Audience reviews
20 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
andylaode
This portrayal is deeply frustrating. The character, Main, is less a "book lover" and more someone obsessed with shoujo manga and YouTube DIY trends. If you're looking for a genuinely intelligent, mature female lead with authentic literary depth, you won’t find it here.
The story tries to frame her as a devoted reader, yet her idea of "literature" is adapting temple scriptures into shoujo manga (which she calls a "picture book"). Even in a magical isekai setting, she clings to shallow tropes instead of meaningful growth.
Her "inventor" persona? Unconvincing. Why bother making paper manually when enchanted resources exist? And her time in the library? Wasted. Instead of seeking cures, strategies, or ways to break a child’s contract, she just… finds more shoujo manga.
Worse, she devolves…
Read at the sourcelaeval
Let me ruin the show for you: Every time Myne opens her mouth, consider that she is actually a well-read 20+ isekaiee.
Do you expect the bookworm who has gotten access to a library to actually read the books within and learn about the world she is living in?
She does not. The titular bookworm _does not read_. This is my biggest gripe with the show: Myne is portrayed as a huge book nerd, she is shown reading books, but she never gains any kind of knowledge about anything. The show betrays the premise and never even attempts to course-correct.
Do you expect a 20+ woman to not act like a 5 year old?
She does not know manners. In fact she remains oblivious to basic etiquette by choice. She does no critical thinking. She doesn't try to improve herself in any way. What was she reading for her…
Read at the sourceqdmoefte
This is bullcrap. The girl, Main, is just ridiculously obsessed with shoujo manga books, and DIY stuffs from youtube.
*If you are expecting a REALISTIC MATURE AND SMART FEMALE CHARACTER WHO GENUINELY LOVES BOOKS, you are in the wrong place.
Temple got scripture about so-called GODs and their soap opera.
So-called booklover adapted it into a shoujo manga (she claimed it a picture book)
I guess, she wasn't satisfied with her share of shoujo mangas of her past life.
In a goddam Magical isekai, she is making a Shoujo manga to groundlessly build her book lover character.
HER INVENTOR cosplayer character? bullcrap.
Make paper?? NOOB.. Get a magically enchanted tree that gives papers Magically.
Diving head first into a bountiful library?? So. What did she learn?
A way to cure her Devouring…
Read at the sourceBanisoup
I've been trying to make up my mind how I feel about this series since I started it a little while back and finally completing it today. So let's tackle pros and cons without spoiling anything.
Animation: it can be REALLY bad. Honestly I don't feel like they make too many attempts at hiding the fact they barely have a budget for animation. It can be as simple as showing an image while the characters continue to talk or a chase scene where it's a still image and the characters continue to talk, or an awkward moment where maybe someone should have let go of an item. It doesn't make sense until you remember oh yes, they don't have a budget to show that do they?
Designs: oh boy. Sometimes I really like it, I like how you can tell who's nobility and who isn't based on clothing alone, however…
Read at the sourceThatAnimeSnobRE
Ascendance of a Bookworm was hailed as one of the best isekai ever made. Something which the fanboys say for every isekai there is, therefore this statement means nothing. What matters is the execution, which for this show was supposed to be how it’s not a power fantasy about a male loser getting reincarnated into a videogame where he is overpowered and forms a harem while fighting the demon lord with his broken superpowers. This show is better because the protagonist is a girl, there are no videogames, no harem, no demon lord, and no superpowers. It’s a simple coming of age, about a simple girl, in a simple medieval setting. Or so it was at first, because that is no longer true by the end of the second season.
But first things first. Every story needs to give the viewer reasons for keepi…
Read at the sourceRyanSpring
This review is for both season 1 and season 2, which as of the time of this writing is the entirety of the series. A third season has been announced, but it's not a thing yet.
As a whole, I wanted to like this series more than I actually did. It has modern visuals, an original story, respectable world-building and character development and a few wholesome moments that'll make you feel warm and all that good stuff. However, there are two major, major issues with this series that each colossally detract from my ability to enjoy it and there is just no way around either of them. They are as follows-
1. Pacing
This anime is very slow and it never picks up. The beginning, middle and end are all slow, all dialogue heavy and all repetitive. There's more or less zero combat in this anime, zero…
Read at the sourceJamamie
If you had told me a year or so ago that one of my favourite animes ever would be about a little girl reading books i'd have called you insane. but yet, here we are.
There are very few stories that i know of that begin so comfy, a simple premise about a girl getting isekai'd and ending up as a feverish sickly girl in a medieval Europe setting. she is a daughter of a poor family but still retains her memories.
The story slowly develops into a merchant story but then also develops into a story with genuine world changing political intrigue. I could write reams about the characters but i believe what i can say has been said by many others in a far better way.
All in all Myne has become one of my favourite little characters and i cannot wait for season 3.
If you are on the fence about t…
Read at the sourceSrunner
Truly masterpiece of anime, however if you're just now looking this up i'd suggest 2 things if you watch this read the manga as well, what is not in the anime is in the manga and the 2 complement each other filling in the plot holes of the other. If you don't have access to the manga, read the light novel, it's available on Amazon or other less scrupulous sources. I did all 3 and without the novelization I'd miss so much that's going on in the background. Ok to the review season 2 covers the events of the second half of Part 1 book 3, part 2 book 1 and the first part of book 2. Myne becomes a priestess but there is evil within the church and Myne will do anything to become a Librarian. The teaser trailer sets an excellent mood for the season however the event everyone wants to see from it…
Read at the sourceSebastianyuke
This show is another isekai that I first thought will be a junk. But as the story progress, i come to love it.
I haven't read the source of this anime, so this review is based only from the anime. Beware this review may contain Spoiler.
The MC is little girl & fragile, easy to get tired & sick. Usually MC start from little kid and there is time skip as story progress, transform them to their adult form. But this one isn't, the MC remain as kid from season 1 to season 2. The pacing is quite slow at first, made me bored and nearly stopped watching it. But there is an event that nearly never happen in the all other isekai show. Someone inside the isekai find out the MC is from another world, not from there. From that point on, I 'm become more interested.
Honzuki take another route of ise…
Read at the sourceLordGoatKing
Goat's review of Honzuki no Gekokujou
STORY: 9/10
This one takes a interesting spin on the isekai genre in that avoids some of the more common tropes. For example in many a isekai our protagonist is an overpowered teenage magical male who must go on a great adventure to save the world from a demon lord or some nonsense. Here our protagonist is a little girl whose magic is hindering her and her only goal is to find a book. Such a simple a idea but by putting in the the classic isekai medieval setting and applying real world how real world economics would effect the rarity in those circumstances drives our protagonist on a "Spice & Wolf" like economic driven journey to make the book. Later in the 2nd season you start seeing more magic which with the build up if feels like your learning more…
Read at the sourceNilsou
Ascendance of a Bookworm is now a well-known anime with a relative unanimity around its quality. I review the S1+S2 here. (english is not my primary language)
I have been quite disappointed by these two seasons...
The anime is the story of a 20-year-old librarian who is reincarnated in a 5-year-old girl body after her death, in a new fantasy/medieval world. All the anime spin around the fact that this new world has not yet invented the printing and so books are rare and expensive.
The anime have a lot of problems in its writing and I will discuss about them, but before, let's talk about the art and the OST.
The art of Ascendance of a Bookworm is a bit "cheap", with a bad animation on certain scenes and a drawing a bit strange, particularly on faces.
The OST of this anime is not good a…
Read at the sourceCinaGinger
Real score: 7.5
I suddenly got inspiration to write this review after waiting since last winter. I'll be brief and tell you that this 2nd season it's duller than the first one (I gave it a higher score for the 1st one). I got slightly dissappointed because I was waiting anxiously for the second season.
Fortunately, it became more interesting in the second half but it seems that I'm missing on many information about this new world, and Main is doing way less work as the "engineer of books" as I think she is. It's more related to how to act among nobility but they don't really show a lot, those awful noble people just appear from time to time to let us know that they exist but I felt no pressure from them at all. It shows that life goes on, that the characters have grown a little, as litt…
Read at the sourceSenpaika
You could say "Oh! Finally a sequel. Yay!", but you will be pretty disappointed.
Creators continue to speed the main storyline as fast as they can. The 12th episode is absolute garbage. Even I would make up better ending episode then them.
Now without further ado let's rate it.
Character design 4/10:
All characters seem like they are dead. As a viewer, you can't feel with them. It
is like watching a fish. And on top of that, some don't have any development. If
you want good characters then this is not for you. Soundtrack & OP,ED 6/10:
The opening is pretty fine It reminds me opening from Kami nomi zo Shiru Sekai.
Art style 3/10:
Like really It's 2020 and it looks worse than Clannad.
Enjoyment 7/10:
I Am glad that I had taken those drugs before watching this sequel. Now for real,
I li…
Read at the sourceDamuzen
And we are back with Mayne! The first season was a great discovery, and this second season remains in its lineage and goes even further
Story: 8/10
The second season makes a fairly radical change from the first, because now the story focuses on the Church and Mayne's new position as a blue robe
We thus discover the mode of operation of the Church, as well as the whole system of caste and nobility (where the first season revolved more around trading, merchants and peasants)
The story is cut out in the form of challenges and obstacles that Mayne continues to encounter. After having finally obtained what she wanted (access to the library), her preoccupations will move away (only partially of course!) from books in order to take an interest in the people around her.
Art: 5/10
It's the only f…
Read at the sourceAgent_Redacted
The continuation of Ascendance of a Bookworm felt like a straight line that barely shifts up and down. It felt like an additional to the first season, which of course is totally obvious as this is the second season with the differences being the fact that this season had more society-class discrimination. There's nothing so great about this season yet the story still captivates my heart despite being gone for about nearly half a year.
The only bad thing about Ascendance of a Bookworm is the fact that its main protagonist, Myne is kid. And as I hate kids due to their voice and how they act, I often find Myne and other kids retarded at times as I watched the show. However, despite all this Ascendance of a Bookworm is probably one of the anime where I accept the fact that kids are just kids…
Read at the sourceselby1122
I loved the world-building of this show so much. I wouldn't mind a timeskip, but the pacing was fantastic. Every new episode is a new opportunity to see the characters' grow at their own tempo, organically through the story. The world of "Honzuki no Gekokujou..." itself is a fascinating one to discover and explore slowly and gradually, with each subsequent episode.
Although the animation budget clearly wasn't very high for this production, the quality shows where it's important. The magic system is solid, and isn't just a bunch of explosions but rather complex, focused enchantments and spells to make miraculous things happen. That is exactly what this show was: a miraculous thing.
Read at the sourcegaussian_
Ascendance of a Bookworm has a special place in my heart since it is a story that I never knew I wanted. A certified bookworm myself, I've always loved fantasy, but seeing a great fantasy story combined with the deep love of books that this series brings to the fore is absolutely magical.
Now, to the business of the review. If you loved the first season of Bookworm, you will love this season as well. First, the world-building in this series continues to be on point. The medieval period is a popular stomping ground for fantasy, but this series does a much better job of portraying the nitty-gritty aspects of every day life in that culture. For the vast majority of people, life was dominated by the concern "how am I going to keep myself fed and clothed." Bookworm hits this nail directly on t…
Read at the sourcerobert788
Honzuki no Gekokujou: Shisho ni Naru Tame ni wa Shudan wo Erandeiraremasen 2nd Season (2020)
What a season, for me the first season and its OVA were very good but not so amazing. I found Maine hard to like at the beginning and the story was a bit slow in my opinion. But here we have a superb second season that blew my expectation away.
For a continuation they really pulled out the stops which shows the author did a great job with their content to allow such an adaptation. This season has twists and turns, the evil and good of noble society and some real story progression that is satisfying. You get so much out of this it was superb.
The art is much the same as the first season and its OVA set due to being so close. I would say in some ways it is much more refined in its finer details.…
Read at the sourceMarinate1016
If you’re watching this, you surely know the gist of the story and enjoy it, so I will save you the details of Bookworm’s plot.
Bookworm II picks up right where the first season left off and does everything the first season did even better. We’ve got a wider range of characters who bring a diverse set of personalities and backgrounds to the stories as well as the continued development of Main as a priestess.
Whereas the first season revolves around Main’s relationship with her family and local friends, the second season mainly focuses on Main’s relationship with the church and her retainers. I enjoyed that quite a bit as it was an opportunity to learn more lore about the church and its role in society. The show continues to be very character driven and self contained. It’s not overly a…
Read at the sourceKANLen09
Isekai Bookworm is back for Part 2, the continuation of the 2nd half of the remaining 12 episodes, and I'd have to say that while the content for the 2nd half was another solid effort, it was kinda downplayed after the strong foundations of the 1st half. Don't get me wrong, it is a good watch, but as a whole when it's compared to the source material, it lacks finesse and proper story progression.
The story with Part 2 (the Apprentice Shrine Maiden arc) continues our blue-haired childish girl's dreams of wanting to read and make books, now descending onto the Church, whose noble state is one of disrepair, and attaching with it, the politics and power play that comes with tormented abuse. Myne is only there as a means to cure her growing mana (which she had from the Devouring back in Part 1…
Read at the source