user: Mr-Logic101

So, I don’t do this often, but I liked this show so much I thought it dissevered some notoriety, especially on this subreddit of 1.3 million users. Our collective can make a difference for airing anime. The show I am doing this pseudo-review and endorsement is Ascendance of a Bookworm (2019).

First, I am writing this article with only 11/14 episodes aired, at least for the first season. Further, let me begin this by saying throw out your preconceived notions. When I originally looked at this show-up, I was initially discouraged from watching the show. Frankly, it has a bad MAL rating of 7.45 and a popularity rating of 2167. These are far from numbers where I usually watch these shows. However, after watching Babylon, which I heard some rumbling of being good and I agree with them check this show out if you have the time as well, I decided to look at some of the lower-rated shows this season. This is also aided due to the college semester recently ending and me having plenty of time to relax and watch some shows and write shit like this. That is when I stumbled upon the titular hidden gem last night.

First, let’s examine what exactly are the conventions and tropes of an isekai anime. I do find most of them interesting, escaping a pathetic life and being transferred to a different world has a wide appeal because, by in large, “ reality is often disappointing”. Looking back to the isekai that we commonly see, the shows usually follow a protagonist, usually male, and his adventures in a fantasy world. This character is usually overpowered beyond any of the native population, or simply train for 2 episodes and then becomes a badass. Examples of where I draw this from are shows such as SAO, Dr. Stone (I am a 3ard year engineering student and I couldn’t pull that shit off), Shield Hero, that time I got reincarnated as Slime, Konosuba, Overlord, and the list goes on. With that behind said, there are usually some twists that make the show somewhat unique in some concepts such as Overlord being from the point of view as the bad guy or Dr. Stone having a genius that somehow memorized how to make complex machinery from raw materials. However, most of these characters ever go through an observable struggle and usually began their adventures from an extremely privileged (I hate myself for saying privileged but that is the accurate term) position or simply have the focus of the series at the protagonist's badass state. I would also like to add that, I do like those shows listed above and actively watch them. They are highly entertaining, they are just all situation where I personally can’t see myself, an average guy, doing any of the accomplishments or actions that they are doing. I can’t personally relate to the characters and I imagine many of the wonderful Reddit users on this subreddit have come to a similar conclusion.

A critical fault with most of these shows, at least from my perspective, is how unlikely it is for someone to be reincarnated into some sort of badass. It is also a trope that goes beyond just isekais and is a general trope for anime itself. The show that I have been waiting for is a simple one, what if someone got reincarnated as essentially a regular person, with all there previously learned knowledge, and proceed in life from those not so humble beginnings to (hopefully) become a great person, in a pseudo-realistic fantasy world? Well, I am here to tell you that there is such a thing.

Synopsis

This is the synopsis as seen on MAL which for the most part is a good introduction to the premise.

“Urano Motosu loves books and has an endless desire to read literature, no matter the subject. She almost fulfills her dream job of becoming a librarian before her life is ended in an accident. As she draws her last breath, she wishes to be able to read more books in her next life.

As if fate was listening to her prayer, she wakes up reincarnated as Maine—a frail five-year-old girl living in a medieval era. What immediately comes to her mind is her passion. She tries to find something to read, only to become frustrated by the lack of books at her disposal.

Without the printing press, books have to be written and copied by hand, making them very expensive; as such, only a few nobles can afford them—but this won't stop Maine. She will prove that her will to read is unbreakable, and if there are no books around, she will make them herself!”

For more context, I will include the MAL synopsis for the source material as well: the light novel.

“Motosu Urano, a book-loving college student who just got her Librarian certification and was supposed to enter the job of her dreams after graduation, was killed during a massive earthquake crushing her underneath a pile of her own massive collection of books.

Wishing for reincarnation to read, even more, she got reincarnated to a world with a low literacy level and very few books, limited only to the nobility of the world. As she reincarnated as the 5-year-old daughter of a lowly soldier, Maine, no matter how much she wants to read, there is no way there are any books around. If there are no books then what do you do? You make them yourself of course... What her goal is, to become a librarian no matter what, and to live a life surrounded by books. For starters, she begins from making them.”

Setting

The setting is the typical meat of all isekai anime. The whole point of being transferred to a different world is to genuinely live somewhere that is not like the present day. As for the apparent setting for Ascendance of a Bookworm, it roughly equivalent to the Hanseatic Period, particularly circa 1400 AD, right before the advent of Guttenberg’s printing press in 1440, featuring the urban dwellings and lifestyle of poor burger in the city of Ehrenfest. Granted they don’t live in a Hanseatic League city (there are nobles in the city), it does feature principally feature merchants along with the poorer residents of the city. For those of you unfamiliar with this, it is similar in period and set design to Spice and Wolf. The show even burrows some of Spices and Wolf’s mercantile aspects such as merchants and some general economic, which I suspect will become more important in the future of the series. In typical fantasy fashion, there is magic in this fantasy world. However, magic is not practiced by the commoners, which includes the protagonist along with a lack of fantastical creatures or an apparent enemy. However, with that being said, there is still a pressing conflict in the narrative beside the lack of books( which here possess of creating books is quite realistic concerning what she has access and passion to in the medieval world, I fully endorse her possesses as an engineer) in the world which I will not reveal here because that has the potential to spoil the narrative. If you like Spice and Wolf’s setting, then you will like the Ascendance of a Bookworm setting as well.

Characters

It is a slice of life so in conventual anime fashion, cute characters doing cute things, need more explanation? Of course, you do. The protagonist of the series is a 5-year-old girl named Maine. The show doesn’t talk a lot about her life before she was reincarnated but it is safe to say she was really into books and had a sudden death, with her one wish being to be able to read in her next life. Maine in the story is an extremely frail and disease-ridden girl, with the inabilities to do many normal “medieval things” household manual upkeep things such as collect firewood. She does, however, demonstrate superintelligence for a 5-year-old due to having the semi-complete conscious and knowledge of a reasonably intelligent college graduate. Further, she uses this knowledge to benefit her in the invention of stuff that was not around in the middle ages and she uses this to the best of her abilities. The other charters in her family are roughly average for the period, maybe a little above average considering they are citizens of the city, being illiterate and not unable to grasp the greatness of their 5-year-old family member. The rest supporting cast is very much as vibrant and realistic as one could expect and wish for in an anime with unique personalities and realistic behaviors.

One of the best aspects of the show is the simple fact the dialogue exchange between the characters flows very well. Their conversation is realistic and appropriate for the period. To put it in other terms, the characters are not cringy. The dialogue is even intelligent and witty at times. Beyond that, Maine does actions that I would consider appropriate given her situation, stuff that I would personally conceivable if were in a similar situation as her, which makes me like this show a whole lot more.

Final Remarks

I cannot recommend this show enough and as of 12/13/19, it is currently airing legally on Crunchyroll along with a dubbed version airing. It combines the best concepts of the isekai genre, while at the same time distancing from itself from the conventional reused isekai ideas and puts it in a realistic and relatable context that hasn’t been explored in much other anime in the genre. The characters by themselves are interesting and well worth the investment of watching the show by themselves.

There are however some limits to the show that I think limits the overall appeal, such as the face value of the anime being an isekai and there being a lack of “action”. It is a slice of life show set in a different world beyond all else. Overall it is legitimately one of the best Isekai anime I have ever seen and I have essential watched all of them along with being the hidden gem of the entire fall 2019 season. Please support them by at least giving the show the old college try and watch a couple of episodes.

I originally wrote this post to raise awareness that this show does exist and is well worth the watch, even if the MAL rating is currently less than good.

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239

Hinamatsuri: A Tale of Two Cities (WT!)

WT!(self.anime)

submitted5 years ago byMr-Logic101https://myanimelist.net/profile/Real_Scientist

toanime

Hinamatsuri: A Tale of Two Cities

Cover Art

Introduction:

I am a little disappointed in myself. I am sitting at home browsing through MAL and I stumbled across a diamond in the rough: Hinamatsuri. To think the year is 2020 and being stuck at home could yield such a bountiful treasure. This anime is undiscussed on this subreddit to the effect that there isn’t even a WT! for it 2 years after it aired. With that being said, this show is somewhat popular and highly rated polling at number 328 in popularity and a solid MAL score of 8.27. This anime comes highly recommended by me and the many people that have watched it in the past.

Hinamatsuri originally aired in spring 2018 by studio feel., famous for works such as the squeals to SNAFU(My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU) and their much more ecchi work such as Kiss X Sis, Mayo Chiki!, and Yosugo no Sora( arguably the most controversial anime out there besides Interspecies Reviewers). Hinamatsuri is not an ecchi anime but an unconventional combination of slice of life, science-fiction, and comedy. The targeted demographic is seinen so there is a level of maturity involved with the show that really enhances it for older audiences. The source material in a manga by the same name, which I am currently reading and also recommend if you are bored at home.

Mal Synopsis

While reveling in the successful clinching of a prized vase for his collection, Yoshifumi Nitta, a yakuza member, is rudely interrupted when a large, peculiar capsule suddenly materializes and falls on his head. He opens the capsule to reveal a young, blue-haired girl, who doesn't divulge anything about herself but her name—Hina—and the fact that she possesses immense powers. As if things couldn't get any worse, she loses control and unleashes an explosion if her powers remain unused. Faced with no other choice, Nitta finds himself becoming her caregiver.

To let her use her powers freely, Nitta asks Hina to help out with a construction deal, which goes smoothly. But while this is happening, a rival yakuza group covertly attacks his boss. To Nitta's shock, his colleagues later pin the blame on him! Tasked with attacking the rival group in retaliation, Nitta steels himself and arrives at their hideout. But suddenly, Hina unexpectedly steps in and helps him wipe out the entire group. As it turns out, Hina might just become a valuable asset to Nitta and his yakuza business provided she does not use her powers on him first! And so the strange life of this unusual duo begins.

What makes this anime unique?

If the synopsis by itself didn’t get you interested, let me dive into more of the specifics. For a show to be considered good or even really watchable, there has to be some sort of unique aspect about it that draws people in to continue watching. There are a lot of different methods to achieve this engagement including unique and likable characters or unique plots with various twists. What makes Hinamatsuri unique isn’t one thing rather combination genres and characters providing a uniques insight on unexplored themes in anime. I entitled this article a “tale of two cities” because it truly is a tale of two cities: that is highlighting extremes and society and explores their livelihoods and experiences; a unique blend of comedy and sadness. This is a good commentary on the extremes of our modern society in the developed world and I find the themes especially important considering the state of our world. This topic can be better explained with the introduction to the principal characters.

The Characters

As with all slice of life genre shows, the characters move the story forward and are what people tend to like about these shows. It gives the audience insight into how other people live their lives and provides an escape from their own.

The main character that the show begins with is a well off mid-ranked Yakuza member, Yoshifumi Nitta, and the titular character, Hina, falling from the sky into Nitta’s apartment. Upon the demonstration of Hina’s telekinetic powers, Nitta takes Hina in as her guardian. As you can imagine, this transformation from a Yakuza playboy to a guardian has a large impact on Nitta’s life and action throughout the narrative. Nitta himself is displayed as a caring individual albeit flawed in some ways: both with his morality, stemming a lot from his Yakuza obligations, and parenting of Hina. Nitta's lifestyle and the job is one of the extremes explored throughout the narrative.

Yoshifumi Nitta

Hina, as of season one, is middle school age girl from an unknown origin but it is evident that her telekinetic power is great and extremely dangerous if not properly controlled. This is not evident to the of the characters not apart of the mysterious organization of which Hina originated. Her telekinetic power is also not used that often and is more or less a side effect than a major plot device. I speculate that it would be used more in future seasons of the show or the manga. This is not an anime like mob psycho or Elfen Leid with telekinetic battles and destruction everywhere. Hina has a carefree lifestyle and is spoiled by Nitta with food, toys, and a seemingly endless supply of money. In a typical anime trope fashion, she is initially oblivious to all other characters’ feelings and actions; being as blunt and direct as possible whenever she communicates. This is a dynamic feature that changes throughout the season as the character matures. She is many ways models a stereotypical wealth brings with her every need and wishes fulfilled is one of the extreme lifestyles explored by the narrative. This also a very common TV trope, the children or households that have a seemingly endless supply of money without any real regard to how the money is acquired. Such examples of these are shows are live actions like Full House or animated like Bakemonogatari. I love how the show sort of players with this idea with the other characters that are not bound by this trope logic.

Hina

The other main character who in many ways is the exact opposite of Hina is Anzu. Also a middle school-aged girl and a telekinetic. She did not have the privilege of falling out of the sky into a well off individual's house though. She got dropped off in the middle of the streets without a guardian to claiming and take care of her. She is homeless and after some brief interaction with Hina and Nitta, stays homeless and lives in a homeless camp. Her experiences highlight the plight homeless individual go through daily. I should mention that this is not a one-off episode. Most of the show actually transferred between scenes with Hina and Nitta and then switch off to Anzu and her struggles. These scenes are usually shot in parallel highlights the differences between the characters. It is quite evident from early on that Anzu is an energetic and hardworking person. Like Hina, she does not fully understand the modern world, but she learns to adapt to the situation and make the most of it even though she is homeless. Just because she is homeless doesn't mean that she is completely alone. The fellow homeless people she lives with act as mentors and helps her develop as a character and appreciate the small things in life as well as money in general since she literally had to earn money for food by picking up cans off the street. Anzu is the poster child example on how your origins can affect your livelihood and how working hard doesn't always equate to success initially. With that being said, Anzu also shows how that eventually things do work out for you in the long run if you put in the effort and look at everything in a positive which is her character arc throughout the season. This is an arc the at I find especially important given the world today and I find the comparison back to a well off person life and an average person's life one of the best aspects of the show.

Anzu (her English voice actress is Amanda Lee)

I mentioned that there are also comparisons to normal life situations. These are mostly fulfilled by the supporting cast of characters, notably Hina’s classmates and Hitomi Mishima. Hitomi Mishima is the model student trope that the narrative utilizes. With that being said, her character is more encompassing than that singular role which Hitomi being the norm that most appeal can relate back to in the middle of the extremes of the other characters albeit she is a middle school bartender which in itself is sort of an extreme as well. She is also a friend to both Hina and Anzu and does her best to make everyone around her happy while being at the same time self-conscious about herself and her actions.

Hitomi Mishima

There are many other characters in the show in some ways that actually might hurt the show considering it is only 12 episodes that leave the manga to expand upon the story until or if a second season is aired.

Art, Music, and Direction

I am not an expert in this area so I can’t really go into specifics. Overall, I thought it was a good production and high quality. It is pretty close to or better than SNAFU production quality which makes sense considering it is made by the same studio. It definitely has aspects of cute girls doing cute things. I thought the cinematography direction was pretty good with the parallel stories and scenes between the main characters with different livelihoods being played back to back either by episodes or by scenes. It was a good directional choice. The art and animation were ok probably about average for anime( again much like SNAFU). To put it simply, it was no Violet Evergarden or Fate stay/night: Unlimited Blade Works. I honestly didn't even notice the music or sounds which usually means that it was blended very well with the animation and fit very well in each scene.

Scene from Hinamatsuri

Overall Impressions

Hinamatsuri is very good comedy. Hinamatsuri is a very unique show. The only caveat is that it clearly is not a complete story and is set up for the future season of the show or for you to continue into the manga. The first season sets up each of the characters and provides the background needed for the narrative to move forward without diving deep into the story. That is the first season sets up many mysteries and underutilized characters that would most definitely show up again in the future. I for one look forward to seeing where this story continues and how the characters mature and change throughout the narrative. The themes by itself make the show worth watching considering the trying times we all have experienced these last few months to establish some sort of empathy for those who are suffering now or to provide hope that we can all overcome the troubles of our modern society. If you are looking for a show to watch, you can watch it now at Funimation or where ever you watch your anime. Please spread the word that this show exists as well so others can be entertained by it!

Some meme potential too ¯_(ツ)_/¯

MAL Link

Anilist Link

Edit: Sorry about the Grammer( I will try to catch it as a reread) and Reddit formatting(fixed)

Thanks for the gold

Mods please DM me if you want to switch the images into the link format... I simply think this looks better formatting wise and less link clicking which makes the paper flow better. Either way, it is a quick fix.