English Dub Review: Ascendance of a Bookworm Season One

 

Our Take:

This series is an isekai, but it’s one of the more interesting isekai that I’ve encountered. Most isekai tend to revolve around the more fantasy aspects, and even though this world does have magic, it’s more of a practical magic. Magic exists as relatively normal thing, but it’s not very flashy; it exists as part of items, almost like having exclusive technology. Considering Mine is reincarnated in the body of a young girl, but also a sickly young girl, she explores the world slowly, but also substantially.

Main’s main goal in this world is to find books, not just to read, but to obtain herself. Since her world is relatively medieval and she comes from a poor family, she doesn’t have access to books, which are considered luxury items. In that case, what would generally be more feasible would be making the books herself, or making enough money to buy some books of her own. While she has knowledge from our world about bookmaking, weaving, and plenty of other miscellaneous things, she lacks the means to create them, so what follows is a process of how she can try different processes out.

While the world isn’t an exact 1:1 copy of ours, several things still work relatively similar. Still, Mine finds that even ancient processes of creating and distributing writing are much harder than she expects. Most of this show is figuring out how to get one specific thing done, and meshing that with economics, literacy, trade, demand, and influence. Since Mine is at a low position in society, she has to work her way up, not just through hard work, but also through connections. Learning more about the world as Mine learns about the world shows a functioning society, not one with a lot of action, but how a fantasy world functions in the day to day. It’s a refreshing but different take.

It’s hard to say that there’s a villain, since there’s a lot of love in this show. Mine’s family is kind albeit protective, Lutz is loyal and hardworking, and even Benno takes a liking to her. If anything, the antagonist is how hard the bookmaking process is, the constant trial and error in getting things right, and Mine’s constantly encroaching illness.

Since it’s not very action-packed, and also focused primarily on a group of children, it doesn’t fit the isekai model. It might not be appealing to the more traditional isekai viewer, who usually tends to like fighting stories, or at least stories with a more concrete conflict. Since this is rather slow paced, it might be hard for most isekai viewers to get into. However, it has an extremely unique presence and is quite clever, unfurling the world depending on what Mine needs or wants, and offering a reason for its limited point of view. It’s a simple premise, but one that’s quite charming. It might not be a knock it out of the park kind of anime, but it’s worth trying in its uniqueness, and is overall, a smart but gentle story.