English Dub Review: Ascendance of a Bookworm “Wilma and Holy Scriptures for Kids”

Overview:

Main decides to give the orphans an education.

Our Take:

Main recites the three little pigs to the orphan children, but very quickly realize that they lack a lot of context to understand a very simple story. Like what wolves are, for example; people who have been in the church grounds and never encountered wildlife or were granted education would have no frame of reference. So Main chooses something that the church would approve of and that the children would know: scripture.

Wilma’s art really comes to shine here. She certainly has talent, and now we really see that in true form. Main’s test with woodblock prints didn’t work, but the amount of detail she puts into her craft is amazing. Her being able to see the final product, a simplified version of her art in print, is enough to bring her to tears. It’s a moving scene, and not one that would happen without her dedication.

It’s also something that really shows her strength and resolve. She is suffering with trauma, and nothing the characters do really changes her trauma. Nobody tries to force expose her, change her for the better, or even solves it. She still has her issues by the end of the episode, and while she shows the strength to work past them, she still has them. Healing from a traumatic event takes time, and can’t be magically worked away. What does change it is Wilma’s personal resolve, and her love for the children. She has cared for them and took charge of them, and they love her in return. They wanted her to leave the orphanage to see what they see, and her changing her mind is her doing good by them– wanting to share in their happiness and allowing herself to be part of what they’re experiencing. It did work out in the end, but that sort of strength has to come from within. In that sense, I thought it did a good job.

Altogether, a very touching episode. Bookworm is short and sweet in terms of its arcs, but it does a really good job in showing the depth of each character, how they warm up to Main, and become part of her inner circle. This one is especially touching, because Wilma has problems that can’t be solved too easily. It’s not that she has to change her attitude or outlook, but because she has a deep fear.