English Dub Review: Ascendance of a Bookworm: Adopted Daughter of an Archduke “Inspection of Illgner and Gathering of Summer”
Overview
Rozemyne and her Gutenberg go to Illgner in hopes of finding new materials for papermaking.
Our Take
Picking up from the previous episode, Ascendance of a Bookworm takes Rozemyne to Illgner, Brigitte’s hometown, to explore expanding paper production. The frontier village offers a refreshing contrast to Ehrenfest, with nobles and commoners interacting far more casually and Brigitte showing a much more relaxed side of herself. Damuel also gets some welcome development as Rozemyne helps him improve his mana, while his growing relationship with Brigitte remains one of the episode’s highlights.
The rest of the proceedings turn into another quirky adventure as Rozemyne ventures into a volcanic region to collect an important ingredient. The bizarre magical wildlife provides some fun worldbuilding, while Rozemyne treating the dangerous expedition like a hot-springs vacation leads to some hilarious moments. The direction also feels livelier than in several earlier episodes, although the pacing remains somewhat compressed and causes certain events to feel a little disconnected.
Overall, this was one of the better episodes of the season, largely thanks to the focus on Brigitte and Damuel and the more lively presentation. While the pacing still prevents some moments from having as much impact as they could, the charming character interactions, unusual fantasy setting, and goofy Rozemyne antics make this a welcome improvement. Hopefully, the season can maintain this momentum going forward.
