Through the Rabbit Hole to the World of Myne the Bookworm

“DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE”

This is how I described my current state of feverishly looking for anime to watch, manga to read, and light novels to lose sleep over for.

I think my descent began during the 2020's intense COVID19 lockdowns. I rediscovered my interest with anime, which was lost due to the busyness of fatherhood.

I rewatched old favorites (Code Geass, Haruhi Suzumiya) and discovered new favorites (Higehiro, Komi Can't Communicate, Gintama, Violet Evergarden, Tanya the Evil, Reincarnated as a Slime). My interest rekindled so much to the point that I even penned a long essay about my disappointment with Quintessential Quintuplets’ end.

Anime, more often than not, is "bitin" since they cannot make new episodes when the manga is yet to release new chapters. So, I just moved to reading the source manga just to satisfy my insatiable thirst for "what's next". With that, I fell deeper in the rabbit hole.

I then discovered that manga is also "bitin" because the mangaka is so slow in releasing new chapters or the source light novel is yet to release new chapters. The former is what I experienced with "I was Reincarnated as a Slime" with a new chapter released once a month or more. So, I just moved to reading the source light novel just to satisfy my insatiable thirst for "what's next". With that, I fell way deeper in the rabbit hole.

Velgrynd kisses Masayuki (one of my favorite scene in Tensura)

I spent sleepless nights finishing the available Machine Translated version of the Slime light novel. I reached the most current available chapter and I was stuck since there is no more source to move over to.

I searched for new anime or manga but  I discovered that my taste changed somewhat. I abhor shounen manga filled with fan service and action/fight scenes is no longer enough to keep me hooked (sorry My Hero Academia). This is when I discovered Ascendance of a Bookworm anime.

As usual. The anime is "bitin" so I went directly to the light novel and that's the moment I went to freefall into the world of an isekai girl whose singular desire to be surrounded by books in the world where the printing press and mass production of books is yet to be realized.

Ascendance of a Bookworm is about the bookworm Urano who died after being buried by books during an earthquake and then was isekai-ed to a magical world that is still in Medieval Age. Her soul inhabited the sickly body of the 5-year old Myne, who is the youngest daughter of a dirt poor family that cannot afford a comfortable life, much less books! Unsurprisingly, Myne has magical powers that are only common with nobles. Armed with her magical power, knowledge of the modern Earth, and great desire to be surrounded by books, Urano/Myne introduced recipes, inventions, fashion from her former world that pushed her ascendance from a dirt poor commoner to a merchant to a shrine maiden of the temple and into a noble. Her ultimate goal is to create a library and to be surrounded by books forevermore.

Ascendance of a Bookworm is not a typical isekai that already has actions/fight scenes in the beginning. The first few chapters are about a girl trying to invent papyrus, then a clay tablet, and finally paper made from wood. The flow of the story is boring for those who are expecting fast-paced action. The things that typical isekai enthusiasts hate are the ones that I enjoyed. The novel first focused on the life of Myne’s poor family, the daily life of a commoner, the invention of new paper and creating new recipes, discrimination amongst social class, and the magic. As a history buff, the world building kept me engaged.

The result is the sleepless nights as I rushed to read all the available 18 volumes of the Ascendance of a Bookworm light novel. I cried with Myne when she was separated from her true family when she was adopted into a noble family. I celebrated with Rozemyne when she invented the printing press or became victorious against great odds.

Rozemyne "invented" the water pump.

The light novel was well written to the point that I even empathize with other characters and enjoyed reading parts of the novel about them such as Myne’s commoner family trying to maintain their very thin connection to the now noble Rozemyne, Myne childhood friend Lutz forging an agreement with temple attendant Gil in looking over Rozemyne, Aurelia and her struggle to join a new society after leaving her old duchy, Roderick and the joy he found with Rozemyne’s kindheartedness amidst the abuse that he received with his family, the laynobles struggle with life to the point of just focusing on the “stronger” offspring and just leaving the weak ones dead, the treatment of nobles against commoners (which is similar to our world’s rich and powerful treating the poor) and so on and so forth.

I enjoyed Ascendance of the Bookworm so much that this is the only light novel I considered worth my money. I do not hesitate to spend money just to get the latest volume and also to support the author.

This is now a very long post. I guess this is the result of the agony of the long wait for the release of the new volume. Now I understand what the fans of the Harry Potter series felt when they awaited the release of the new book in the past. 

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UPDATE:

I finished reading the machine translated web novel of the Ascendance of the Bookworm. It was a difficult read since many Japanese words were badly translated. But I had to put up with it since I wanted to finish it and know what will happen in the end.

The ending is good.

I even read the spin-off web novel lead by Hannelore of Dunkelfelger. Unfortunately, Miya Kazuki (the author of Ascendance of a Bookworm) stopped updating the web novel. Now, I am just waiting the new volumes of the light novels, which are very slow in releasing the English version.

Putting Thoughts and Emotions in a Letter with Violet Evergarden

I am one of those people who is not a frequent letter-sender. I had no pen pal when I was young and sending letters became passé when I grew up. In fact, I can't recall sending a letter during the years when me and my girlfriend, who is now My Beloved Wife, were in a long distance relationship. We just communicated through SMS during that time when Nokia 3310 is the king of phones.

Thinking about it now made me realize that I should've send her a letter or two during those LDR years. Our SMS message were gone now when our old phones conked out. The letter would've last longer and will be a tangible artifact of our memories.

The only time that I used the post office is when I sent a letter and gift to my girlfriend while I was in Thailand.

I was talking about the old-fashioned letter writing because I finally watched the end of the story of Violet Evergarden.

For those who don't know her, Violet is a doll and her job is to put into written words the feelings and thoughts of her client.

Violet Evergarden was once child soldier and was treated as a mere tool of war. All of that changed when she met Gilbert Bougainvillea, who is the person she fondly called "Major". Gilbert is first person who cared for Violet. He taught her how to read, how to appreciate the beautiful things - in short, Gilbert taught her how to be human.

Unfortunately, tragedy struck during the last military mission of Violet and Gilbert. Violet lost her two arms while Gilbert “died”. The major managed to say "I love you" to Violet before he “perished”.

Violet woke up in a hospital armless and without the man she looks up to. She was given two mechanical arms and Claudia Hodgins, who is Gilbert's friend and owner of a postal company, took her under his wings.

Violet regained her purpose in life by becoming a doll, which is a professional who writes letters using a typewriter. Her job is to put into written words the feelings and thoughts of her clients.

What I enjoyed in the anime is how Violet slowly recovered through the letters that she wrote and the relationship that she forged with her clients and the people around her.

From a girl who doesn't know how to read and write, Violet blossomed into a famous doll who wrote letters for a princess, playwright, opera singer and many more. She who hated herself because of what she did during the war was loved by many.

I said earlier that I finally watched the movie of Violet Evergarden and it brought tears to my eyes. The tearjerker part is the death of her Violet's client Ulysse, who is a child/teen with a grave illness. Violet helped her put into the letters her thoughts and feelings. The letter can only be given to her parents and brother when she died.

I am really a softie whenever I see a death of a child in anime or any show. I guess this is the side effect of being a father.

Violet Evergarden is one of those animes that warmed my heart. I was a fan and I even watched the series and additional episodes. This is why I was also saddened to watch the final movie with a scene that shows the world moving on technologically with the sending of letters becoming obsolete and the dolls becoming irrelevant. I don't know why this anime caught my heart. Maybe I identify with Violet as she struggled through a new life. I felt that Violet is my co-sojourner in this world of crosses.

Of the many anime that I watched in 2021, I can say that Violet Evergarden takes the top spot.

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The Quints and Why I'm Drawn to Rom-Com Animes

I admit that I am sucker for rom-com animes. I remember the times when I spent the night 'til the wee hours of the morning just to watch episodes of High School Rumble and the Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya.

However, it was a very long time a ago since I watched a rom-com anime and it was just a replay of Haruhi's antics. So I was pleasantly surprised when I sampled the first half of the first episode of Quintessential Quintuplets.

(Source: Long Zhi Tian Xue)

Actually, I resisted watching it. I tried watching The Way of the Househusband but it didn't clicked with me. So I returned to the Quints and it is the best decision I did because I truly enjoyed this anime.

Quintessential Quintuplets is about quintuplet sisters who eventually fell in love with their classmate and tutor. The mystery is who among the quintuplets will marry the man of their dreams? Well it's still a mystery for anime-watchers but not for the manga-readers.

One reason that I avoid reading a novel or watching a new series is that it affects my sleep. I kept on saying that it will be my last chapter or episode before I go to sleep until it's 4 am. This is what happened recently so I was able to finish two seasons of Quintissential Quintuplets in 3 or so days.

Quintissential Quintuplets is a Shonen manga that is for teens. However, it pulled a string in me. Well, I guess I am still an isip-bata. Or maybe Quintessential Quintuplets reminded me of my uneventful high school years sprinkled with rare drama. The tensions of the Quints, culminating in a sisters war, is a direct opposite of my high school experiences. Yes, there were crushes, school activities, sports events, the banter between classmates, the fights...all of it not worthy to be featured in an anime, of course.

I ended my high school with a tragedy of sorts. During prom, I danced the night away with a girl from another section who I just met that night. I saw my girl "bestfriend" in tears. Did she cried because I did not partnered with her? Does she have feelings for me? Or maybe I was just assuming? I cannot recall it that much but everything between us changed after that night. After the prom, I courted that girl from the other section. I was flatly rejected just to discover that she had a crush on my classmate who is handsome (well he was our section's representative to pageants). That was the last time I ever courted a girl.

For an immature me in high school, rejection by a crush is a great tragedy. I think it intensified my belief that I am "ugly" or no girl will like me (although I daydreamed that they like me). This is the reason why I was a torpe in college and never had any romantic relationship until that less-than-a-month girlfriend came along and confessed her feelings to me. Well, it ended in tragedy and it kinda soured the final months of my college. Well, we were immature back then and I don’t know how to handle a relationship. Instead of fighting for it (well, was it worth fighting for?) I chose the easy way of ending it, hesitantly. The only positive effect of the tragedy is the creation of this blog to soothe my broken heart.

I guess I can relate with the male protagonists of these rom-com animes - Harima Kenji, Kyon, Fuutarou Uesugi - socially awkward and torpe. One scene when Fuutarou said he is the "garbage" in their group of friends reminded me of the days when I felt that I was alone in my college “barkada”. As the years progressed, I drifted far and far away from the "barkada" until I became a loner.

Just like Fuutarou, I just focused on studies during college and my classmate though that I am smart and tutored them from time to time.

Miku is the best Quint.

Back to the anime, my favorite Quint is the silent-type Miku. There's no surprise there. When it comes to anime, I always root for the silent type like Yakumo of High School Rumble and Nagato of Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya.

I think she deserves to be the bride of Fuutarou. However, I had feeling that Yotsuba will be victorious or maybe Ichika.

(Source: Akhbar24)

Up until now I feel emotional with Quintessential Quintuplets. My heart felt warm during Miku's confession and that the second season ended without the Quints falling apart. My favorite scene is on Episode 8 when Miku was so happy because Fuutarou guessed rightly that it was her despite having the same face and attire as her sisters.

Fuutarou recognized Miku.

So, why do I watch anime? The simple answer is that it is a sort of stress reliever. I was under the weather these past days because of demanding bosses, unpaid overtime, exacting tasks --- I was feeling so bad that I think of migrating to Canada or New Zealand.

The Quints helped me destress, but now I couldn't help but be stressed about who will be the bride in the end. And the next season is said to be released next year! It is a long wait.

Oh well, I guess I have move to another anime so as to bear the long wait or I just read the manga.

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P.S.

So I cannot stop thinking about the ending of Quintessential Quintuplets so I decided to end everything by finishing the manga. Well, it was a disappointment not because Miku was not the bride but the ending is "meh". The mangaka even gave it a sort of "harem ending".

The mystery bride is Yotsuba and I didn't like it simply because I consider her as the worst of the Quints. 

I consider Yotsuba as the worst Quint because her cowardice is the cause of the pain and sufferings of Fuutarou and her sisters.

She could've told Fuutarou early on that she is the girl that he met in Kyoto 5 years ago. But she chose to hide the truth just because she was afraid of Fuutarou's reaction because she did not fulfill their promise of studying diligently.

Some claim that Yotsuba is the best Quint because she supported Fuutarou during the whole duration of the story. However, the best support that she should've given is in telling the truth. What she actually did is to avoid, evade  and run away during the whole story.

Even though she knew that Fuutarou longs for the girl that he met in Kyoto, she used Itsuki to "release" him from the past. She even pushed Miku and Ichika to go for Fuutarou, even though she knew that Fuutarou is looking for her, longing for her. 

She used her sisters as her cover. She used her Itsuki disguise to kiss Fuutarou at the bell. She claimed that she "supports" her sisters' love for Fuutarou and yet kissed him while in disguise. In the end, her cowardice exposed her sisters to heartbreak.

It is unfair then that Yotsuba is the winner in this story. The victory should've gone to any of the other four Quints because they went out of their comfort zones to show their love for Fuutarou.

My second favorite Quint, Nino, going on the offensive.

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P.S.

I think I've gone full circle in this blog. In the past I only wrote about my petty heartbrokenness and other personal stories of my life. I realized then that no one read such things. So, I decided to make this blog more interesting and draw more audience by writing about my travels. The number of visitors grew and I got minimal compensation due to ads.

Now that I am older and have no time to write lengthy travel posts, I return to my old ways and just write about myself. I know no one will be interested but hey I am just returning to the true purpose of this blog, which is being my stress reliever especially now that the pandemic is affecting me.

I also thought that this blog would be a good way for me to remember my life when I am already a senior citizen.

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Ishmael Wants to Meet Enma Ai

Well, the title of this blogpost tells it all. I really want to meet the mysterious girl Enma Ai.

Enma Ai is the main protagonist of the anime that I am watching right now. In English, Enma Ai’s name means Hell Girl. The anime is Jigoku Shoujo and I am addicted to it. Jigoku Shoujo is an anime that centers on Enma Ai, whose main role is to exact revenge for those who call her. Enma Ai punishes the antagonists of those of called her and send them directly to hell. As restitution for the vengeance that Enma Ai made, the one who called her will also be sent to hell after he/she dies to “roam forever in pain and suffering, never knowing what paradise is.”

I first saw this anime when I went to Davao, about two years ago. I did not understand the anime. But now, I think that it is good. Enma Ai is a cute anime character.

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"Your bitterness, I will dispel" - Enma Ai

I guess, every one of us have some moments in life when we want to take revenge to our enemies very badly. Some go to great lengths just to exact revenge like killing other people or making them suffer very much. Enma Ai is the personification of that human nature. By exacting revenge, we are making our enemies suffer. In the end, we also must face the consequences of our action when the time comes when we have to face our God. Revenge is a double-bladed sword that hurts the avenger’s target and also the avenger.

Jigoku Shoujo is a mystery filled anime that tackles human nature, especially anger and revenge. That is the reason why I am drawn to Enma Ai.

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Enma Ai and her minions.

In the episode that I am watching, the mystery surrounding Enma Ai is unfolding. Who is she and why does she exacts revenge? Who is the old woman who acts like her grandma? These are the questions that I am excited to discover as I watch Jigoku Shoujo.

However, my greatest question is: How will I ever contact Enma Ai?

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Witch Hunter Robin

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In the beginning, the witches serve as God’s servants and emissary to the world. Ordinary humans, jealous and scared of their power destroyed them ---- thus initiating the many and widespread witch hunts in the world’s history. Central of these witch-hunts is Solomon, an organization within the Church that seeks to stamp out witchery and witches. That is the “idea” being perpetrated by the anime “Witch Hunter Robin,” which will make the new age believers and fans of books like the “Da Vinci Code” happy.

The anime revolves around Robin, a fifteen-year old professional witch hunter. Though she is a witch hunter, she is a Craft user herself and had a power of fire. Witch hunters endowed with the craft was not peculiar to Robin since most witch hunters in this anime were also witches being used by Solomon. She was sent by Solomon to Japan to aid its Japanese branch (STNJ) in its witch hunting activities. Apparently, that is only a front since her real mission is to investigate about the Ultimate Craft or the so-called “Piece of Knowledge.” In the middle of the story, she met Methuselah, the immortal witch that survived the Salem witch trial. The old witch wakened up Robin’s power before Robin consumed her with fire.

The witches in this anime are different from the witches in the Harry Potter series and other TV shows that say incantations and brew potions to make their power work. They are much more like the characters in the TV series “Heroes,” which could use their powers at will. The main difference with Heroes is the concept of Craft is still central in the story.

After discovering her power, her trainer and grandfather, the priest Julianno sent well-renowned witch hunters to kill her. Her witch-hunt culminated into a revelation from the priest that she was a product of an experiment of creating an ultimate witch.

This anime ended in a showdown between Robin and the director of the STNJ. The director seeks the total annihilation of witches, including those who are craft using witch hunters. Solomon disapproved of such thing and removed the director from his post.

Witch Hunter Robin is a good anime. The story is somewhat realistic as if it is happening enigmatically in our neighborhood. This anime played upon the world’s fascination with the Catholic Church and used it in creating a secret organization of witch hunters. A well researched anime though with misleading ideas. Anyone who want to watch this anime should be cautious and do not take the story seriously.

Code Geass

At last, another anime that caught my fancy. Code Geass is now one of my favorite mech anime since Gundam Wing. This anime is about Lelouch, a prince of the Empire of Brittania, whose mother was murdered during their childhood. After their mother's death, Lelouch and his sister was thrown away by the emperor (his father) to the newly acquired territory of Japan (called as Area Eleven).

Hellbent to avenge the death of his mother and the lose of his sister's eyesight, Lelouch disguised himself as the masked Zero and started a protracted war against the Empire of Brittania. With the power of Geass (an ability to control anyone), he believes that he could achieve the destruction of Brittania and kill his mother's murderer.

Just like Gundam Wing, I like Code Geass because of its political undertone. Aside from the main storyline, this anime also showcase the struggle between an invading nation and an oppressed nation. It also shows the hardships of the the oppressed people and their crushed dignity and liberty.

So in the end, will Lelouch achieve his ends? Will the oppressive empire fall and lead to the liberation of Japan?

Isn't she pretty?

The Anime Addict is Now Watching...

Last Exile.

I love this anime. I got hooked instantly the very first time I watched it over QTV Channel 11. What got me hooked is the battle between ships in the anime that is reminiscent of the pre world war naval battles wherein the winner is dictated by the ship captain's excellence in maneuvers and tactics.

Another thing that I love in this anime is the aerial battles that is similar to the aerial warfare during World War I. But this anime is not just all about war and battle. What keeps watching this anime is its good plot and story.

I recommend this anime to anyone who loves anime and war movies.

If you want to have a good preview of this anime, then you better visit Wikipedia. The website have a comprehensive review of the anime.