I Was Sold Dirt Cheap, But My Power Level Is Off the Charts Volume 1 Review

Recently, One Peace Books has been bringing out a selection of new titles for readers to enjoy. Today, I’m here to take a look at Volume 1 of I Was Sold Dirt Cheap, But My Power Level Is Off the Charts which is their new isekai release.

Our story follows protagonist Yuta who was on a school trip with his classmates and worrying about nothing except finally confessing his feelings to his crush, the class beauty: Yui Shirayuki. Unfortunately, fate has other ideas and all of a sudden, the whole class finds themselves being transported to a fantasy world! Upon arrival, they’re tested for their Ludea Rates, a sort of magic everyone is born with that allows them to pilot mecha known as Magic Suits.

Immediately after having their Ludea Rates measured, the class are auctioned off to the highest bidders. Both Yui and Yuta’s childhood friend Nagisa have high ratings which makes them ripe for the picking, but Yuta only scored a two which means no one wants him and he’s eventually sold off as a slave. What no one’s realised is simply that Yuta’s power was so high it couldn’t be measured properly…

With the three split up, we follow Yuta as he’s taken to a small house out in the countryside where he’s introduced to other slaves in a similar position to him including a young teenager called Nanami. This world frowns upon anyone with low Ludea Rates, so even if Yuta hadn’t been sold off he wouldn’t have been able to live comfortably anywhere else. Due to this, no one dreams of escaping, but Yuta refuses to stay here where they’re fed once a day at best and whipped for stepping out of line. Soon he and Nanami make a break for freedom, but is there really a place for them in this world?

I Was Sold Dirt Cheap is a series where the very world is stacked against the protagonist. Even once he escapes the slavers, he realises his naivety about the workings of the world is only going to see him and Nanami taken advantage of. He does eventually end up in a better situation, but that doesn’t make the earlier portion of the book any easier to read nor give me any reason to forgive the fact this world is inherently built on a society of slavery.

This is based on a light novel (currently unlicensed) and the adaptation feels a bit clumsy. There are points where we swap perspectives to Yui, Nagisa and the class teacher who are all concerned for Yuta’s well-being and hoping to buy him back. There’s not a great deal of time spent on this though, so if anything, their segments feel a bit forced. I imagine the original made smoother transitions between them.

Unfortunately even putting aside that issue, there are issues with the pacing in general. There were quite a few points where the scene changed and I thought something was missing connecting the two. It perhaps doesn’t help that the art (from mangaka Cambria Bakuhatsu Tarou) is quite flat and often feels off-model, so it’s a challenge to stay engaged. The Magic Suits are perhaps the element that stands out the most and those are well designed and depicted. Action scenes featuring them are by and large more compelling than the rest of it.

The problem is that besides that, Volume 1 just doesn’t offer any reason to care for Yuta’s plight and the slavery angle, while toned down toward the end, does leave a sour taste. Yui and Nagisa are largely underdeveloped too, which is a shame if they’re going to join back up with Yuta later (which I assume they will since they’re keen to know how he’s doing). The mecha angle is the only reason this stands out from the crowd and even then there are better series available where that’s a main theme (Knight’s & Magic for example).

As mentioned I Was Sold Dirt Cheap, But My Power Level is Off the Charts Volume 1 comes to the West thanks to One Peace Books. This release has been translated by Jameson Taber with no credits for lettering or anything else included. It reads fine, although there are a couple of instances of text not centred or overlapping with the side of the dialogue boxes. The lettering isn’t anywhere near as good as Hero Without a Class: Who Even Needs Skills?!, which is a shame as I felt that might be a turning point for the publisher in terms of quality releases.

The series is ongoing in Japan with six volumes currently available. Here in English, Volume 2 is currently scheduled for a release in December with #3 following in April 2025. The light novel is currently unlicensed and there’s no sign of an anime at the time of writing, which is surprising as quite often series like this are licensed to pre-empt an upcoming media project.

Overall I Was Sold Dirt Cheap, But My Power Level Is Off the Charts is a by-the-books isekai that does little to stand out. Given how much of this first instalment is centred around the slave-driven society, it’s difficult to see the positive elements such as the mecha which become a main theme a little too late.

Our review copy was supplied by the publisher One Peace Books.