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Ascendance of a Bookworm Anime's 2nd Part Video Reveals Opening Song, More Cast

Crunchyroll began streaming an English-subtitled trailer for the second part of the television anime of Miya Kazuki's "biblia fantasy" novel Ascendance of a Bookworm (Honzuki no Gekokujō - Shisho ni Naru Tame niwa Shudan o Erandeiramasen) on Thursday. The trailer reveals and previews the anime's opening theme song "Tsumujikaze" (Commotion) by Sumire Morohoshi, and also reveals new cast members. Crunchyroll also revealed that it plans to release an English dub for the second part.

The new cast members include:

Minori Suzuki as Rosina, a gray-robed church servant and attendant to Myne who teaches her music. She previously served a blue-robed servant named Christine, who loved the arts, and Rosina learned the fespiel instrument under her. She eventually mastered it, and now loves music more than anything. She developed the manners of a noble while serving Christine, and so Myne also learns manners from Rosina.

Kiyono Yasuno as Vilma, a gray-robed church servant and attendant to Myne. She previously served Christine, and under her developed a skill for painting, and under Myne, she works on the designs of the products in Myne's studio. She developed a fear of men due to an event in her past, and so spends most of her time in the church orphanage's girls quarters, minding the other girls as their mother figure.

The second part will premiere on ABC TV on April 4, on Tokyo MX and WOWOW on April 8, and on BS Fuji on April 9. The second part will then be available in Japan in four three-episode DVD volumes from April 15 to June 17, as well as in a 12-episode Blu-ray box on June 17.

The second part of the anime will add Yūko Sanpei, Shō Karino, and Chiyo Tomaru to the cast as Gil, Fran, and Delia, respectively. All three new characters are gray-robed church servants who will serve as attendants to Myne. Minori Suzuki will perform the second part's ending theme song "Ephemera o Atsumete" (Gathering Ephemera).

The anime's first part premiered last October, and ended on December 25 with 14 episodes. Crunchyroll streamed the first part as it aired in Japan, and it also began streaming an English dub on December 4.

The anime will also have two OVAs that will debut with a limited edition of the first novel of the series' fifth part on March 10.

J-Novel Club is releasing both the light novels and Suzuka's manga adaptation in English, and it describes the story:

A certain college girl who's loved books ever since she was a little girl dies in an accident and is reborn in another world she knows nothing about. She is now Myne, the sickly five-year-old daughter of a poor soldier. To make things worse, the world she's been reborn in has a very low literacy rate and books mostly don't exist. She'd have to pay an enormous amounts of money to buy one. Myne resolves herself: If there aren't any books, she'll just have to make them! Her goal is to become a librarian. This story begins with her quest to make books so she can live surrounded by them! Dive into this biblio-fantasy written for book lovers and bookworms!

Mitsuru Hongo (Kasumin, Crayon Shin-chan films, World Trigger) is directing the anime at Ajia-do (Genshiken, Spirit of Wonder) with assistant director Yoshiki Kawasaki (Monster Hunter Stories RIDE ON episode director), and Mariko Kunisawa (Hatsukoi Limited, Magimoji Rurumo) is in charge of the series scripts. Yoshiaki Yanagida (Genshiken, Spirit of Wonder) and Toshihisa Kaiya (Ruin Explorers - Fam & Ihrie, Spirit of Wonder, World Trigger) are designing the characters. Sumire Morohoshi performed the show's opening theme song "Mashiro" (Pure White). Morohoshi is making her solo debut with the song. Megumi Nakajima performed the anime's ending song "Kamikazari no Tenshi" (Hair Ornament Angel).

Kazuki began the original novels on the "Shōsetsuka ni Narō" website in 2013, and You Shiina illustrates the print edition. J-Novel Club began releasing the novels in print in fall last year.

Sources: Crunchyroll (Joseph Luster), MoCa News