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    Ascendance of a Bookworm - anime discussion

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    • OSRizzoO
      OSRizzo
      last edited by

      Is it just me, or did the pacing in this episode feel a bit off? When I read the book, this whole part seemed to be a bit more frantic, whereas in the anime, it seemed like everybody was taking their sweet time to do anything. I guess my impression in the book was that after Myne's blood activated the tromb that everyone was hurrying to take care of the new threat, and in the anime it seemed like everybody didn't seem to have any sense of urgency. Like nobody cared that the tromb was squeezing her to death.

      It definitely threw me for a loop and somewhat disappointed me, as I had been looking forward to this episode.

      I was also under the impression that the cut she had received was much deeper and bleeding more in the book. She barely seemed to get a scratch here.

      "Hubris is a slow and insidious killer, Aub Ehrenfest."

      OpalO Libri LiberorumL 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 4
      • OpalO
        Opal Member @OSRizzo
        last edited by Opal

        @OSRizzo Yes, I feel the same ... I was so waiting for this to be animated, and I kind of got disappointed by the end, it was more of a leisure ride than what I felt, reading the part.
        Edit: I prefered the novel part, the lack of urgency throw me off complately.

        ... For PONY!

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        • pcjP
          pcj Premium Member
          last edited by

          Next week is the last episode.

          I think the slow pacing in this episode was trying to pace it so that they can have almost the entirety of the next episode for

          spoiler

          There's also the rest of the trombe extermination mission, which will be amazing, but won't take very long at the beginning of the episode (they're almost finished, but the next part is the most amazing)

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          • P
            Philip-h5 Premium Member
            last edited by Philip-h5

            I was looking forward to seeing Ferdinand furious for more than a few seconds, but I guess the whole violence side was toned down a lot. Visually, the next part should be stunning given how the magic aspect so far has been given priority. I just hope the next season will happen in under a year.

            Myne ended up taking Arno's line. “Fran!” yelled Arno as Fran speedily got up and tried to rescue me. “You must not move! Your master is being punished for you acting out of place. You must not make things even worse.”.😡

            When alternate realities collapse into one, beware the moving train tracks.

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            • Libri LiberorumL
              Libri Liberorum Premium Member @OSRizzo
              last edited by

              @OSRizzo said in Ascendance of a Bookworm - anime discussion:

              When I read the book, this whole part seemed to be a bit more frantic, whereas in the anime, it seemed like everybody was taking their sweet time to do anything.

              Yes, I came here to say the same thing. Myne is suffocating, and everyone is just standing around expositing. They needed to borrow someone from a shonen battle anime to direct this episode. While they are at it, they should get whoever is animating Myne's facial expressions to do some work on Ferdinand.

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              • pcjP
                pcj Premium Member @Justaidan
                last edited by

                @Justaidan said in Bookworm Part 3 Vol. 1 Discussion!:

                @Shiny said in Bookworm Part 3 Vol. 1 Discussion!:

                Good list. She also seems to have the power to communicate great distances (when she called out to Lutz during the Trimble extermination) which might or might not be an unprecedented ability.

                Notably she also did this without using a magic chant or calling on the gods' assistance.

                [hehe, "Trimble" :D]

                The anime just got to this episode, and the anime portrayed it as being enacted by the ring she was wearing, and visualized it as a kind of mana beam that went into town to find him. But indeed, she cast it without a prayer or chant.

                GamenG b.scot.morganB 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 1
                • GamenG
                  Gamen Premium Member @pcj
                  last edited by

                  @pcj OTOH I took a peek at it and I noticed that Arno disappeared and Shizka got his lines, so take what the anime does with a grain of salt.

                  (Only a peek because I can't stand anime, especially adaptations... my crunchyroll subscription is for the manga)

                  My talking sword has a point. And is also right.

                  JustaidanJ 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • JustaidanJ
                    Justaidan Premium Member @Gamen
                    last edited by

                    @Gamen @pcj I'm with Garmen in that I don't want to read to much into what the anime does when dissecting the LN.

                    There are too many bits omitted or misrepresented in the anime. In fairness Bookworm is extremely content dense, subtle and detailed so it is hard to adapt.

                    If the anime manages to get more people reading the LN then it has done its job.

                    C Tiko424T 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 1
                    • QuofQ
                      Quof Translators
                      last edited by

                      Yeah, this episode (from what I've heard anyway) and the ones about the orphanage, are kind of a reminder of how censored TV needs to be, and how Bookworm is actually a darker series than it first appears. The anime and a lot of the marketing seems to want to portray it as a family friendly kids thing when the actual novels are a lot more mature and heavy. In a way I wonder if the anime is stopping at the end of P2V2 just because shit gets way too real after that point to keep pretending it's family friendly. Or well, they could always keep censoring/toning things down, but yeah.

                      If the anime keeps going far into the series I'll be very interested in seeing how many of the harsher details get cut.

                      C Libri LiberorumL JustaidanJ 3 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 1
                      • C
                        CamChar Member @Justaidan
                        last edited by

                        @Justaidan said in Bookworm Part 3 Vol. 1 Discussion!:

                        If the anime manages to get more people reading the LN then it has done its job.

                        Sure damn worked for me.
                        Also this current Part 3 and it's volumes arc is probably going to be one of the most interesting to watch the discussions for various reasons.

                        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 3
                        • Tiko424T
                          Tiko424 Premium Member @Justaidan
                          last edited by

                          @Justaidan said in Bookworm Part 3 Vol. 1 Discussion!:

                          @Gamen @pcj I'm with Garmen in that I don't want to read to much into what the anime does when dissecting the LN.

                          There are too many bits omitted or misrepresented in the anime. In fairness Bookworm is extremely content dense, subtle and detailed so it is hard to adapt.

                          If the anime manages to get more people reading the LN then it has done its job.

                          Can tell you it worked on me and I'm someone who doesn't normally take the time to read due to the many issues I have...

                          BEWARE of the Pimpin Purple Pineapple! Because one day he will take over the world and rule us all with his rusty wooden spoon!

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                          • C
                            CamChar Member @Quof
                            last edited by

                            @Quof said in Ascendance of a Bookworm - anime discussion:

                            In a way I wonder if the anime is stopping at the end of P2V2 just because shit gets way too real after that point to keep pretending it's family friendly.

                            I genuinely thought with everything they were cutting they were going to end at the end of the Blue Shrine Maiden arc especially with the Head Bishop being featured in the opening and the really bittersweet moments of Myne dancing with her family and friends. They'd need another 12 episode season to reach that point though I guess with everything that happens.
                            They definitely could cut a lot of the more heavier moments though, I saw on Reddit someone was calling this basically a workplace series with Ferd as the Boss and Myne as the new hire they could definitely squeeze the story that route especially if it's not going to go to the end. With their budget and animation limitations (serious side mouth obsession) I can't see them doing the series long term.

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                            • Libri LiberorumL
                              Libri Liberorum Premium Member @Quof
                              last edited by

                              @Quof I'm not in this case complaining about lightening the darker aspects of the series. I'm complaining that this episode should have been heart stopping action (not only allowed but common in kid-oriented shows) but was instead people pausing their action scenes to stand around talking. It's OK to ask "what happened here?" so long as you are simultaneously doing martial arts and using far! Too! Many! Exclamation! Marks!

                              Also, Myne didn't bleed enough to justify that the trombe was still getting mana from her (someone else already commented) and when she got cut it looked very contrived.

                              I'm rewatching the scenes now and making notes as I go.

                              Shikza (Schicicoza in the anime) should have been waving the knife over her head instead of standing still with the knife in front of him which Myne somehow contrived to poke her hand into. Then Myne stands around as the trombe sprouts underneath her instead of trying to jump away. (If they'd made the trombe's grab her in the first half second instead of in about 3 seconds (10:25 to 10:28) it would work much better.)

                              Myne says "I can't breathe" at 10:59, after which she has a discussion with Ferdinand.

                              Ferdinand jumps off his highbeast at 11:51 and takes no action until 12:24. Included in this time is such vital communication as Ferdinand saying "I don't believe this. You were supposed to guard her you imbiciles.", gets reply "We're terribly sorry", then continues "There is no point fighting them off if the wound remains open." Even after he heals Myne he wastes more time discussing the nature of the healing he did, and the rules around blessing weapons. Then more discussion after Karstedt arrives, and the trombe is finally attacked at 13:41, about 2:40 after Myne complains of being unable to breathe. Note that a plant that grows from nothing to strangling its victim in 30 seconds gets another 2:40 of growth before anyone successfully acts against it.

                              QuofQ db0ssmanD 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 2
                              • JustaidanJ
                                Justaidan Premium Member @Quof
                                last edited by

                                @Quof @CamChar @LIbri-Liberorum

                                Bookworm does a lot of world building, foreshadowing and character development in the LN that can't make it into the anime and the anime is removing the darker elements. I don't see how these issues won't compound upon themselves in the quality of the adaptation if the anime were to continue for a third season and may even lead to a severe mood whiplash for viewers if the anime tried to move closer to the LN.

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                                • QuofQ
                                  Quof Translators @Libri Liberorum
                                  last edited by

                                  @LIbri-Liberorum That's actually what I mean. This scene being more intense and frantic would maybe even scare kids.

                                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
                                  • b.scot.morganB
                                    b.scot.morgan Premium Member @pcj
                                    last edited by

                                    @pcj said in Ascendance of a Bookworm - anime discussion:

                                    @Justaidan said in Bookworm Part 3 Vol. 1 Discussion!:

                                    @Shiny said in Bookworm Part 3 Vol. 1 Discussion!:

                                    Good list. She also seems to have the power to communicate great distances (when she called out to Lutz during the Trimble extermination) which might or might not be an unprecedented ability.

                                    Notably she also did this without using a magic chant or calling on the gods' assistance.

                                    [hehe, "Trimble" :D]

                                    The anime just got to this episode, and the anime portrayed it as being enacted by the ring she was wearing, and visualized it as a kind of mana beam that went into town to find him. But indeed, she cast it without a prayer or chant.

                                    I think the anime got that part right, actually. Even when I read it in the LN I figured the beam went out from the ring since (1) the beam was blue, just like the feystone in her ring, and (2) it has been stated multiple times that magic tools are needed to work magic.

                                    Magic without invoking the gods is pretty common for minor things (like “rott”, “ordonnanz”, and changing a wand it into a weapon), and in some cases without any incantation at all (like when summoning a wand or a highbeast, or for some activities in P2V4 that only required gestures but which I can’t describe without spoilering anime-only fans). But magic without magic tools just isn’t a thing.

                                    Myne has done some things that most people consider impossible in practice, but not anything impossible in principle. Not so far, at least. She hasn’t broken her world’s laws of “physics.” So I think the anime was right to have the blue beam shoot out of her ring.

                                    piisfunP 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                    • piisfunP
                                      piisfun Member @b.scot.morgan
                                      last edited by

                                      @b-scot-morgan

                                      Part 2 Volume 2:

                                      It all happened right after I cried for help as loud as I could with my hands in the air to try to stop the bleeding. A beam of blue light shot high into the sky, and then immediately black somethings rained down around me as I heard the sound of flapping wings.

                                      No mention, but coming from the ring would mke the most sense.

                                      There is only one form of magic we have seen done without tools: crushing.

                                      Green's Theorem

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                                      • db0ssmanD
                                        db0ssman Member @Libri Liberorum
                                        last edited by

                                        @LIbri-Liberorum I think this is a problem that is in all anime that themes and events tend to get streamlined and compressed. Given that the entirety of the web novel was out before the anime ever started production, I think they will have at least an idea of how they want the arcs to go for each season so that even if the mood changes somewhat from the LN, the major plot points could be mostly the same.

                                        A good comparison to the amount of content that is converted to the number of anime episodes (these are ones I'm actually aware of):

                                        Rising of the Shield Hero - ~ 5 episodes per 70,000 word book
                                        Goblin Slayer - ~7 episodes per 60,000 word book
                                        If it's for my daughter... - ~4 episodes per 50k book
                                        Ascendance of a Bookworm - ~4 episodes per 100k book

                                        Granted these are just rough estimates and not THAT useful because a couple of episodes back there was basically a 5 min montage that covered 1.5 books worth of material and there is going to be a 3 episode stretch that only covers a couple of chapters. There is just way too much stuff to not have to stream-line and cut out. That means they have to be hyper-focused on preventing redundancy even if it accidentally changes parts of the world.

                                        An example of that I noticed the last episode was when Myne gives her combat prayer. I remember in the book a lot of the knights were super happy, but in the episode no one said anything. Damuel a few moments later thanks her and says that it will be a big help. A small change to cut out a few seconds of dialogue, but then the anime is presenting that all nobles hate commoners where the LN are more nuanced, some like them and some don't.

                                        Shift World Web Novel

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                                        • pcjP
                                          pcj Premium Member
                                          last edited by

                                          I just had the horrible realization that the anime is probably not going to cover

                                          spoiler
                                          db0ssmanD Libri LiberorumL 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                          • db0ssmanD
                                            db0ssman Member @pcj
                                            last edited by

                                            @pcj To be honest, I get the feeling that will be the second half of next episode because (spoiler for content that comes up in the books during timeframe of anime)

                                            spoiler

                                            Shift World Web Novel

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