The fact that, even with old-Myne's memories, Urano-Myne is discovering the world from 0 like a little girl does and not like an ordinary isekai protagonist, this makes you kind of forget this is an isekai
Yup, because she starts at basically the earliest time in life when memories actually start to form (ok, it's a tad late, but still, it's more natural than the fact that so many isekai protags are conscious immediately after being born).
I'm pretty sure the isekai thing is just an excuse for the author to geek out about printing, and for Myne to push against the social struggles so the writer can think up more fun scenarios as she gets higher and higher standing in the world
One of the things I love in this anime (/ novel) is when Lutz figures out Main is a sufferer of isakeitis, and FOR THE FIRST TIME IN AN ISEKAI she ACTUALLY told him the truth! I was so glad to finally see an isekai protagonist not lie for some reason about her origins even though they're lying. Love it.
it's not the first time an isekaied character reveals the truth. there are some isekai were it's known since the start by multiple characters. you have, for example, how a realist hero rebuilt the kingdom, rising of the shield hero or Gate. in other isekai, the main character reveals the truth when he/she has to explain about his/her knowledge. I'm not going to count that time I got reincarnated as a slime since Rimuru takes an eternity to reveal his origins. but he does explain that he's from another world. there's also no point in counting Sword art online since all players know about being a game and a similar thing can be said about Log Horizon. all players know that it's a game and the NPC don't give a rat's fart about the player's origins even if they were told about it.
@@WilliamWizer I’d argue that sword art online is not an isekai because: 1. It’s not another world it’s just a game server that they happen to be playing 2. They’re not actually transported anywhere, they’re still lying in beds in the real world as they play the game in regular time. If I play minecraft, that doesn’t mean I’m isekai’d into minecraft for a few hours, and the logout or x button not working wouldn’t suddenly make that the case
@@emeraldfinder5 and I argue that it's an isekai. if you die inside SAO, you die in real life, you can't log out. also, there are other isekai that are based on entering a video game (death march, overlord, In the Land of Leadale, kenja no deshi wo nanoru kenja, Skeleton Knight in Another World, How Not to Summon a Demon Lord, otome game sekai wa mob ni kibishii sekai desu,... ) what you could argue, and I would agree, is that an anime like bofuri, where you can log out and being killed in-game doesn't harm you offline, isn't an isekai since they still live out of the game. even so, most people see bofuri as an isekai since all the action happens on another world.
ghost knowledge. The knowledge that the writer nows but may never show up in the story. I usually have this as ghost plot points namely plot that happened before the worlds story started so to speak that shape the character into who they are. In this case it is about how the culture as a whole works basically.
@@otbaht the interesting part about bookworm is, that the actual knowledge that the author gives us is probably deeper than the ghost knowledge in many other series.
@@otbaht Food is used to frame how alien some of my cultures are from the other. For example one culture is vegetarian, and another thinks cannibalism is actually pretty okay cause of their religion. These quirks help each culture feel a lot more distinct, especially if characters are shown reacting to them!
Remember to keep the diets of the public varied while having a notable theme. If everyone just eats the same thing all the time, sure it's memorable and alien, but it also makes the world seem to be filled with zombies (this is okay if that is part of the point). It can't be too varied, however, because then it would be too immemorial and cultureless. There's a balance that needs to be struck.
The anime adaptation of Bookworm also throws in a bunch of small details into it's visual scenes; as an example, in one of the episodes after preparing for winter, when Mine's in bed, you can see one of the candles she made w/ Turi burning on the nightstand. It's never mentioned outright, but there're a tonne of visual details in the anime that show how people live. Another example would be the shoes people wear. Mine, in the first season, at least -- haven't started on season 2 yet -- is always wearing wooden clogs. It's a small detail, but it shows the difference in class between her, &, say, Benno, or the uniform her father wears (if he's in uniform, he's always wearing boots).
@@KoiPuff Yeah, as they walk through the city. It's a really neat & subtle effect; totally background information conveyed to by people just living in the world, as opposed to being explicit. Keeps me on my toes, once I first saw the candle part: now I'm constantly paying attention to the background & missing the things happening right in front of me.
@@SupaPictave yes you can even see it with lutz in season 1. When he has to dress up, his hair are shiny, but then if he is in his villager outfit, they don't shine since he doesn't use the shampoo when he don't need it.
What I love about this show’s worldbuilding is that I was able to piece together Myne’s illness’s true nature without ANYONE mentioning otherwise. It get really good, instilling a feeling I usually get when I guess the plot twist in a game
I will admit though there are a FEW assumption Main makes that feel like they came from nowhere... But then again those could just be baseless assumptions even in context. Such as Main assuming that the original died and she took over her dead body. Which might have been more her distancing herself from the thought that either she inadvertently killed Main or that they are a merged personality.
I mean, it's an isekai story. There's always magic. Not to mention the glowing and the rainbow eyes, it's not exactly hard.. But yeah, it was nice to figure it out yourself before getting told.
@@AstolfoGayming It's conveyed well enough that I caught on as well while having started with the manga, where glowing and changes to her eyes are only noticable in hindsight, as they are standard practice for intense moments to begin with.
The second most important character in an Isekai genre is the world itself. What are the people like, their culture, social class, religion how does it dictates its people, are there other races besides elves and dwarves, and does this world have history did it have a world war, fell in calamity etc. Most of the authors just slap a castle, guild house and a quest board and thats it. Whats the point on bringing the MC to another world if they won't even build up the world where there isn't even anything to discover.
Honestly so many Isekai anime/manga just flat out miss the point. I'll give Overlord a break because the fact that the Isekai nature slowly stops mattering entirely... is the point. It is written like a tragedy in disguise. (which I stopped watching because the show... slowly became torture porn. The main characters became LESS interesting than everyone else, even though you knew the main characters would EVENTUALLY just force their way into the story anyway... Yeah I didn't like the show midway through season 2) The WORST is "Geniuses have it easy". Where the protagonists are more fantastical and unrealistic than the antagonists. It also falls into the trap of simply reducing Royalty/Nobility to being evil and treating people of the past as TOTAL IDIOTS!
@@Nionivek Most authors have 1 tick box " tolkien" for foundation. After that in completely falls a part because they just based it on existing works not their own ideas or imagination. And I have to agree for them how do they make their MC have motivation, make him hate the world and its people. And will result to the MC wear black seriously how many MC of isekai wears black. I remember back in the day were isekai character had faults and weakness and the isekai world help them grow and develop. Which resulted to them going home, having new view points and solving their problems. And Yes! Back in the day Isekai MC want to go home and will go back to their original worlds as better characters. Vision of escaflowne, Magic knight ray earth, Fushigi yuugi Are few examples on the top of my head. Lastly at this point One piece has a better world building every time they get to a new island than a Isekai show.
@@drewquitco6019 But let's be honest... who would want to go home after living in a fantasy world? I'm always reminded of the one good moment in a US TV series about a magic school (I don't even recall the name, it was some Harry Potter ripoff), when ah girl is refused and sent back to the normal world because she didn't have natural magical powers, just a hint of them, and the obvious villain gives her the chance. Another person tells her she's risking her life and she just answers: "Are you crazy?!? They have MAGIC there!!! Who would want to live in this boring world after learning about that?"
@@alexandresobreiramartins9461 I mean depends, while having magic is cool and all can you live a life without all the modern convinence we have? Can you live without internet, computer, cell phone? Even functional toilet, running water, and so much things we talk for granted that a fantasy world would not? Like in most medivel world setting our modern lives can be consider living better than kings, that's how big difference in standard of living are. I mean sure some people who love adventure might be down but for most people its be quiet literal hell to love all the basic things we have in life.
@@alexandresobreiramartins9461 The point of old Isekai was to make the cast realize that what their troubles and obstacle in their old world cant compare to other. Think about it, after defeating all that trials and tribulations and the big bad boss and going back home is the exams really a big deal, is that bully in your class be a big deal and all that worries that the character in their original world be that bad. Its all about the moral and growth. Now a days when there have been Isekai MC that committed suicide believing that they will be brought to a different world or reincarnated to a new life. The author is giving the idea that "Hay you might as well kill yourself there is a 50/50 chance you get a new life. Run away from your problems your so incapable anyway." And while we are at it these MC have been introduce as incapable in their old world. So how can they solve problems in the new world if in their old world they couldn't over come them. Through their journey from and Isekai world and making their realize how capable they really are should be the moral of this genre really be.
So Main was basically an accidental an Isekai prepper in her previous life... Knowledge of technology, disregard for hierarchy, and her most beloved subject is literature, which, after it could be mass-produced, was one of the primary drivers behind commoners gaining more societal influence.
I know right. A lot can be explained by her obsession with books, she's read a lot of history and pretty much every other genre fiction or nonfiction. But her other big boon was her mum getting into all kinds of handicrafts and hobbies. They explain more in the LN but apparently Urano's mum was worried about her daughter's obsession with books and her fairly antisocial behaviour, so she encouraged/forced her to learn all kinds of little hobbies and things with her hoping to encourage her to put the books down more often. It never really worked, but apparently she learned enough to be able to accurately replicate it after Isekai.
The current anime (S1-S2/S3) is just the tip of the iceberg. Once you get past Part 3 Light Novel, things shift dramatically and you're transported in a world so much different from the world you knew. It got me questioning if I'm still reading the same LN that had a weak commoner girl who cares about nothing about books.
i loved part 3-4 so much. as much as i love the part 1-2 cast, 3-4 are a lot more fun and varied, and seeing Myne give everyone around her headaches is the best
The light novels keep expanding the map in really cool ways. The most recent books are at the point where other countries are starting to get introduced to help Myne and the reader understand the broader geopolitics of the kingdom
I would say that starts in part 3 already, with the beginning exploration of the noble world. As predictable as a development in that direction was, the end of anime season 3, and part 3 of the LN as a whole already gave me that “wow, shit’s gonna go down in this story, and we’ve only just seen the prologue”.
@@PrograError well, kinda? But though I didn’t expect things to go this exact way, it doesn’t quite feel surprising, and the wow-effect isn’t quite on the same level. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed this series so far (first LN I’ve read actually) but as awesome as discovering the world is, the story itself isn’t super special. It’s just a well executed (imo) fantasy/politics story, that gets you invested through its world building and sheer length. I’m also not a fan of the ending it seems to be moving towards, and I miss the Dr. Stone aspect of the beginning. I wish her knowledge and “inventions” played more of a role in making her succeed later in the series, but it’s just “she thinks differently” and overwhelming mana.
It pains me to say that "what do they eat" didn't cross my mind with my own worldbuilding projects until just now. The minutia of fantasy settings at this scale is truly fascinating! I'll have to do some heavy thinking over the predominant settlements of my in progress D&D setting.
Say a noble from country A is visiting a commoner from country B at a merchant's house from country C who deals in trade between countries A and B. What do they eat, how do they speak to each other, do commoners show reverence to nobility of other countries? What is the noble wants something from the commoner that can't be taken by force, how do they approach the subject? Do they dress differently or act differently from others of their class because of a hidden subclass? If you can assign numbers on dice to locations and types of people and make random stories pop out of your head based on a handful of rolls, you have a good basis for world building in your story. If you only get uninspired boring sounding interactions, you have some more work to do.
think about it from the perspective of ecosystems and biospheres... What makes mountainside Peru different from grassland France? What about Great Plains America and the Fertile Crescent? _think about all the plants we learn Europeans had to bring back from the Americas after their rediscovery_
What is the location like? Island mountain forest ? What are the houses made of ? Dirt sand stone wood ? What are the most common tools ? Stone copper iron bones wood ? Stuff like that gives you a good guideline for which foods are aviable or could be aviable and in some cases even dictates you this certain aspect of your world... Good luck with your worldbuilding.
I’m self-learning geology and biology right now to create terrain and its flora and fauna so I can place people there and make them behave according to it. This rabbit hole stretch to no end.
Not only towns but even specific dungeon rooms come alive once your players start to believe that the world is so real in your mind that you have thought of every detail.
If you look at most successful fantasy series, they'll have this kind of world building to an extent. Bookworm is just really ambitious and takes it a step further.
I actually try to investigate for myself how to make homemade paper and the things she is doing, but those practices are mostly part of your upbringing than a necessity.
Agreed; so many isekais that are "thrilling" consist of like, main character doing big explosions at the same types of enemies, with little to no world building. Just 'cause something is flashy and moves fast doesn't mean it's interesting! If it doesn't mean anything, or tell us anything, what's the point? Whereas in Ascendance, every little detail has a new story to tell, gets you thinking about how the details fit into the world and contribute to the struggles of the protagonist. Such a fantastic anime!
@@icyvividprism I would throw in log horizon since some of the first problems they are faced with are, where to sleep, how to eat (food basically tasted like paste or mushy crackers till they fixed it), and how to function a game world brought to life but is changing from basic game rules. also one of the few game isika's that also explains game rules and such.
The bookworm anime is what got me to start reading light novels, and it physically hurts how much good content is left on the cutting room floor of anime production. A necessary evil, but a travesty nonetheless. The scene where Fran teaches the cooks how to make Myne's recipe's loses so much flavor because of the trimmings necessary for the anime format. Based on that scene alone, I recommend the LNs for anyone who is enjoying the anime.
I love the anime and I'll definitely read the LN's. But one thing I love about the anime that the LN's likely can't do is the expressions on Main's face. Like when she's really happy she has this huge joyful, ugly happy smile that I just love. Or her expression when she's stuck trying to get out of the book at the beginning of the first OP. I just love those bits. Sorry, I'm gushing.
Coincidentally Ascendance of a bookworm also became my first Ln series, which only proves the promise of the series. I went from "I'll probably drop this" to give me the darn source material in 2 to 3 episodes. I initially felt like dropping the show due to the first episode basically being one obnoxious fest of "where give me books" but after the first few the "I want books" became a tread that the story held on to but not the story itself.
Agree. Anime is nice, but there's so many details left out. It's true of pretty much any ln/manga to anime adaptation though. I get why they did it since the show would be twice as long if they didn't, but this case is especially painful to see all the details dropped if you read the books first and then the anime. Who knew that a book about books would be better in book format!?
Whenever I read a ln I tend to imagine an anime for it. Then whenever it gets an anime even if it's great it's not quite as awesome as in my imagination.
I should, however, state that ALL the nobles you seen are ones who have been thrown out of their families and sent to the church so their actual parents don't have to deal with them anymore... With them gaining actual political power only happening recently. The Head Priest is the only Blue Robe (outside Main) who joined the Church under his own free will and wasn't raised by the Church. In many ways the Blue Robes are like an intermediary between a real noble and a pretender.
Lesser children of nobility going into the church was very common, this helped prevent succession disputes, and curried favor with the church. Often, it was either become a Jouster, become a soldier, or become a monk if you were a lesser child of nobility.
Yes the blue robes aren't really nobles. They were not educated as such, didn't receive the tools and the knowledge that nobles receive. High priest isn't really a noble either. It's not about being born later, but about not meeting the standard of the family.
The blue robes at the church are in that sense a somewhat middle-class (not in the modern sense): dejected out of true nobility, but still see themselves as higher than the peasantry. As such, they are likely to treat commoners with more contempt than true nobles would because they feel the need to exert and enforce their perceived superiority over Somebody... Anybody. I've been reading the WebToon unOrdinary, in which most people have supernatural powers graded on a numerical scale. This causes an inherent class system between low-tiers (grades
One correction: in episode 6, WE hear about the Devouring for the first time, not Main. She only learns it's a thing much later, through the merchant girl that also has it.
That world require him to come out of his "Wealthy bad" Paradigm and actually see the one to help the most was the merchant. IRONICALLY that was the entire issue Lutz was having with his parents. Can't address that bigotry cause that would really show a full and complete world. Seriously I don't care we don't politically align but watching him butcher such things really pisses me off.
@@Cpruett um dude, 2 things, first, I think you replied to the wrong comment somehow, and second, your little paragraph makes no sense, like none whatsoever...
@@Cpruett bruh in the world of this anime nobles literally make people who suffer from the ‘devouring’ into their slaves in return for keeping them alive, the anime very much also thinks rich people are bad
Just remember to have a full plot (at least the beginning and the end), otherwise your world building becomes more useful for pen & paper rpgs rather than anything else.
IMO worldbuilding is the most important aspects in writing any fantasy storytelling, as you can better establish your character arcs as you have a solid foundation for the world the character interacts into
The anime might be ok, but there’s a lot of themes, specially in the second season, that are not that kid friendly, the neglected state of the orphanage and the culture of “flower giving” to mention a few, but the anime doesn’t go into much detail as the novels do so I guess it’s ok
The only reason I didn't was because I managed to start watching while it was first airing, but I've seen it through multiple times now. Can't wait for the anime to catch up to the opening of the first episode (which should be happening sometime around the halfway point of the season, or possibly the latter half if they cut off in a certain place; if they go about 3 episodes per LN volume it'll be episode 6 or 7).
Same actually. I started watching it right when Season 2 started so I could catch up and start watching maybe by halfway through the season, but then it was 2 in the morning and I finished the entire series and watched episode 1 of S2 as well. Now the wait every week is extremely painful, but I got the books to hold me over until I catch up with where the anime is at.
I absolutely love the excess mana disease as depicted in this video, it’s a perfect way to demonstrate the inherent problems with a rigid feudal caste system. Imagine how many thousands of potentially amazing magicians were needlessly allowed to die simply because of their birth. Imagine how much more power the ruling class could have if they simply used this excess mana to solve the shortage. I have not seen this anime yet but I definitely will now, thanks!
It isn't because they don't want to have more people with mana, it's because most commoners with mana die before their baptism (age 7). The more mana one possesses, the quicker they die because it requires a lot of mental strength to control it. It's also really expensive to acquire the magic tools to prevent it, some low-class nobles can't even afford magic tools to all their children and only gives it to them with the most mana.
@@BubblegumNebula that's a really broke take on it. The nobility uses magic as a justification and tool for their rule. They have no interest in making the commoners think that the nobility are just like them, especially not by lifting up commoners to their ranks. Just like the feudal kings of our world and the capitalist classes now, they benefit immensely from keeping a rigid system of division and making people believe they are just naturally superior. There isn't a worse thing for the ruling class than a population who realises that the rulers are nothing but normal people. Such a population can only be ruled by terror. It is much easier to rules a society through culture lies ignorance and poverty.
@@ratelslangen here's a bit of a spoiler, but to be a noble u have to graduate from a noble school. Don't get me wrong, i Don't rhink the nobles would adopt Every Child with magic as their own children. They would make contracts with Them, so They would be servants like Frida (guildmaster), if your Lucky. The nobles wouldn't let the magic go to waste, IT'S the most precious Thing in their world.
@@BubblegumNebula nobles have the power to save the children who have excess mana. thats how myne is alive right now. because of the tools from the church she survives. their world clearly has the ability to create tools that can use up mana. not to mention if they taught the children how to use mana with simple magic tricks they could still hold their power and save the children although considering how people are that one is far more unlikely
@@christopherwager312 yes they can create tools, but it's an expensive affair. The way magic works in their world, to do magic 'Tricks* they need their wands first, which they can't get without going to an academy for nobles. Besides most commoner children with excess mana end up as slaves for nobles anyway.
The thing that makes Bookworm's worldbuilding click for me is how every bit of it that we learn is either about reinforcing or developing something about the characters. Main's earliest discoveries all come through observing her family in their day-to-day lives in a way that both fleshes out the society around them and lets us naturally learn about her parents and sister's personalities. All the information dumped on Main when she becomes a merchant also fleshes out Lutz and his relationship with his family while setting up a mentor dynamic for both kids with Benno. And everything to do with Main's new role in the church is communicated through her new aides and gives us a reason to care about and want to learn more about them. So it's not just that the world at large around Main feels well thought out and thematically salient, but that it's always delivered with the emphasis on character to makes us emotionally invested as well. I think that more than anything is why Bookworm's world feels so real, whereas other series with this much detail might just feel like reading a fanwiki.
Tunni reaction to Myne *asking* to break the doll probably Tunni only real possession (even her clothes would expected to hand down to her little sister, sure as the eldest she gets them new but the duty to keep them with handing down) Was very Mucha reaction of a child full expects Myne not to stop to hear the answer, to be fair if it wasn't for the reawaked (immature ) adult personality Myne probably wouldn't have asked.
Something most of the people miss to notice but i love is how well is the magic integrated in the everyday of the people (in the first part is not that notizable though) . Most of isekai stories only feature tipycal offensive and defensive magic taken from rpg and maybe some applicattion of these spells out of combat. In bookworm it really feels like magic is an integral part of the world and society instead of being used in action segments and then immediatly lose all relevance in the slice of life sections.
It's eventually revealed in the books, but magic really is an integral part of their world, or at least an integral part of the country Myne's in. Outside the country borders is a vast expanse of white sand, even beyond the border of the ocean in the south east, and without the King and the ArchDukes funneling mana into the literal foundations of the dutchies and country everything would become white sand again.
Starting small and then growing at a measured pace certainly beats out a massive, but shallow info dump right away. HeroAca did it with the characters, introducing small groups at a time, first only part of the class, then the full class, then other classes, then people outside the class. This series does the same with location and characters. First the house, then the neighbors then the gate and forrest, then the market and then slowly encompassing the entire city quarter and moving into the Cathedral area. But apart from starting small and escalating bit by bit, the show also has a great balance between showing and telling. We aren't just hit with repeated infodumps at the beginning of each milestone, but learn about the world in what feels like a natural and organic manner.
Can I just say that the pantheon's character designs are up there with some of the top-tier GBA and GCN Fire Emblem character designs? No, really, where the hell has this aesthetic BEEN over the past seven years of swords and sorcery anime?!
Just listening to you second-handedly describe the world in Bookworm makes it sound _incredibly_ interesting. You have 100% convinced me to give the light novel and anime a go.
The manga is also worth it, and comparing how different they are from each other (not a lot, but there are a few things here and there) really drives home the amount of detail put into the world.
i haven't watched the anime, but the books so far(the ones released in English) are indeed a few orders of magnitudes above what i expected from a isekai or a light novel
Something funny about justus, is that he doesn't actually hate the lower class, but is merely curious. He's like a grown child who is willing (and authorized) to do whatever it takes to satisfy his urge for new info to gather. It shows in later volumes as well, like how he almost got an entire region erased off the map because he wanted to gather what was effectively phoenix eggs from the volcano that they were absorbing energy from.
@@fyrentenimar His main issue was not that he was using a caricature of commoners, but that the only commoners he know are farmers from small villages. So he was really out of place in the big city, both in his manners, and the timeframe (it was not the right season for him to try that cover story)
@@daedalron your absolutely right. But even this has insane world building with many nobles not really see the commoners as…human, you see how nobles born approach problem with commoners and how Myne does. They are many plot points that emphasize this point
I went from "read the first volume for free with code basement" from the video a few month ago to preordering every volume as soon as they are available to just straight up paying a monthly fee on the publisher's website just so I can read the book as they are translating. This series is addictive
@@onepiecegotmeinlove691 yeah I love it. Weekly anime can’t compete with 2 hours’ worth of reading every week. I didn’t like the subscription, but since you can also read weekly by preordering just the books you want (for less than book walker) I fell in love with the service.
@@RainAngel111 Are you aware that you can also preorder individual books, which still allows you to read the new weekly parts, but then also get a full ePub copy once it’s released? I’m asking just in case, because I also thought I’d have to pay for both subscription and the individual books, but since I have no interest in the vast majority of series on J-Novel, I’ve saved a ton of money by only paying for individual books.
This story makes me happy, it’s the normal people that really makes a time period. They’re the majority, the most common experience. It’s interesting to see the lives of more normal people that are still interesting
This is like the 5th time I've heard someone quote "the Shandification of Fallout". That video has only about 400,000 views, that seems like a lot on paper but there are videos with millions of views that people will never quote. It's surprising to me.
I haven't watched the video, but I'm assuming that it's because it's an intelligent, well-written video essay. Creators will try to find those, and in case of RUclips they know of other creators who will know of others, who will maybe know of niche videos.
Bookworm is honestly an amazing series among other isekai, because of how natural the worldbuilding feels! I truly, truly hope we get more of the series animated, because seeing how Rozemyne fares moving forawrd in Part 3 onwards is fantastic and shows how diverse just the province of Ehrenfest itself is.
I'm happy to say that the light novels are the better experience for a story about a character who loves reading. I rewatched the show after reading the first 3 volumes (the part that was adapted) and was surprised at how much of the economics was hand-waved and how many fantasy plants used for food were not mentioned. While I was reading it, I was struck by how much less petty Main's desire to be clean seemed, and how real her relationship with her family was. It was also much more clear from the books that Lutz was deliberately positioned to be her foil, as was basically every other character. Just as season 2 has her learning how to assimilate to the church, and her retainers learning to assimilate to the commoner's district, season 1 was as much about teaching Lutz to work within the merchant's guild, where Urano's adult mind made her fit in better, as it was about Main learning how to operate in the new world.
Yeah, in the light novel Myne’s family was described to be dirty but in the anime they were reasonably clean. Although I prefer the anime more during emotional scenes, such as when Lutz carried Myne on his back while crying, or Gunther’s silent cry after he learned about Myne’s illness.
I can't even make my fingers like that. If I bend the little finger on my right hand all the way, the ring finger bends along at least half way, and that's if I'm trying my best to keep it straight, otherwise it bends all the way too. With the left hand it's even worse and it always bends all the way no matter how I try to keep it straight. It feels like they're controlled by the same muscle and just physically impossible to move separately. However when I bend my ring finger, the little finger doesn't bend along. Well, it does, but just a little unnoticeable bit. Anyway, he called it the German style? Remind me to never go spying in Germany.
I'd appreciate more content about Bookworm, especially considering how many points can be taken from its depth. It is truly amazing how much care the writing receives, and it is very hard to think that this series hasn't had years of prior thought and brainstorming.
Currently my all time favorite light novel. Just the dialogue between all the characters is incredible and makes you truly believe they do their own thing behind the scenes. IT’S PAYOFF! Starting from volume 1 and reading the current volume everything Myne does and learn and all the connections she makes leads somewhere. For example she is told by the High Priest that she has to learn the Harspiel to be more noble like. And over the course of several volumes it follows and mentions her daily Harspiel practice. In the latest volume there is a moment where several characters sit around eating dinner and they all take turns playing the Harspiel! And Myne doesn’t embarrass herself! The story includes so many moments like this where it’s a Payoff for something that previously happened. Not to mention all her “inventions” get reused multiple times over several volumes. It really feels like she is building upon her achievements. My favorite thing though is it’s overarching theme. Cooperation! Myne explicitly states when she first arrives in the new world that the only way she will accomplish her goals is if she gains the cooperation of others who are bigger, stronger, and smarter than her. And that theme plays out on every page. Please go read the light novel! 🙏
@@christopherwager312 a day full of reading worth. Dunno, pdf does not really tell how long it is but definitely more than 500. And there are currently 21/22 volume in English right now I think
"The nobility does harm to the common people by denying then opportunities, tools, even basic information about the way their world works." May day is soon comrades
Yes, of course removing nobility and instating a military dictatorship is the solution... especially one that manages to kill 20 million people in 40 years without any wars...
@CK Limit's a plot point later in the novels, but the nobels have no trouble destroying towns that are showing signs of insurgencies. A bit like show by example, because of magic and mana, commoners can't defeat them, hell they can't even enter the city.
@CK Lim "The King wanted commoners to be loyal to him and Kingdom , along with control over vast majority of the population and military, not the noble and plus give commoner right and protection over noble and even minor lord." Medieval Europe wants to talk with you ;) I mean my country (Poland) was f*cked really hard (Partitions of Poland) because nobility didn't wanted to acknowledge commoners.
@CK Lim also but one of the biggest reason was that nobility didn't wanted to give lands to commoners so commoners didn't have a reason to fight for Polish Commonwealth.
I find your channel on youtube while I was trying to see if Bookworm, my favorite light novel for many years, has made some fans on the western community. I am one of many people who do Bookworm translate from Japanese to Chinese in the Chinese community. One thing I really like about bookworm is how the entire world is built with its own logic and everything came with a reason. That's why Bookworm always brings characters like Banno or Ferdinand into the story because they are responsible to educate Main for the new rules and way of thinking that she doesn't know about. Its a learning process for Main, but also for the audiences. That means if you think "why don't they do this？"Likely there is a reason behind it that readers don't know but will later be explained. During my time reading bookworms, I rarely felt that I outsmart the characters in the story. Soon I start to take some time trying to guess why someone acts a certain way instead of thinking how they so stupid to not do sth. Sometimes reading part4 reverse my understanding of some events happened in part 1, and it ALWAYS makes sense. I consider that as a very good thing because nowadays not many anime/light novels try this hard going deep on world-building. Every character we see, the story of the gods, the rebellion that they talked about earlier, Main's sickness, the story behind Ferdinand. All have a deep relation to how the church is what it is now and later will all have an impact on how this act gonna end. I won't spoil anything, but the ending of this arc will make every Main's struggle and every character worth it. It's like the ending of the first season but 5 times better at least. So my suggestion is really to be patient about what's going on now because it really just trying to get things prepared and ready to move.
This show very quickly became one of my favorites of all time. What do you even call this Genre? Best I can come up with is "low action fantasy." Same vein as Spice and Wolf and Ancient Magus Bride. I cannot get enough of stuff like this. PS: It's funny seeing so many different ways to spell Main's name in the comments when it says it in the subtitles every episode.
Would you really call Bookworm an "exploration" show? Like I guess it explores themes and minute details of the world, but when I here "exploration fantasy" I think of some grand adventure
While it is not talked about as much as other series, I don't think Ascendence of a Bookworm is underrated. Kono Light Novelga Sugoi! on their list of best light novels of the decade listed Ascendence of a Bookworm as number 7.
As a writer and also someone who's been following Bookworm since it came out - yes, yes, YES I loved this video. So happy to see other people loving this anime
there is 3 important thing in a story : the event, the character, and the background (that include word building). i dont think that one of them can break a show if the other are good. and i think that it is better to be excellent in one of them, than be fine in all. a slice of life can be very good with its good character, without anything interesting in background. (as exemple, i would give to my 3 favorite anime : Hunter x Hunter 9, 8, 9 ; Monogatari 7, 10, 6 ; Re:Zero 7, 9, 10. and one that i didn't like : Kenja no Mago 3, 3, 7)
I also rather enjoyed Vinland Saga's worldbuilding, especially the manga version. In a sense, I think the mangaka may've had it a bit tougher, seeing as it is all based on real people and events, but he's still weaving his own version of the story. He has to do so without triggering anachronism pitfalls, and keep certain aspects from being unduly jarring. I'm impressed!
I eventually just told myself that they have some timber treatment method that makes it fire resistant so that I could continue watching without hyperventilating.
@@michaelwoodhams7866 As is explained in season 1 iirc, the Trombe wood (best paper material) is highly fire resistant. only downside is that they suck up all the energy in the area, making it basically a local desert if left uncontrolled.
@@C.hrisis Just getting trombe bark for paper making is hard. There's no way they are building working class housing out of trombe timber. (I'm fully up to date with the English translations of the light novels.)
9:30 The side story OVA is actually from Part 3 volume 2 of the Light novel. In there it actually says that Yustasia's disguise works with the commoners in the farm outside the city, but the commoners in the city has different lifestyle compare to the farmers.
@@rilkecadmus5143 LOL, Yustasia isn't introduced officially until Part 3. But chronologically, his spy mission is before Main's entering the temple. His partner in this mission is a very important and likable character later on, but now he just seems like a privileged noble that cannot stand commoners. BTW, how far is the English version of the LN? I read the Chinese version, so I can get as far as Part 4 Volume 3.
@@justinfarischon7868 That means the English LN is only slightly ahead of the anime now. My theory is that season two is going to end at the Part 2 Volume 2 - where Ferdinand read Main's memory, loops back to the event at the start of episode 1. Then Season 3 (hopefully soon) will finish up Part 2.
@@IanHsieh J Novel club is translated an astounding at a furious pace, compared to other translators, of 5-6 volumes a year. There are already a total of 22 Japanese LNs and only 6 have be translated so far. So depending on when season 2 comes out, it may not stay that way for too long. Most people seem to be in agreement the the end of P2V2 is the best place the first season.
Agreed with the comment section. Bookworms beauty comes from it's sort of painting-like feel as well as how expressively they've animated the characters. It would lose it's simple charm if they tried to do something more expensive to it.
This series is just so incredibly immersive. I can practically imagine the typical commoner’s day from morning to night in perfect clarity because of the detail. And I fucking love that.
Ascendance is the only series that once I entered its world, I don't want to get out from it. The highest praise I can give just in terms of its world building alone. Even One Piece didn't trap me like this series does though they've come close. Can't say enough of this series and I'm looking forward to the sequel beyond part 5, not because the conclusion was unsatisfying, but because the world is just that good to left unexplored to the imagination of its reader. Truly one of a kind.
This show is amazing. Really, i would never have guessed i would be WAITING for each episode. The second season still have Mein (?) be totally worldbreaking but its improved alot over the first season. 9/10 anime.
I love this series so damn much. The utterly glacial storytelling that's 80% world lore is addictively fascinating and I'll never be able to look at less well built worlds the same.
Ascendance of a Bookworm became one of my top 3 all-time favorite series in less than half a season. It was so different from my usual fare of stuff like Tanya the Evil and AoT, I was kinda taken aback by how much I enjoyed it! I don't usually do the whole manga/light novel thing, but Bookworm may change that if we don't see a season 3 for this masterpiece.
A couple friends and I are watching this together, and if it wasn't incredibly clear from the visuals and love for the show, it's worldbuilding is AMAZING, but it's also freaking adorable and heartworaming and has incredible highs and lows. Seriously, this is one of the great gems that I suspect is going to fly under too many people's radar!
I've been _devouring_ the anime ever since you first recommended it, and you've certainly explained part of what makes it so good. I'll be sure to get the novels when I can afford them, but I still have a bunch of Monogatari books to finish first.
I checked this series out after your last video on this series and fell in love. It’s like Dr. Stone at times with its science and future knowledge infotainment bits, but with a more narrowed focus. Also as someone who is a bookworm I relate far more to Main then I do Senku.
I ended up buying every volume they had, binging the crap out of them (nine volumes in a week with a full time job, after a decade of not really reading much.), and then giving them to my daughter as her Christmas/Birthday present. Your recommendation for the anime was probably one of the greatest finds of the last year or two.
Probably Maoyuu Maou Yuusha comes to mind when it comes to world building. I loved the political navigating that the Demon Lord and the Hero have to do in order to bring about their ideal future. I also loved Spice and Wolf, despite it being more about the characters than the world, but it was believable.
Unfortunately, Maoyuu kills its own world-building because author cannot really stop himself from shoving cool ideas he though about into his story without thinking about their consequences. Not only we have far too fast technological advancement without changing social and political status (with how many new things they introduced in such short span of time entire social order would collapse), but it also overloads power of his characters - Yuusha can instantly teleport anywhere he was before and has spell power capable of literally destroying mountains and not getting even winded (both shown in show), but somehow he cannot stop war outright and work upon changing society openly?
That did make me curious, but while he is powerful he is just 1 individual. Not only that, since he is a good guy he cannot change the world through conquest. I think he and the demon lord are trying to ease people into the idea of changing everything they thought they knew.
@@Garyof11 Yes, but at the same time he allows people to die, while he sits and does nothing really. And as I said, speed of introducing new technologies would lead to social revolution and collapse of society in this world, probably leading to revolts and far worse wars tan these they try to stop. Like seriously, potato itself means enormous agricultural change by having far bigger yields for acre than grain crops, and even before society learn to deal with it they introduce printing press like six months later?
@@Dorrovian Well the demon Lord did mention that essentially they would be war criminals before they even started. Perhaps letting some die and others live is part of the plan? I can't really say the effects of revolutionary changes though cause I'm not good at economics and only know basic history so I can't argue about the pace they are setting.
What have you done! I've only found 3 so far and now I have to keep searching for the 4th one! UPD. Actually, never mind, I guess it and used Ctrl+F to confirm. Now I can safely proceed to surfing the youtube. UPD2. For anyone else with in the same situation, here are the 4 spellings that can be found in the comments under this video: Main Mein Myne Mine
Since Season 3 is coming out, I thought I'd give a heads up to anime only people- This keeps getting better. Yes, it focuses on the smaller aspects of Main's (In the LN they call her Myne) life, but it starts to look at the larger society as a whole. The world building gets bigger and bigger throughout every part. If you like fantasy politics, Bookworm does it really well. Ferdinand also gets a lot of love, and some of the new character additions to the cast are truly amazing. Damuel goes from a simple character in a single scene to having one of my favorite character arcs in literature (Damuel was the brown haired knight during the Trombe killing scene who was near the bottom of Noble society and got abused by Shikikoza).
No he left out the entire issues that Lutz is having with his mother because of her bigotry to merchant's and hand waved most of Benny's assistance as if it's expected. Seriously freaking wish he'd leave his basis out but that would require an attention to detail this story actually deserves.
@@Cpruett it was more bigotry mixed with bad communication of the fact that they supported him anyways. plus, the fact that they didn't know that lutz actually had a realistic path to success. there is much more time devoted to the whole conflict and resolution in the novel then the anime.
@@Cpruett wow, apparently it's completely unexpected for merchants to act to protect their profits lmao. Thank you for showing me that systemic problems don't exist because certain individuals aren't as bad as they can be /s.
Good world building is always a treat, lots of implications go a really long way but actually having worlds within the same place clash are the best. It's like conflicting magic systems having to deal with each other.
i HIGHLY recommend the light novel series, it is very long but the worldbuilding only gets more and more interesting and complex, and where the story goes is so interesting and mind boggling. however the characters are probably my favorite part, even as the story grows and many characters are introduced they are all believable and distinct. In fact some of my favorite characters are introduced after the point where the anime ends.
What's scary about Justus is that he really doesn't hold any contempt for commoners (he literally see them as livestock) this was his first time in the lower city but in the og side story he did actually learn a lot about Myne regardless or at least learned no one actually had info couse of Benno. The only people who caught on were actually the the kids who knew Myne personally.
The kingkiller chronicle by Patrick Rothfuss. Name of the wind & Wiseman’s fear. While watching this video, all I could think was “oh, this is how you get Patrick Rothfuss into anime.”
10:41 this short story is very interesting in hindsight, because (LN spoilers) justus(eustacius is a mistranslation from the OVA im fairly sure, the LN official translation uses justus 100% of time) is actually extremely knowledgable about commoners, though he has relatively little experience with the big city areas. Mostly because hes such a big weirdo obsessed with gathering intelligence that it easily manages to beat out any feelings of disgust or class based pride. + He just fucks up because he doesnt realize how different city commoners are from village commoners. The LN explains in detail the differences he fails to understand. Which is another insane amount of detail the series gives us. The interesting contrast of having a character be pictured as dunning-krueger ignorant and have them later be revealed as possibly the most knowledable person in the entire world overall is really quite something.
I absolutely adore this series! i have watched all the episodes that are out and i have read the light novels too! It has done an excellent job in building the world....I can state that i cannot wait til the next novel comes out. I finished the 1st three books in one day!
I have been amazed by how far the author has managed to make a single story surrounding founding myth go in relation to noble euphemisms. I am further impressed that those willing to pay attention to the details can actually craft their own euphemisms and understand the euphemisms in the story, without needing the protagonist to dissect them.
If you have come here 3 years later, know that now Myne is rushing head first to the world beyond and we are getting even more and more and more and more lore. I also recommend the novels, but please support the anime so we can get more seasons! I love this little gremlin
dude, i gotta thank you. were in not for this channel, i probably would have never checked out this show or spice and wolf which have gone on to be one of my favorite shows and my favorite show respectively. you've introduced me to a lot of great anime over the years.. but those two in particular have tickled my fancy in a way that no other anime have.. spice and wolf was the first time i felt a burning need to pick up a light novel after finishing the anime. so.. thank you for being such a nerd for this shit. just hearing you gush over shit like this makes me smile.
One thing I've ended up realizing even more while watching the anime is the divisions in our world. On one hand, we still have divisions in terms of class, albeit for the most part, it's now people like Benno who've built up their wealth over the years or people like Frieda who've inherited it, with actual royalty mostly being ceremonial, although there's also the places with corrupt politicians which basically act as modern-day nobility, especially here in the Philippines given their nature of passing on the position to the first born male (or in more gender-equal families, the first born child in general). But there's also country based divisions. People in America and Japan would, in general, be easily able to afford various manga and novels, along with console games and whatnot. Over here, most people only really get books as hand-me-downs from richer relatives or out of necessity for school. E-books have opened up the world of reading even more for us, but it's mostly limited to apps like Wattpad given that professional books still need to be paid for. Same thing with games, movies, anime, etc. Heck, pirating has been a heavy problem here simply because there's things people want access to that they can't afford normally. Although, we're at least lucky enough to know about those things to want them in the first place. Also, thankfully, there's been efforts to reduce pirating while still allowing people to have access to free forms of information and entertainment over these past few years and decades.
I was just thinking about how I would make a video on how good this show is and immediately knew why, it was worldbuilding. And you have beat me to the punch here good sir.
It's extremely impressive how much this video derives from the anime alone without touching the source material. Like, the guess that nobles reacting so badly to the smell of waste means they have some magical way of dealing with it, and how "that magic technology has not yet been disseminated to the masses". As the source material reveals, that's exactly the case; the nobility use waste-dissolving slimes invented through magical research nearly a century ago, and while it doesn't require magic to maintain, there's a high initial magic cost to creating these systems. Other cities *did* disseminate this system to the masses, but Ehrenfest's nobility couldn't afford the upfront cost at the time and later generations of nobles completely forgot about the idea of giving the commoners this technology.
Loved it so much I went and read all the light novels available in english so far... Can't wait until June when the next volume comes out. The world building is incredible in this series.
I'm only finding this video now, but man, looking back at early Bookworm it becomes really clear just how much planning and attention to detail Miya Kazuki put into her world. More than 27 volumes into the light novel and we're _still_ uncovering more details pertaining to the first few volumes.
It is worth noting with the finger counting thing that it also somehow denotes _which coins_ you are counting in. It is essentially a silent merchants code for discussing prices internally but random Joe Anybody may not understand exactly what the fingers represent. When Tuuri/Tuli sees Myne indicate a price to Corrina using her fingers she has to ask how much it meant. Myne deliberately chose to indicate it silently because she was uncomfortable revealing just how much money she was dealing with to her family. Though I don’t know how the code works I could guess that counting ‘German style’ may simply be a way of counting with a specific denomination of coin.
Another series that really impressed me with its worldbuilding is "So I'm a spider, so what" (getting an anime this/next year) Most fantasy series just put a game-like magic system in without explaining anything much but this series is seriousely considering everything. How it came to this, how it affects its people's civilisation and faith. It even throws curveballs because we are so used to having those system just because. Also, instead of having everything exist just to foil our MC, events happen in the background and our MC has just as much effect on the world as the other way around.
I think my favorite world building in anime was the dubbed Outlaw star series, it use to always open with stories, legends facts and other things that the episode would build off of to add more to characters, weapons, magic and events.
This series has so many gut punch moments you genuinely get traumatized by it, but the pay off throughout is amazing. While I would love them to continue to animate the source material later books are so jam packed there is no way the series could do it justice.
After re-watching the 3 seasons of the anime, I finally got the light novel (on paper) and just a few pages in... there are SO MANY details you don't get in the anime. I know, it's a natural thing. But I will enjoy revisiting the story with many new information and perspectives.
The English styles use the thumb last but starting with the index though to pinky, because we use the thumb to to help hold down the fingers not yet counted on
As someone who is trying to write an isekai (currently watching Log Horizon), this is a very interesting one. When you told about the chamber pot in window, I could totally smell how foul it is. And then, the other video which you told about the relationship about Myne's family, couldn't help but smile because it's just wholesome. Most isekai just info dump you (not just isekai, there are western series that I watched that are trying to fit everything in 6 episode so it's very fast pacing and doesn't flesh out the entire sculpture) so seeing one taking time to build the plot, relationship and seeing the side character not being just there totally hooked me.
Anyone who enjoys this series should really read the light novels too. They have more time to focus on side characters, but do so in such a way that it enhances the story rather than distracts from it. The episode where Tuuli and Effa visit Corrina with Myne is actually a side story included after the epilogue of one of the books. You get to learn more about the characters motivations as well which helps flesh out some things the anime glosses over. I still enjoy watching the anime despite having read the novels.
I was waiting for you to talk about Bookwor's amazingly well portrayed Social worldbulding, Geoff. I couldn't agree more with you in most of what you've detailed here and I always enjoy your eloquent reviews. You keep outdoing yourself. Thank you so much for this.
I've been running a Steampunk/Victorian-Era 5e D&D Campaign recently set entirely in one city, and this show has helped me elevate it from an okay setting to a setting I can't wait to get back and explore and have my players interact with!
You should start a series that are comprised of similar videos like this one on other world, and character building cause I think it could help people trying to write themselves. Really liked this style of video keep it up
![On Worldbuilding: Fictional Histories [ Tolkien | Handmaid's Tale | Game of Thrones ]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/RbnzAJXW0Sw/mqdefault.jpg)
The fact that, even with old-Myne's memories, Urano-Myne is discovering the world from 0 like a little girl does and not like an ordinary isekai protagonist, this makes you kind of forget this is an isekai
Yup, because she starts at basically the earliest time in life when memories actually start to form (ok, it's a tad late, but still, it's more natural than the fact that so many isekai protags are conscious immediately after being born).
@@fyrentenimar EXACTLY
@@fyrentenimar that something i hate about most isekai's
I wish more do it like this.
@@haloharry97 u watching Mushoku tensei?
I'm pretty sure the isekai thing is just an excuse for the author to geek out about printing, and for Myne to push against the social struggles so the writer can think up more fun scenarios as she gets higher and higher standing in the world
One of the things I love in this anime (/ novel) is when Lutz figures out Main is a sufferer of isakeitis, and FOR THE FIRST TIME IN AN ISEKAI she ACTUALLY told him the truth! I was so glad to finally see an isekai protagonist not lie for some reason about her origins even though they're lying. Love it.
it's not the first time an isekaied character reveals the truth. there are some isekai were it's known since the start by multiple characters. you have, for example, how a realist hero rebuilt the kingdom, rising of the shield hero or Gate.
in other isekai, the main character reveals the truth when he/she has to explain about his/her knowledge. I'm not going to count that time I got reincarnated as a slime since Rimuru takes an eternity to reveal his origins. but he does explain that he's from another world.
there's also no point in counting Sword art online since all players know about being a game and a similar thing can be said about Log Horizon. all players know that it's a game and the NPC don't give a rat's fart about the player's origins even if they were told about it.
By The Grace of the Gods could never...
@@momoxhienie1204 She wouldnt be able to hide it from him anyway,or she would've lost him later
@@WilliamWizer I’d argue that sword art online is not an isekai because:
1. It’s not another world it’s just a game server that they happen to be playing
2. They’re not actually transported anywhere, they’re still lying in beds in the real world as they play the game in regular time. If I play minecraft, that doesn’t mean I’m isekai’d into minecraft for a few hours, and the logout or x button not working wouldn’t suddenly make that the case
@@emeraldfinder5 and I argue that it's an isekai. if you die inside SAO, you die in real life, you can't log out.
also, there are other isekai that are based on entering a video game (death march, overlord, In the Land of Leadale, kenja no deshi wo nanoru kenja, Skeleton Knight in Another World, How Not to Summon a Demon Lord, otome game sekai wa mob ni kibishii sekai desu,... )
what you could argue, and I would agree, is that an anime like bofuri, where you can log out and being killed in-game doesn't harm you offline, isn't an isekai since they still live out of the game. even so, most people see bofuri as an isekai since all the action happens on another world.
"what do they eat"
Me, writer weirdly obsessed with food, spice trade, and culinary culture: **giddy sounds**
ghost knowledge. The knowledge that the writer nows but may never show up in the story. I usually have this as ghost plot points namely plot that happened before the worlds story started so to speak that shape the character into who they are.
In this case it is about how the culture as a whole works basically.
Fried giant frogs with steamed flying cabagge.
@@otbaht the interesting part about bookworm is, that the actual knowledge that the author gives us is probably deeper than the ghost knowledge in many other series.
@@otbaht Food is used to frame how alien some of my cultures are from the other. For example one culture is vegetarian, and another thinks cannibalism is actually pretty okay cause of their religion. These quirks help each culture feel a lot more distinct, especially if characters are shown reacting to them!
Remember to keep the diets of the public varied while having a notable theme. If everyone just eats the same thing all the time, sure it's memorable and alien, but it also makes the world seem to be filled with zombies (this is okay if that is part of the point). It can't be too varied, however, because then it would be too immemorial and cultureless. There's a balance that needs to be struck.
The anime adaptation of Bookworm also throws in a bunch of small details into it's visual scenes; as an example, in one of the episodes after preparing for winter, when Mine's in bed, you can see one of the candles she made w/ Turi burning on the nightstand. It's never mentioned outright, but there're a tonne of visual details in the anime that show how people live.
Another example would be the shoes people wear. Mine, in the first season, at least -- haven't started on season 2 yet -- is always wearing wooden clogs. It's a small detail, but it shows the difference in class between her, &, say, Benno, or the uniform her father wears (if he's in uniform, he's always wearing boots).
And you can HEAR her clogs in the background noise.
@@KoiPuff Yeah, as they walk through the city. It's a really neat & subtle effect; totally background information conveyed to by people just living in the world, as opposed to being explicit.
Keeps me on my toes, once I first saw the candle part: now I'm constantly paying attention to the background & missing the things happening right in front of me.
I love how new people steadily get shiny hair episodes after episodes. It's subtle, but it means a lot about the evolution of the world. Smart.
@@SupaPictave yes you can even see it with lutz in season 1. When he has to dress up, his hair are shiny, but then if he is in his villager outfit, they don't shine since he doesn't use the shampoo when he don't need it.
And those shoe details will become important later on (I'm as up-to-date as BookWalker will let me)
What I love about this show’s worldbuilding is that I was able to piece together Myne’s illness’s true nature without ANYONE mentioning otherwise. It get really good, instilling a feeling I usually get when I guess the plot twist in a game
I will admit though there are a FEW assumption Main makes that feel like they came from nowhere... But then again those could just be baseless assumptions even in context.
Such as Main assuming that the original died and she took over her dead body. Which might have been more her distancing herself from the thought that either she inadvertently killed Main or that they are a merged personality.
I mean, it's an isekai story. There's always magic. Not to mention the glowing and the rainbow eyes, it's not exactly hard.. But yeah, it was nice to figure it out yourself before getting told.
Yes!
@@AstolfoGayming It's conveyed well enough that I caught on as well while having started with the manga, where glowing and changes to her eyes are only noticable in hindsight, as they are standard practice for intense moments to begin with.
Much like a good mystery, good world building gives you all the pieces of information you need to see the natural conclusion.
13:54
"Heavily implies that its founder was a fellow victim of Isekaitis"
I can't help but appreciate his witty humor. He's a funny guy, honestly.
The founder probably has met Truck-kun as well.
found you!
06:08
"...make sense.."
with coins in the table
Dennis Chua well you never know... Main was a victim of library shelf-kun
Thought I was the only one who kept running to this guy
The second most important character in an Isekai genre is the world itself. What are the people like, their culture, social class, religion how does it dictates its people, are there other races besides elves and dwarves, and does this world have history did it have a world war, fell in calamity etc. Most of the authors just slap a castle, guild house and a quest board and thats it. Whats the point on bringing the MC to another world if they won't even build up the world where there isn't even anything to discover.
Honestly so many Isekai anime/manga just flat out miss the point.
I'll give Overlord a break because the fact that the Isekai nature slowly stops mattering entirely... is the point. It is written like a tragedy in disguise. (which I stopped watching because the show... slowly became torture porn. The main characters became LESS interesting than everyone else, even though you knew the main characters would EVENTUALLY just force their way into the story anyway... Yeah I didn't like the show midway through season 2)
The WORST is "Geniuses have it easy". Where the protagonists are more fantastical and unrealistic than the antagonists. It also falls into the trap of simply reducing Royalty/Nobility to being evil and treating people of the past as TOTAL IDIOTS!
@@Nionivek Most authors have 1 tick box " tolkien" for foundation. After that in completely falls a part because they just based it on existing works not their own ideas or imagination.
And I have to agree for them how do they make their MC have motivation, make him hate the world and its people. And will result to the MC wear black seriously how many MC of isekai wears black.
I remember back in the day were isekai character had faults and weakness and the isekai world help them grow and develop. Which resulted to them going home, having new view points and solving their problems. And Yes! Back in the day Isekai MC want to go home and will go back to their original worlds as better characters.
Vision of escaflowne, Magic knight ray earth, Fushigi yuugi Are few examples on the top of my head.
Lastly at this point One piece has a better world building every time they get to a new island than a Isekai show.
@@drewquitco6019 But let's be honest... who would want to go home after living in a fantasy world? I'm always reminded of the one good moment in a US TV series about a magic school (I don't even recall the name, it was some Harry Potter ripoff), when ah girl is refused and sent back to the normal world because she didn't have natural magical powers, just a hint of them, and the obvious villain gives her the chance. Another person tells her she's risking her life and she just answers: "Are you crazy?!? They have MAGIC there!!! Who would want to live in this boring world after learning about that?"
@@alexandresobreiramartins9461 I mean depends, while having magic is cool and all can you live a life without all the modern convinence we have? Can you live without internet, computer, cell phone? Even functional toilet, running water, and so much things we talk for granted that a fantasy world would not? Like in most medivel world setting our modern lives can be consider living better than kings, that's how big difference in standard of living are.
I mean sure some people who love adventure might be down but for most people its be quiet literal hell to love all the basic things we have in life.
@@alexandresobreiramartins9461 The point of old Isekai was to make the cast realize that what their troubles and obstacle in their old world cant compare to other. Think about it, after defeating all that trials and tribulations and the big bad boss and going back home is the exams really a big deal, is that bully in your class be a big deal and all that worries that the character in their original world be that bad. Its all about the moral and growth.
Now a days when there have been Isekai MC that committed suicide believing that they will be brought to a different world or reincarnated to a new life. The author is giving the idea that "Hay you might as well kill yourself there is a 50/50 chance you get a new life. Run away from your problems your so incapable anyway."
And while we are at it these MC have been introduce as incapable in their old world. So how can they solve problems in the new world if in their old world they couldn't over come them.
Through their journey from and Isekai world and making their realize how capable they really are should be the moral of this genre really be.
So Main was basically an accidental an Isekai prepper in her previous life...
Knowledge of technology, disregard for hierarchy, and her most beloved subject is literature, which, after it could be mass-produced, was one of the primary drivers behind commoners gaining more societal influence.
Who is Main? Certainly not my Myne.
@@CianaCorto In some translations Myne is written as Main. Which is a bit cursed tbh
I know right. A lot can be explained by her obsession with books, she's read a lot of history and pretty much every other genre fiction or nonfiction. But her other big boon was her mum getting into all kinds of handicrafts and hobbies. They explain more in the LN but apparently Urano's mum was worried about her daughter's obsession with books and her fairly antisocial behaviour, so she encouraged/forced her to learn all kinds of little hobbies and things with her hoping to encourage her to put the books down more often. It never really worked, but apparently she learned enough to be able to accurately replicate it after Isekai.
The current anime (S1-S2/S3) is just the tip of the iceberg. Once you get past Part 3 Light Novel, things shift dramatically and you're transported in a world so much different from the world you knew. It got me questioning if I'm still reading the same LN that had a weak commoner girl who cares about nothing about books.
i loved part 3-4 so much. as much as i love the part 1-2 cast, 3-4 are a lot more fun and varied, and seeing Myne give everyone around her headaches is the best
The light novels keep expanding the map in really cool ways. The most recent books are at the point where other countries are starting to get introduced to help Myne and the reader understand the broader geopolitics of the kingdom
I would say that starts in part 3 already, with the beginning exploration of the noble world. As predictable as a development in that direction was, the end of anime season 3, and part 3 of the LN as a whole already gave me that “wow, shit’s gonna go down in this story, and we’ve only just seen the prologue”.
@@flixelgato1288 wait till you get to part 5 (at least at vol 7)... the whole Game goes nuts... like the All Blacks : wink : : wink :
@@PrograError well, kinda? But though I didn’t expect things to go this exact way, it doesn’t quite feel surprising, and the wow-effect isn’t quite on the same level. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed this series so far (first LN I’ve read actually) but as awesome as discovering the world is, the story itself isn’t super special. It’s just a well executed (imo) fantasy/politics story, that gets you invested through its world building and sheer length. I’m also not a fan of the ending it seems to be moving towards, and I miss the Dr. Stone aspect of the beginning. I wish her knowledge and “inventions” played more of a role in making her succeed later in the series, but it’s just “she thinks differently” and overwhelming mana.
It pains me to say that "what do they eat" didn't cross my mind with my own worldbuilding projects until just now. The minutia of fantasy settings at this scale is truly fascinating! I'll have to do some heavy thinking over the predominant settlements of my in progress D&D setting.
Say a noble from country A is visiting a commoner from country B at a merchant's house from country C who deals in trade between countries A and B. What do they eat, how do they speak to each other, do commoners show reverence to nobility of other countries? What is the noble wants something from the commoner that can't be taken by force, how do they approach the subject? Do they dress differently or act differently from others of their class because of a hidden subclass?
If you can assign numbers on dice to locations and types of people and make random stories pop out of your head based on a handful of rolls, you have a good basis for world building in your story. If you only get uninspired boring sounding interactions, you have some more work to do.
think about it from the perspective of ecosystems and biospheres... What makes mountainside Peru different from grassland France? What about Great Plains America and the Fertile Crescent? _think about all the plants we learn Europeans had to bring back from the Americas after their rediscovery_
What is the location like?
Island mountain forest ?
What are the houses made of ?
Dirt sand stone wood ?
What are the most common tools ?
Stone copper iron bones wood ?
Stuff like that gives you a good guideline for which foods are aviable or could be aviable and in some cases even dictates you this certain aspect of your world...
Good luck with your worldbuilding.
I’m self-learning geology and biology right now to create terrain and its flora and fauna so I can place people there and make them behave according to it.
This rabbit hole stretch to no end.
Not only towns but even specific dungeon rooms come alive once your players start to believe that the world is so real in your mind that you have thought of every detail.
“This storytelling might not be as thrilling as an epic danger or battle” it’s not, it’s much more thrilling and fun.
If you look at most successful fantasy series, they'll have this kind of world building to an extent. Bookworm is just really ambitious and takes it a step further.
I actually try to investigate for myself how to make homemade paper and the things she is doing, but those practices are mostly part of your upbringing than a necessity.
Agreed; so many isekais that are "thrilling" consist of like, main character doing big explosions at the same types of enemies, with little to no world building. Just 'cause something is flashy and moves fast doesn't mean it's interesting! If it doesn't mean anything, or tell us anything, what's the point? Whereas in Ascendance, every little detail has a new story to tell, gets you thinking about how the details fit into the world and contribute to the struggles of the protagonist. Such a fantastic anime!
Top three isika right here
That time i got turned into a slime
The shield hero
Ascending of bookworm
@@icyvividprism I would throw in log horizon since some of the first problems they are faced with are, where to sleep, how to eat (food basically tasted like paste or mushy crackers till they fixed it), and how to function a game world brought to life but is changing from basic game rules. also one of the few game isika's that also explains game rules and such.
The bookworm anime is what got me to start reading light novels, and it physically hurts how much good content is left on the cutting room floor of anime production. A necessary evil, but a travesty nonetheless. The scene where Fran teaches the cooks how to make Myne's recipe's loses so much flavor because of the trimmings necessary for the anime format. Based on that scene alone, I recommend the LNs for anyone who is enjoying the anime.
I love the anime and I'll definitely read the LN's. But one thing I love about the anime that the LN's likely can't do is the expressions on Main's face. Like when she's really happy she has this huge joyful, ugly happy smile that I just love. Or her expression when she's stuck trying to get out of the book at the beginning of the first OP. I just love those bits.
Sorry, I'm gushing.
Coincidentally Ascendance of a bookworm also became my first Ln series, which only proves the promise of the series. I went from "I'll probably drop this" to give me the darn source material in 2 to 3 episodes. I initially felt like dropping the show due to the first episode basically being one obnoxious fest of "where give me books" but after the first few the "I want books" became a tread that the story held on to but not the story itself.
Agree. Anime is nice, but there's so many details left out.
It's true of pretty much any ln/manga to anime adaptation though.
I get why they did it since the show would be twice as long if they didn't, but this case is especially painful to see all the details dropped if you read the books first and then the anime.
Who knew that a book about books would be better in book format!?
Whenever I read a ln I tend to imagine an anime for it. Then whenever it gets an anime even if it's great it's not quite as awesome as in my imagination.
I have to say that i think butchering that entire scene, along with most of the 3rd episode of the 2nd season,was completely avoidable.
I should, however, state that ALL the nobles you seen are ones who have been thrown out of their families and sent to the church so their actual parents don't have to deal with them anymore... With them gaining actual political power only happening recently.
The Head Priest is the only Blue Robe (outside Main) who joined the Church under his own free will and wasn't raised by the Church.
In many ways the Blue Robes are like an intermediary between a real noble and a pretender.
ya myine is the reverses of that she is a pretender that become a noble
Lesser children of nobility going into the church was very common, this helped prevent succession disputes, and curried favor with the church. Often, it was either become a Jouster, become a soldier, or become a monk if you were a lesser child of nobility.
Except the high priest. He's a gamer noble but we hate him
Yes the blue robes aren't really nobles. They were not educated as such, didn't receive the tools and the knowledge that nobles receive. High priest isn't really a noble either. It's not about being born later, but about not meeting the standard of the family.
The blue robes at the church are in that sense a somewhat middle-class (not in the modern sense): dejected out of true nobility, but still see themselves as higher than the peasantry. As such, they are likely to treat commoners with more contempt than true nobles would because they feel the need to exert and enforce their perceived superiority over Somebody... Anybody.
I've been reading the WebToon unOrdinary, in which most people have supernatural powers graded on a numerical scale. This causes an inherent class system between low-tiers (grades
One correction: in episode 6, WE hear about the Devouring for the first time, not Main. She only learns it's a thing much later, through the merchant girl that also has it.
That world require him to come out of his "Wealthy bad" Paradigm and actually see the one to help the most was the merchant. IRONICALLY that was the entire issue Lutz was having with his parents. Can't address that bigotry cause that would really show a full and complete world. Seriously I don't care we don't politically align but watching him butcher such things really pisses me off.
@@Cpruett I have no idea what you're talking about.
@@Cpruett um dude, 2 things, first, I think you replied to the wrong comment somehow, and second, your little paragraph makes no sense, like none whatsoever...
and in part 4 we learn in a epilogue HOW Benno knew about it in the first place (god i love this series)
@@Cpruett bruh in the world of this anime nobles literally make people who suffer from the ‘devouring’ into their slaves in return for keeping them alive, the anime very much also thinks rich people are bad
Worldbuilding is a key element in developing anime like these
Just remember to have a full plot (at least the beginning and the end), otherwise your world building becomes more useful for pen & paper rpgs rather than anything else.
IMO worldbuilding is the most important aspects in writing any fantasy storytelling, as you can better establish your character arcs as you have a solid foundation for the world the character interacts into
Bookworm is such a great anime. I've got a 5-year-old daughter who has fallen in love with it so I've been watching the dub with her.
I showed this to mu 8 year old cousin and she adores it!
reality will ensure tho, Author san is not very generous with her happy endings too
@Ήρθα για να γελάσω με εσένα Bookworm is not a Harem or gore Isekai. But I would watch every anime before showing it to kids
There's a dub?!
The anime might be ok, but there’s a lot of themes, specially in the second season, that are not that kid friendly, the neglected state of the orphanage and the culture of “flower giving” to mention a few, but the anime doesn’t go into much detail as the novels do so I guess it’s ok
I finished all of season 1 of Bookworm in a single day.
You never know one of your favorite anime until you find it.
I'm hyped to watch it
I did too!!!!
The only reason I didn't was because I managed to start watching while it was first airing, but I've seen it through multiple times now. Can't wait for the anime to catch up to the opening of the first episode (which should be happening sometime around the halfway point of the season, or possibly the latter half if they cut off in a certain place; if they go about 3 episodes per LN volume it'll be episode 6 or 7).
Me too, wait...its that all???
Cant wait for the saturdays now.
Same actually. I started watching it right when Season 2 started so I could catch up and start watching maybe by halfway through the season, but then it was 2 in the morning and I finished the entire series and watched episode 1 of S2 as well. Now the wait every week is extremely painful, but I got the books to hold me over until I catch up with where the anime is at.
I absolutely love the excess mana disease as depicted in this video, it’s a perfect way to demonstrate the inherent problems with a rigid feudal caste system. Imagine how many thousands of potentially amazing magicians were needlessly allowed to die simply because of their birth. Imagine how much more power the ruling class could have if they simply used this excess mana to solve the shortage. I have not seen this anime yet but I definitely will now, thanks!
It isn't because they don't want to have more people with mana, it's because most commoners with mana die before their baptism (age 7). The more mana one possesses, the quicker they die because it requires a lot of mental strength to control it.
It's also really expensive to acquire the magic tools to prevent it, some low-class nobles can't even afford magic tools to all their children and only gives it to them with the most mana.
@@BubblegumNebula that's a really broke take on it. The nobility uses magic as a justification and tool for their rule. They have no interest in making the commoners think that the nobility are just like them, especially not by lifting up commoners to their ranks. Just like the feudal kings of our world and the capitalist classes now, they benefit immensely from keeping a rigid system of division and making people believe they are just naturally superior. There isn't a worse thing for the ruling class than a population who realises that the rulers are nothing but normal people. Such a population can only be ruled by terror. It is much easier to rules a society through culture lies ignorance and poverty.
@@ratelslangen here's a bit of a spoiler, but to be a noble u have to graduate from a noble school.
Don't get me wrong, i Don't rhink the nobles would adopt Every Child with magic as their own children. They would make contracts with Them, so They would be servants like Frida (guildmaster), if your Lucky. The nobles wouldn't let the magic go to waste, IT'S the most precious Thing in their world.
@@BubblegumNebula nobles have the power to save the children who have excess mana. thats how myne is alive right now. because of the tools from the church she survives. their world clearly has the ability to create tools that can use up mana. not to mention if they taught the children how to use mana with simple magic tricks they could still hold their power and save the children although considering how people are that one is far more unlikely
@@christopherwager312 yes they can create tools, but it's an expensive affair. The way magic works in their world, to do magic 'Tricks* they need their wands first, which they can't get without going to an academy for nobles. Besides most commoner children with excess mana end up as slaves for nobles anyway.
The thing that makes Bookworm's worldbuilding click for me is how every bit of it that we learn is either about reinforcing or developing something about the characters. Main's earliest discoveries all come through observing her family in their day-to-day lives in a way that both fleshes out the society around them and lets us naturally learn about her parents and sister's personalities. All the information dumped on Main when she becomes a merchant also fleshes out Lutz and his relationship with his family while setting up a mentor dynamic for both kids with Benno. And everything to do with Main's new role in the church is communicated through her new aides and gives us a reason to care about and want to learn more about them.
So it's not just that the world at large around Main feels well thought out and thematically salient, but that it's always delivered with the emphasis on character to makes us emotionally invested as well. I think that more than anything is why Bookworm's world feels so real, whereas other series with this much detail might just feel like reading a fanwiki.
Tunni reaction to Myne *asking* to break the doll probably Tunni only real possession (even her clothes would expected to hand down to her little sister, sure as the eldest she gets them new but the duty to keep them with handing down) Was very Mucha reaction of a child full expects Myne not to stop to hear the answer, to be fair if it wasn't for the reawaked (immature ) adult personality Myne probably wouldn't have asked.
Something most of the people miss to notice but i love is how well is the magic integrated in the everyday of the people (in the first part is not that notizable though) . Most of isekai stories only feature tipycal offensive and defensive magic taken from rpg and maybe some applicattion of these spells out of combat. In bookworm it really feels like magic is an integral part of the world and society instead of being used in action segments and then immediatly lose all relevance in the slice of life sections.
It's eventually revealed in the books, but magic really is an integral part of their world, or at least an integral part of the country Myne's in. Outside the country borders is a vast expanse of white sand, even beyond the border of the ocean in the south east, and without the King and the ArchDukes funneling mana into the literal foundations of the dutchies and country everything would become white sand again.
Starting small and then growing at a measured pace certainly beats out a massive, but shallow info dump right away.
HeroAca did it with the characters, introducing small groups at a time, first only part of the class, then the full class, then other classes, then people outside the class.
This series does the same with location and characters. First the house, then the neighbors then the gate and forrest, then the market and then slowly encompassing the entire city quarter and moving into the Cathedral area.
But apart from starting small and escalating bit by bit, the show also has a great balance between showing and telling. We aren't just hit with repeated infodumps at the beginning of each milestone, but learn about the world in what feels like a natural and organic manner.
The creator did it I. The order the a child actually learns the world around them
Can I just say that the pantheon's character designs are up there with some of the top-tier GBA and GCN Fire Emblem character designs? No, really, where the hell has this aesthetic BEEN over the past seven years of swords and sorcery anime?!
I think the god designs are supposed to imply the church was founded by another Isekai person. That plus the prayer.
@@efdeecue It's a good theory but gods are real in this world
@@Guanchen just cause magic is real doesn't mean their gods are.
@@kristijanmadhukar516 They are, in LN there's a side story about God of time saving Ferdinand as a child. Gods are literal in this world.
@@Guanchen which part and volume?
That is a mean spoiler dude. You should be ashamed.
Just listening to you second-handedly describe the world in Bookworm makes it sound _incredibly_ interesting. You have 100% convinced me to give the light novel and anime a go.
Sarah Tilgner have fun and look at the details
The manga is also worth it, and comparing how different they are from each other (not a lot, but there are a few things here and there) really drives home the amount of detail put into the world.
i haven't watched the anime, but the books so far(the ones released in English) are indeed a few orders of magnitudes above what i expected from a isekai or a light novel
Something funny about justus, is that he doesn't actually hate the lower class, but is merely curious. He's like a grown child who is willing (and authorized) to do whatever it takes to satisfy his urge for new info to gather. It shows in later volumes as well, like how he almost got an entire region erased off the map because he wanted to gather what was effectively phoenix eggs from the volcano that they were absorbing energy from.
He's also a lot better at blending in than the anime (or Geoff) suggests.
@@fyrentenimar His main issue was not that he was using a caricature of commoners, but that the only commoners he know are farmers from small villages. So he was really out of place in the big city, both in his manners, and the timeframe (it was not the right season for him to try that cover story)
@@daedalron your absolutely right. But even this has insane world building with many nobles not really see the commoners as…human, you see how nobles born approach problem with commoners and how Myne does. They are many plot points that emphasize this point
I went from "read the first volume for free with code basement" from the video a few month ago to preordering every volume as soon as they are available to just straight up paying a monthly fee on the publisher's website just so I can read the book as they are translating. This series is addictive
Wait that exists? Oh god oh no this information is dangerous I must resist!
@@flixelgato1288oh it must definitely does
@@onepiecegotmeinlove691 yeah I love it. Weekly anime can’t compete with 2 hours’ worth of reading every week. I didn’t like the subscription, but since you can also read weekly by preordering just the books you want (for less than book walker) I fell in love with the service.
I know right. I paid J-novel out the nose to read all the LN and still keep up a subscription to read the newest part every Monday
@@RainAngel111 Are you aware that you can also preorder individual books, which still allows you to read the new weekly parts, but then also get a full ePub copy once it’s released? I’m asking just in case, because I also thought I’d have to pay for both subscription and the individual books, but since I have no interest in the vast majority of series on J-Novel, I’ve saved a ton of money by only paying for individual books.
This story makes me happy, it’s the normal people that really makes a time period. They’re the majority, the most common experience. It’s interesting to see the lives of more normal people that are still interesting
This is like the 5th time I've heard someone quote "the Shandification of Fallout". That video has only about 400,000 views, that seems like a lot on paper but there are videos with millions of views that people will never quote. It's surprising to me.
It’s a shame that Btongue uploads a new video once every couple of years, I feel he had the potential to be one of the RUclips greats.
I haven't watched the video, but I'm assuming that it's because it's an intelligent, well-written video essay.
Creators will try to find those, and in case of RUclips they know of other creators who will know of others, who will maybe know of niche videos.
@@InquisitorThomas He has writeups on Shamus Young's website.
Sounds like it attracts a more intelligent crowd.
Bookworm is honestly an amazing series among other isekai, because of how natural the worldbuilding feels! I truly, truly hope we get more of the series animated, because seeing how Rozemyne fares moving forawrd in Part 3 onwards is fantastic and shows how diverse just the province of Ehrenfest itself is.
When you’re so early that you could still hug and give handshakes
I'm happy to say that the light novels are the better experience for a story about a character who loves reading. I rewatched the show after reading the first 3 volumes (the part that was adapted) and was surprised at how much of the economics was hand-waved and how many fantasy plants used for food were not mentioned. While I was reading it, I was struck by how much less petty Main's desire to be clean seemed, and how real her relationship with her family was. It was also much more clear from the books that Lutz was deliberately positioned to be her foil, as was basically every other character. Just as season 2 has her learning how to assimilate to the church, and her retainers learning to assimilate to the commoner's district, season 1 was as much about teaching Lutz to work within the merchant's guild, where Urano's adult mind made her fit in better, as it was about Main learning how to operate in the new world.
Yeah, in the light novel Myne’s family was described to be dirty but in the anime they were reasonably clean. Although I prefer the anime more during emotional scenes, such as when Lutz carried Myne on his back while crying, or Gunther’s silent cry after he learned about Myne’s illness.
I HADN'T EVEN NOTICED THE FINGER COUNTING THING!
inglorious bastard will never let me forget how Germans count with they finger
I can't even make my fingers like that. If I bend the little finger on my right hand all the way, the ring finger bends along at least half way, and that's if I'm trying my best to keep it straight, otherwise it bends all the way too. With the left hand it's even worse and it always bends all the way no matter how I try to keep it straight. It feels like they're controlled by the same muscle and just physically impossible to move separately. However when I bend my ring finger, the little finger doesn't bend along. Well, it does, but just a little unnoticeable bit. Anyway, he called it the German style? Remind me to never go spying in Germany.
@@HanakoSeishin ok I need to remember to remind you... I'm probably going to forget lol
I've been counting like that forever and i didnt even knew this was Germans. (im Canadian)
That sentence right there. That is very effing relatable.
I'd appreciate more content about Bookworm, especially considering how many points can be taken from its depth. It is truly amazing how much care the writing receives, and it is very hard to think that this series hasn't had years of prior thought and brainstorming.
Currently my all time favorite light novel. Just the dialogue between all the characters is incredible and makes you truly believe they do their own thing behind the scenes.
IT’S PAYOFF! Starting from volume 1 and reading the current volume everything Myne does and learn and all the connections she makes leads somewhere. For example she is told by the High Priest that she has to learn the Harspiel to be more noble like. And over the course of several volumes it follows and mentions her daily Harspiel practice. In the latest volume there is a moment where several characters sit around eating dinner and they all take turns playing the Harspiel! And Myne doesn’t embarrass herself!
The story includes so many moments like this where it’s a Payoff for something that previously happened. Not to mention all her “inventions” get reused multiple times over several volumes. It really feels like she is building upon her achievements.
My favorite thing though is it’s overarching theme. Cooperation! Myne explicitly states when she first arrives in the new world that the only way she will accomplish her goals is if she gains the cooperation of others who are bigger, stronger, and smarter than her. And that theme plays out on every page.
Please go read the light novel! 🙏
roughly how long are each novel.
@@christopherwager312 a day full of reading worth. Dunno, pdf does not really tell how long it is but definitely more than 500. And there are currently 21/22 volume in English right now I think
"The nobility does harm to the common people by denying then opportunities, tools, even basic information about the way their world works."
May day is soon comrades
Well switching out the nobility with another form of nobility with even more power, doesn't solve the problem.
Yes, of course removing nobility and instating a military dictatorship is the solution... especially one that manages to kill 20 million people in 40 years without any wars...
@CK Limit's a plot point later in the novels, but the nobels have no trouble destroying towns that are showing signs of insurgencies. A bit like show by example, because of magic and mana, commoners can't defeat them, hell they can't even enter the city.
@CK Lim "The King wanted commoners to be loyal to him and Kingdom , along with control over vast majority of the population and military, not the noble and plus give commoner right and protection over noble and even minor lord." Medieval Europe wants to talk with you ;)
I mean my country (Poland) was f*cked really hard (Partitions of Poland) because nobility didn't wanted to acknowledge commoners.
@CK Lim also but one of the biggest reason was that nobility didn't wanted to give lands to commoners so commoners didn't have a reason to fight for Polish Commonwealth.
I find your channel on youtube while I was trying to see if Bookworm, my favorite light novel for many years, has made some fans on the western community. I am
one of many people who do Bookworm translate from Japanese to Chinese in the Chinese community.
One thing I really like about bookworm is how the entire world is built with its own logic and everything came with a reason. That's why Bookworm always brings characters like Banno or Ferdinand into the story because they are responsible to educate Main for the new rules and way of thinking that she doesn't know about. Its a learning process for Main, but also for the audiences.
That means if you think "why don't they do this？"Likely there is a reason behind it that readers don't know but will later be explained. During my time reading bookworms, I rarely felt that I outsmart the characters in the story. Soon I start to take some time trying to guess why someone acts a certain way instead of thinking how they so stupid to not do sth. Sometimes reading part4 reverse my understanding of some events happened in part 1, and it ALWAYS makes sense. I consider that as a very good thing because nowadays not many anime/light novels try this hard going deep on world-building. Every character we see, the story of the gods, the rebellion that they talked about earlier, Main's sickness, the story behind Ferdinand. All have a deep relation to how the church is what it is now and later will all have an impact on how this act gonna end.
I won't spoil anything, but the ending of this arc will make every Main's struggle and every character worth it. It's like the ending of the first season but 5 times better at least. So my suggestion is really to be patient about what's going on now because it really just trying to get things prepared and ready to move.
This show very quickly became one of my favorites of all time. What do you even call this Genre? Best I can come up with is "low action fantasy." Same vein as Spice and Wolf and Ancient Magus Bride. I cannot get enough of stuff like this.
PS: It's funny seeing so many different ways to spell Main's name in the comments when it says it in the subtitles every episode.
Exploration Fantasy.
it seems because of how manga translator, LNs and anime fansub spell Main's name differently.
Would you really call Bookworm an "exploration" show? Like I guess it explores themes and minute details of the world, but when I here "exploration fantasy" I think of some grand adventure
J Novel Club uses Myne as the spelling for her name in the English LNs.
Basically isekai genre
Yay he's talking about my fav under rated anime in my resent times
Light novel is great too!
While it is not talked about as much as other series, I don't think Ascendence of a Bookworm is underrated. Kono Light Novelga Sugoi! on their list of best light novels of the decade listed Ascendence of a Bookworm as number 7.
As a writer and also someone who's been following Bookworm since it came out - yes, yes, YES I loved this video. So happy to see other people loving this anime
World building can really make or break a show!
there is 3 important thing in a story : the event, the character, and the background (that include word building).
i dont think that one of them can break a show if the other are good. and i think that it is better to be excellent in one of them, than be fine in all.
a slice of life can be very good with its good character, without anything interesting in background.
(as exemple, i would give to my 3 favorite anime : Hunter x Hunter 9, 8, 9 ; Monogatari 7, 10, 6 ; Re:Zero 7, 9, 10.
and one that i didn't like : Kenja no Mago
3, 3, 7)
Like Interspecies Reviewers!
I also rather enjoyed Vinland Saga's worldbuilding, especially the manga version. In a sense, I think the mangaka may've had it a bit tougher, seeing as it is all based on real people and events, but he's still weaving his own version of the story. He has to do so without triggering anachronism pitfalls, and keep certain aspects from being unduly jarring. I'm impressed!
Seeing the wattle-and-daub timber framed apartments so tightly packed, I can already see this universe's equivalent to the Fire of London in my mind.
honestly the first few episodes all I could think of was what a fire hazard the peasant quarter was.
All it takes is one unattended oven...
I eventually just told myself that they have some timber treatment method that makes it fire resistant so that I could continue watching without hyperventilating.
@@michaelwoodhams7866 As is explained in season 1 iirc, the Trombe wood (best paper material) is highly fire resistant. only downside is that they suck up all the energy in the area, making it basically a local desert if left uncontrolled.
@@C.hrisis Just getting trombe bark for paper making is hard. There's no way they are building working class housing out of trombe timber. (I'm fully up to date with the English translations of the light novels.)
9:30 The side story OVA is actually from Part 3 volume 2 of the Light novel. In there it actually says that Yustasia's disguise works with the commoners in the farm outside the city, but the commoners in the city has different lifestyle compare to the farmers.
@@rilkecadmus5143 LOL, Yustasia isn't introduced officially until Part 3. But chronologically, his spy mission is before Main's entering the temple. His partner in this mission is a very important and likable character later on, but now he just seems like a privileged noble that cannot stand commoners.
BTW, how far is the English version of the LN? I read the Chinese version, so I can get as far as Part 4 Volume 3.
@@IanHsieh The official translation by J Novel Club is up to Part 2 Volume 3. I have heard that the fan translation is farther behind.
@@justinfarischon7868 That means the English LN is only slightly ahead of the anime now. My theory is that season two is going to end at the Part 2 Volume 2 - where Ferdinand read Main's memory, loops back to the event at the start of episode 1. Then Season 3 (hopefully soon) will finish up Part 2.
@@IanHsieh J Novel club is translated an astounding at a furious pace, compared to other translators, of 5-6 volumes a year. There are already a total of 22 Japanese LNs and only 6 have be translated so far. So depending on when season 2 comes out, it may not stay that way for too long.
Most people seem to be in agreement the the end of P2V2 is the best place the first season.
@@rilkecadmus5143 Part 2 Volume 4 is scheduled to come out on June 23, which is 1 month 24 days 7 hours 17 minutes and 10 seconds. But who's counting.
This show is so criminally underrated and overlooked it’s ridiculous. Love the video!
I'd wish this show had a bigger budget. I mean, can you imagine how much more immersive it could be if it had Violet Evergarden-esk animation?
I think it is already beautiful.
@@OriginalPiMan Indeed, it has this sort of aesthetic that has been missing in many other Isekai's.
Agreed with the comment section. Bookworms beauty comes from it's sort of painting-like feel as well as how expressively they've animated the characters. It would lose it's simple charm if they tried to do something more expensive to it.
@@OriginalPiMan it can be but it's not consistent.
I agree, I wish they kept the painterly style of the book covers because the animation is ugly.
This series is just so incredibly immersive. I can practically imagine the typical commoner’s day from morning to night in perfect clarity because of the detail. And I fucking love that.
"I Couldn't Go Outside So I Just Stayed In And Read Light Novels All Day!"
Even the Promotion has a Light Novel title XD
Ascendance is the only series that once I entered its world, I don't want to get out from it. The highest praise I can give just in terms of its world building alone. Even One Piece didn't trap me like this series does though they've come close. Can't say enough of this series and I'm looking forward to the sequel beyond part 5, not because the conclusion was unsatisfying, but because the world is just that good to left unexplored to the imagination of its reader. Truly one of a kind.
This show is amazing. Really, i would never have guessed i would be WAITING for each episode. The second season still have Mein (?) be totally worldbreaking but its improved alot over the first season.
9/10 anime.
I randomly decided to watch this series one day and now it's one of my new favorite shows
I love this series so damn much. The utterly glacial storytelling that's 80% world lore is addictively fascinating and I'll never be able to look at less well built worlds the same.
12:28
Me: Mommy, is that orphanage?
Mom: No, don't worry sweety, it is just gates of hell.
Ascendance of a Bookworm became one of my top 3 all-time favorite series in less than half a season. It was so different from my usual fare of stuff like Tanya the Evil and AoT, I was kinda taken aback by how much I enjoyed it! I don't usually do the whole manga/light novel thing, but Bookworm may change that if we don't see a season 3 for this masterpiece.
A couple friends and I are watching this together, and if it wasn't incredibly clear from the visuals and love for the show, it's worldbuilding is AMAZING, but it's also freaking adorable and heartworaming and has incredible highs and lows. Seriously, this is one of the great gems that I suspect is going to fly under too many people's radar!
i haven’t gotten fully caught up yet but the shows really good so far and i can’t wait to keep watching!!
I've been _devouring_ the anime ever since you first recommended it, and you've certainly explained part of what makes it so good. I'll be sure to get the novels when I can afford them, but I still have a bunch of Monogatari books to finish first.
The first two novels are currently free on bookwalker
I checked this series out after your last video on this series and fell in love. It’s like Dr. Stone at times with its science and future knowledge infotainment bits, but with a more narrowed focus. Also as someone who is a bookworm I relate far more to Main then I do Senku.
I ended up buying every volume they had, binging the crap out of them (nine volumes in a week with a full time job, after a decade of not really reading much.), and then giving them to my daughter as her Christmas/Birthday present. Your recommendation for the anime was probably one of the greatest finds of the last year or two.
Probably Maoyuu Maou Yuusha comes to mind when it comes to world building. I loved the political navigating that the Demon Lord and the Hero have to do in order to bring about their ideal future. I also loved Spice and Wolf, despite it being more about the characters than the world, but it was believable.
I love Maoyuu Maou Yusha (Demon Lord and Hero) as well. I never got around to reading the LN. But I need to bump it up on my list again
Unfortunately, Maoyuu kills its own world-building because author cannot really stop himself from shoving cool ideas he though about into his story without thinking about their consequences. Not only we have far too fast technological advancement without changing social and political status (with how many new things they introduced in such short span of time entire social order would collapse), but it also overloads power of his characters - Yuusha can instantly teleport anywhere he was before and has spell power capable of literally destroying mountains and not getting even winded (both shown in show), but somehow he cannot stop war outright and work upon changing society openly?
That did make me curious, but while he is powerful he is just 1 individual. Not only that, since he is a good guy he cannot change the world through conquest. I think he and the demon lord are trying to ease people into the idea of changing everything they thought they knew.
@@Garyof11 Yes, but at the same time he allows people to die, while he sits and does nothing really. And as I said, speed of introducing new technologies would lead to social revolution and collapse of society in this world, probably leading to revolts and far worse wars tan these they try to stop.
Like seriously, potato itself means enormous agricultural change by having far bigger yields for acre than grain crops, and even before society learn to deal with it they introduce printing press like six months later?
@@Dorrovian Well the demon Lord did mention that essentially they would be war criminals before they even started. Perhaps letting some die and others live is part of the plan? I can't really say the effects of revolutionary changes though cause I'm not good at economics and only know basic history so I can't argue about the pace they are setting.
I love all the different spellings of Main’s name. I’ve seen 4 thus far.
What have you done! I've only found 3 so far and now I have to keep searching for the 4th one!
UPD. Actually, never mind, I guess it and used Ctrl+F to confirm. Now I can safely proceed to surfing the youtube.
UPD2. For anyone else with in the same situation, here are the 4 spellings that can be found in the comments under this video:
Main
Mein
Myne
Mine
I'm not crazy... it's Main, right?
Allow me to add anotmer one Maïne
Meursaulty yes, I looked it up before commenting.
@@meursaulty6672 It's Майн for me. Phonetically consistent languages for the win.
okay, you’ve convinced me jeff. third video’s a charm
Since Season 3 is coming out, I thought I'd give a heads up to anime only people- This keeps getting better. Yes, it focuses on the smaller aspects of Main's (In the LN they call her Myne) life, but it starts to look at the larger society as a whole. The world building gets bigger and bigger throughout every part. If you like fantasy politics, Bookworm does it really well. Ferdinand also gets a lot of love, and some of the new character additions to the cast are truly amazing. Damuel goes from a simple character in a single scene to having one of my favorite character arcs in literature (Damuel was the brown haired knight during the Trombe killing scene who was near the bottom of Noble society and got abused by Shikikoza).
Good world building can take a story so far and I'm loving the development of the city Main lives in. I'm loving season 2 so far
I came expecting anime, what I got was class conflict.
I feel like I should be able to point out that the anime community has that IRL but I can't so maybe I'm antisocial online too.
Welcome to 2020.
No he left out the entire issues that Lutz is having with his mother because of her bigotry to merchant's and hand waved most of Benny's assistance as if it's expected. Seriously freaking wish he'd leave his basis out but that would require an attention to detail this story actually deserves.
@@Cpruett it was more bigotry mixed with bad communication of the fact that they supported him anyways. plus, the fact that they didn't know that lutz actually had a realistic path to success. there is much more time devoted to the whole conflict and resolution in the novel then the anime.
@@Cpruett wow, apparently it's completely unexpected for merchants to act to protect their profits lmao.
Thank you for showing me that systemic problems don't exist because certain individuals aren't as bad as they can be /s.
Good world building is always a treat, lots of implications go a really long way but actually having worlds within the same place clash are the best. It's like conflicting magic systems having to deal with each other.
i HIGHLY recommend the light novel series, it is very long but the worldbuilding only gets more and more interesting and complex, and where the story goes is so interesting and mind boggling. however the characters are probably my favorite part, even as the story grows and many characters are introduced they are all believable and distinct. In fact some of my favorite characters are introduced after the point where the anime ends.
What's scary about Justus is that he really doesn't hold any contempt for commoners (he literally see them as livestock) this was his first time in the lower city but in the og side story he did actually learn a lot about Myne regardless or at least learned no one actually had info couse of Benno. The only people who caught on were actually the the kids who knew Myne personally.
The kingkiller chronicle by Patrick Rothfuss. Name of the wind & Wiseman’s fear. While watching this video, all I could think was “oh, this is how you get Patrick Rothfuss into anime.”
That man doesn't need any more distractions, been waiting years for the third book.
I absolutely adore this anime on the world building perspective. The amount of detail one puts in the world alone is staggering.
10:41 this short story is very interesting in hindsight, because (LN spoilers)
justus(eustacius is a mistranslation from the OVA im fairly sure, the LN official translation uses justus 100% of time) is actually extremely knowledgable about commoners, though he has relatively little experience with the big city areas. Mostly because hes such a big weirdo obsessed with gathering intelligence that it easily manages to beat out any feelings of disgust or class based pride. +
He just fucks up because he doesnt realize how different city commoners are from village commoners. The LN explains in detail the differences he fails to understand. Which is another insane amount of detail the series gives us.
The interesting contrast of having a character be pictured as dunning-krueger ignorant and have them later be revealed as possibly the most knowledable person in the entire world overall is really quite something.
I absolutely adore this series! i have watched all the episodes that are out and i have read the light novels too! It has done an excellent job in building the world....I can state that i cannot wait til the next novel comes out. I finished the 1st three books in one day!
I have been amazed by how far the author has managed to make a single story surrounding founding myth go in relation to noble euphemisms. I am further impressed that those willing to pay attention to the details can actually craft their own euphemisms and understand the euphemisms in the story, without needing the protagonist to dissect them.
The Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson is also incredible in its worldbuilding
Yea but that guy is a monster, don’t try to emulate him. You’ll go mad
Haha, I want a MB video on that series!
@kimbleangus7321 I'm currently reading Stormlight book 5. SO GOOD. Even the prologues are masterpieces in themselves.
If you have come here 3 years later, know that now Myne is rushing head first to the world beyond and we are getting even more and more and more and more lore. I also recommend the novels, but please support the anime so we can get more seasons!
I love this little gremlin
I want more of this analysis. I hope he at least does one for the end of this season because it looks like it is going to be a very emotional scene.
dude, i gotta thank you. were in not for this channel, i probably would have never checked out this show or spice and wolf which have gone on to be one of my favorite shows and my favorite show respectively. you've introduced me to a lot of great anime over the years.. but those two in particular have tickled my fancy in a way that no other anime have.. spice and wolf was the first time i felt a burning need to pick up a light novel after finishing the anime. so.. thank you for being such a nerd for this shit. just hearing you gush over shit like this makes me smile.
One thing I've ended up realizing even more while watching the anime is the divisions in our world. On one hand, we still have divisions in terms of class, albeit for the most part, it's now people like Benno who've built up their wealth over the years or people like Frieda who've inherited it, with actual royalty mostly being ceremonial, although there's also the places with corrupt politicians which basically act as modern-day nobility, especially here in the Philippines given their nature of passing on the position to the first born male (or in more gender-equal families, the first born child in general). But there's also country based divisions. People in America and Japan would, in general, be easily able to afford various manga and novels, along with console games and whatnot. Over here, most people only really get books as hand-me-downs from richer relatives or out of necessity for school. E-books have opened up the world of reading even more for us, but it's mostly limited to apps like Wattpad given that professional books still need to be paid for. Same thing with games, movies, anime, etc. Heck, pirating has been a heavy problem here simply because there's things people want access to that they can't afford normally. Although, we're at least lucky enough to know about those things to want them in the first place. Also, thankfully, there's been efforts to reduce pirating while still allowing people to have access to free forms of information and entertainment over these past few years and decades.
The light novel is so good i find myself wanting to rant about the world like how Hartmut rants about myne
I was just thinking about how I would make a video on how good this show is and immediately knew why, it was worldbuilding. And you have beat me to the punch here good sir.
I've never read books that made me laugh and cry as much as these. I can't wait until the next book is released at the end of the month.
It's extremely impressive how much this video derives from the anime alone without touching the source material.
Like, the guess that nobles reacting so badly to the smell of waste means they have some magical way of dealing with it, and how "that magic technology has not yet been disseminated to the masses".
As the source material reveals, that's exactly the case; the nobility use waste-dissolving slimes invented through magical research nearly a century ago, and while it doesn't require magic to maintain, there's a high initial magic cost to creating these systems. Other cities *did* disseminate this system to the masses, but Ehrenfest's nobility couldn't afford the upfront cost at the time and later generations of nobles completely forgot about the idea of giving the commoners this technology.
Wow!
Ascendance of Bookworm is probably the best worldbuilding that I've ever seen
Loved it so much I went and read all the light novels available in english so far... Can't wait until June when the next volume comes out. The world building is incredible in this series.
I'm only finding this video now, but man, looking back at early Bookworm it becomes really clear just how much planning and attention to detail Miya Kazuki put into her world. More than 27 volumes into the light novel and we're _still_ uncovering more details pertaining to the first few volumes.
It is worth noting with the finger counting thing that it also somehow denotes _which coins_ you are counting in. It is essentially a silent merchants code for discussing prices internally but random Joe Anybody may not understand exactly what the fingers represent.
When Tuuri/Tuli sees Myne indicate a price to Corrina using her fingers she has to ask how much it meant. Myne deliberately chose to indicate it silently because she was uncomfortable revealing just how much money she was dealing with to her family.
Though I don’t know how the code works I could guess that counting ‘German style’ may simply be a way of counting with a specific denomination of coin.
Another series that really impressed me with its worldbuilding is "So I'm a spider, so what" (getting an anime this/next year) Most fantasy series just put a game-like magic system in without explaining anything much but this series is seriousely considering everything. How it came to this, how it affects its people's civilisation and faith. It even throws curveballs because we are so used to having those system just because.
Also, instead of having everything exist just to foil our MC, events happen in the background and our MC has just as much effect on the world as the other way around.
I think my favorite world building in anime was the dubbed Outlaw star series, it use to always open with stories, legends facts and other things that the episode would build off of to add more to characters, weapons, magic and events.
Myne’s smile is so precious
I had not heard of this anime before, and now you've persuaded me to check it out!
An appreciation comment for the background music I caught some TPN and Nier and I highly appreciate it.
This series has so many gut punch moments you genuinely get traumatized by it, but the pay off throughout is amazing. While I would love them to continue to animate the source material later books are so jam packed there is no way the series could do it justice.
never really thought about worldbuilding like that. Really enjoyed this analysis.
Loving everything you do, also this show is amazing!
After re-watching the 3 seasons of the anime, I finally got the light novel (on paper) and just a few pages in... there are SO MANY details you don't get in the anime. I know, it's a natural thing. But I will enjoy revisiting the story with many new information and perspectives.
8:54 Me, watching this as a German: "Wait there is a different style of finger-counting than starting with the thumb?"
As an italian i was confused too XD
The English styles use the thumb last but starting with the index though to pinky, because we use the thumb to to help hold down the fingers not yet counted on
As someone who is trying to write an isekai (currently watching Log Horizon), this is a very interesting one.
When you told about the chamber pot in window, I could totally smell how foul it is.
And then, the other video which you told about the relationship about Myne's family, couldn't help but smile because it's just wholesome.
Most isekai just info dump you (not just isekai, there are western series that I watched that are trying to fit everything in 6 episode so it's very fast pacing and doesn't flesh out the entire sculpture) so seeing one taking time to build the plot, relationship and seeing the side character not being just there totally hooked me.
Anyone who enjoys this series should really read the light novels too. They have more time to focus on side characters, but do so in such a way that it enhances the story rather than distracts from it. The episode where Tuuli and Effa visit Corrina with Myne is actually a side story included after the epilogue of one of the books. You get to learn more about the characters motivations as well which helps flesh out some things the anime glosses over. I still enjoy watching the anime despite having read the novels.
I was waiting for you to talk about Bookwor's amazingly well portrayed Social worldbulding, Geoff. I couldn't agree more with you in most of what you've detailed here and I always enjoy your eloquent reviews.
You keep outdoing yourself. Thank you so much for this.
I finally watched this show thanks to your suggestion! Just finished season 1 ☺️
I've been running a Steampunk/Victorian-Era 5e D&D Campaign recently set entirely in one city, and this show has helped me elevate it from an okay setting to a setting I can't wait to get back and explore and have my players interact with!
You should start a series that are comprised of similar videos like this one on other world, and character building cause I think it could help people trying to write themselves. Really liked this style of video keep it up
The mentioning of the Shandyfication of Fallout really got me. I watched that video long ago. I love it when creators reference each other!