

Deities

Lulutia (ルルティア)
The goddess of healing and love with the appearance of beautiful young woman. When she visited Earth, she spent her time eating whatever she wanted.
Kufo (クフォ)
The god of life with the appearance of a young boy. When he visited Earth, he spent his time traveling all over the world, even the depths of Atlantis and Sahara Desert.
Gain (ガイン)
The god of creation with the appearance of an elderly man. When he visited Earth, he spent his time listening to idol groups.
Tekun (テクン)
The god of wine and craftsmanship with the appearance of a plump adult man. He takes in interest on Ryoma after witnessing his stone sculptures and also becomes his friend.
Fernobelia (フェルノベリア)
The god of magic and academics with the appearance of a young bespectacled man who asks Ryoma some questions to confirm that he is not at risk of misusing his powers. He tends to speak impersonal sentences, lacking much emotion.
Serelipta (セーレリプタ)
The god of fishing and ports with the appearance of an androgynous young boy. He takes an interest on Ryoma due to his ability to withstand the gods' powers to some extent and upon investigating his mind, discovers the truth about his harsh life and early death.

Bamboo Forest Laundry Shop

Carla Norad (カルラ・ノーラッド)
A member of the Trading Guild who becomes a manager of Bamboo Forest under Ryoma's. She later moves to Lenaf to manage the laundry's second shop.
Callum Norad (カルム・ノーラッド)
Carla's twin brother who was also lent by the Trading Guild to be a manager of Ryoma's shop. He often speaks up whenever Ryoma is pushing himself too far and needs rest.
Dorche (ドルチェ)
A bodyguard hired by Ryoma to protect his Gimul shop; due to ignorant Tamers being jealous of a business successfully run with slimes. He is typically stoic and doesn't speak.
Tony (トニー), Lobelia (ロベリア) and Caulkin (コーキン)
Three slime researchers who were fired from the academy and become employees at the Lenaf shop. They are grateful to Ryoma for teaching them how slimes evolve, though they tend to call him in to handle the slime contracts when the slimes multiply too fast.
Selma (シェルマ)
Bamboo forest's cook at the Gimul shop. She was hired at the same time alongside Fina, Jane and Maria.
Fina (フィーナ), Jane (ジェーン) and Maria (マリア)
All three left their home village together in search of work before being hired by Ryoma at Bamboo Forest. They were surprised not only that Ryoma was a child who owned the business, but that he treated all employees equal regardless if they were local or not. More than anything, they highly appreciate him from providing a comfortable work environment and free lodging.

Adventurer's Guild

Miya (ミーヤ)
A female cat beastkin and rank B adventurer, she becomes Ryoma's first client after he becomes an adventurer when he is tasked to clean her house, later becoming his friend.
Worgan (ウォーガン)
The master of the Adventurer's Guild's Gimul branch. He has an embarrassing past event involving being filthy, which he wants kept quiet.
Welanna (ウェルアンナ)
A female wolf beastman and Miya's friend.
Mizelia (ミゼリア)
A female tiger beastman and Miya's friend.
Cilia (シリア)
A female rabbit beastman and Miya's friend.
Maylene (メイリーン) and Paena (パエナ)
The receptionists at the Adventurer's Guild's Gimul branch.

Merchants Guild

Glissela (グリシエーラ)
Guild master at the Merchants Guild.

Others

Tabuchi Kazuo (田淵)
Ryoma's co-worker during his previous life. Ryoma named the first slime he tamed in his honor, but the slime dies, leaving only its core.
Miyabi Saionji (ミヤビ・サイオンジ)
A young female fox beastkin and Pioro Saionji's daughter, she trains to be a merchant like her father and befriends Ryoma during his stay in the city of Lenaf. She later moves to the capital to study at the Imperial Academy, becoming one of Eliaria's close friends.
Pioro Saionji (ピオロ・サイオンジ)
Miyabi's father who is a merchant and a descendant of a Child of God, having maintained within his family many aspects and traditions of his ancestor, including his surname.
Serge Morgan (セルジュ・モーガン)
A merchant who is friends with the Jamil Family and President of the Morgan Trading Company who helps Ryoma open his laundry shop, later becoming his business partner in other enterprises.
Prenance (プレナンス)
The leader of the Semroid Troupe.
Michelle Wildan (ミシェル・ウィルダン), Riela Clifford (リエラ・クリフォード) and Kanan Schuzer (カナン・シューザー)
Three female students of the Imperial Academy from different upbringings who befriend Miyabi and Eliaria and become part of their study group. Unlike most groups who are solely commoners or nobles, their group is a mix because they respect each other and do not care about social status, which the academy teachers are proud of.

type	TV series
director	Takeyuki Yanase
writer	Kazuyuki Fudeyasu (S1) Yuka Yamada (S2)
music	Hiroaki Tsutsumi
studio	Maho Film
licensee	Crunchyroll
network	Tokyo MX, BS Fuji
first	October 4, 2020
last	March 27, 2023
episodes	24
episode list	List of By the Grace of the Gods episodes

By the Grace of the Gods

Plot

Characters

Main characters

Jamil Household

Deities

Bamboo Forest Laundry Shop

Adventurer's Guild

Merchants Guild

Others

Media

Light novels

Volumes

Volumes

Manga

Volumes

Volumes

Anime

See also

Explanatory notes

External links

References