Reborn as a Space Mercenary: I Woke Up Piloting the Strongest Starship!

Reborn as a Space Mercenary: I Woke Up Piloting the Strongest Starship! is a science-fiction adventure about a gamer who wakes up in a world like his favorite space game. The TV anime premieres on October 4, 2026, on Tokyo MX and other channels, and Crunchyroll streams it. Studio A-Cat is making it, with Norihiko Nagahama as director. Makoto Furukawa voices the hero, Hiro, with Konomi Inagaki as Mimi, Anna Nagase as Elma, and Haruka Shiraishi as Serena.

The story began as a web novel by Ryuto on the site Shosetsuka ni Naro in February 2019. Fujimi Shobo started publishing it as light novels that July, with art by Tetsuhiro Nabeshima, and 17 volumes were out by May 2026. A manga version drawn by Shinichi Matsui has run since 2019. Seven Seas Entertainment publishes both in English. The franchise had more than 1.3 million copies in circulation by early 2025.

The hero is Takahiro Sato, a normal office worker in Japan. In his free time, he loves playing a space game in which you fly your own starship. One day, he wakes up and finds himself inside a real universe that looks just like that game. Even better, he still has his ship, which is fully upgraded with the best parts and weapons he earned while playing. The ship is called the Krishna. Using his game name, Hiro, he decides to make a living in this new universe.

Hiro chooses to become a mercenary, a pilot who is paid to do dangerous jobs like fighting space pirates and protecting other ships. Thanks to his gaming skills and his powerful ship, he is very good at it. His dream is simple: earn enough money to one day buy a house on a peaceful planet and live a relaxed life. Along the way, he meets several women who join his crew or cross his path. They include Mimi, whom he helps out of a tough spot; Elma, a skilled mercenary; and Serena, a noble military officer. As the story goes on, they form a close-knit team on the ship, and romance develops, making the series a "harem" story, where one man is surrounded by many love interests.

The show is part of the isekai genre, where a person from our world ends up somewhere new. Instead of swords and magic, though, it uses spaceships, laser weapons, and space stations. It mixes big space battles with lighter moments of daily life on board, business deals, and comedy between the crew.

It is a fun choice for fans of space opera and relaxed adventure stories, though it contains some adult humor.