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EP. REVIEW: Ascendance of a Bookworm [2019-10-26]


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Hiroki not Takuya



Joined: 17 Apr 2012
Posts: 2501
PostPosted: Sat Oct 26, 2019 7:58 pm Reply with quote
blameitonStarBlazers wrote:
I guess that was me? Thanks for fixing. I’d never been the first poster before. Didn’t know if there was something special I was supposed to do . . .
Sorry dude, I can't fix anything here, I just wanted to announce there was a problem and test to see if it was really fixed.

My remark was toward the site admin that there were a bunch of forum posts that likely were made before a change that screwed up the link and those needed to be linked to this thread. There isn't anything "special" you have to do and no real way someone other than the site's admin can screw up or alter how the site functions.

All that said, I also have been loving everything about Ascendance and couldn't wait to talk about it. Unfortunately, others beat me to mentioning things like the "not-English" in the show which is something I like to translate where possible. I also resist the criticism I see that Myne/Main is oddly uneducated despite being a "bookworm" as some people so-called like to read fiction primarily and not just everything like "how to" books and science texts despite what the intro mentioned.
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Gina Szanboti



Joined: 03 Aug 2008
Posts: 11306
PostPosted: Sat Oct 26, 2019 8:16 pm Reply with quote
nargun wrote:
The amount of sheer brutality you have to imflict on plant fibres to get them to stick together is not widely appreciated; "beating to a pulp" -- boil for hours in caustic soda while hitting with heavy mallets -- became a byword for violence for good reason. Most people "make paper" by skipping that step and starting with scrap. And Myne can't even get the caustic!

Depends on what materials you're using and how good you need the paper to be. You don't need lye to make paper, and you don't need to start with recycled paper. You can make paper from dead leaves or grasses, which break up after hours of boiling in just water, but she could easily make lye from boiling wood ashes. It's not going to be elegant stationery, but it's paper you can write on. You can make pretty decent paper if you include felt, cotton, or linen fibers with whatever other organic material you start with. Also okra (if this world has an analog) is good for a thickener to help the distribution and binding of the fibers.

I'm just saying in the time she spent (which was not wasted) getting stronger, she could've made actual paper. Smile
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RegisterJustForComment



Joined: 17 Apr 2018
Posts: 62
PostPosted: Sat Oct 26, 2019 9:49 pm Reply with quote
Gina Szanboti wrote:
nargun wrote:
The amount of sheer brutality you have to imflict on plant fibres to get them to stick together is not widely appreciated; "beating to a pulp" -- boil for hours in caustic soda while hitting with heavy mallets -- became a byword for violence for good reason. Most people "make paper" by skipping that step and starting with scrap. And Myne can't even get the caustic!

Depends on what materials you're using and how good you need the paper to be. You don't need lye to make paper, and you don't need to start with recycled paper. You can make paper from dead leaves or grasses, which break up after hours of boiling in just water, but she could easily make lye from boiling wood ashes. It's not going to be elegant stationery, but it's paper you can write on. You can make pretty decent paper if you include felt, cotton, or linen fibers with whatever other organic material you start with. Also okra (if this world has an analog) is good for a thickener to help the distribution and binding of the fibers.

I'm just saying in the time she spent (which was not wasted) getting stronger, she could've made actual paper. Smile


Don't forget the tools and equipment to make it. And also the problem that is if her parent or other adult will let her use it or not, a place to make it, time, power, and the possibility that there won't be good result with only a few chance.
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samuelp
Industry Insider


Joined: 25 Nov 2007
Posts: 2228
Location: San Antonio, USA
PostPosted: Sun Oct 27, 2019 12:56 am Reply with quote
meruru wrote:
murdock_tm wrote:
Did the video subtitles actually (lazily) subtitle the main character's name as Main?

J-Novel Club at least localized her name as Myne, so readers (and watchers) can not get confused as to the pronunciation of her name. (It would be nice if anime and book medium people would be on the same translation -- for once)

Also thanks for reviewing the series; here's hoping you continue to like it! The book (and manga series) is excellent as well.


I think the author actually decided her name is spelled that way. As evidenced by their alphabet really obviously mostly just being weird variations of the English alphabet, like the first letter of her name looks like an upside down M with a line through it. So it looks like it's spelled "Main" in their fantasy alphabet. Hilariously, you can even easily pick out mistakes in their own fantasy alphabet because of this. In the manga, there's a panel of a shop that has a sign that says "CLOSD."


No, the author officially approved our spelling of her name as "Myne" in the English release (she even made some comments about it).
In the alphabet of the world, it's spelled with something that looks similar to M A I N, but those aren't supposed to correspond to english letters, more like german actually.
Unfortunately Crunchyroll never got the memo and is not using our glossary we sent them...
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ThrowMeOut



Joined: 10 Oct 2018
Posts: 256
PostPosted: Sun Oct 27, 2019 8:44 am Reply with quote
I wasn't sure about this one initially, but after a somewhat rocky first episode, this show grew on me fast. I didn't realize how much I missed these non-pandering, female-leaning shows until one of them comes along. Now this is the show I look forward to every week the most.

BTW is anyone's looking for an anime with a similar feel, with a similarly smart but not overpowered female lead, I can't recommend The Beast Player Erin enough.
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kotomikun



Joined: 06 May 2013
Posts: 1205
PostPosted: Sun Oct 27, 2019 9:14 am Reply with quote
Key wrote:
I, too, think it would be easier if spelled as Myne, and CR has been known to retroactively correct this before (though not always!), so we'll see if we get an update as the season progresses.

I'm pretty sure it was spelled Myne in the original CR subs for the first episode, but it appears they went back and changed it to Main. So now the question is whether they'll be willing to go back and change it back again.

From the title, I expected this show to be kind of ridiculous, but instead it's ended up saving the season for me, which otherwise had nothing going for it besides MHA. I really don't qualify as a bookworm, but it's the type of story with so much genuine love for its subject (even as vague of a thing as "books and knowledge") that it's hard not to like it. Which is also sort of like Spice and Wolf and the author's obsession with economics.
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TarsTarkas



Joined: 20 Dec 2007
Posts: 5821
Location: Virginia, United States
PostPosted: Sun Oct 27, 2019 5:42 pm Reply with quote
Don't know if the scene in the first episode of the anime in which the high priest drugs Myne and reads her mind is canon or not. At least in the english translation of the light novel, we are not there yet. If it is canon, and not some trick to explain the narration, then the high priest goes to being a bad person.

He is already spoiler[a weak character] in the english translation, spoiler[as he doesn't try to protect Myne's family from the Temple Chief]. Drugging Myne and reading her mind with magic is even worse for his character.

One of the reviewers said the High Priest is a popular character for Japanese fans. I guess he is more involved in the story now spoiler[that Myne works at the temple]. But I don't see how he would be so popular, considering what has happened, and what the anime seems to indicate for the future.
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Dosmundos



Joined: 03 Sep 2018
Posts: 41
PostPosted: Mon Oct 28, 2019 11:18 am Reply with quote
I thought the show would be something like Dr. STONE for bibliophiles, and Myne would eventually go full Guttenberg on us, teaching us about the history of books and bookprinting and the immense technological breakthrough this was for mankind.

Okay, so we get handmade hairpins for big sis'. Still my favorite (new) show this season, but I wouldn't mind the story to speed up a little bit.

Also, there seems to be some inconsistency with her "bookwormery". Any 20th century person from a so-called developed country would investigate into their extreme physical frailty, right? Even if they have never read a book about medicine (or don't remeber it), they would check for things like malnutrition and be looking for vitamin sources.

After all, there was a reason one of the first things Dr. STONE went for was antibiotics. Myne, on the other hand, practices walking to the city gate. I'd expect a little more from a bookworm, to be honest...
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TarsTarkas



Joined: 20 Dec 2007
Posts: 5821
Location: Virginia, United States
PostPosted: Mon Oct 28, 2019 12:56 pm Reply with quote
Dosmundos wrote:
Also, there seems to be some inconsistency with her "bookwormery". Any 20th century person from a so-called developed country would investigate into their extreme physical frailty, right? Even if they have never read a book about medicine (or don't remeber it), they would check for things like malnutrition and be looking for vitamin sources.


Food comes from her parents. They all share the same diet. If malnutrition was a problem, it would be effecting her older sister too, and the parents. To be honest though, the whole family probably doesn't have what we would consider a healthy and nutritious diet. They only buy and trade what they can afford. Only nobles could buy oranges from Florida, and pineapples from Hawaii.

Also, the anime hasn't touched on it yet (might be edited out due to time), the light novels indicate that the plant life and food while similar, spoiler[can have some profound differences and dangers.]

Light novel readers can correct me if I am wrong, but I think the anime has not been doing the inner monologues Myne has been doing while sick. So anime viewers are missing out on indicators of what is actually wrong, Though this will probably be made more clearerspoiler[ in future episodes when the illness comes back with a vengeance.]
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Probablytomorrow



Joined: 04 Aug 2019
Posts: 164
PostPosted: Thu Oct 31, 2019 10:44 am Reply with quote
I'm enjoying this show a lot, and I'm glad the glowiness mystery hasn't stolen the plot away so far.
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mangamuscle



Joined: 23 Apr 2006
Posts: 2658
Location: Mexico
PostPosted: Thu Oct 31, 2019 5:51 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
A brief scene in episode 4 gave the first hint that something might be unusual about Myne ... the multicolored irises and glowing body has now shown up on two additional occasions when she was hitting a maximum stress level,


My bet is that the madder she gets the more gamma radiation she emanates ... and gets weaker therefore /jk

Quote:
Even in groups which practiced baptism at older ages, it was not generally associated with starting a career.


The only comparison I can draw is with the tradition (said to have originated in Spain and France) practiced in Latinamerica of having a festivities when girls hit the 15 years mark, which can be religious but are individual in nature. Said ceremony originally meant "the girl can now get married" while the baptism portrayed in this series mostly means "get your new apprentices". Both ceremonies have in common that most likely are only practiced by city dwellers (peasants don't need to learn a craft to work in a farm) that are economically stable, we are not shown any slums section of the city, but if there were I bet they are not part of the festivities.
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kgholloway



Joined: 05 Aug 2007
Posts: 9
Location: Conneaut, Ohio, USA
PostPosted: Thu Oct 31, 2019 6:36 pm Reply with quote
As I recall there are societies, including feudal Japan, where a child is considered to belong to the gods until a certain age. This is of course due to the high infant mortality rate of primitive societies. This could be an explanation as to the "baptism" and apprenticeship at age 7 in "Ascendance of a Bookworm".

===KGH
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meiam



Joined: 23 Jun 2013
Posts: 3442
PostPosted: Thu Oct 31, 2019 8:00 pm Reply with quote
Why does she abandon all her plan faster than Road runner's Coyote does? Her tablet didn't work cause she tried to fire them directly, why not go to a local potters and ask to use there kiln (and maybe check what the right ratio of ingredient are for the tablet)?

Her wood panel got burned cause she left them in the same area as the firewood (not exactly a brilliant idea) and her mom burn it. Her plan to avoid that is to... find wood that doesn't burn? What happened to just telling her mom not to burn it? Or just not putting it right next to firewood? She instead assume that she's cursed when that last one was obviously her fault. At this point, am I supposed to assume she has the intelligence of a 6 year old?
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mangamuscle



Joined: 23 Apr 2006
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Location: Mexico
PostPosted: Thu Oct 31, 2019 8:38 pm Reply with quote
meiam wrote:
... why not go to a local potters and ask to use there kiln (and maybe check what the right ratio of ingredient are for the tablet)?


Because (just like their 21st century counterpart) she will be shown the door and get told to go play some other place and let them work.

Quote:
What happened to just telling her mom not to burn it? Or just not putting it right next to firewood? She instead assume that she's cursed when that last one was obviously her fault. At this point, am I supposed to assume she has the intelligence of a 6 year old?


Again, if a 21st mom is told by her six year old daughter not to use consumable objects they obtain for the sole purpose of using on a daily basis because she wants to play with them, they will say no and if she tries to hide them no doubt she would get reprimanded. Yeah, we know she is not playing and has a greater purpose, but so far adults have yet to realize she is not merely being playful like an average kid of her age.
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meiam



Joined: 23 Jun 2013
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PostPosted: Thu Oct 31, 2019 10:23 pm Reply with quote
mangamuscle wrote:
meiam wrote:
... why not go to a local potters and ask to use there kiln (and maybe check what the right ratio of ingredient are for the tablet)?


Because (just like their 21st century counterpart) she will be shown the door and get told to go play some other place and let them work.

Quote:
What happened to just telling her mom not to burn it? Or just not putting it right next to firewood? She instead assume that she's cursed when that last one was obviously her fault. At this point, am I supposed to assume she has the intelligence of a 6 year old?


Again, if a 21st mom is told by her six year old daughter not to use consumable objects they obtain for the sole purpose of using on a daily basis because she wants to play with them, they will say no and if she tries to hide them no doubt she would get reprimanded. Yeah, we know she is not playing and has a greater purpose, but so far adults have yet to realize she is not merely being playful like an average kid of her age.


You can pay to use kiln in 21 century, I don't see why that'd be any different there "hey, how much to use your kiln to fire these tablet?" "wow weird kid, I dunno how about X$" and then she can figure out how to find that money.

As for the wood tablet, just tell her mom she's playing with that. We've seen her sister have doll and other toys. Her mom would have to be an incredibly shitty person/parent to refuse. No skin off her back. She could just work something out "hey if I bring back XX piece of wood, can I keep some for me?" or something.
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