Introduction

Three minds are always better than one. Well, that’s what I can say after reading volume 1 of I Was Sold Dirt Cheap, But My Power Level is Off the Charts (Saiyasu).

The hit series I Was Sold Dirt Cheap, But My Power Level Is Off the Charts has been licensed by One Peace Books and its first volume published on October 8, 2024. This series crosses isekai fantasy with mecha robot fights, becoming a one-of-a-kind manga with deep themes of kindness and justice alongside dizzying high-stakes robotic combat. The manga is based on the popular web and light novel Saiyasune de Urareta Ore wa, Jitsu wa Saikyou Parameter.

Created by authors RYOMA, Cambria Bakuhatsu Tarou, and Kuroi Susumu, I Was Sold Dirt Cheap, But My Power Level is Off the Charts (Saiyasu) takes the usual theme of isekai and kind of flips it on its side. Similar to a story like The Rising of the Shield Hero, our hero Yuta isn’t summoned to a world that openly accepts him. Nope.

Instead, he learns his power level (dubbed Ludea in this strange fantasy world) is only a 2 making him considerably weak. Worse yet, he’s sold off into servitude and must try to survive in this unknown world.

I Was Sold Dirt Cheap, But My Power Level is Off the Charts (Saiyasu) surprised me with a few elements that while not 100% original, are put together to make a pretty intriguing tale that had me wanting more. Here’s my review of I Was Sold Dirt Cheap, But My Power Level is Off the Charts Volume 1.

Art Style

I won’t deny I didn’t know how I felt initially regarding the art of I Was Sold Dirt Cheap, But My Power Level is Off the Charts. Not to say it was bad but the character designs didn’t impress me much.

Yuta and his classmates all looked like generic male/female isekai protagonists and that didn’t create a shocking first impression. However, as I began to read through the 6 chapters I had been given for this review, I began to really like how Saiyasu kind of feels like a black-and-white anime in manga form.

Characters and world elements look very simple and maybe that isn’t something I changed my opinion on, from what I read, but the robots (called Magic Suits) were very nicely done. These suits are incredibly detailed looking like medieval suits of armor but with just enough flair to say they are no doubt, robotic in nature.

For battles, at least the few seen in these early chapters, are also very well done with a strong amount of little details to make them feel like they’re dodging and hitting one another. I want to see stronger character designs going forward to make Saiyasu more unique but what is shown so far is nice and I can see anime studios having some thoughts on picking this series up due to its art.

Story & Characters

Here’s where Saiyasu hooked me from the get-go. Yuta and his classmates are isekai’d into another world, and I was originally betting it would be, that they are considered heroes or desired warriors.

Yes, the title makes it obvious, that these characters are being sold off as “slaves” but I think it isn’t as simple as that. Due to their Ludea levels, these characters are cruelly sold to various people in an auction. Literally, Yuta is sold for two fruits…that is dark.

Yuta’s various friends (and a potential love interest) are sold to other buyers due to their higher levels so Yuta ends up separated from everyone and put in a barn-like building. There, he meets what seems to be a little girl (she’s not) and the two become friends after realizing they are in a dire situation.

I Was Sold Dirt Cheap, But My Power Level is Off the Charts’ story is what I’m drawn to, more than the characters. Not too many characters are that intention-inducing just yet, aside from a few seen near the very end of chapter 6. What we’re given is fine and the story will make most readers want to keep going with this tale.

Especially, when you learn Yuta obviously isn’t as weak as predicted (who is surprised by this, though) and the addition of Magic Suits being a battle concept is neat.

Pacing

I like that Saiyasu doesn’t take long chapters to establish every little detail about the world and characters. Even Yuta’s friendship with Nanami grows quickly and isn’t made boring with simple story advancing.

Many of these isekai can either be burdened with too much world setup and/or diagnosing every world issue and theme, chapter after chapter. Saiyasu focuses on Yuta and Nanami trying to survive and escape their bad situation.

Even later, when they meet a few new allies, Saiyasu does a great job of pushing the tale at a nice brisk pace. I can see Saiyasu going for maybe a dozen volumes and ending on a solid note. I’m personally in love with that idea as isekai tends to go on for way too long.

Panel Layout & Flow

Probably one of my few complaints with the first volume of Saiyasu is that it felt a bit odd with the panel layout, which in turn, disturbed the flow of the reading. Saiyasu utilizes the same manga trend of reading, so that part is fine but at times it felt that some segments felt almost too crammed together and would make my eyes look towards a panel I wasn’t supposed to read just yet.

This was very noticeable during the few mecha fights and some of the character introductions but I feel like later chapters weren’t so bad. Still, I always think when you have panels with big images or eye-catching scenes slammed close together, they can be distracting, oddly enough. That was presented to me in the first volume of I Was Sold Dirt Cheap, But My Power Level is Off the Charts.

Themes & Tone

Isekai manga hasn’t stepped too much into the heart of Mecha themes. That isn’t to say they don’t exist, like Knight’s and Magic for example but unless you’re going back into the 80s and before, the fusion of isekai and mecha is still a pretty untapped element. That’s why I liked the inclusion of them in Saiyasu and I’m already seeing they will play an important role in the series.

Equally, the slavery system that was briefly talked about in the earlier chapters was a bit shocking and handled well. Saiyasu won’t cause controversial issues because, while there is servitude and selling of people as goods in this world, the authors don’t make it a central theme beyond setting up how dark this world can get.

I think both the mecha and dark issues shown in Saiyasu can be utilized for later volumes quite well and I’m intrigued to see where the authors will go

Conclusion

I Was Sold Dirt Cheap, But My Power Level is Off the Charts Volume 1 probably won’t be a contender for the next best isekai manga out there, but I think that’s fine. At its core, I Was Sold Dirt Cheap, But My Power Level is Off the Charts Volume 1 shows us that isekai can be combined with nearly every genre and still has enough originality to be enjoyable.

I was never bored while reading the first volume of I Was Sold Dirt Cheap, But My Power Level is Off the Charts (Saiyasu) and that alone says a lot as someone who is in and out of love with the isekai formula. Will I keep reading this series? Yeah, and that shows in and of itself!

I Was Sold Dirt Cheap, But My Power Level is Off the Charts (Saiyasu) is a decent manga with plenty of room to grow and develop.

—Aaron