The Death Mage Who Doesn’t Want a Fourth Time

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Amamiya Hiroto is unlucky. His life consisted of misfortune after misfortune, culminating in an unlucky death during an incident on a school boat trip, trying to save a girl he barely knew. After death, he met a god of reincarnation who requested that the hundred or so dead passengers—one of them being the girl he tried in vain to save—be reincarnated into another world.

Yet a series of unfortunate events forced Hiroto to reincarnate with even less luck than before, starting with nothing but a tremendous amount of Mana. His second life, far worse than his first, came to a cruel end.

However, upon meeting the god a second time, he was informed that there would be yet another reincarnation—one that had already been set in motion and could not be stopped. Not wanting Hiroto to live long, the god cursed him before he was reborn in the hopes that he would either die quickly or commit su*cide.

Hiroto was reborn once more as a half-Vampire, half-Dark Elf. A Dhampir. Not wanting a fourth life, he is determined to live this third life with the only things remaining from his previous lives—death-attribute magic and his enormous Mana pool.

Associated Names
One entry per line
TDM
The Death Attribute Mage Doesn't Want A Fourth Time
The Death Mage (LN)
Yondome wa Iyana Shi Zokusei Majutsushi
四度目は嫌な死属性魔術師
Related Series
N/A
Recommendations
What, Failure to Transition!?……Success!? (LN) (13)
Tsuki ga Michibiku Isekai Douchuu (12)
Kumo Desu ga, Nani ka? (12)
Tensei Shitara Slime Datta Ken (WN) (11)
Nidome no Yuusha (WN) (6)
The Second Coming of Gluttony (4)
Recommendation Lists
  1. Action - Cultivation - Adventure (On going)
  2. Strong misunderstanding
  3. enjoyed my time
  4. Read or given up reading
  5. OP MC's

Latest Release

Date Group Release
03/03/24 Light Novel Bastion ss 66
02/28/24 Light Novel Bastion ss 65
02/25/24 Light Novel Bastion ss 64
02/19/24 Light Novel Bastion ss 63
02/13/24 Light Novel Bastion c363
02/07/24 Light Novel Bastion c362
02/06/24 Light Novel Bastion c361
02/02/24 Light Novel Bastion c360
01/29/24 Light Novel Bastion c359
01/24/24 Light Novel Bastion c358
01/22/24 Light Novel Bastion c357
01/21/24 Light Novel Bastion c356
01/19/24 Light Novel Bastion c355
01/18/24 Light Novel Bastion c354
01/14/24 Light Novel Bastion c353
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339 Reviews sorted by


Thousandswords
Thousandswords rated it
November 6, 2017
Status: --
H

My hate for hypocritical Japanese MC's was nothing new but today while reading the highly ranked novel, [ Death Mage Who Doesn't Want a Fourth Time ], I realized something entirely different, it is that I hate the Japanese authors even more.

I noticed this novel because it had good ratings and great reviews, so I started reading it.

... more>> As usual the life of the MC started like sh*t just as most generic Japanese MC.

I found hope!!!

I thought he would be ruthless with what he experienced till now, and will be the perfect antihero I always dreamed of, but in the end the hypocritical justice driven line of thinking of Japanese authors kicked in and my expectations were smashed into pieces.

The MC suddenly developed a sense of justice, he began trying to be a good guy and live a happy life, this killed my will to read further into this novel.

I can already predict, how he will lightly punish the people of the town and how he will spare his classmates who took everything from him.

I can also predict, how he will *UNINTENTIONALLY* help and save people and will be *FORCED BY FATE* to become a hero.

I just can't believe how hypocritical these Japanese authors way of thinking is, they try to create a character that is like a angelic saint who can forgive anything and anyone and make it look like the traits of their culture and people.

I've read too many Japanese novels like this.

This was the finishing blow for me and my future as a reader of Japanese novels.

*breaths* <<less
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Keylo
Keylo rated it
June 5, 2017
Status: c55
This synopsis is grossly misleading. Or rather, while it sounds as if it'll be a tragedy and angst rollercoaster, the main focus (especially in later chapters) is more army/kingdom building as a world's first Death Mage (necromancer). As a result, while it's perhaps not the best in the field (Release That Witch for example, still trumps it), it is still quite enjoyable. At the very least, it's a good case study for tabletop players on how to "properly" play a Necromancer character. Highly recommend taking a gander at, if you... more>> have time to kill. <<less
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Lukitacx
Lukitacx rated it
May 13, 2021
Status: c100
Feels like it tries to be a dark fantasy novel at first, but it just becomes a harem collector, no one I like dies, kind of novel.

The author is also really hungry all the time, talking about food every other chapter. He mostly circle-jerks around Japanese food too, so even as a foodie it gets boring.

There's 0 tension, 0 risk, 0 challenge. The main character doesn't show the maturity of someone who suffered through hell, or at least that how the author depicts him in the beginning.

In a nutshell, the... more>> entire novel is just a power fantasy as a shota half vampire. There's no substance, only fanservice. Character growth is a myth and everyone that isn't on the MC side sucks. <<less
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carlosamegos
carlosamegos rated it
December 29, 2020
Status: c51
I really wanted to enjoy and keep reading this, especially because I really like the main characters type of power.

However, there are two major problems for me. Firstly, it's a harem and the main character has like a 2-4 year old body, which is kind of disturbing. Secondly, you have to suspend your disbelief so far into the atmosphere it exits earths orbit and lands into a big ol' bu*t crack of what the f*ck is happening.

Otherwise, it's a good read if you like to read about an incredibly over-powered... more>> and fairly smart main character. <<less
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the_black_gift
the_black_gift rated it
June 7, 2020
Status: --
Endless potential... wasted

The shine of a star... dimmed

At the very beginning it showed potential to be one of my favourite novels, only for all build-up to be wasted, the world and characters turning out to be two-dimensional and our protagonist being a disgusting goody-two-shoes who would end up homeless after being used by the people around him even in the best of societies. I regret every moment reading this novel past the prologue. Staring at the ceiling of my room and thinking about the taste of distilled water would have... more>> been a far more fulfilling and productive ability. <<less
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Aezir
Aezir
May 10, 2020
Status: c224
A lot of people complains about how the MC didn't get all vengeful but it was understandable if you think about it, the MC suffered for 40 years of his life without feeling the warmth or love of a family or friends and then feeling betrayed after getting killed by his classmates that he placed his hope of getting rescued. After he was reborn in lambda he had a loving and caring mother but she was killed but MC still got his just revenge only the ketchup and his party... more>> are left, then he meet new companions on his journey that then became like his family, loyal to him and loves him and in exchange he loves them back and protects them.

Now its really simple logic, do you have to drown in your self-pity and revenge even though you could have enjoyed spending each day with your family getting stronger together? Would you go out of your way dragging your family searching blindly to exact revenge on people that still hasn't even reincarnated in your world? He's stance on this is that if they come for him then he'll face them if not then it doesn't matter. If its about getting stronger then he is, its just that he can't gain exp on his own because of a curse that's why he doesn't go monster hunting proactively. <<less
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DimaShishandra
DimaShishandra rated it
April 19, 2020
Status: c353
It's funny how one guy in comments is complaining that MC forgot about revenge and several chapters later MC is punishing one of his targets)

This novel is great. It has plot, fresh taste, growth. Sub character feels a bit plain but they still have personality. MC's goals are always changing so do not expect that this will be just a revenge story. It also has some unpleasant things like r*pe, rather peculiar heroines and gore.

I don't know what to add. This novel is just good like some sort of... more>> Lord of the rings with heavy jap flavor

Update:

Author started adding plot armor to enemies and this is ruining novel. Enemies are getting some random power ups for no reason. And it feels lazy

Spoiler

For example demon king got resurrected and becomes as powerful as main gods immediately. And that's while other gods have spent thousands of years slowly restoring their strength. He also has like 10% of his body.


Or rikudou after few days of training becomes super powerful without any real explanation. Vandaleu had more mana and demon parts and it still took years plus leveling system to become as strong

Rikudou randomly gets more mana because of his anger. Why no other character in the novel have ever done this?

[collapse]
<<less
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Araenn
Araenn rated it
April 6, 2020
Status: c50
I was pretty hiped at the start, thinking I found a nice novel to relieve boredom but after reading dozens of chapter it became a deception.

The story was selled as a revenge story like nidome no yuusha but the author forgot the revenge and it quickly become another happy go lucky Japanese isekai story which destroy all of the world building done in the first chapters.

What made me stop the novel is the author trying to create a romace even if the protagonist is not two yet, like when the... more>> ghoul demand the protagonists seed, just what the f*ck, he is a toddler, the author must have a really twisted way of thinking to write this. <<less
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Dimensionist
Dimensionist rated it
November 30, 2019
Status: c120
A story that *could* have been interesting, except it's bogged down by incredibly poor writing. The idea's not that bad, but the writer has no idea on how to handle POV shifts, the characterization flip-flops, the author spends far too much time explaining and justifying the events in the story rather than, you know, actually telling a story... and then there's the godawful cooking segments that seemingly every Japanese story of this type seems bound and determined to include. There's little to no focus either - it can never really... more>> stick to a specific direction for the story for long, and the humor often reflects that, coming in out of nowhere and completely messing up the tone and tension of the story.

Honestly, even with all of that, I'd give it 3 stars more than 1, given this is on Novelupdates and all, but what's worse about this story is that a lot of the time the interesting premise draws you in, only for the lackluster execution to smack into your face and leave you irritated. I was left just rather annoyed at the end of my reading, and I finally dropped it at that chapter rather than let my mood go down even further.

tl;dr - Good idea, world building's not too bad, but amateurish and shoddy execution that just makes it worse when it contrasts against the good points.

EDIT: Oh, I almost forgot - the harem and romance in this is just godawful and creepy to boot, considering the MC's age, and the constant brainwashing just makes it and pretty much all of the MC's relationships spectacularly creepier (and not in a good 'horror story' way). So it probably should have been a 2 star, not 3 star base score. Would that make the final score a 0 star? Hm... <<less
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Elphus
Elphus rated it
July 11, 2019
Status: c196
It starts out interesting enough. It has more world lore than you know what to do with, and the evolution of Vida's Races and everything is some of the coolest sh*t I've seen in a web novel.

That said, the extra chapters where it goes hard-out into h**ny incel bullsh*t about breast sizes of every character in Van's harem is the most embarrassing part about this, and some of these sizes make you wonder if 80% of the characters don't have issues with their spines because of it.
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grrman
grrman rated it
June 23, 2018
Status: c154
Very refreshing novel to read. As a Japanese novel, it doesn't have the common creatures and themes that ALL the Chinese novels use (you know that Vermilion bird etc stuff). Instead this novel is chock full of exotic mythological creatures from the Western world.

Here are the basics: harem, lots of world building, heavy amount of slice of life set between major action, uses the video game leveling and stats system, cooking/food plays a major role, and a major underlying fact that the novel continues to remind us is that even... more>> though the MC is a "good guy" he's kind of mentally broken because of his tough childhood/past lives. The author does a really good job at managing multiple story lines and that makes even the side-chapters very important and interesting.

This has some of the best world building I've seen since World of Cultivators, but I will admit it does have some troubles because some of the female side-characters begin to blend together (especially the ones who aren't combat focused). Some people may find the novel annoying because it's basically people underestimating the MC one after another the whole way through, but I think the author provides good explanations for it (mostly that people lack information of 90% of what the MC is doing). It can be a lot of descriptions, but I think the author does an excellent job with the volume appendixes and character lists by making them interesting and raising questions to the reader. Overall, this novel has an incredible diversity of different fantasy themes in it and it blends them all very well into an compelling novel. If you get annoyed with the MC early and don't like slice of life though, it won't get any better if you continue reading. <<less
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Shiraori_
Shiraori_ rated it
February 25, 2018
Status: c118
Death Mage is something of a guilty pleasure of mine. It's one of my favorite novels at the moment even if I feel it has a lot of rough spots. As it's incomplete at the moment I feel it's difficult for me to craft a proper review, so a lot of this will be stream of consciousness writing, and might be a little unstructured.

The main appeal of this novel, to me at least, is Van's aesthetic and powers. He is precisely what the novel's title implies, a death mage. Perhaps... more>> more familiar a term would be something like "Necromancer." He's commonly described as a small, pale white child with red eyes and white hair and no facial expressions, as well as being described as doll-like. A half Dark Elf, half Vampire child with an emotionless, monotone way of speaking and low presence. He's the embodiment of the whole "creepy vampire child" aesthetic. A thing worth noting is that while he is in fact overpowered, he's overpowered not in the sense of "he instantly is good at everything because he's perfect, like a Mary Sue, " but more that he has a specialty in a type of magic not seen before and the specific specs to use them to their full potential. Death Magic and Golem Control (which later extends to basically anything inanimate, which is incredibly overpowered because he can basically terraform anything and command fields to walk where he wants them to, for instance, and that's just a fraction of what he can do) generally require a high amount of Mana, making what are really powerful abilities generally impractical to use by normal people. One of Van's only cheats happens to be a ridiculously high Mana count and regeneration rate. He's overpowered in the sense that he's just the best in the world at doing those two specific things. Animating objects and materials, death magic, and control of the undead. Physical combat and durability is something he lacks, meaning if people get close and he doesn't have a barrier up he's as vulnerable as a small child would typically be. I, personally, and this is a bias, I'll be the first to admit, really love dark magic/necromancy/hexing type classes in RPGs and if I were to create an Isekai around a necromancer type character this might be pretty close to what I'd think up. "You have three curses and two perks to pick up to create your character." Kinda like that.

With talking about Van out of the way, this novel previously had a Tragedy tag attached to it but recently I've opted along with others to remove it because it doesn't quite fit, in spite of the very dark and f*cked up prologue and set-up Van's backstory consists of. Tragedy is something generally associated with a constant feeling of dread or melancholy, tragic events, and the like. The depressing kind of read you go to to get f*cked up. The meat of Death Mage's story is mostly Van building his army and a nation of monsters and trying to obtain the happiness that he didn't have in his prior two lives. It's pretty casual a lot of the times and there's little pressure nor any sense of dread to speak of. In a sense it kind of developed somewhat into what Tensei Slime did, with the whole nation of monsters and building it up, except what they seek is not necessarily co-existence with everyone, but with those who choose to ally with them. They are the natural enemy of humanity at this point in the story, and Van shows no indications whatsoever of wanting to get along with humankind on a universal level. Van is very much like a Demon King building up his nation and protecting themselves from humanity, rather than waging a war. The first few chapters will cover Van's backstory, and I feel it's kind of a waste of space to discuss this here. It's self-explanatory when you read it, and I feel a plausible backstory that doesn't feel too outlandish in how it shaped an ordinary, yet unfortunate High Schooler into the emotionless child he's become.

Now, on to some negatives. Like I mentioned at the beginning of this review, I have some major gripes with the story. Specifically the writing. A major problem the author has is he explains way too much sh*t and never leaves anything up to reader interpretation. It's like he has no confidence in his writing getting across everything he wants it to, and he wants to get out every plot point and twist as soon as he can. There's no real usage of foreshadowing and if there ever is a question of what's going on in two character's minds, the author will without hesitation explain EXACTLY what they are thinking. I can't speculate anything or discuss what conspiracies may be going on behind the scenes because the author seems intent on destroying any mystery the moment it rears its face. It's incredibly frustrating.

Another thing I have somewhat of an issue with, although this is subjective on my part, it's that Van has an always active Death Attribute Charm which applies to his companions and suboordinates at all times. I can't help but stop and think sometimes about how heavily the people surrounding him might have been influenced by the skill. It's debatable how much the skill affects the thought process of the people around him -- it seems like it just affects people's perception of Van and making it generally positive, and it's not as strong as hypnotism or the like, but I can't feel perfectly fine with these interactions just because of the existence of this skill.

Overall this is actually a pretty nice read. I personally love it, and read new chapters whenever they come out. I hope it gets good adaptations and the treatment I feel it deserves, and if you don't mind the overpowered Isekai protagonist type of deal, and want to see one revolving around not a "good at everything" type of protagonist, but a necromancy/alchemy-focused protagonist, then give this a shot. It's what has me so enamored for the most part. Perhaps it'll scratch that itch for you. <<less
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Kuroda
Kuroda rated it
December 21, 2017
Status: c118
Ya gotta wait until chapter 68 (or somewhere around there), and most of your questions and the reasons behind things going the way they do, will make sense. Incredible world-building story rather than rpg/reincarnation.

As for the MC, he's not like those hot-headed fools who only want to kill sworn enemies at all costs. Because this is a world-building story, don't expect the MC to take large risks in the beginning.
Spoiler

His survival is what provides opportunity for growth and later satisfaction in cornering his enemies to death. Be patient, and your satisfaction will be the reward. He is definitely not giving up his revenge on his mother. Like I said. Be patient. His actions make a lot of sense in the long term, and everyone even remotely related to his mother's death will suffer. :D

[collapse]
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Bishal
Bishal rated it
November 3, 2017
Status: c45
I always stay away from jp novels and it is probably due MC personality and ambitions are pitiful unlike chinese novels. But I do check out jp novels once in while only to find disappointment.

So in this novel our MC is very unlucky and suffers alot in his second life. Third life he is cursed again and has somewhat sorrowful beginning like his ... more>>
Spoiler

mother being burned alive while he was only six months old

[collapse]

He grows slowly finds loopholes in the curses. But even though his physical body is a child doesn't mean he should be like a child. He is easily being influenced by those around him and loveless relationship is okay so we might get to see that in future. I don't like it though.

And the most I'm pissed about is probably his ambition. You guys wanna know what he wants to become in future let me enlighten you ''a f*cking nobleman''. That's right not a lord who runs the world not a god that shakes the heaven that betrayed him but a f*cking nobleman with fame and respect.

I'm done with this novel. All jp MC are pussies. <<less
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S0l0N
S0l0N rated it
October 24, 2017
Status: c93
I am really happy I didn't drop this at the start when it began like the typical settings where the MC has cheat power while still under the age of 3 in his third life and continued reading to figure out how mistaking I was, the plot pacing, characters individuality, world building and the twists are perfectly done and once you realize where everything is heading this Light Novel becomes the best of it's kind.
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KamiKira00
KamiKira00 rated it
November 16, 2016
Status: prologue
I only read a prologue, and it was enough, I am already fan. I am not going to spoil you, but if you like antihero MC, who doesn't back down even to god, you have it :)

Edit c62: Did I said good? Looks like it wasn't good at all. Author ruined this novel, I mean, MC is only 5 years old, but girls about 200+ years old are asking to make child with him?, well ok, because plot was good, I cauld live with it, but there are no... more>> longer any plot.

All chapters MC is making new food, attending mayo meetings, everyone gets or**sm every time they eat any food MC cooks or just girls are flirting with him, without getting any response.

Also a warning for those who are reading because of cool description or something like that, so don't read, because: all that hate about how he was tortured and killed in previous world is gone. His curses also gone, what I want to tell is that, author started great, but got tired of writing so he dropped everything and began writing usual novel with isekai MC. <<less
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CorruptedWood
CorruptedWood rated it
May 29, 2022
Status: --
Great potential but it then degraded into a generic isekai with a lot nonsense. It even has a cringe unnecessary part where the MC helps "potential harem candidates" have children with others so they stop ageing because he is a child and can't do it himself (They will get together when the MC grows up which didn't happen in the 250+ chapters I read). Anyways its a generic isekai with the MC being a ten year old.
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KISKU
KISKU rated it
March 28, 2020
Status: v11
It's poor written story with the same Japanese beta MC mho got tortured but his soft Japanese kid who don't have emotions like hate, sad etc. And all 100 reincarnated students behave like kids even though they lived 30+ yrs and there world god are like pseudo god and they don't feel like god at all. If I give examples of gods in some novel, read lords of the mysteries which will blow your mind how well written that story is compares to this child written story.

It's not a serious... more>> story at all its description are like serious type badass MC deep character development but it's just for who haven't read like some top notch story. If u read some well written story where there are things balanced you'll notice how childish this story is.

The author didn't even though of character development beside MC. And side characters are only side characters they just tag along MC because of his power and nothing else.

This LN is those who haven't even read enough novel to understand what I'm talking about. <<less
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ReviewObtainer
ReviewObtainer rated it
January 5, 2020
Status: c205
story: 9/10 (The plot is thought out and lacking in plot holes. The beginning is especially interesting and tense as he just keeps getting f*cked over, is cursed by a god, and is being hunted down by basically everyone. Everyone who says otherwise lacks the intelligence to comprehend the essential nature of it. It works. It makes sense. They just don't like it, and not everyone will. Nothing wrong with that, it's called an opinion.)

Characters: 8/10 (Basically the best you can ask for in a story, they are all... more>> individuals who have their own unique personalities and traits. The only weird part is that the MC, being a unique race is naturally extremely charming. This means that he, of course, becomes a natural leader. No one wants to betray him because in their eyes he is basically the most perfect entity they can see. It makes it sort of weird that their relationships aren't 100% genuine, but it's okay because his charm just helps to transcend the barriers between nationality/race, so no skin off my teeth).

Worldbuilding: 8/10 (Simple, standard world-building that is interesting in its own right. There are multiple worlds but they are standard, what makes them interesting is the interactions between characters.)

Overall, this story is nigh flawless. The only difference is that people might not like it, and as I said before. They are entitled to their own opinions. I don't like many famous stories and novels just because they don't interest me. They aren't bad, just not my flavour. <<less
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NegativeIQ
NegativeIQ rated it
November 28, 2019
Status: c244
I read this up to c138, dropped it, and gave it a 2 star review over a year ago, and after picking it up again and reading to c244 in 2021... It's still bad. In my previous review, it mostly consisted of me ranting about how ridiculous the harem was, and my thoughts on that still stand. However I decided to add a little more into my review to explain why you should definitely read something else

First and foremost, the overall plot and world building is actually pretty solid. My... more>> main gripe however with this novel however is the horrendous pacing. The author goes too into detail about the most irrelevant stuff, and this doesn't just happen in the slice of life sections (where obviously this slow down), it happens in the battle scenes as well. The most frustrating part about this however, is the fact that the author is capable of giving a clear cut, concise chapter that isn't boring and pointlessly long winded in the form of the side chapters in this series. These chapters are in my opinion, the point where the plot is most interesting, and it's disappointing how the author is unable to incorporate this kind of writing in the main chapters. <<less
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