Ascendance of a Bookworm - anime discussion

Libri Liberorum

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

Thats the only confusing thing in the series , at least for me. People can leave city. I mean Benno will open another shop from another city and puts Lutz on it. So what is the rule? Maybe citizenship is not what are we think. Or Otto and Benno werent talk about it. Traveling merchents have to leave city and have to go far far away from their home. One city to another. Always on the road , always buying and selling stuff. So if Lutz become traveling merchent he has to leave the city and has to travel along time. So even he has citizenship he couldnt be in the city. Writer didnt give us info about it and i dont think she will give in the future. Like you said , is there a time limit? What if i left Benno would left the city for fun? He could put Lutz or Corrina in charge to shop. He could leave and see new cities or stuff? Is there a limit? Is there a problem?

While I love this series, there are some flaws in the world building, and the citizenship and poor traveling merchants I think aren't too well thought out. Our history says that traveling merchants often make a lot of money, and cities which have many such merchants prosper (e.g. Venice) so cities should welcome them. Maybe Myne will do this with the first city she takes control of.

Given that citizens have been magically registered, the city walls are imbued with magic, and magic in this world is quite good at information technology tasks, it is quite conceivable that citizens' entries and exits of the city are automatically registered, so a residency requirement to maintain citizenship could be automatically administered.

LurkingMcLurk

Seems like we’re going to get some information about the Part 2 adaption in seventeen hours. Hopefully it’ll be some nice BD information that confirms well in advanced what they intend to cover in Spring 2020, just like what we got for the Autumn 2019 anime.
https://twitter.com/anime_booklove/status/1215196513736982528?s=21

hopebestman

@libri-liberorum could be. Like you said we dont have any clue but t.merchents and citizenships. But the main reason again like you said should be magic. We dont know what the heck is that , how its work and which areas could be work. I am waiting Part 3 for that. We only knew magic as contract in Part 1 , now we know couple areas which used , in Part 3 world will change for us and for Myne :D

Jon Mitchell

I suspect (but don't know) that citizenship is tied to ability to register with a guild, sign contracts, do business, own property, and get protection form the local lord. Travelling merchants probably don't get some or all of those benefits or have to pay for them in each town they visit. (Like the have to pay surcharges to the local guilds to do business, or fees to use roads, gain entry to other towns) I also suspect that protection of the local lord/ government etc. is important/valuable - the knights' order or town guards get dispatched to deal with magical disturbances, bandits whatnot, and without citizenship you are on your own. I think it was also implied that there is an issue with non-citizens being able to marry a citizen (or stay within the town if not a citizen)

Justaidan

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

Maybe citizenship is not what are we think.

It's not but not even fully explained in the LN yet. The registration is done the same was as the guild card. One thing skipped over in the anime is that the magic contract Benno, Myne and Lutz signed will affect all citizens of the city it was signed in. So if anyone tries to sell a Myne workshop product not through Lutz or reproduce plant-based paper the one doing so could be injured or killed by the contract they have.

Magic contracts need to be cleared with the Archduke of the city and cost a substantial amount (1-2 large golds).

sniper_samurai

@justaidan I think selling Mynes products through Lutz only applies to the initial sale.

This was why later in Part 2

spoiler

Justaidan

@sniper_samurai

spoiler

One thing jumped over in the anime is that Myne starts getting really good at negotiation, management, planning and all those types of skills.

BunnyFuFu

There is also a major world building items the anime skipped. For example the magical plants and animals.

While there was a hints of it with the trombe and parues. The anime skipped a part where the "radish" would scream when cut, or magical creatures that contain "mana crystal". Creatures that would melt if you nicked the crystal inside while butchering it, or how their eye would change to rainbow color if mad.

So the world on Bookworm is a lot more fantasy then the anime lets on. So it is probably a lot more dangerous out in wild then the anime lets on. So being in the city probably have a lot more benefits then we know.

Also traveling merchants can probably be thought of as small mom and pop operations, there are probable larger organized merchant groups that handle the bulk of the trading between cities. Traveling merchants probable deal with all the smaller towns and villages.

Justaidan

@bunnyfufu Anime also skips over Gunther's job details and he hunts down the "weaker" fantasy monsters that the Knight's Order isn't required for. Anime probably cut out the kid's story about hunting the rabbit-things with magic crystals because that side-story was to hint at what actually happened during the clay tablets incident. The anime would have to show that scene completely differently to keep the viewer in the dark.

One thing the anime can't do is hide certain things in a visual medium. In the LN even what Myne looks like isn't revealed to the reader for ~2 books.

hiroto

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

There is also a major world building items the anime skipped. For example the magical plants and animals.

If they can be skipped, that means that they may not be that important for the author. In Q&A, she says that story line is the most important for her before world building and characters. World building and characters are just plots to tell the story and they are not her main focus. Of course, as the reader, we don't know what that story is so everything looks important to us.

hopebestman

@justaidan i am waiting part 3 for that. in part 2 i dont think , we will learn about that. but its LN conversation , i shouldnt talk in here.

Shiny

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

In the LN even what Myne looks like isn't revealed to the reader for ~2 books.

What do you mean? Myne appeared on the cover of the first book.

Justaidan

@shiny Myne is on the book cover but Myne's description doesn't show up until much further in. Myne sees herself in a mirror when clothes shopping with Benno and describes herself as with something like "a well proportioned face but with skin too pale to be called healthy". It's the first time an actual description of her occurs and Myne is a lot more ill and sickly looking from her constant fevers than then covers would have you believe.

Justaidan

This post is deleted!

LurkingMcLurk

More OVA images out
http://www.tobooks.jp/booklove_ova/sp/index.html

Justaidan

@lurkingmclurk Really looking forward to seeing

spoiler

Oddly the first OVA is a spoiler to the english LN readers but it will probably be similar to the short stories that were written for the end of arc 1 that give a general state of play of all the main characters, set the stakes for arc 2 and give characters like Gunther's view on Myne.

For anime only watchers I would really recommend those short stories. Honestly all the side stories from other characters' perspectives are excellent and really drive home that each character has their own goals, opinions and aspirations.

AlexUsman

Man, those japanese have no mercy towards anime-only fans.
Already spoiling "trombe fruits" in 1st BD box.

I don't remember if we ever saw this room in anime. Maybe it's from the second half?
Have HP finally cleaned his mess of a room?

(Why don't images load when you open spoiler? Because of that I'm forced to insert them as previews with a link.)

Rahul Balaggan

@alexusman

The forums do not let you put an image in a spoiler box, it just doesn't work.

I recommend putting a link to the image in a spoiler box

AlexUsman

@rahul-balaggan yeah, I changed it to preview inside a link to full size.

jcochran

@alexusman I suspect that second image isn't anywhere in the series. The bench reminds me of the merchant guild building, but the desk wouldn't belong there. The amount of clutter reminds me of the magical room for Ferdinand, along with the balances and other material. But I don't remember reading anywhere about that room having a window, so that's out as well. Suspect it's just a generic cluttered room that the artist labeled for AoaB since it's currently popular.