After waking to find himself reincarnated and his past-life memories erased, Merlin is looking forward to a life of ease—but his reality is anything but easy! “Blessed” with god-tier stats and divine good looks, he quickly discovers that a normal life is next to impossible for someone who's constantly mistaken for a deity. It doesn't help that being OP means he can barely lift a finger without causing mass destruction! Then there's the issue of all the girls who desperately need his help. Too overpowered and too overrun with damsels in distress—will Merlin ever get to kick back and enjoy his new life?

Starting on Hard Mode: God Levels, Got Problems has a story and art by SOTONO. English translation is done by Jessica Speed and lettering by Enver Özgül. Published by J-Novel Club (April 8, 2026). Rated 15+.

Erica Friedman
Rating:

There's a whole lot of silly in this volume. I don't mean that as a bad thing. Our here has been reborn in another world with stunning good looks and powers that are off the charts. He can barely touch another person for fear of explosively shoving that person into a wall at high speed.

Merlin has just awakened with absurdly high-level powers and decides that he's going to live a slow life with loads of pretty women, which is relatable, but when he encounters horrific racism against demi-humans at the rotten core of his new world, he chooses to use his powers for good. I am absolutely down with that.

I actually liked that this protagonist can't really like the world for this form of prejudice. He's not willing to just sit back and accept it as other isekai protagonists have, either. Merlin actively takes the side of a marginalized elf girl—on purpose. Yes, he thinks the elves are cute, but he's not lusting after them. In a truly wholesome moment, after Sophia, the elf girl, saves him, he acts as if they can be friends, at which she breaks down in tears, because no human has ever been nice to her before. Radicalized, Merlin decides that this form of racism is his hill, and as a god, he has no intention of dying. And you know, I was absolutely down with that, as well.

Whatever the game god's game is, Merlin is a genuine good guy. If you like isekai, let's make the world better for people. I think you'll absolutely be down with Starting on Hard Mode: God Levels, Got Problems, Volume 1, too.