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While the Handyman Saitou in Another World manga and anime series can feel like a slice of dungeon life affair, there’s a lot of lore to it and ongoing storylines. For example, there’s the background of how Saitou found himself in this other world and Morlock’s past comes up. We also get to see what happens when the group is on various adventures or dungeon crawls, and that can lead to background stories for supporting cast members or valuable insights into main characters’ pasts. The ninth volume of Handyman Saitou in Another World is one of those more important ones, as it gets into Lafanpan and the curse afflicting Moonlight Fairies.
Editor’s Note: There are no Handyman Saitou in Another World spoilers for Lafanpan and the Goddess of the Moon below.
As a quick bit of Handyman Saitou in Another World background, Lafanpan is a Moonlight Fairy. Her species, since the start of the series, is subject to the curse of the Goddess of the Moon. She needs to regularly offer up gold coins as offerings to her. If she doesn’t, she will shrink. All Moonlight Fairies must do this to stay alive. At the very outset of the series, this can sometimes lead to her coming across as a bit stingy or money-hungry as Kazutomo Ichitomo first starts to establish her identity, motivations, and relationships.
With the ninth volume, that whole Moonlight Fairies curse is addressed. Things begin with Primas, the Black Crystal Fairy encountered in the second volume’s storyline, happening upon a strange key in the home of the witch Lavella. After confirming she can have and take it, her and Kisurigi head to the Moonlight Forest where Saitou, Lafanpan, Raelza, and Morlock are currently adventuring in order to take relic, which can apparently break the Moonlight Fairy curse, to Lafanpan to repay a debt.
What follows are a whole bunch of fantastic scenes that establish who Lafanpan is as a person and her connections to the party. We see how impressive her healing magic is, with Primas making observations as to how her time spent with her allies affects her strength and capabilities. Likewise, we see the affection that Saitou and Morlock have for her in turn. The former is willing to put himself at risk to be assured of her safety and protect her even though he’s the weakest member of the party. The latter refers to her not as another ally, but as his daughter just as he does Raelza. The events we see here really cement the importance of Lafanpan as a member of the group. It’s a fantastic contrast to how she might have been observed early on, given her need to acquire gold to stave off the curse.
Again, I want to keep this as spoiler-free as possible, but the whole second half of the volume also establishes exactly how kind of a person Lafanpan can be in the series. We see how she stretches herself to heal Saitou when he’s injured for her sake. We watch how, even after dealing with the insect people, she feels pity and even wants to try and show mercy to her enemies. Most importantly, this comes up in the ultimate moments when Kazutomo Ichitomo ties up the Goddess of the Moon and Moonlight Fairies curse. We see how bits of foreshadowing from earlier in the volume come up as being tied to the situation later. We find out more about what’s going on. Also, by experiencing it, we see Lafanpan’s true nature again surface and the affection her “family” has for her come up yet again.
While Handyman Saitou in Another World is a series where every installment can matter, volume 9 is especially helpful for Lafanpan lore. The Moonlight Fairy gets so much character development here. As a result, we really see how she grew and developed from her introduction until now. And the insights we gain into the Moonlight Fairies and their curse is incredible and invaluable.
Volumes 1-9 of the Handyman Saitou in Another World manga are available now, and Yen Press will release volume 10 on November 24, 2026.
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