I was watching Anime for a long time already, picked up a manga here and there but I didn’t really enjoy them. It felt like there was so little story and I could finish one in under an hour. So I gave up on Manga.
I watched So I’m a Spider, So What?/ Kumo desu ga, nani ka? when it started airing and it hooked me instantly. Her character. The world. The comedy. Everything. (Except the humans…).
Once it was over, I wanted more. And since everyone kept saying the Light Novel is way better, especially the human side, I bought the first 3 volumes.
It was amazing. I binge read them until I had to wait for the English releases. Right now I’m waiting for vol. 16 to be available again so I can finish this series.
I forgot exactly how I got into it, I suppose it’s just a natural extension of my interest in Japanese media (and I love reading, comics and novels alike). I don’t know if this is the very first, but it’s one of the very first and the most memorable for me - “The Empty Box and Zeroth Maria” fan translation, many years before it was officially licensed.