Forum - View topicEP. REVIEW: Ascendance of a Bookworm [2019-10-26]
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Key
Moderator
 Posts: 18179 Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley) |
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The Church as an institution in Europe is exclusive to the Christian Church. (And in other places in the world where religion became as institutionalized as the Christian Church was, it wasn't called "Church.") Since this setting is clearly European in inspiration, that the Church mentioned here wasn't at heavily inspired by the Christian Church seems unlikely. Admittedly, though, not much has been described about religion in the setting so far, since aside from the baptism thing, it doesn't seem to be a part of Myne or her family's daily lives. |
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Kami-koto
Posts: 66 |
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Short answer spoiler[Yes, you're wrong.] |
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Yuvelir
 Posts: 1545 |
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I really felt the despair in this episode. Nobles have always had a strong hold on commoners, but with the benefit of distance and hindsight nowadays they don't seem so powerful and ineludible, even though to the people living under them they absolutely were. But given this magic system and how every step of it and its rules directly favors the nobles and impedes commoners to gain any kind of leverage, I think I felt by proxy the frustration and impotence of being unable to outsmart their whims.
Not in the case of Frieda though. She was kind of "auctioned off" to whomever offered the "better deal", and since magical items are the bare minimum, we can easily assume that a potent plus to win the auction is to treat her well enough. And whoever promised that will really keep their end of the deal, firstly because the leader of the merchant guild is someone you'd rather have on your side, and secondly because in this setting breaching a contract is life-threatening. |
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Panino Manino
 Posts: 734 |
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But there were societies with a dominant "church", an "official" religion, right? This church don't need to be big to be influential, I'm thinking small world here, and in this anime's small world that church seems influential. |
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DRosencraft
Posts: 665 |
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This may be my insertion of my own ideas of how magic works or is being represented here, but it appears that the Devouring is the result of a buildup of magical energy in the victim. The magical items absorb that excess magic and are essentially overwhelmed by the lack of capacity for so much magic. Wouldn't being taught how to use magic, and thereafter using magic in small daily amounts, negate the need for expensive items or the like by simply using up one's supply? Admittedly we don't know a ton about what magic is or does in this world, so there could be other restrictions that make such a practical solution bad. But at this point it seems more like no one has enough means of applying this sort of solution, rather than a failure of the theory itself - magic is generally treated as something that is either taught through other users in the family, or else a closely guarded secret that likely involves lots of reading. I wouldn't be surprised if a nefarious noble or merchant created the idea of magical items as being the only solution as a means of fighting the Devouring as a way to create a highly exclusive and restricted market - who knows how much a noble whose kid is in Myne's condition wouldn't pay to ensure that kid continued to live?
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Yuvelir
Posts: 1545 |
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I'm confident in saying that it is like that by design. That learning to control magic could placate or overturn the Devouring, but by NOT teaching it nobles can wrap commonfolk around their finger while also preventing knowledge/usage of magic to be widespread to the point that nobles could find opposition, both militaristic and resource-wise. Basically, the point of letting the Devouring camp is subjugation. |
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Panino Manino
Posts: 734 |
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But isn't this still what I'm fearing? It's ok because he isn't a bad person and she agreed. Our two main girl will probably fighting some abusive pedophile in the future just to reinforce that their caretakers aren't "like them", justifying the whole thing.
I still can't accept this, I still hope that Myne will find a solution. I'm self inserting very hard as Myne's father, I'm seething with frustration. |
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meiam
Posts: 3442 |
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I mean... the show make it out to be this incredible hurdle that Myne can't possibly surmount, but that's pretty much just because she seem to actively dislike the idea of doing something about her conditions. She ask no question about either the device (origin/production/mode of function) nor about noble class (can they use magic in productive way? is the nobility system the same across the land? Can she meet them?). The first action she took after learning that her condition is treatable was to... make a pound cake.
More than that, she seem to have completely forgotten that she comes from a world incredibly advanced in technology, people can't even imagine what is common for us. Walk up to a noble with a gun, a steam engine or advanced medicine (how disease spread or such) and tell him you'll trade him for a lifetime supply of magical item and boom, done, problem solved. Hell with gun, gunpowder and the support of the guild master she could probably steal some of the magical item easily enough or even overthrow the nobility class altogether (La Marseillaise plays in the background  ). Might be a bit harder than that, but at this point she tried nothing and she's all out of idea
I'm guessing the show will eventually go in this direction and is only making Myne out to be incompetent to build drama, but yesh. I'm starting to feel like Usano didn't die because she was caught in some natural disatser, she must have just tripped face first into mud and just gave up and died suffocated instead of just getting up. |
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Probablytomorrow
Posts: 164 |
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This was a very strong episode.
I'm wondering if any of the people in this world know how to use magic for themselves. Since all we've seen so far is that people can put mana into magical devices, I wonder if anyone actually knows how to cast magic without them. |
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Alan45
 Village Elder Posts: 9835 Location: Virginia |
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meiam wrote:
You are talking about a girl that finding herself deprived of her beloved books and trapped in the body of a sickly six year old, sets out resolutely to establish a publishing industry from scratch. Myne is hardly lacking in initiative or drive. What we are seeing here is likely a brief period of contemplation and despair immediately following a diagnosis of a potentially terminal condition. Usano's last memories were of an earthquake resulting in all of her personal library falling on her. Presumably she was crushed to death by the falling books. |
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Leviathonlx
Posts: 84 |
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The 'pedophile' thing you're afraid of is never a thing in this story. Crazy stuff happens especially when the world building goes on overdrive in what will be the end of S2 but it never goes in that direction. |
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Gina Szanboti
Posts: 11339 |
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Is the baptism ceremony at age 7 the same as the "coming of age" ceremony that Frieda mentioned? The latter is usually how adulthood is marked in societies that partake in such rituals, and that's generally based on the age most are expected to hit puberty. I don't think this culture views 7 year olds as adults. That just seems to be an age where you've shown you can stay alive long enough to make becoming an apprentice worth the trouble to your master, and you're old enough to choose what you want to be when you grow up, besides fire truck or lion.
 Starting an apprenticeship in a feudal sort of society is equivalent to starting school, since there isn't a public general education system for all.
My point is that I don't think Frieda is being shipped off to the nobles after the baptism. If I'm wrong and baptism and coming of age are both terms for the same ritual for 7 year olds, then this is a very abnormal culture. I can see why she's looking forward to it, given the perks she'll enjoy, and the alternative. She'll be alive and able to pursue her career, and won't have people breathing down her neck asking when she's getting married. |
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DRosencraft
Posts: 665 |
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I think you're right. I admit to having to rethink that a second when I first watched the episode. I think they way they shift between talking about the two in that scene can be a little misleading. But for those who don't know, most religions have a "baptism" that is separate from coming-of-age. The baptism is usually, in a non-secular sense, meant to represent when one has officially become part of the community. It usually just means you're old enough to start doing things outside the home, and you haven't died of disease and the like that usually claims youngsters in these societies. It's far less common, but one can be baptized into a new community by living there long enough or doing enough good works there. Think of it as a form of achieving citizenship. Coming-of-age means reaching full adulthood. |
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Leviathonlx
Posts: 84 |
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Coming of age in this story is at 14. The Baptism is basically just when you become a citizen and are past the ages where you're most likely to die. |
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Hiroki not Takuya
 Posts: 2512 |
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A "pipe dream" relative to the show is if Main/Myne can find an alternative to "magic items" to alleviate the Devouring and sell that! Problem solved...
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