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Reborn as a Vending Machine, I Now Wander the Dungeon

Reborn as a Vending Machine, I Now Wander the Dungeon is a Japanese light novel series written by Hirukuma and illustrated by Itsuwa Kato and Yūki Hagure. The series was originally published in 2016 as a web novel by the author on the user-generated novel publishing website Shōsetsuka ni Narō. Later on the same year, it was acquired and then published by Kadokawa Shoten.

Synopsis
An unnamed Japanese otaku who is interested in vending machines is crushed to death by a falling vending machine. He then finds himself reincarnated in a fantasy world dungeon as a sentient vending machine. He can see and hear but is immobile, with his speech being limited to stock Japanese vending machine phrases, such as "Hello there" or "Too bad". He described his father's death as giving him acrophobia, and recalled thinking "I don't know when I'm going to die like my father did. One question went through my mind: Have I done everything I've wanted to in life?" He described Reborn as a Vending Machine as his final effort after four years of unsuccessfully getting his novels published. ==Characters==
Characters
; : : The titular protagonist of the series. Prior to being reincarnated as a sentient vending machine in a fantasy world, Boxxo was a vending machine otaku who was crushed by a falling vending machine in Japan. His current name was given to him by Lammis. As a vending machine, Boxxo can only communicate in stock vending machine phrases, although he can still speak to himself in his thoughts and he can see and hear just fine; however, he is soon able to use the letters in his limited speech to spell out what he is trying to say. He is able to sell and dispense an unlimited number of products, which rewards him with points he can use to upgrade himself and can make food packagings and wrappings disappear. He is also built with a small digital slot machine, has the ability to shapeshift, can create a forcefield around him for defense, use telekinesis, raise or lower his temperature, and can reward people with free products. ; : : The daughter of a rich tycoon who is selfish, arrogant, and strong-willed. Suori has taken an interest in Boxxo, so much so that she even once tried to buy him. She also has a rival named Kanashi, whom she hates above all else. ; : : A literal bear who is the director of the Hunter's Association on the Clearflow Lake stratum. His real name is . Like Lammis, he is strong enough to carry Boxxo. He is a strong fighter, his claws are razor sharp to cut through even solid stone and he can emit a super sonic roar. ; : : The leader of the Menagerie of Fools. He is quite arrogant, but is a very skilled fighter. Boxxo has personal issues towards him. It is later revealed that he and Filmina are married and that Aka and Shino are their sons. They also have a third son, who is suffering a curse that is quickly making him decay. To save him, he and his family secretly aid the Netherlord in his scheme in exchange for a cure; this revelation causes the rest of the team to turn on him and his family. He also possesses a secret power that can disable other people's magical abilities. He and his family soon turned against the Netherlord after he intended to dispose of them for letting Boxxo escape. ; : : Kerioyl's second-in-command of the Menagerie of Fools who can use water magic. She usually gets annoyed with her leader's arrogance. It is later revealed that she is part vamp fiend (vampire) and also has a vampire form. It is also revealed that she and Kerioyl are actually married and that Aka and Shino are their sons. Furthermore, they have a third son, who is suffering a curse that is quickly making him decay. To save him, she and her family secretly aid the Netherlord in his scheme in exchange for a cure. She and her family soon turned against the Netherlord after he intended to dispose of them for letting Boxxo escape. ; : : A huntress whom Lammis befriends. She serves as a member of the Menagerie of Fools and has a monstrous appetite. Like Lammis and Hulemy, she also appears to have feelings for Boxxo. ; : : A cordial, beautiful woman who runs a "business of the night" on the Clearflow Lake stratum. Boxxo takes a liking to her. It is implied she has a crush on Director Bear, blushing whenever he compliments her; however, Gorth also has feelings for her. She is also a strong hunter and fights with a whip. ; : : A member of the Menagerie of Fools. It is later revealed that he and Shiro are Kerioyl and Filmina's sons and they have been secretly helping the Netherlord to save their brother Kai from a curse. He is also part vampire. He and his family soon turned against the Netherlord after he intended to dispose of them for letting Boxxo escape. ; : : A member of the Menagerie of Fools. It is later revealed that he and Aka are Kerioyl and Filmina's sons and they have been secretly helping the Netherlord to save their brother Kai from a curse. He is also part vampire. He and his family soon turned against the Netherlord after he intended to dispose of them for letting Boxxo escape. ; : : A handsome hunter who appears charming on the outside. On the inside, however, he is shown to be somewhat of a coward and is not good with communication. He later joins the Menagerie of Fools. ; , , , and : Suco: : Pell: : Short: : Mikenne: : A group of Bearcats who are known as the Band of Gluttons. They later join the Menagerie of Fools. They are fast and can emit a powerful sonic attack. ; and : Missus: : Munami: : Two women who work at an inn on the Clearflow Lake stratum. They are good friends with Lammis. ; : : The owner of the Merchants Exchange. ; : : Acowi's helper. He is skilled with using an axe. ; and : Karios: : Gorth: : Two guards who protect the Clearflow Lake stratum. Gorth has a crush on Shirley. ; : : A shopkeeper who has a crush on Karios. Boxxo helped them interact upon noticing this. ; : : A thief who tried to rob Boxxo once. He is a member of a group of bandits. ; : : A young girl who once won a free item from Boxxo. She is Shimelai and Yumite's granddaughter. ; : : Suori's rival who has a similar personality as her. ; : : The director of the orphanage located on the Origin stratum who is also a skilled hunter, using bows and arrows. ; and : Shimelai: : Yumite: : An elderly couple who are skilled hunters and can use magic. They are May's grandparents. ; : : The unnamed director of the Origin stratum. She specializes in combat skills. ; : : A former member of the Menagerie of Fools who has a shoe fetish; it is because they remind him of his deceased childhood friend. He also knows of Boxxo's origins. ; : : A Snow Child who can shield her presence and telepathically read other people's thoughts by touching them. She also has some control over cold air, which grows very powerful when she reaches adulthood. She becomes Boxxo's rival due to her having the ability to use her Piece of Field to create food for people to eat. She, Botan, and Kuroyata eventually leave the dungeon to find and revive Field. ; and : Botan: : Kuroyata: : Kikoyu's monster companions who serves as her protectors rather than her tamed pets. ; : A sentient field mentioned by Kikoyu who went dormant in the Demon Lord's domain. A magical barrier prevents anyone from seeing him. Kikoyu now carries a piece of him, which can grow crops quickly and convert monster corpses into nutrients. He is also a reincarnated human like Boxxo. ; : : The director of the Dark Forest stratum, whose real name is Dark-Dark. He can flatten himself into a shadow and slip under cracks. ; Director Labyrinth : The director of the Labyrinth stratum. Her real name is unknown. ; : : The director of the Scorching Sand stratum. His true name is unknown. He possess powerful fire magic. ; Director Dog Mountain : The director of the Dog Mountain stratum. His true name is unknown. He is technically a young boy who is accompanied by a man, presumed to be his father. ; Pity : : A shy but determined girl who lives in a giant clam. She can fight using her clam as a shield and weapon. She also has the power to alter weight, making her one of the only characters who can carry Boxxo on her own. ; Kai : Kerioyl and Filmina’s first son, who is under a curse that forces his family to serve the Netherlord in exchange for a cure. Though he looks younger than his brothers Aka and Shiro, he is really older than them. He has also developed a bond with Sulream, but was really pretending this whole time as he knows of her true intentions and wants to free of his pain. Sulream eventually helps him and his family escape after the Netherlord fired them and Sulream for letting Boxxo escape. ; : : A powerful undead who is a part of the Netherlord. ; : : A ghostly woman who serves the Netherlord. Even though she is a ghost, she is vulnerable to magic. She can create fires and telekinetically control a chain. ; : : A highly arrogance hunter and the leader of a group of bandits called the Billowing Flames. He was responsible for murdering Hevee's childhood friend. He also works for the Netherlord. He is killed by Sulream. ; : : An alternate adult version of Kikoyu who works for the Netherlord, who saved her in another timeline. This version never met Field, Botan, and Kuroyata. She has the same powers as her original variant. She soon betrayed the Netherlord after she and Kerioly's family were fired for letting Boxxo escape. ; Middle Finger General : A shark-like monster who serves the Netherlord. He can use telepathy. He is killed by Boxxo and Pity after he tries to stop them from escaping the Netherlord’s fortress. ; : : The dungeon's strongest monster and a servant of the Demon Lord. It is implied that he knows Boxxo's origins. It is later revealed that he lured hunters into the dungeon so he could kill them and use their corpses to reproduce his army, while also attempting to conquer the dungeon for his own means. He has lots of servants, both humans and supernatural beings, doing his dirty work and is even manipulating Kerioyl and his family into helping him in return for saving their cursed son. However, he soon fires Kerioyl and his family along with Sulream for allowing Boxxo to escape. ; : The Netherlord's master who rules an area located north of the dungeon. ==Media==
Media
Light novels Hirukuma originally published the series online as a web novel on the user-generated novel publishing website Shōsetsuka ni Narō from March 3 to December 18, 2016. Kadokawa Shoten acquired the series to publish it as a light novel. The first volume was published on August 1, 2016. Yen Press announced during the Anime Expo 2017 that they had licensed the series for an English release. With the release of the anime adaptation, Kadokawa released a revised edition of the light novel with new illustrations provided by Yūki Hagure. Volumes Manga A manga adaptation illustrated by Kunieda began serialization in ASCII Media Works's shōnen manga magazine Dengeki Daioh on August 27, 2021. The manga is also licensed by Yen Press as a digital simulpublication. Volumes Anime In August 2022, it was announced that the series would be receiving an anime adaptation. It was later confirmed to be a television series produced by Slow Curve, animated by Studio Gokumi and AXsiZ and directed by Noriaki Akitaya, with Masayuki Takahashi serving as assistant director, Tatsuya Takahashi overseeing series scripts, Takahiro Sakai adapting Yūki Hagure's designs for animation, and Yuta Uraki and Keita Takahashi composing the music. The series aired from July 5 to September 20, 2023, on Tokyo MX and other networks. The opening theme song is by BRADIO, while the ending theme song is by Peel the Apple. Crunchyroll streamed the series outside of Asia. The first season was released on Blu-ray and DVD in North America on July 23, 2024. After the airing of the final episode of the first season, a second season was announced. The staff and cast reprised their roles, with Takashi Yamamoto replacing Akitaya as director. The season aired from July 2 to September 17, 2025. The opening theme song is performed by BRADIO, while the ending theme song is , performed by Aina Aiba. After the airing of the final episode of the second season, a third season was announced. The season entered its final arc and premiered on April 1, 2026. The opening theme song is performed by Vivarush, while the ending theme song is , performed by FUWAMOCO. ==Reception==
Reception
Reborn as a Vending Machine, I Now Wander the Dungeon has received positive reviews. Theron Martin of Anime News Network reviewed the first volume positively, praising its unique take on the isekai genre, Hirukuma's writing style, and the relationship between Boxxo and Lammis, which he found to be impressive and not having to "resort to hackneyed gimmicks". Summarizing that "this novel's bizarre concept is what will catch people's attention, but the writing is good enough to keep it", some criticism was directed at the light novel's fanservice, which Martin found to be forced, and the RPG elements typical of isekai series. Similarly, Robert Frazer of UK Anime Network found Reborn as a Vending Machine to be "a blast of fresh air to flush out the stale isekai genre", as "it's fun and different to defeat the villain with Diet Coke and Mentos instead of just firing a Saiyan blast at a higher powerlevel". Rebecca Silverman and Lynzee Loveridge, in Anime News Network's Spring 2018 Light Novel Guide, also praised the setting but found the writing to "read like fan-fiction-level quality". They ultimately found the volume to "still [be] an engaging read", with its format adapted the same way as ''So I'm a Spider, So What? and That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime''. Loveridge further included the protagonist's "Death By Vending Machine" on her list of the "7 Strangest Isekai Deaths". ==See also==
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