Ascendance of a Bookworm: A Quite an Unique Isekai Entry
Here's my in-depth review on probably the cutest isekai anime, the “Ascendance of a Bookworm” Season 1. An isekai fantasy anime with quite a different plot from the current isekai animes going around. I find this anime in the top 10 of my favourite isekai anime list. But is it worth your time?
🍀 Plot:
The anime is adapted from the light novel series written by Miya Kazuki. The story is about a woman, Urano Motosu, who is a bookworm and has an endless desire to read, no matter the subject. She almost fulfils her dream of becoming a librarian, but unfortunately, her life ends in an accident. As death approaches, she wishes to be able to read more books in her next life.
As if God was listening to her wish, she wakes up reincarnated as Myne (a frail five years old girl) in the medieval era among a loving family. After waking up, she immediately tries to find something to read, only to get disappointed by finding out books are extremely valuable and only nobles can afford them. But this won't stop Myne, if there are no books around, she will make them herself!
But misfortune hits when she founds out that she is suffering from devouring (a phenomenon where a commoner possesses mana) and her only way is to form a lifetime contract with a noble in exchange for magic tools to keep her mana in check. However, this contract will make her separate from her loving family. Seeing her life and her passion for books dying, what will she do now?
🍀 Animation:
The animation is done by the studio Ajia-Do, which I found cute. The animation may look like it is a childish anime, but it compliments the cuteness of our characters. The anime also shows art from multiple independent artists, after every episode ends, which I liked, and it further increases the cuteness meter. I agree that the animation could have been better, but I don't complain as it matches Myne's child character.
🍀 Soundtrack:
The opening song, “Masshiro” by Sumire Moroboshi, seemed melodic and showcased her love for books. The opening also shows her loving family, supportive friends and all other helpful and kind people that help Myne along her journey in this new world.
The ending song, “Kamikazari no Tenshi” by Megumi Nakajima, seemed sweet and tells a story which seemed like a lullaby, that Myne's mother is singing to her. I am not a poet, thus wasn't able to properly interpret the meaning behind it. So, consider this review for an average anime Otaku.
🍀 Character sketch:
Our main character Myne is a reincarnated woman living inside a 5-year-old frail girl. Myne seems a cheerful, loving and caring girl, having incredible amounts of mana inside her which is trying to kill her. She is passionate about reading books, regardless of the subject. But she gets disappointed upon finding out, that the world she got reincarnated in doesn't have a lot of books, and they are only affordable for nobles to own. But this doesn't discourage her, and she makes, making books to be affordable for everyone her new target.
Her family consists of 3 other members. Her mother (Eva) works at the dyery. Furthermore, her sister (Tuuli) is 1 year older than Myne and is supportive of her little sister. Her caring and loving father (Gunther) works as a guard in the city (Ehrenfest), primarily watching the east gate.
Other characters include her close friend Lutz, who works closely with Myne to monitor her health as well as help her create new products. We later also meet the head priest of the temple of Ehrenfest, Ferdinand, who helps Myne. He seems helpful to Myne.
🍀 Bottom line:
When I found this anime while scrolling through the latest animes, I initially skipped it, thinking it looked childish. Plus it is an isekai, and considering it came out during the isekai boom, I thought it will be just another isekai fantasy story. Although after watching it, I regret my prejudiced assumptions about it. This anime is one of the best isekai. The plot may seem weak initially, like it's about a girl who loves reading books, which I found quite unrealistic. But as the story progresses, it gets fascinating.
There is magic in this world, and the mana inside Myne is killing her, while having a strong determination to live and read books was sweet. She later in the story works towards making books, from creating ancient Mesopotamian clay tablets to slowly making her way to the printing press slowly and step by step. While also knowing she is going to die soon, she tries to find a way to live, which leads him to meet head priest Ferdinand, who has quite a background story which will get to know further in the series. I still agree that the plot is quite a week, also I always wonder whether she is going to grow taller or not. Though I will say, the story has quite a lot of twists and turns further ahead. But watching may seem slightly boring to a normal watcher because of the slightly slow pacing.
🍀 Conclusion :
I would say don't judge it from its art style, as it complements our cute characters. The plot may seem weak and boring, but the story overall is quite surprisingly good. So give it a try, the characters are really cute, and you will also learn the history of books. I really enjoyed watching it, and I am writing this review after completing season 3, and it is still interesting and good.
SOME1HING METER: 8.2/10 🌟
🔶 Ratings by @SOME1HING
~ Thanks for reading ❤️📄
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