Howahowa Shiina
Description
Howahowa Shiina is the original creator of the light novel, manga, and anime series A Playthrough of a Certain Dude's VRMMO Life, known in Japanese as Toaru Ossan no VRMMO Katsudōki. Shiina is a Japanese writer who began the story as a web novel, serializing it online starting in January 2013 on the user-generated novel publishing website Shōsetsuka ni Narō. The series later moved to the AlphaPolis website in August 2016 before being acquired for print publication by AlphaPolis.
The light novel series is illustrated by Yamaada, and the first volume was published by AlphaPolis on February 10, 2014. As of August 2025, 32 volumes of the light novel have been released, and the series remains ongoing. The story follows Tanaka Taichi, a 38-year-old single salaryman who plays a virtual reality massively multiplayer online game under the username Earth. Rather than pursuing combat or competitive achievements, his character focuses on unconventional and often overlooked skills such as crafting, cooking, potion-making, and exploration.
A manga adaptation illustrated by Shūya Rikudō began serialization online via AlphaPolis manga website on June 27, 2014. As of March 2025, thirteen tankōbon volumes have been collected, with the manga continuing to serialize. The manga is published digitally in English through Alpha Manga.
An anime television series adaptation produced by Maho Film aired 12 episodes from October 3 to December 19, 2023. The anime was directed by Yuichi Nakazawa, with series composition by Touko Machida and character designs by Yūko Watabe and Yūko Oba. The series was licensed for international streaming by Crunchyroll.
The series has achieved commercial success, winning the reader's award at the AlphaPolis 6th Fantasy Novel Grand Prize. As of February 2023, the series had 1.5 million copies in circulation across its various formats. Shiina Howahowa is credited as the original creator and story writer across all three adaptations of the work, which represents the primary published output attributed to the creator.
The light novel series is illustrated by Yamaada, and the first volume was published by AlphaPolis on February 10, 2014. As of August 2025, 32 volumes of the light novel have been released, and the series remains ongoing. The story follows Tanaka Taichi, a 38-year-old single salaryman who plays a virtual reality massively multiplayer online game under the username Earth. Rather than pursuing combat or competitive achievements, his character focuses on unconventional and often overlooked skills such as crafting, cooking, potion-making, and exploration.
A manga adaptation illustrated by Shūya Rikudō began serialization online via AlphaPolis manga website on June 27, 2014. As of March 2025, thirteen tankōbon volumes have been collected, with the manga continuing to serialize. The manga is published digitally in English through Alpha Manga.
An anime television series adaptation produced by Maho Film aired 12 episodes from October 3 to December 19, 2023. The anime was directed by Yuichi Nakazawa, with series composition by Touko Machida and character designs by Yūko Watabe and Yūko Oba. The series was licensed for international streaming by Crunchyroll.
The series has achieved commercial success, winning the reader's award at the AlphaPolis 6th Fantasy Novel Grand Prize. As of February 2023, the series had 1.5 million copies in circulation across its various formats. Shiina Howahowa is credited as the original creator and story writer across all three adaptations of the work, which represents the primary published output attributed to the creator.
Works
- Topics: Anime overview
- Topics: Manga overview