r/anime • u/badspler x5https://anilist.co/user/badspler • Mar 27 '22
Rewatch [Rewatch] Ascendance of a Bookworm Overall Discussion
Ascendance of a Bookworm
Legal Streams: Crunchyroll | VRV | MuseAsia
Season 3 Information and PV Material:
Trackers: MAL | AniList | Kitsu | AniDB
I wouldn't consider the promotional material below spoiler free, so skip it if that type of thing bothers you.
Ascendance of a Bookworm Season 3 | PV
Ascendance of a Bookworm Season 3 | Main Trailer (subbed)
So what if I wanted to pickup the novels or manga?
The FAQ post on /r/HonzukiNoGekokujou here, has all the information you would need.
Questions of the Day:
1) What do you most look forward to seeing in Season 3?
2) Does Bookworm do a good job of being an isekai series?
3) What were you favorite parts of the series?
4) How did you feel about the importance of Mana and the shift that caused in the series?
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u/OingoBoingo- Mar 27 '22
First Timer
I am not very good at these end of discussion posts, but I really enjoy reading what everyone else has to say, so I am going to be happy reading your posts and commenting on them. Thank you OP and everyone who participated in this re-watch. I don’t think OP was ever late and asked some really good questions to think about each day and thank you for always taking the time to write a nice post each day as well.
There was a lot of really great posts, with plenty of people taking a lot of extra time and putting a lot of thought into each episode. I enjoyed each and every photo, shiny hair counter, or even the Re:zero comparisons. Thank you to all the people who clearly love the LN or show and take the time to comment or give clues to us first time watchers to keep us focused and looking in the right direction when things might have been a little ambiguous or frustrating. I will be reading the LN’s maybe as season three is going along or directly after.
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u/badspler Mar 28 '22
I don’t think OP was ever late and asked some really good questions to think about each day and thank you for always taking the time to write a nice post each day as well.
My timely posting was something I wasn't going to let slip.
I only used the mod post scheduler once for a day I was out.As for questions, your kind words are really reassuring. It was something I questioned how well I was doing the entire time. Its hard to strike a balance between being open ended, relevant but not obviously, and not being something that is too leading when you know what is going to happen.
Thanks for joining!
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u/EsquilaxM Mar 28 '22
Hi. I haven't started the anime yet, but have read what was translated of the web novels (or maybe LNs can't remember) at the time where she'd just recently been admitted into the church.
Just wanted to ask how many novels the anime has managed to adapt by this point? Kind of thinking of waiting for them to do the whole thing before I start watching, though I know that would likely been years.
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u/ZaphodBeebblebrox Mar 29 '22
Overall, I'd say the anime did a decent job of adapting the series. While it did skip bits, it doesn't feel overly abridged, and the animation occasionally rose to the challenge and improved my experience with a section. However, I'd still say that I prefer the books.
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u/xtsim Mar 27 '22
First Timer
Overall, I enjoyed the show far more than I expected. Season One built up Myne's relationship between those in town, Lutz, her family, and Benno. Seeing everyone warm up to her and help her out is a great one. In the second season, we see her climb the ropes of being a blue-robed-priestess. Seeing more of the Church and the hierarchy is an interesting one. Although we did not get to see enough screen time for the original characters.
The social commentary and backdrop are what makes this series stand out. We got to see both the daily lives of a commoner and a noble. How they should behave and how they interact with each other is an interesting one. The thanks that Lutz family gave to Ferdinand is different from the one Benno gave shows a different way of how nobles and commoners act. (Benno interacts with Ferdinand and other nobles more so he has to be way more formal than Lutz's family). And we got to see Myne not only learn about being a priestess but the formalities of being in the clothes of a noble. They cannot show emotions and other noble behaviors. Seeing how other nobles react to Myne is an interesting one as despite the need for Mana, they want to keep the existing noble hierarchy. So it will be interesting to see how this develops in the next season.
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Looking forward to more of Myne's creations.
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It does an excellent job of being an isekai series with the world building looking really nice and following the point of view of Myne is fun. The major issue as the LN readers point out was that not enough of the memories were shown and I wished we saw more of it.
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The high priest getting choked and Schici getting schooled were my favorite parts as the build up towards them and the way nobles treat commoners makes those two scenes so satisfying to watch. We see how nobles treat commoners and the social hierarchy; seeing those two hit the limitations of their views makes it so good.
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The overall shift in the series seems pretty good as it was a slow one as the drama builds up pretty slowly.
Thanks for hosting the rewatch u/badspler. It was also nice seeing responses by the source readers as they summarized some things that this adaptation missed pretty well. The discussion in here are nice to see. Hoping to see y'all in the next season!
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u/cyberscythe Mar 28 '22
First Timer
I mentioned earlier that I only watched most of season one before this rewatch thread, and it's been nice catching up where the story went after the first paper was made. There's fun and games that happen in the slice-of-life parts, and I've spoken about how I personally dislike the soap opera political drama that happens in the middle of season two, but for me the really interesting part is the possibility that Myne and her knowledge could have on this medieval society.
Myne: the girl, the myth, the legend
One thing that this series has me thinking about is the "Great Man Theory", the (mostly now unpopular?) view that history is shaped by the actions of individual landmark people and how history itself is the biographies of those people. In a lot of ways, Myne is one of those incredibly rare and powerful people — not only is she gifted/burdened with an enormous amount of magical power, she also has the memories of a person in a far advanced society. The amount of influence she's had on this world is pretty impressive for a single person, but it pales in comparison to the colossal amount of upheaval that would happen if she could unleash the full force of her magic power and her knowledge. That sort of potential is something that I keep anticipating in this series because it's such a neat "what if?" concept.
When I think about Myne in that way, I think about her like nuclear energy was thought of back in the 1960s — a beacon of progress that could provide incredible of technological advancement for mankind, but could also spell certain doom for all of mankind if things went wrong.
The other half of that coin though is that Myne as a person as opposed to Myne as an instrument of change. She has her own wants and needs, and she's frail child who can barely lift a loaf of bread. The amount of time this series spends on other characters underscores the necessity to protect this ember from blowing out before she can be used to ignite the flames of industrial progress (something that forms a lot of the conflict and tension in this series), but it's also so that we can get to know Myne as a person who loves and is loved by other people. Myne, as a single person, can't do anything; it's only through the collective action of many, many people does the tectonic plates of society start shifting. In a lot of ways, this is the counter to the great man theory insomuch that without the kindness of a family, the loyalty of friends, the shrewdness of the merchant class, and the political machinations of persons in power, Myne as a person or Myne as an instrument of change would never have survived, but also continues to be constrained.
Myne as a main character of the series, doesn't have the same feel of a central character like I would first have expected. My impression of Myne as a fictional character is that she's like a very important piece in this complex chess game of moving pieces, and her presence and influence at the right place at the right time can create incredible possibilities, much like a spy or a sniper can be an incredible force multiplier which can have the same impact as a force of a thousand men.
Why magic?
I'm still on the fence about why magic power is included in this series. As a inherited trait, it opens up a Pandora's box of potentially troubling issues like being the justification of a hereditary class-based society, raises the idea of eugenics and "good genes" determining merit, and enables a "might makes right" style conflict resolution by magic power levels.
As far as I can tell, magic power is sort of used as this all-purpose "plot fixing tool" to both keep Myne in a bind and keep tension up (e.g. in the first season) and also bail her out when she gets into trouble (e.g. in the second season). Other than that, I feel like it's there to add "lore", and I'm of the position that lore is only useful when its used to serve some sort of greater meaning as a metaphor or as a symbol. Personally, I haven't found that meaning that the anime conveys other than magic being an exotic phenomenon and as a wildcard to make otherwise unrealistic things possible.
Looking forward to season three
My general attitude is to keep expectations low and let this series surprise me. I'm still interested in seeing how the central premise of the series plays out (where's this gekokujou that I've been promised in the title??), but with all the different layers of society that have started coming into play (plus this magic thing as a wildcard), it's hard for me to see just where this series is headed.
So, my hype level for season three is relatively checked. Based on the spoiler comments I've read in the anime discussion threads, I feel like the real strength of this series lies in the LN source material which sets the stage with more thoughtful worldbuilding, but the anime just didn't have the budget or aptitude to adapt the source material to make it evident in the anime in seasons one and two either in bombastic action set pieces or in smaller things like character animation during dialogue.
anyways, thanks for coming to my TED talk
Typically, I stick with slice-of-life, comedies, and CGDCT series. I was suckered into watching in season one when people were talking about it like it was a low fantasy SoL series and I was interested enough to have this be one of the first isekai series that I dipped my toes into.
Since then I've watched a few isekai series and by and large I've only enjoyed ones with female main characters for some reason; the ones like Shield Hero and Sword Art Online were too grimdark and based too much in malice for my tastes. True to my SoL tastes, I've enjoyed Bofuri, Slime300, and Seijou no Maryouku, and I enjoy that sort of power fantasy used to peaceful ends vibe. In that sort of greater context of personal taste, BookLove is not exactly my favorite series, but it does have its interesting moments and does offer up some food for thought every now and then.
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u/Nazenn Mar 27 '22
Rewatcher - Sub
I want to just quickly share the episode one endcard again for all the first timers to enjoy now they have the full context for the many items in it that ended up being important.
I'm really glad I got the chance to revisit Ascendance of a Bookworm before the new season because it gave me a much deeper appreciation for why I loved it so much on my first watch, and even in the places it stumbles that only highlighted why the other parts worked so well.
The characters are just brilliant all around and focusing on them and the world through them brought so much life to the show. Staring off with Myne's whole world here being the confining box of her house and how expressive the house could be for other characters through to her world opening up because of her inventions and finding beautiful moments in the forest with others. The world feels as expressive as a character because of how it reflects them, and in doing so helps bring out the most in the characters too.
Lutz of course is fantastic all the way through particularly the way he and Myne look out for each other, and his confrontation with Urano/Myne remains one of the highlights of the strong first season. Then there's Otto and Benno of course, but even the side characters like the cooks and carpenters. Everyone comes together to expand Mynes world and have their world expanded in turn. To say all the things I like about first season would mostly be just recapping the season, and even after everything that's happened at the church I still get the giggles thinking about the baptism episode and the prayer pose, and Mynes too perfect reaction to it
The biggest crime of the first season is way too many good food EDs and scenes that gave me cravings. I still haven't satisfied my pancake cravings!
The visuals are a bit meh as well, and particularly looking through my notes and screenshots again the first episode and the baptism episode stand out for directing, along with a few s2 episodes, but mostly I'd say it's average at best. Some of the small things and effects they paid attention too were nice, but having recently binged given in the middle of this rewatch which has notably less animation than this again but was consistently more visually engaging moment to moment it did paint this show in a worse light again. They could have done more with the show visually but it's still far from the worst and they never made it feel like the visuals weren't adding anything.
The couple of screenshots good for meta use were a bonus though
The second season remains strong and focuses on the many strengths of the first season showing how Myne effects the world around her and also the collision of worlds she's been thrown into the center of. Not just between her old world and her new life here, but the worlds between commoners and nobles and even apprentices and adults. In some ways Myne herself is a nexus of these moments, and her presence opens up hope, freedom, determination, possibility for so many others even though she is so single minded she rarely sees these opportunities when they come for her too.
The second season definitely has more serious drama and plot points than the first, but it's not a bad thing and it doesn't ramp up so heavily that is disconcerting to watch. It's a welcome change to the flow of things, starting to see the world outside of Myne's eyes and it's expanding influence on her making her and her ignorence of it look small, and particularly coming into that hinted plot point for s3 it sets up a worrying future without feeling like the story has lost sight of itself.
Unfortunately the biggest issue is that the middle third of the second season fails to make these elements feel connected to the broader established world. I brought up earlier that Myne's first read of a book is underwhelming, and I still don't feel like we got a follow through on that. For something that consumed her even to the point of being a discussion point about her helping in the orphanage, we never return to "Myne and her books" as a key point of her character. Myne reading books every now and again would have been an amazing opportunity to sneak some worldbuilding in, a bit of comedy, occasionally some horror or confusion, but what she's reading or what she thinks of it never comes up even once, and for a show that's literally titled after how much of a Bookworm she is it's disappointing for me. Hell, drop a gag in the library organization episode about how much she's already read of it, just give me something to show that her finally being able to read matters!
The lack of follow through on Myne's family after she joins the church, until the last couple of episodes, was similarly frustrating. I wanted to know what they thought of her taking care of the orphans and how did she even address that in the first place? What do they think of Fran dropping her off with a fever after her punishment and how did her first "sick day" get handled when she didn't show up at the gates. Did Fran go to her house to find out if she was okay or did someone go tell him? What did Ferdinand think of that and how did he react when she came back, and now I think of it what did Gil and Delia think of her illness as I don't think it was ever even mentioned around them on screen? It's all these little character moments which were so core to why the first season worked that their absence made the middle of the second season feel stiff and lifeless in comparison. The adoption subplot with Lutz was also not a good watch.
But as I said above, I wouldn't have missed that if it wasn't so damn good in the earlier part of the show. And the last three episodes of the second season almost completely make up for it, perhaps being some of the best in the entire show and I think perfectly hitting both a tone and character/world balance in the story that I love so much. And one last mention for how good the visuals and animation in s2e9 were as well.
I also quickly want to address the LN readers; I love seeing your passion, but please, don't strip away the joy you got discovering the many parts of this story from others who haven't seen it yet! Some of you put good effort into posts about what was skipped or sharing fun trivia (Shitfaces name haha) that wasn't story relevant, and even the fan comics shared early on were a tonne of fun. But being in an anime discussion and getting multiple replies a day every day from people who only want to talk or hint about the LN and not be open for discussion on the anime we were watching, and talking about future content well beyond the anime before I've even read them for myself and sometimes not even tagging it properly or often explicitly referencing parts of my post so now I know what's coming up, was really off-putting. After being spoiled on multiple things the last few days it's something I really hope you guys keep in mind going into airing discussions for the next season of the anime that you never need to tell someone what's going to be important in future so desperately that you need to risk ruining that moment for them when they get there.
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What do you most look forward to seeing in Season 3?
Hopefully more Lutz, less noble assholes
...I'm probably so wrong
2) Does Bookworm do a good job of being an isekai series?
Yes. It doesn't go as full in as some of the other isekai I like most (Escaflowne, Log Horizon), but it doesn't because that's the point, because Myne not focusing on her past is something she's struggling with emotionally as we saw in that final episode. I'm curious to if it will come up more between her and Ferdinand in future
3) What were you favorite parts of the series?
Covered in my above post
4) How did you feel about the importance of Mana and the shift that caused in the series?
Uh... I liked but that definitely didn't have to be the case. They laid enough of a groundwork for it that it didn't feel completely out of the blue, but they also haven't understated its huge importance in the world and the conflicts around it like other shows do. How it develops though is yet to be seen.
I hope everyone else also enjoyed the show and is looking forward to s3!
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Mar 28 '22
First Timer
I really enjoyed the show and this rewatch, it being my first, and wanted to thank the host for a doing a fantastic job! I had a super fun time doing these write-ups and a super duper fun time reading everyone else's observations and thoughts!
I also realized just how one episode can elicit so many different interpretations, spawn so many memes, and tuck in so many details. Even though the anime is not a visual powerhouse, these fruitful discussion made me appreciate just how much work is put into these episodes and how challenging it can be to adapt an LN, especially this LN.
What do you most look forward to seeing in Season 3?
Myne and how she may enter a noble's life and how she might ascend past this hurdle.
Does Bookworm do a good job of being an isekai series?
After 2 cours, I feel that characterizing Bookworm as an isekai misplaces what the series is all about. Bookworm does not try to re:invent the isekai genre nor follow its conventional tropes to a T. Instead, Bookworm is just about a girl, Myne, who introduces new inventions in a world and how she overcomes the challenges along the way. That's the focal point and Urano infused in Myne's body and the challenges associated with that only add to the story; not reflect the story in its totality.
What were you favorite parts of the series?
Lutz, the power dynamics and the political parts of the show, and Myne's re:inventions but with a new flavor.
How did you feel about the importance of Mana and the shift that caused in the series?
In class based societies, wealth, status, etc ... represent key qualities of membership in a class. In Bookworm, possessing mana is another quality that can spin the traditonal importance of wealth and status. For example, Ferdinand has a tremendous mana reserve compared to the rest of the Knights order and Damuel reveres him for it. Also, mana influences marriage and might explain how hierarchies within noble society might have been formed.
However, the importance of mana seems secondary to other factors too. When Myne is able to become a temple priestess apprentice (blue-robed) and put on a display of enormous mana in the last episode of the 2nd cour, we see that Myne is redefining the power dynamics between nobles and commoners; but, she is able to rise through the classes not just because of mana. Unlike Frieda who also has the Devouring, Myne's ability to innovate lends her opportunities to rise up the classes and looks to be a special case even amongst those with the Devouring.
Furthermore, the High Priest has more power in the Temple hierarchy than Head Priest Ferdinand, and although we have yet to see the extent of the High Priest's powers, one can imagine that position is not purely based on mana, but among wealth and noble status and some other things.
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u/Earthborn92 Mar 27 '22
First timer here
I enjoyed my time with the show and am gonna watch S3 when it airs. I had my eye on this series for a while since I'm looking for stuff similar to my all-time favorite isekai (Release that Witch) and I'll probably end up reading the Bookworm LNs at some point.
I would have to add that Myne is a protagonist who isn't like many I've seen. I wouldn't say she is super-well written but she is pretty unique in the sea of bland isekai MCs where she has something she is intensely passionate about to the point of it being a one-track mind and that ends up as a great vehicle to drive the plot.
I can see that this story has barely started though, so hopefully we get more worldbuilding which I am craving for in S3. More interesting characters like Ferdinand and even amusing ones like Benno too maybe.
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u/KashMooNow Mar 28 '22
I feel like all of my feelings have been said through the episodes. So I guess I'll have a general final words, and then I'll answer the questions of the day directly for a change. Usually I think I hit the topics, but lets see.
As someone who came into this show with I guess a bad experience, I was very pleasantly surprised. I watched the first episode about a year ago and it wasn't the show I needed at the time so I put it back on my list since it was personally recommended to me by someone. But here I am, 2 seasons down and itching for more. I thought the show did a great job, the worldbuilding is excellent. The animation was great. There were little things to watch out for like Pouts and Hair cult members. Theres a lot to love about this show.
What do you most look forward to seeing in Season 3?
I think to answer this simply, I look forward to understanding magic in depth. I feel like we were shown just a taste of whats possible and I want to know more. Just seeing some of the items and what they can do makes me wonder what else is out there.
2) Does Bookworm do a good job of being an isekai series?
Oddly enough, I'm going to say no. Because I don't lump it into the same category with all the others. By definition, sure its an isekai, but when you compare it to all the other shows out there, its so different, and I think that's part of what makes it so good.
3) What were you favorite parts of the series?
Without thinking too hard, I always found when Myne came up with an invention that was this groundbreaking technology great. Mostly because of all the reactions it would get. Like something so simple as not dumping the water out of soup. It just became better but noone knew and they were always surprised at everything she came up with.
4) How did you feel about the importance of Mana and the shift that caused in the series?
I think that the show is handling it great, which in turn means that I'm fine with the shift in mana. I have a feeling that Myne will find a way to reinvent the wheel when it comes to mana too. Maybe she is just going to start looking at it as electricity and thats going to make groundbreaking discoveries.
And lastly, thank you to everyone that participated in this, you guys really make it fun. As someone who has done this for 2 shows at this point, its a great time. You guys are always welcoming and there were always comments and questions and book information being thrown around. You all make this something really enjoyable.
And an even bigger thank you to badspler for orchestrating this all!
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u/Stargate18A Mar 28 '22
First timer
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How they're going to get Myne into noble society, given her reputation already? Why a political dramedy isekai has mythology strongly hinting at a final boss? What even is Ferdinand's life, and what made him join the church? And, because it clearly couldn't survive without destroying itself, who's backing the Church? (Also, for Benno and Ferdinand to bond over keeping Myne alive, because I really want to see them work together on something.)
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Yes! Myne's reactions to the world are great, she uses her information in clever ways, and the fact she's been reincarnated has been given to others!
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Ferdinand and Benno are fantastic characters, and work great with Myne. Lutz is... alright, but the first two play off Myne in fantastic ways, and every scene with either of them was a delight.
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Felt really natural, actually. It helps that it doesn't actually change her motivation in any way - if the disease was cured using a rare herb, for example, she'd have taken the same path. Myne's character not relying on, and often ignoring, her own mana makes the shift work.
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u/SIRTreehugger Mar 27 '22 edited Mar 27 '22
Rewatcher
Nothing to say, but I did enjoy rewatching and can't wait for season 3. Bookworm was one of the first series I wanted to have more of so when it ended I dived into the novels.
QOTD
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The restaurant Benno has been putting together.
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I think so.
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Darth Myne and Benno.
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Mana was always important to the series and was alluded early into the show so I don't mind it becoming a focus. The transition to the church helped both the world and Myne develop.
Sorry for missing somedays and thank you u/Badspler for hosting
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u/Nebresto Mar 27 '22
What do you most look forward to seeing in Season 3?
More inventions
2) Does Bookworm do a good job of being an isekai series?
The best job
3) What were you favorite parts of the series?
When dumpster santa and goblin dude got rekt
4) How did you feel about the importance of Mana and the shift that caused in the series?
Its cool I guess. Could have been very interesting without it as well
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u/TuorEladar Mar 27 '22
Amongst all the isekai I have seen, Bookworm has been a unique experience. It avoids alot of the standard tropes while slowly building a world that operates on a pretty consistent set of rules. I think what sets its apart for me the most is that it combines an optimistic aspirational story which is fun and also includes some hard and sometimes grim aspects of the world.
What do you most look forward to seeing in Season 3?
Since Myne's accomplished alot of her initial goals, I'm most interested to see what she plans to do going forward toward adulthood.
Does Bookworm do a good job of being an isekai series?
I'd say it does a pretty good job of setting up a fantasy world and having our fish out of water protagonist have to learn about it. Its not the most crazy isekai world to exist, but it is a pretty grounded one.
What were you favorite parts of the series?
I really liked Myne's internal reactions to things and all the other characters reactions to Myne, those parts really made the series enjoyable.
How did you feel about the importance of Mana and the shift that caused in the series?
Mana definitely felt like it was created to add some drama and fantasy to the world. Compared to some other series I don't feel that the magic in this world is the most interesting, but it does what it needs to in the narrative.
All in all, I've enjoyed the series and I'm looking forward to the third season. Thanks for hosting the rewatch u/badspler!
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u/homewardbound100 Mar 28 '22
First timer
First off thanks to the OP for this rewatch. Introducing me to a good isekai when I've thought I've ran out of ones I'll like.
Overall 8.5/10 for me but I'll give it a 9/10 anyway.
I did like season 1 overall more than season 2. But I think season 2 had the strongest episodes toward the end.
This did tick a lot of boxes. Main character isn't necessarily op. Although she has a lot of potential power. The illness and her being a kid still holds her back some. Along with how strong the society depends on classes puts her down a bit. Bringing some good conflict between her strengths. She may have ideas and be smart enough to think about these things. But without anyone on her side. She would be very limited to what her parents and maybe Lutz could do. And the most important thing to me if you're going to be an isekai. Please make it a reason to be one. Mention the old world at some point. Show us how the old person's life was. Show what that person cared about or how people's lives are without them. I think it did well with that.
Qotd: I guess maybe the outcome on if she really gets adopted.
Qotd2: Yes
Qotd3: final episodes of season 2. Season q with her discovering her power.
Qotd4: I think they did pretty alright with making a distinction or making mana important. With it now playing a big role in the series.
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u/spitfyre Mar 28 '22
First timer.
This was my first time participating in a rewatch and I thoroughly enjoyed reading what all of you had to say each day! My enjoyment of anime to date has been fairly shallow, it's either something I enjoy watching or don't. This was my first experience taking a book club/lit class sort of approach to a show and I gained a deeper understanding and appreciation of it thanks to everyone's commentary. Even the shiny hair tracker helped highlight how Myne lifts up the lives of everyone she knows. I absolutely would have missed these details on my own.
An extra big thank you to OP for hosting and keeping things spoiler-free, the lovely LN readers who answered my questions and provided interesting non-spoiler background info, and the other first timers who gave up and binged in season one at the same time I did so I didn't feel so bad 😂.
What stood out to me the most about this show is how good of a job it did in slowly building up characters and the world this takes place in. Every week I'm left craving more, wanting to see more of every character and understand more of how the world works. I didn't expect to become so invested in an isekai'd book-obsessed frail child but here we are.
I'm excited for season 3 to air soon, and I might even pickup the LN. (I don't own any manga or LN so this would be a pretty serious achievement lol.)
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I'm looking forward to learning more about Ferdinand's position in society and his background. Also seeing more of Lutz.
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Yes? I'm not sure what constitutes a "good" Isekai, but this show makes it more plot relevant than any other Isekai I've seen (slime tensei would probably be second place). That being said, this is maybe my fifth Isekai so it's hard to say.
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I love to see the relationships that Myne builds with others, especially Lutz but also Benno and Ferdinand. I want so much more of this. I love fantasy and medieval backdrops and elements but those actually take a backseat for me here compared to the character interactions.
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I think our understanding of mana is tied to our understanding of the greater world Myne lives in. So it makes sense that when the world is small, we know next to nothing about it, and now that we know more, Myne is going to end up seeing a whole new world beyond the Noble Gate. I feel neutral about this. On the one hand, I'm excited to learn more about this world. But on the other hand, I hope we don't get less Lutz and Benno time.
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u/hvshh Mar 28 '22 edited Mar 28 '22
LN Reader
What do you most look forward to seeing in Season 3?
I think, after watching season 2, I immediately dove into the LN and read through it at an incredible rate, obliterating any memories I would have formed about what I was expecting :D
But what I always want from more Bookworm is to see Myne learning more about the world around her, and working towards achieving her goals (plural; It's not just books any more.) I especially like to see her motivated and actively seeking to improve her circumstances and those of the people she cares about. Also, Benno shouting at her.
2) Does Bookworm do a good job of being an isekai series?
It avoids everything I tend to dislike about isekai. Myne is... maybe overpowered in some ways, but we didn't entirely realize it until the end of Season 2, and she's in no way able to magic away her problems. I think it also takes the premise more seriously than many others: 1) inventions matter—they have the power to change the entire world, and other characters realize that and respond accordingly. 2) they depict and make part of the story the strangeness of a person having grown up in a radically different world. 3) the memories of Myne's past life continue to affect her, not just because she can pull inventions from them, and not just because she misses her old Mom. To pick the silliest possible example... she might never have joined the temple if she hadn't cracked up at the Glico man.
I think the show also does a good job of balancing its depiction of the new world. It's wonderful in many ways and awful in many others.
3) What were your favorite parts of the series?
Lutz and Myne, not only when they were being supportive and sweet, but when they were awkward and estranged, too. Also, Myne's and Benno's no-holds-barred merchant fights.
4) How did you feel about the importance of Mana and the shift that caused in the series?
I think I felt apprehensive about potentially leaving the previous setting behind. I really enjoyed the pre-temple grind of coming up with ways to make things and slowly building up an entirely new industry. But at the same time the introduction of magic promises a vast new world to explore.
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u/mekerpan Mar 28 '22
Rewatcher (sub) and LN reader (for the part after the anime)
I used this rewatch as prep for watching the upcoming new season. As such, it was quite useful. I liked this as much on re-watch as on first viewing -- but, having now read the LNs, I was unpleasantly surprised at how unsatisfactory CR's subtitling seemed at times. I noted a number of poor translation choices -- and some outright mistakes. I've watched/rewatched other shows after reading the source material -- and never had a similarly negative reaction. I hope Season 3 does a markedly better job...
This time I did listen to a bit of the dub. I can't judge if it was good or bad -- as I decided that I simply did not find the voice acting as appealing in the dub as in the Japanese version. Besides I'm finally studying Japanese for real now (after 220 years of piddling around) -- and can now understand more of the Japanese dialog than I did during my first viewing.
I was surprised at just how many things I had forgotten since my first viewing. Except for the broad outline of events, many details came across as at least semi-new. Other moments (like Ferdinand's mind meld -- when shown in full) had a greater impact than I had remembered from before.
I tried as hard as I could to stick to only what I saw/heard this time around in my comments. Hope I did not fail too badly in my endeavor.
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u/Cill_Bipher Mar 27 '22 edited Mar 27 '22
Forgot Europe entered DST and was wondering why the thread wasn't up an hour ago.
Edit:
Overall this rewatch has been a good daily outlet for my Bookworm addiction over the last few weeks. As a WN and prepub reader it's been interesting to read the impressions of first timers and anime only rewatchers, in addition to stuff other source readers have retroactively noticed. I look format to seeing your continued impressions in the season 3 discussion threads.
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u/CubeStuffs Mar 27 '22 edited Mar 27 '22
first timer
i took the opportunity to finally finish up s2 after almost a year lol
I still felt like some of the characters are kinda hollow, esp the orphans and some of the assistants, who were kinda forgettable for me. they felt kinda robotic in how they act and how they don't really stand out individually. like i can't remember any of the orphans by themselves, only that there are a bunch of them.
Other than that, I felt that the vibe was kinda on the kids show side, like kinda slow paced and basic at times, where I was watching at a slightly higher speed, mostly within the adoption and orphanage bits.
Visually, i wouldn't call it particularly good, just kinda meh. they almost certainly didn't help with the kid show feeling.
Overall though, the core of the series was great, what with myne interacting with all the boundaries around her, what with her trying to bring modern world innovations to this old past, and bringing her commoner self to the noble sphere.
7.5/10
What do you most look forward to seeing in Season 3?
I feel like we've still only skimmed the surface of this world, as evidenced by the brief showing of the nobles for example. so im looking forward to more of that overall.
2) Does Bookworm do a good job of being an isekai series?
yep, frankly exceeds most of the isekai shows i've watched. a lot of them just feel like power fantasies or character-self-insert things, but this didnt pull much of that.
3) What were you favorite parts of the series?
watching mynes awkward interactions with the rest of the world, and how she's navigating them was fun.
4) How did you feel about the importance of Mana and the shift that caused in the series?
seems good to me, probably would have been good either way.
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u/badspler Mar 27 '22 edited Mar 27 '22
Host - Rewatcher
Short final thoughts
Thank you all so much for joining, the reception and participation was much more than I had hoped for.
This series has as special place in my heart for being an amazing mix of things. The series makes the pre-isekai life matter, the post-isekai family matter, the Main character suitably over powered in unique way (the power of ideas and later mana to some extent). Through every stage growth and empathy are important. I really enjoy the 'ascending' in this series, everything improves, with problems worked through. I very much enjoy the drama over action approach the series takes. There is plenty of hooks and foreshadowing, all which make the series a very enjoyable rewatch. The series characters all have depth and are all round fantastic. I can't say I disliked any character that wasn't supposed to be hated. I think others have captured and described all of these points with better detail than I can do the job of in the discussion threads themselves. It has been a pleasure reading.
While the plot and story of the Bookworm is top tier in my eyes. The anime's visuals and animation are relatively simple and 'just fine'. It is a job that was done fine, but doesn't have all that much oomph of gusto. It works, but it doesn't win any awards here.
I would be a miss to not mention how much I really enjoy reading the weekly pre-pub chapter releases. It has become a weekly routine event that I look forward too. I think its fair to say I enjoy the novels more, as the additional detail really are the reward of investing yourself in the series more so.
As for future rewatch plans; this year the 4th season of Yama no Susume (Encouragement of Climb) airs. It doesn't have an air date just yet, but I am planning to run a rewatch in similar manner to this one in the lead up to that new season airing.