HannahCN
Well-known member
[video=youtube]
So, Ascendance of a Bookworm. S2 has been out for a bit now, and so I thought I'd rewatch S1 to get back into it first. First off... *deep breath* Yes, it's an isekai. There have been so many isekai in past years, I feel I'm going to have to do a very good job convincing anyone reading this to actually give Ascendance of a Bookworm a proper try. Make no mistake: this is the least tropey isekai you are likely to ever come across. Girl dies, ends up in another world. And that's it. She doesn't travel, is very sickly rather than a shining example of humanity, and there is *definitely* no harem. So what is this about? What is Ascendance of a Bookworm's 'thing', if you will?
Well, before she died, Myne was a soon-to-be librarian. She loved being surrounded by books, loved reading, and loved knowledge. Now reincarnated in the body of a very sickly little girl in a poor family, her options are rather more limited, even moreso considering the story takes place in a medieval fantasy setting, meaning books are almost solely accessible by nobility or the very rich. So what does she decide to do? Be resourceful, of course, and make her own books. But of course (or there'd be very little story), nothing is ever easy.
Well, before she died, Myne was a soon-to-be librarian. She loved being surrounded by books, loved reading, and loved knowledge. Now reincarnated in the body of a very sickly little girl in a poor family, her options are rather more limited, even moreso considering the story takes place in a medieval fantasy setting, meaning books are almost solely accessible by nobility or the very rich. So what does she decide to do? Be resourceful, of course, and make her own books. But of course (or there'd be very little story), nothing is ever easy.
If you were to have to describe Ascendance of a Bookworm in a single word, it would almost certainly be wholesome. It's about a frail young girl who tries to make her way in the world getting what she so desperately wants, while that same world fights her at every turn and tells her she can't have it. But she never loses heart, not over being sick, not over being poor, not over being cast back in a world that is set so far back from everything she knew and had. Instead she simply never stops trying to get to where she wants, no matter how hard and often she has to keep trying. It wonderfully shows how Myne grows to love her new family, and how much they love her in turn. And that really is the conflict of the show. The battles of Ascendance of a Bookworm are not ones of fighting super-villains, but of fighting the world with sheer force of effort.
In the end, all I can really say is that I love this show. Watch the trailer above. It might do a better job of appealing to you than I feel I am doing right now. But really, give it a try.
<3
