Shibou Yuugi de Meshi wo Kuu.

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Japanese: 死亡遊戯で飯を食う。

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Information

Type: Light Novel

Volumes: Unknown

Chapters: Unknown

Status: Publishing

Published: Nov 25, 2022 to ?

Genres: Action, Suspense

Theme: High Stakes Game

Serialization: None

Authors: Necometal (Art), Ukai, Yuushi (Story)

Statistics

Score: 7.60¹ (scored by 207 users)

¹ indicates a weighted score.

Ranked: #2570²

² based on the top manga page. Please note that 'R18+' titles are excluded.

Popularity: #13328

Members: 1,523

Favorites: 56

7.60

Ranked #2570Popularity #13328Members 1,523

Light NovelNecometal (Art), Ukai, Yuushi (Story)

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Synopsis

When Yuuki wakes up in an unfamiliar manor wearing a maid uniform, she recognizes this as the start of a new death game. After assessing the situation, Yuuki begins to wander before discovering a room with five other maids. Each one is visibly anxious, and she learns from them that they are all new players who joined this lethal game for the prize money.

But Yuuki is different: she is a death game veteran whose only goal is to achieve 99 consecutive wins. Tasked with navigating a manor filled with countless instruments of murder, Yuuki takes point as the only experienced player in an environment that is designed to actively work against her. Despite this, she is determined to reach the end of the game with as many people as possible—if it coincides with her final goal.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

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BackgroundShibou Yuugi de Meshi wo Kuu. ranked second in the 2024 Kono Light Novel ga Sugoi! in the Light Novel division.

The series has been published in English as Playing Death Games to Put Food on the Table by Yen Press under the Yen On imprint since June 18, 2024.

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Characters

Sorimachi, Yuuki

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Kinko

Supporting

Aoi

Supporting

Moegi

Supporting

Hakushi

Supporting

Kokutou

Supporting

Mishiro

Supporting

Kyara

Supporting

Momono

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Beniya

Supporting

Reviews

Dec 13, 2025

Sammy096

Recommended

Preliminary (42/? eps)

Shiboyugi has a very unorthodox premise: its protagonist, Yuki, wishes to beat 99 death games. The core appeal of the series lies in how fast it mills through the games and its characters, with each volume introducing one or two new games while staying unpredictable. Despite its pace, it establishes its bizarre setting with solid worldbuilding and justifies its premise really well; this is a world where people play death games not just for the prize money, but as a sport for entertainment. And Yuki is a protagonist that works with strengths of this premise really well.

This change in the premise is what heavily influences ... the dynamic of the games. It goes from few cowardly individuals struggling to survive to battle of skilled players trying to find a way to best the others, not too dissimilar to what you mind find in other sports stories. This unique dynamic is what gives the relatively simple escape room games or survival games a different colour of paint, because while the story follows a relatively straightforward outline for each game, with some shocking and unexpected (and expected) deaths awaiting on potentially every new page, it's also a fight between Yuki and whoever, stronger opponent has it out for either her or someone else in the setting. The actual games themselves still remain suspenseful, each game bringing a unique premise and set of rules, as well as new outfit for Yuki and other participants to wear. In some cases each game is also a new opportunity for the author to put Yuki into a new costume and that is equally as exciting and it's fun to speculate what the game might be based on the costume's visuals themselves. If you are curious, look up all the LN's volumes. Volume 4 cover is probably my favourite because I really wanted to find out what kind of game would warrant such a cute get-up.

The premise is also what makes Yuki stand out as a protagonist. Her character is a breath of fresh air in the death game genre. It's difficult to go into specifics of why due to spoilers, but the general idea is that Yuki is a loser who doesn't want to admit so. Don't get me wrong, Yuki *is* cool, and she can be even cooler in some parts. She is calm, level headed and skilled enough to earn her wins in these games, but the author also spends enough time to establish her life outside of the games as a lazy and uneducated shut-in. While not a novel idea, the story executes on this premise exceedingly well but depicting Yuki as an immensely flawed individual, both in and out of the game. Even if I described Yuki as cool and skilled earlier, she is far from the strongest and nothing is handed to her on a silver platter. Despite this all, she never feels like an edgelord. She feels like someone you want to root for and see to make it out alive each time she plunges herself into another death game because she is capable of showing compassion and kindness in the few moments when she is not struggling to survive or is kicking major ass.

A story plot that I saw online be deemed as a bit controversial is tied to the novel's lack of real gore. There is an in-universe explanation for this and even though the author went on a record to say it was to make the novel more approachable and accessible to everyone, it's tied to its premise (death games as a sort of sport) pretty well. Despite the lack of blood, the novel does not shy away from gruesome imagery. In this aspect it resembles Danganronpa, where the pink blood was first done for censorship reasons but eventually became a stylistic choice. If you struggle to imagine how it'd look like, I recommend giving the manga adaptation a shot after finishing the first volume. It depicts how gruesome and over the top Shobuyugi gets when it wishes to really well.

Shiboyugi is, genuinely, some of the most fun I had with a book series in a long, long time. You can see the story slowly form a shape as you keep reading and Yuki turns into a protagonist I fell deeply in love with, rivaling even Kaiji for me. I have read/watched my fair share of death games in my life, some good and some really bad. Shiboyugi is belongs among the great ones in my opinion. It is a refreshingly unique take on the genre, its intense pace keeps me turning pages and Yuki as a protagonist makes me excited for the next volume. As of writing this review, I finished the first 4 volumes that are translated right now, and eagerly await the next one.

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Dec 10, 2025

richminer

Recommended

Preliminary (16/? eps)

Spoiler

This might unironically be one of the best light novels of its genre. This deserves a 10/10. It's thrilling and unique in multiple different ways.

Most death games kill characters for shock. This one kills them for plot.

The worldbuilding is very unique. I won't comment too much on the fact that all participants are cute young girls wearing sexy clothes (I think this implies the organization consists of a bunch of perverted rich fucks), but, the white blood mechanic is certainly a new idea. It allows the characters to make much rasher decisions, because they know nearly every single non-lethal injury can be healed by ... the organization, and, knowing that they probably won't ever need first aid skills because their wounds never bleed.

I also love the fact that Yuki (the main character)'s decisions actually matter further down the line. The story has great foreshadowing, and Yuki's actions feel consequential. Side characters that appear in the story and survive, will return. Their backstories, personalities, and beliefs actually matter. The games aren't just shown for shock value, they're shown to drive the plot forward. Games that doesn't drive the plot forward won't be written to not waste your time. The organization is also not omnipotent. They're certainly weird, somehow still trying to keep "ethics" and "human rights". Outsiders actually can tap into the situation, and, the families of the victims matter (a lot). The characters in here seems to treat this death game as an actual video game. They keep track of their own records, and rumor about other legendary veterans. They even developed strategies to survive more efficiently and make more money. There are also different groups that formed, and somehow even mentor/protégé relationships. This makes the world feel much more alive.

Yuki is really well-written. She's not your typical character in any way. She's not trying to escape these games, no, in fact, she wants and prefers these games to continue. In her mind, an afternoon of work for a few million yen is very lucrative, and, she also has the promise of reaching 99 games. She has incredible observation skills, can stay calm even in painful conditions, can conclude incredibly accurate logical deductions, and has a great sixth-sense for traps. But, she still makes mistakes, is still frustrated with herself, still has "dips" in form, and still fails. She's also morally very gray. She'll do anything for extra favor points in the eyes of the spectators for some extra cash, even if it puts her in immense pain or grave danger. Outside of these games, though, she struggles in school, and somehow, lives very poorly (maybe rent in Tokyo is just that high). The only drawback from this character (and the story in general) is that I would have preferred to have a deeper look into her backstory earlier, before she made the 99 game promise. How did she come to this situation? Where are her parents? Why did she even enter these games in the first place? What was the story of her first ever game?

Another good thing about this light novel is that the games are thrilling to read, and the entertainment value is really high. After so many games played, it still somehow keeps things unique and interesting every single time. Ideas from previous games almost never get reused. Yuki always have to adapt and learn. The story also doesn't only focus on the games, Yuki's life outside of the games isn't forgotten, with her trying to improve her lifestyle, trying to fit back into society. She also sometimes interacts with people from the games that managed to track her down in the real world. The story feels like it's actively converging towards something big, and that makes it enthralling to read. There is also little to no plot armor or deus ex machina moments. (Little doesn't mean devoid). Everything feels logical with the decisions the characters made, and their skill sets.

Read this if you have time and are fine with disturbing/heavy content. Would highly recommend.

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Apr 13, 2025

eleven_exists

Not Recommended

Preliminary (3/? eps)

Spoiler

I used to think that no matter how bad your story was, it'll always be enjoyable if it was a death game. However, that was before I discovered this series. This review contains slight spoilers for volume one, but I'd suggest reading through this anyway so you don't waste your time if you decide you don't like it.

Nice concept. We have someone who willingly enters into these death games as a way to earn money. Is she poor? Homeless? Nope, she just doesn't like regular jobs. Okay... she also has a goal of surviving 100 games, or something. Again, no proper reasoning behind this. Just ...

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Shibou Yuugi de Meshi wo Kuu.
Playing Death Games to Put Food on the Table
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Playing Death Games to Put Food on the Table
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