Ascendance of a Bookworm: Side Story

Ascendance of a Bookworm: Side Story (2020)

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


The first two OVA which are included in this title are short side stories focusing on other characters mostly that take place during the first season, though their release was apparently timed with the stories from the light novel version of this tale. In the first one, we don't see Myne very often as it focuses on those who were sent by the cathedral to gather information on them, though you might recognize them as we saw them briefly in the main series tailing around. It's both amusing and endearing how clearly the town pulls together and are wary of those asking after one of their own.

The second story includes Myne a good deal more as she's involved in the introduction and business negotiations, though the focus is more on her sister and mother in this case and their love for sewing. While they don't really drive a lot of new content overall to how the series progresses, they are some cute behind the scenes moments that flesh out what we know happens as eventually we do see Tuuli especially more often around the town like Myne has taken to with her adventures.

I've also noticed the English version of the series often uses "Main" for the main character's name, while the Japanese version of her name is "Myne", which I honestly thinks looks a lot better and makes more sense with the pronunciation. 

Ascendance of a Bookworm

Ascendance of a Bookworm (2019)

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Like many isekai series, the main character dies in their original world and wakes living a different life in another world. Unlike many others, in this series, Myne is not previously known from any game, book, or story of any type that Urano knows about prior to her death, so there is no frame of reference or plot to follow when waking up in this new child's body. The suspicion is that the original Myne also died at the same time due to her illness which is part of what allows Urano to wake up taking her place, though she does seem to have access to at least some of Myne's memories. There are more than a few odd situations and blunders as Urano tries to navigate this new world of hers and pursues her love of books. Also unlike many others, at least some of the people around her suspect there's something unique about Myne, though only her closest friend so far has gotten the real story confirmed, though we never see them share her previous name and he returns to calling her "Myne" shortly after their big revelation. If anything, the ending of season one is a bit surprising given how bleak things have seemed with Myne's illness up to this point and how heavy handed the church was once they realized who her parents were. At least one of them it seems does care at least on some level. The beginning of the series also seems to indicate far more that may happen beyond this first season as it starts out with Myne in a blue robe we can later recognize from the church with another in a matching outfit handing her a magic device to see into her mind, which takes us into the story of her memories. Fortunately, this series also seems to have been around for awhile and has good reviews, so looking forward to watching the other seasons and the OVA to see what happens to little Myne and her unusual situation.

A Sign of Affection

A Sign of Affection (2024)

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


My friend has mentioned the manga a few times, but also noted it's incomplete, which is really the only reason I hadn't put it higher on my to-read list just yet with all the other new series picked up recently. Found the anime though and couldn't resist watching it. Yuki is more than a little innocent, but does fortunately seem to have some good people around her, even if her oldest friend comes across as prickly and a bit controlling at times. Itsuomi is hard to get a read on at first, but it's cute the way they both fall for each other and he genuinely tries to learn about and understand her world. As with most anime, there's a rather ambiguous ending to the season, and given the manga is also unfinished, unknown if there might be a second season somewhere in the future or not. Either way, this is a cute story with plenty of affection and some good points about what it can be like for those who live without hearing in a world that relies so much on sound.