In Another World with My Smartphone Manga Volumes — Series Overview
In Another World with My Smartphone (異世界はスマートフォンとともに。) is an ongoing isekai manga based on the light novel by Fuyuhara Patora (冬原パトラ). The manga version is drawn by Soto (そと), with original character designs by Eiji Usatsuka (兎塚エイジ).
The premise: Touya Mochizuki gets accidentally killed by God. Feeling bad about the mix-up, God reincarnates him in a fantasy world and lets him keep his smartphone — plus gives him a serious boost to his magical abilities. What follows is a lighthearted adventure where Touya explores this new world, makes friends (and fiancées), and stumbles into increasingly high-stakes situations while keeping that fun, easygoing tone the series is known for. The series uses a harem story structure — meaning the main character gradually attracts multiple romantic interests — which is a common setup in this genre.
If you’re looking for an isekai that leans more toward feel-good entertainment than gritty drama, this is a solid pick.
The manga has been serialized — meaning published chapter by chapter — in Monthly Comp Ace, a monthly manga magazine in Japan, since 2017. The publisher is KADOKAWA, and the volumes are released under their Kadokawa Comics Ace label (a specific publishing line, sometimes called an imprint, within the larger KADOKAWA company).
The English edition is published by Yen Press, making it widely available for English-speaking readers in both print and digital.
Here’s the quick snapshot:
| Detail | Japan | English |
|---|---|---|
| Publisher | KADOKAWA | Yen Press |
| Volumes available | 18 | 15 |
| Status | Ongoing | Ongoing |
| First volume | June 2017 | — |
| Latest volume | Vol 18 (March 2, 2026) | Vol 15 |
Note: The English first volume release date is not listed in the table because exact date data was not available at time of writing. The series is well-established in English with 15 volumes currently out.
Manga volumes in this series carry standard retail pricing typical of Yen Press releases. If you’re planning to collect all 15 English volumes, expect costs in line with other single-volume manga — budgeting for a full set at list price is straightforward since there are no special editions or premium-priced variants to account for.
How the Manga Is Structured — Story Arcs by Volume
The manga follows the light novel’s story structure closely, so if you’ve read the source material or watched the anime, the story beats will feel familiar. When we talk about story arcs, we mean groups of chapters that form a complete narrative phase — a beginning, middle, and resolution of a particular conflict or storyline — before the next phase begins. Here’s how the volumes break down across the major phases.
Early Adventures and World-Building (Volumes 1–3)
This is where everything gets set up. Volume 1 — released in Japan back in June 2017 — introduces Touya’s arrival in the new world, his first encounters, and the beginning of his adventuring party. These opening volumes establish the comedic tone that defines the series: Touya figuring out creative uses for his smartphone, discovering his growing magical abilities, and the early romantic dynamics starting to take shape.
The world-building here — meaning how the series constructs and reveals its fantasy setting — is light and fun rather than dense. You get a world with kingdoms, adventurer guilds (organizations where people take on jobs and quests), and magic, but the series isn’t trying to bury you in lore. It’s more interested in putting Touya in entertaining situations and letting the character interactions carry things forward.
If you’re the type who needs a few chapters to decide whether a series clicks for you, Volume 1 alone gives you a pretty honest picture of what the whole manga is going for. The tone you see here is the tone you’ll get throughout.
Kingdom Intrigues and Rising Threats (Volumes 4–8)
This stretch is where the story starts adding real stakes to the mix. Political storylines across multiple kingdoms become more central to the plot, and Touya finds himself getting pulled into royal conflicts and alliances — partly because of his growing power, partly because he just can’t stop helping people.
The big addition here is the Phrase — crystalline monsters that serve as the long-running existential threat of the series. They’re a genuine danger to the world, and their introduction gives the story a backbone of tension that the earlier volumes were building toward.
Touya’s power escalates noticeably across these volumes — he’s what fans call overpowered, meaning his abilities far exceed what’s normal in his world, which creates a particular kind of storytelling dynamic where the fun comes less from “will he survive?” and more from “how will he handle this?” His relationships with royalty deepen into formal alliances, and the harem elements (his growing circle of romantic interests) continue to develop. But even as the stakes rise, the series keeps its characteristic lightness. It never fully commits to being dark or heavy — which is either a feature or a drawback depending on what you’re after.
Nation-Building and Expanding Conflicts (Volumes 9–13)
Here’s where things get ambitious. Touya establishes his own nation — the Duchy of Brunhild — and suddenly the series is juggling nation-building alongside its usual adventure and romance elements. Large-scale battles against the Phrase intensify, with bigger confrontations and higher consequences.
The harem side of the story also develops further, with Touya’s growing group of fiancées becoming a more structured part of the narrative rather than just a running gag. Whether you find this charming or exhausting will depend heavily on your tolerance for multi-romance storylines, but the series handles it with enough humor that it rarely feels mean-spirited.
These volumes represent the manga hitting its stride in terms of scope. The world feels bigger, the conflicts feel more consequential, and Touya’s role in the story has evolved from “overpowered guy wandering around” to something more like a political figure with real responsibilities.
Recent Volumes and Current Storylines (Volumes 14–18)
The most recent stretch continues the major conflict arcs and raises the ceiling on what the story can do. Specifically, the narrative begins dealing with threats and powers that operate on a godly scale — entities and forces that sit above the kingdoms and monsters Touya has faced so far. For readers who’ve enjoyed watching the scope of the story expand with each phase, these volumes continue that trajectory. For those wondering if the series ever gets more serious, this stretch is where the balance between humor and genuine stakes shifts the most.
Volume 18 — released in Japan on March 2, 2026 — is the latest Japanese volume, and the series remains ongoing in Monthly Comp Ace. English readers are currently up to Volume 15 via Yen Press, so there’s a three-volume gap between the Japanese and English editions.
That gap is pretty standard for manga that’s been brought to English from Japanese (a process called localization, which involves not just translation but adapting cultural references and lettering for a new audience). Yen Press has been releasing volumes at a steady pace, with Volume 16 scheduled for July 28, 2026. If you’re starting fresh, you’ve got 15 English volumes to work through before you’ll be waiting for new releases — which is actually a nice amount of reading material to binge through.
Where the Light Novel and Anime Stand
The manga is based on the light novel by Fuyuhara Patora, which is the primary source material and is further ahead in the story than the manga. If you ever catch up on the manga and want more, the light novel is where you’d go next. That said, the manga stands perfectly well on its own — you don’t need to read the light novel first or at all to enjoy the manga.
An anime adaptation also exists — two seasons in total. Season 1 (2017, 12 episodes) covers the early adventures and initial kingdom storylines. Season 2 (2023, 12 episodes by J.C.Staff) continues from there, covering additional arcs. The manga extends well beyond what either season has covered, so if you’ve watched the anime and are wondering whether the manga has more to offer — yes, significantly more.
For anime viewers picking up the manga, you have two options: start from Volume 1 to get the full experience (the manga does flesh out some things the anime rushes through), or pick up around the volumes that cover material just past where you stopped watching. If you’ve only seen Season 1, the manga continues from well into the story from that point. If you’ve watched both seasons, you’ll want to find the chapters that follow Season 2’s ending. Starting from the beginning is the safer bet if you want complete context, and at the pace these volumes read, it won’t take long to get past the parts you’ve already seen animated. Volume 1 is the recommended starting point for most readers regardless of how they first encountered the series.
Which Edition Should You Buy
This is refreshingly simple. The English manga is published by Yen Press in both print and digital formats. There are 15 English volumes currently available. The Japanese edition has 18 volumes under the Kadokawa Comics Ace label.
There are no omnibus editions (collected volumes that bundle multiple standard volumes into one thicker book), no special collector’s editions, and no alternate versions to complicate your decision. You just pick your format — print or digital — and start with Volume 1.
The series reads sequentially with no good jumping-in points mid-run (meaning you can’t really skip ahead — earlier volumes set up characters and storylines that later volumes build on), so grabbing Volume 1 is the way to go regardless.
Volume 15 is the latest English release available now.
In Another World with My Smartphone
If you prefer digital, Yen Press makes all volumes available as ebooks, which is a convenient option if you’re short on shelf space or want to start reading immediately.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many In Another World with My Smartphone manga volumes are there?
There are 18 volumes in Japanese and 15 volumes in English. The series is ongoing, so both counts will continue to grow.
Is the manga still ongoing?
Yes. It’s currently serialized in Monthly Comp Ace (a monthly manga magazine in Japan), and new volumes continue to release. The most recent Japanese volume (Vol 18) came out on March 2, 2026. The next English volume (Vol 16) is scheduled for July 28, 2026.
Who publishes the English edition?
Yen Press handles the English localization, publishing both print and digital editions.
Do I need to read the light novel first?
No. The manga is a self-contained version of the story that follows the light novel’s plot. You can read the manga without any prior knowledge. The light novel is further ahead in the story, so it’s there if you want to read beyond where the manga currently sits, but it’s completely optional.
Does the manga go further than the anime?
Yes, and by a wide margin. There are two anime seasons: Season 1 (2017, 12 episodes) covering the early storylines, and Season 2 (2023, 12 episodes) continuing further. Even with both seasons, the manga — at 15 volumes in English (18 in Japanese) — covers substantially more ground. If you enjoyed the anime and want to see where the story goes, the manga is a great next step.
What does “isekai” mean?
Isekai is a Japanese genre term meaning “another world.” It refers to stories where a character is transported or reincarnated from the real world into a fantasy setting. In Another World with My Smartphone is a classic example of the genre — the main character dies in our world and wakes up in a new one with special abilities.