The Death Mage by Densuke and art by Ban!

After the god Rodocolte screws up and gives Hiroto Amamiya's cheat skills to the wrong soul he is reincarnated onto the world Origin with less than nothing, except for a vast amount of magical power and a new form of magic: Death Magic. The scientists of Origin lock him up and spend twenty years of Hiroto's second life conducting inhumane experiments on him and when he finally dies a second time he vows revenge swearing to Rodocolte that if he sends the Heroes of Origin to his new world of Ramda he will kill them all. Rodocolte can't have that so the reincarnates Hiroto again with a host of curses attached to him. However, this time he reincarnates as Vandal, the beloved son of Dalshia a dark elf and a vampire, making him a Dhampir. While Dhampirs are hated by most humans in his new world Vandal seems to have his cheat codes, even if the womb he remembers his old lives and thanks to his massive magic power even as a baby Vandal and his Death Magic is nigh unstoppable, which is good for him because in fifty or so years the heroes of Origin will be coming for him.

This was so much fun! This was truly a unique take both for the Isekai genre and for Vandal's clever use of death magic. 

Vandal is an interesting little character and it's difficult not to compare him to the perv MC from Mushoku Tensei because Vandal is a man who is stuck in a baby's body for all intents and purposes and while he is stuck in some situations that are very adult coded, Vandal stays respectful. To the point that he even points out to "adults" when characters are maybe crossing a line. Is this a direct response to the backlash of Mushoku Tensei? Probably not but does it seem like it? Absolutely. 

Moving on, because that's absolutely not the only thing that makes Vandal amazing, actually it barely registers, it's how freaking wholesome and clever this kid is! Thanks to his previous lives and not really understanding how this new world works allows Vandal to use his Death Magic in clever new ways. He uses spirits to possess objects which as a baby allows him to do things he simply can't like cook. It goes far beyond that but I don't want to give much away here because how he uses his magic is one of the best parts of the book! The other thing that makes him just lovable is how he just really wants a family and his unwavering loyalty once he gets one. He had two just awful previous lives and all he really wants is to be happy, nothing more than that. 

Side characters are great as well, Sam especially, who I am again not giving away is absolutely fantastic. His story is horrible but thanks to Vandal he and his daughters are given a second life and his dedication to his young master is about as wholesome as you can get. Even Vandal's undead army of animals is adorable, while most of his small army are animals and can't talk you still get a sense that these characters are grateful to Vandal and care about him and each other. The ghouls are the surprising side characters though, I love them! Especially Vigaro. 

World building is great and we get a ton of much-needed history lessons that are absolutely essential to understand what Vandal as a Dhampir is up against. The way these lessons are imparted is in small chunks at a time though so it never feels overwhelming. 

This is definitely my new favorite light novel series and I will be reading vol 2 as soon as possible! Highly recommend this for both fans of Isekai and necromancer-based stories!