Completed

Kumo Desu ga, Nani ka?

I'm a Spider, So What?, So I'm a Spider, So What?, 蜘蛛ですが、なにか?

Native Language Japanese

Released 2015

AuthorBaba Okina

ArtistKiryuu Tsukasa, 輝竜司

TypeWeb Novel (JP)

Original Ch.: 600

Translated Ch.: 600

Rank: #441

Last Update: February 16, 2026

Original Pub.: Kadokawa, Syosetu

English Pub.: Yen Press

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8.8

Kumo Desu ga, Nani ka? is a popular novel that blends Action, Adventure, Comedy and more. Written by the author Baba Okina. A total of 601 chapters have been translated and the novel is complete.

Synopsis

The world where the Hero and the Demon King continue to oppose each other. The grand magic from the Hero and the Demon King cross over worlds and exploded in the classroom of a certain high school.
The students who died in the explosion will be reincarnated in a different world. The protagonist, who had the lowest reputation in the class, was reincarnated into a spider. Nevertheless, she adapted quickly to the present condition with strong willpower.
This is a story of she who has become a spider trying whatever she can to live.

Action Adventure Comedy Drama Fantasy Mystery Tragedy

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Editor's Note

💡 The Side-Story Trap. The biggest challenge for a new reader of Kumo Desu is resisting the urge to skip the chapters marked "S" (Side Stories). At first, Shun’s story and the other humans' perspectives seem like a generic, boring Isekai compared to Kumoko’s high-octane survival antics.

Do not fall into this trap. The author uses these two perspectives to create a massive temporal rift. What you are reading in Shun’s "present" is the direct consequence of Kumoko’s actions from years prior. It is a puzzle-box narrative: every piece of the "boring" human school life eventually reveals a terrifying truth about what our spider has become.

Why it is a masterpiece of construction:
Earned Evolution: Unlike many heroes who receive a "cheat" from day one, Kumoko brushes with death in every chapter. Her early victories are won through cunning (webs, traps, poison) rather than brute force.

Humor as a Shield: The tone is hilarious because Kumoko is a socially anxious otaku talking to herself, but the world around her is pitch-black (cannibalism, total war, planetary extinction).

The Identity Twist: Without spoiling anything, know that one of the greatest twists in light novel history concerns Kumoko’s true identity before reincarnation. The author plants clues starting from Chapter 1, but almost no one sees the reveal coming.

"A must-read for those who love to see an RPG system dissected, hacked, and eventually turned against its own creators."

Experience Curve

Ch. 1–100 (The Labyrinth Saga): ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ – The Survival. This is pure dungeon crawling. Kumoko is weak and hilarious. The descriptions of her using thread and poison to kill monsters much stronger than her are top-tier LitRPG.

Ch. 101–250 (The Evolution Phase): ⭐⭐⭐⭐ – The Expansion. Kumoko leaves the lower layers and encounters humans for the first time. The perspective shifts become more frequent, and the "Human Side" (Shun's story) starts to reveal that the world is on the brink of collapse.

Ch. 251–450 (The Godhood & War): ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ – The Reveal. The "System" is explained. The genre shifts from LitRPG to a high-stakes tragedy involving the gods and the history of the planet. This is where most readers realize the "Spider" story was just a prologue for a massive epic.

Ch. 451–600 (The Finale): ⭐⭐⭐ – The Conclusion. The WN ending is divisive. After years of build-up, some felt the final resolution was rushed compared to the meticulous pacing of the earlier volumes.

WebNovelDB Review

9 /10

A complex, rewarding puzzle that demands patience and rewards it with one of the best plot twists in fiction.

The Protagonist: Kumoko is iconic. Her high-energy, breaking-the-fourth-wall inner voice keeps the story light even when she is literally eating her own siblings to stay alive.

The "Hero" Subversion: Shun (the Hero side) is intentionally written as a "generic, boring hero." This frustrates some readers, but it is a brilliant satirical tool used to contrast with Kumoko's pragmatic, "do-whatever-it-takes" survivalism.

The Complexity: The author (Okina Baba) is a master of "Unreliable Narration." Information is hidden in plain sight. Re-reading early chapters after reaching the midway point is a common and mind-blowing experience.

Reader Archetype: You love LitRPG and "Zero to Hero" stories. You enjoy non-linear plots like Baccano! and love theory-crafting. You don't mind "Grinding" chapters if they lead to epic evolutions.

Not For You If: You have severe arachnophobia (though many readers say this helped them get over it!). If you hate perspective shifts and want to stay 100% on the main character at all times, the "S-Chapters" (Side Stories) will frustrate you.

Trigger Warning: Contains graphic depictions of cannibalism, body horror, and mass extinction events. Kumoko eats her siblings. Often. In detail.

WebNovelDB Team

Key Information

Main Characters: Kumoko (The nameless spider; socially anxious, hyper-intelligent, and obsessed with eating delicious food).

Power System: The System. A global RPG mechanic that grants skills, titles, and evolutions in exchange for "Experience" and "MA Energy."

Themes: Survival at any cost, the ethics of "Efficiency," and the burden of knowledge.

Similar To: Tensei Shitara Slime Datta Ken (WN), Evil God Average, Reincarnated as a Dragon’s Egg, Demon Noble Girl, Sevens, Apotheosis of a Demon

Reading Progress

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